Unprecedented Customer Service: The Universal Devices Edition
Speaking of powerline communications…excellent post-sale support is something I so rarely encounter that when I come across a compelling case study, I strive to highlight it. Two weeks ago, I told you about Toshiba’s release of a firmware upgrade for a 2+ year old HD DVD (translation: I see dead formats) player. And this time, Universal Devices gets the well-deserved kudos. In both cases, ironically, flash memory firmware updates (a virtually unknown capability just a decade ago) were the fundamental ‘vehicle’ by which the support was supplied.
I’ve mentioned UDI several times before, as the developer of the ISY-26, one of the two controller products (along with HomeSeer Technologies’ HS2) I’ve been testing in my Insteon-based home automation system. The ISY-26’s standalone (i.e. non-PC-based) nature was always appealing to me, but the product’s Java-centric UI meant that I could only control my home automation system via a Mac or PC; my Windows Smartphone’s browsers, for example, were out of luck in this regard.
A few weeks ago, I ran into another showstopper problem. Prior to leaving on a trip, I ramped down the home’s heat and put several internal lights on ISY-26-managed timer control. Before returning home, I tried to access the ISY-26 (via firewall ‘holes’ I’d enabled in my router) in order to crank the heat back up…and was unsuccessful. I could tell via webcam perusal of the internal lights that the ISY-26 was still alive and conversing with the Insteon adapters, but it wasn’t responding to network query attempts.
As background, before proceeding, I need to remind you that my Insteon setup is somewhat unconventional. Not only does the ISY-26 converse with its companion Insteon adapters over my home’s power grid, it also tethers to my router over that same power grid, in this case via two paired HomePlug AV adapters. What I eventually figured out was that the home experienced a brief power outage while I was away.
The ISY-26’s Insteon links sooner-or-later recovered from the brownout just fine, and the router itself (along with my DSL modem and multi-port switch) was fueled by a backup UPS and thereby never went down at all. But the HomePlug AV spur of my LAN came back up too slow for the home automation controller’s tastes. The ISY-26 requested a DHCP IP address assignment…the router didn’t respond in time because the HomePlug AV connection was still in the midst of resurrection…and after three retries the ISY-26 gave up. Cycling ISY-26 power after the HomePlug AV spur was stable (thereby stimulating another DHCP request from the unit) produced the desired result, but of course doing so while I was off-site wasn’t feasible.
When I emailed UDI’s Michel Kohanim with my findings, he indicated that this problem was already fixed in beta releases for the upcoming v2.7 firmware. And, when I downloaded and installed beta v2.6.4, I also discovered that the base UI was now implemented via conventional HTML, thereby accessible in a non-Java manner over both HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443) TCP connections. Perfect timing (from a lemonade-out-of-lemons perspective, that is), considering that the gear formerly inhabiting those two ports had just died. And UDI even provides a built-in, Java-based SSL certificate generation utility.
Beta v.06 of the Skyfire browser installed on my T-Mobile Dash gets hung up at the username/password login screen, but I’m able to access and control the ISY-26 just fine via Opera Mobile, Opera Mini, and Internet Explorer Mobile (along with the browser built into my Nokia N800 Internet Tablet). And I’ve also confirmed that the ISY-26 now (eventually) successfully gets a DHCP assignment no matter how long the delay from unit power-up to successful router connection. UDI could, as is commonly (and unfortunately) the case in the consumer electronics business, have forced existing customers to buy new hardware in order to obtain features like these. Instead, the company has cultivated long-term loyalty (and advocacy in forms such as this post) by supporting free upgrades…not to mention an aggressive presence on the company’s online forum, along with speedy responses to incoming emails and phone calls.
Customer-supportive approaches such as UDI’s may not look appealing on paper, especially to short-term revenue-and-profit-focused accountants. But, I’ll passionately argue, the long-term return on UDI’s installed base-sustaining strategy is a tangibly positive one. Your thoughts, folks?
