Elk M1 control firmware 5.3.8

Has anyone installed M1 firmware 5.3.8 that was released  7/14/2015? Was it painless?
 
Mike.

Pretty painless here, haven't seen any problems yet, except for one small problem with the ISY (if you have one), where all 8 areas will show up.

No Insteon here but Brad at Elk had me roll back my firmware to 5.2 months ago to eliminate the auto-reboots that I was getting. It would be nice if this new version corrects the problem (auto-reboots are mentioned in the release notes)
 
Mike.

I was upgrading to the latest FW versions on each of their releases for various reasons on each of the devices... initially M1 FW to resolve DST issue, then on XEP to get SSL working, but since my system has been stable with no issues I've stopped keeping up with the latest releases.

Painless here.  I recently updated firmware for the M1G, XEP, XRFTW wireless, and keypad.  No problems and helped fix some issues for me.  As always, read the release notes - the M1G update does not support older M1XRF2G RF Receivers.
On the ISY, I've been told that if you go into ElkRP and add the additional areas and leave the name fields null, they will not show up in the ISY.  I have yet to try that...  see here:
http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/16555-elk-isy-too-many-areas/

You can eliminate the unassigned areas by adding, send to elk, delete, send all areas to elk. This will delete the unassigned areas which are restored during a factory reset. I was able to eliminate unassigned areas from all ISY and mobile app interfaces.

I wish Elk had not changed the 5.3.8 firmware and M1XRF2G requirements. I have migrated to Elk Two-way Wireless for everything except my Resolution Products driveway sensor (one of the most useful HA products I have installed). This means I have to buy the new GE replacement receiver for only one device.

d.dennerline said:

I wish Elk had not changed the 5.3.8 firmware and M1XRF2G requirements. I have migrated to Elk Two-way Wireless for everything except my Resolution Products driveway sensor (one of the most useful HA products I have installed). This means I have to buy the new GE replacement receiver for only one device.

Click to expand...

Part of why I'm not touching it or doing it for a bunch of my accounts. Kinda sucks, especially if anyone's been putting in M1's for any length of time. First the Caddx 548E (which I could understand once Elk came out with their own receiver). Now it's their own GE receiver and dropping support for it in favor of their unit that supports SAW and Crystal, so in theory, the receiver should be almost very similar in nature. Makes me wonder what is next for the GE receiver, which hopefully they don't drop (Elk's 2 way isn't what I'd choose if I was doing a 100% RF install) or what they'd do to the Honeywell unit.
 
While it's moot for a new install, since there's only the single GE receiver out there as far as Elk is concerned, for existing accounts, it's tough to talk the HO into spending X for a new receiver "just because". Part of the appeal of migrating existing accounts off their panels is/was the M1 supports the larger player's RF devices and for a HO that wants to start dabbling into HA, the cost, side by side, of adding components and recurring charges to an older install vs. putting an M1 in was part of what helped sell the system.

elvisimprsntr said:

You can eliminate the unassigned areas by adding, send to elk, delete, send all areas to elk. This will delete the unassigned areas which are restored during a factory reset. I was able to eliminate unassigned areas from all ISY and mobile app interfaces.

Click to expand...

 
Thanks - just got around to this and it worked for me as well.

While the update to 5.3.8 (from a much older version, I forget which one) went flawlessly for me, The auto-reboot issue mentioned above in 5.3.0 seems to still be present.  The release notes claim it was fixed, but I have had 2 reboots since labor day (the day I installed).  I contacted Elk via email and they (Brad) responded with a few questions about my setup and said to go to 5.2 if the problem persists.  I see no reason why it would not persist, so I will be going back to 5.2 when I get some time to mess with it.
 
The unit re-boot causes all the relays that are turned on and any rules that are running to turn off/stop.  For me, that means the house water shuts off and the sprinklers stop if currently in cycle.  None of my other rules run for any duration of time so reboots don't really affect them.  I assume a reboot while armed will result in being un-armed (the system wasn't armed these 2 times), which would be a rather important security flaw.

Thanks for the word, I reverted back to 5.2 months ago due to reboots and I'm going to leave it at 5.2 until I have reason to believe that they fixed the problem.
 
Mike..

Started the Upgrade to 5.3.8 and right off the bat, I get a Pop up. It says: "This is a newer firmware version that ElkRP does not recognize."... I have ElkPR 2.0.24 and can't find a newer version. Lovely...

Hmm, wish I could help. I'm not there yet. Running 5.3.0 without issues, so I'm hesitant to upgrade at this point.
 
Release notes state: "NOTE: A “New Firmware” message will pop up upon connection if ElkRP does not recognize the new version of M1 firmware. It is generally a case where ElkRP has not yet been changed to reflect the newer firmware versions. When this occurs the only choice available is to Click Yes and continue on with the connection and programming."

I just recently upgraded to 5.3.8 hoping it would eliminate the 1-2 time a month when I get random zone anouncements and emails but the zones are not tripping.  The system worked well for 2 days and then the XEP stopped talking to my ISY and to ELKRP.  A reset of the IP back to DHCP got ELKRP back in contact witht he XEP but not the ISY.  After trying just about anything I could think of, I decided to check the DNS addresses and found that the router had a different DNS than the XEP and the ISY.  I decided to try setting the XEP and the ISY DNS to that shown in the router.  That seemed to cure the issue and the ISY and XEP began working properly. 
 
I have found the XEP to have issues crawling out of network holes it finds itself in. I have had a couple of occasions where other devices on the LAN failed or a port on a switch failed and everything else kept working except the XEP and it some cases, it took a reset of the XEP to get it back on line. It also seems to try to hang onto prior configurations long after it should have given up and been more open to queries from new ports.

mikefamig said:

Thanks for the word, I reverted back to 5.2 months ago due to reboots and I'm going to leave it at 5.2 until I have reason to believe that they fixed the problem.
 
Mike..

Click to expand...

 
 

foxtail22 said:

I just recently upgraded to 5.3.8 hoping it would eliminate the 1-2 time a month when I get random zone anouncements and emails but the zones are not tripping.  The system worked well for 2 days and then the XEP stopped talking to my ISY and to ELKRP.  A reset of the IP back to DHCP got ELKRP back in contact witht he XEP but not the ISY.  After trying just about anything I could think of, I decided to check the DNS addresses and found that the router had a different DNS than the XEP and the ISY.  I decided to try setting the XEP and the ISY DNS to that shown in the router.  That seemed to cure the issue and the ISY and XEP began working properly. 
 
I have found the XEP to have issues crawling out of network holes it finds itself in. I have had a couple of occasions where other devices on the LAN failed or a port on a switch failed and everything else kept working except the XEP and it some cases, it took a reset of the XEP to get it back on line. It also seems to try to hang onto prior configurations long after it should have given up and been more open to queries from new ports.

Click to expand...

 
Mike used to get random zone announcements... I quoted him above so he'd get this notification.