OK, I’m a newbie here, but have been on other forums, and know to go exercise the “search” function before asking questions. But so far, my search on X-10 support by Vera has been more confusing than anything. Here’s what I think I’ve figured out so far:
[ul][li]The way to do this is by getting a 2412U and connecting it to a Vera USB port[/li]
[li]With 1.0.939 software, controlling simple X-10 switches didn’t work, but does seem to be working with 1.0.979[/li][/ul]
Here’s what I’m confused about at this point:
[ul][li]Does Vera receive X-10 signals via the 2412U and can it use them - i.e:[/li]
[li]If I have an X-10 sensor, does Vera pick up the signal from the sensor; and if I have a switch which reports status, does Vera receive that?[/li][/ul]
Any clarification on the above would be greatly appreciated. And, if the answer to the questions is “no”, then is that something which MCV is going to fix anytime in the near future?
Thanks in advance…
Posted 48 hours ago, 29 views, zero replies. 
So no one really knows whether X-10 signals can be received by Vera, and MCV isn’t responding either?
Dallas, this reply from a fairly new user to Vera.
I invested on a 2412U in order to control all my old X10 devices from the Vera interface, and controlling them it is not so much of a problem (using the latest UI3 firmware release), but no reporting back from X10 device. I have not seen any plans from MCV to support any further functionality to inter operate with X10 devices, so my advise will be to consider the 2412U as a stepping stone and start looking at Z-Wave devices.
I already invested some money on a Trane thermostat, and the difference in controlling Z-Wave devices and X10 devices (in terms of latency, responsiveness and added benefits) is a day and night comparison.
Hope this helps.
I’m still on 1.0.979, invested in a 2414U, connected it, and after months of brain work trying to get ANY X-10 interoperability from my Vera has proven futile.
Can you please outline EXACTLY what steps you took to engage X-10 with your Vera? I’m stumped, despite all promises by MCV that it’s possible, and despite being an X-10 expert with over 20 years experience!
Thanks…
Hello Libra,
I am sorry to hear that X10 hasn’t work for you at all. In my case, and I am not sure what exactly is the difference, is that I am using a 2412U unit instead of the 2414U unit that you have (without much research on features, they look the same to me).
UI2 never worked for me when controlling X10, so I had to upgrade my Vera1 to UI3 and the latest “stable” release, 1.1.329 for it to work. Once I did that, I just started adding X10 devices and things worked, but it was not 100% reliable and it took too long for a command to be executed.
I also have your same problem, my entire house has X10 devices, but I have started investing on ZWave devices to replace X10 ones. X10 has worked for me for the past 9 years, but looking at the difference in capabilities and benefits, ZWave has proven to be a better solution at this point.
(Correction: I meant to say “2412U”. i.e. the PLM “modem” not the PLC “controller” module. U = USB)
Thanks for your reply. Gotta be the interface / firmware! I won’t go into how disappointed I’ve been regarding Vera’s X10 support, except to comment that this was THE reason I bought a Vera to begin with, and I still hold MCV to their initial promise that two-way X10 interoperability is going to be part of Vera’s repertoire.
Anything less will - in my opinion - constitute false advertising.
So, getting back to your reply: Once a fellow upgrades to 1.1.329, can you outline the specific steps involved in getting the 2412U to “cooperate”? I know the order of plugging things in sometimes matters, and that Vera sometimes requires one to type in stuff down in the kernel/Linux shell level. Hoping not necessary this time.
Thanks again!
Once upgraded to the latest firmware, I literally followed the steps on the wiki:
http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/Insteon_Intro
First step of course, is plug in the 2412U insteon PLM modem to the Vera and a power outlet. Do not know if it makes a difference or not, but I am using USB 1 for the Zwave dongle and USB 2 for the 2412U device.
Sadly, after following the steps outlined on the Wiki, my setup continues to report “INSTEON: No INSTEON” … and after adding an X10 device (“M13” is the code for this dimmable lamp module), clicking on the icon for that device in Vera’s UI3 interface results in the following error message: “Command failed: Insteon not ready”
In other words, no change from all previous attempts. Next, I’ll try swapping the USB ports, so that the dongle winds up in Vera’s “top” port, and my 2412S with the requisite Future Electronics Serial-to-USB adapter – which collectively I referred to earlier as “my 2412U” because it’s been SO LONG that I forgot my actual setup – gets plugged into her “lower” USB port.
Thanks for your guidance. I’m humbled that this is proving so difficult. BTW, I absolutely hate the look, feel and responsiveness (or lack thereof) of UI3! But if it helps me get Insteon/X10 working, I’ll use any UI at all!!
Success! Swapping the USB ports seems to have done the trick. I can now turn my lamp On and Off using Vera!
Interestingly, whenever I click this device in UI3, I get this error message: “Command failed: Device does not handle service/action” But if I first click the ‘i’ (information) icon of the device, I can control everything OK from the pop-up screen that comes up.
Note: Vera’s UI now also shows two new “devices” called Serial_Portlist and “FTDI_sio”. A positive result…
Thanks again for your help. This only took 1.5 years to accomplish!
More news:
(1) The X10 device (“Dimmable Lamp”) continually shows a swirling blue motion around it in Vera’s UI3.
(2) Turning the device On or Off using Vera takes 1-2 MINUTES between clicking and the lamp changing state!
(3) Deleting the device in Vera’s UI3 is difficult (Icon ‘i’ info > click on Trash Can > wait > “Command was sent” > “INSTEON jobs #93 ADDREMOVE Running:” > "INSTEON jobs #93 ADDREMOVE Aborted: ") ANNOYING!
Other than these pains, everything’s great. :-/
More feedback:
(4) Dimming is ineffective - The lamp only achieves either 0% (Off) or 100% (On). Anytime I click on 25% or any other dimming preset, including the continuous dimming slider, the lamp only changes state to On or Off!
(5) Delays between clicking and changes to the physical light range from 10 seconds to 2 minutes. Crazy!
LibraSun → I suffered from the same issues you are experiencing. The most annoying of it all was the delay between sending the command on the UI and having it take effect on the X10 device. As you have experienced, clicking on the device ICON does not work, or at least I could not get it to work, so you have to go to the ( i ) icon and actually click on the ON/OFF state.
I wish that MCV will get this working a little better, but I do not have any high hopes at this point.
Like you guys, I’ve over the years invested a lot into X-10, and need it to work with Vera. Even today, much of what is out there for X-10 is simply not available in a Z-Wave equivalent, even if we wanted to spend the $$$ for wholesale rip-and-replace.
Fortunately for me, and unlike you; I read about the failures of those trying to use the PROMISED X-10 compatibility from MCV before I spent my $$$ on a Vera. There’s a reported bug in the Vera bug reporting system ( http://bugs.micasaverde.com/view.php?id=758 ) but no one from MCV has done anything with it for over 6 months now. That and their deafening silence on threads here like this speaks volumes to me. As good as Vera looks from the Z-Wave side, I’ll reluctantly stay on the sidelines waiting for something better, as long as this is the “support” coming from MCV. ???