When you go to skills under Alexa, hit skills, and type in Homeassistant to recognize the devices it actually is for the iCloud that I just mentioned that is on Homeassistant. What is a good alternative that uses wifi that has all in wall products? HomeSeer has the ability to not only talk directly to an Insteon Hub, but can also talk to your individual devices and program them. Everyone wants to offer a home hub these days. Thank you Ron. Last one Free shipping. It's not easy to take another chance after putting your time and money into a system that was abandoned. This strategy works because Home Assistant can scan, detect and control your Insteon devices using only your Insteon PowerLinc Modem (PLM) (the green . I am working on some new interfaces for Home Assistant to make things easier in the transition for people that still want to create insteon scenes and such. It actually shrunk the market of smart home consultants who really went to more of whole house automation directed more to the A/V home applications. We built our Insteon integration around the various USB (serial) interfaces: PowerLinc 2413U, 2413S (requires a third party RS232 serial to USB adaptor), Insteon Portable USB Adaptor (2448A7), and some older interfaces like the PowerLinc 2412U/2412S. Steve, totally agree with you on all points. Where there was a very limited of actual directions, and a lot of confusion with the software that was provided, especially with HS4 software, many of us have jump to YouTube to get an understanding how to install new items, however all the videos dealt with the previous software version, of software which is not owned or developed by HomeSeer, though they sell it and tell you this is a third party software. So, keep in mind that you have to match the automation requirements with the specifications of the device. Several hubs died over the years. I meant it is *now* part of Home Assistant core software. With also the support to add, remove, and program Insteon devices. Want the latest IoT news and analysis? There is still a long way for me to go, but on April 22, I never thought I would ever find a way to get where I am today. It appears to give some of the best that Zigbee and Z-Wave have to offer. I just updated my Home Assistant and almost all my previous Insteon devices are not up and running on Alexa, I continue to feel a little better after two weeks of hell, tried to return my HOOBS 4 device today, It cost $22 to ship to Canada, in addition requires some form that has to be filled for Switzland, that I was unable to get filled out. It is the reason why ISY is an integration to Home Assistant, it is much more than switch control. Designed for Energy Conservation Enthusiasts, DIYers, Makers, and Hackers. Im going to migrate my entire home to a variety of more popular smarthome devices, rather than choosing a single provider. And of course with all the major smart speakers. But that cloud service uploads all the devices from Homeassistant and then downloads, the devices and scenes that I created withe normal names on Alexa from there you have actually activated each device so Alexa then recognize it. 7. . Nothing does but Insteon Hub/PLM. So I do use cloud options for voice control. Every room in my house has Insteon light switches and I had all the scenes set up for Alexa to turn on and off lights. The entire company seems to have abruptly shut down just before the weekend, breaking users' cloud-dependent smart-home setups without . It just provided a different GUI for interacting with the devices. 3. 1. Which are usually the first to be given assets of company, we were never guaranteed the us of their services forever and we didnt actually pay them yearly service charge for maintaining their cloud service. Zooz support has you covered with wiring and programming instructions if needed. Theyve already committed to matter support for some of their most popular hubs, they have a wide range of devices, and very good prices. My system will continue to work as long as I can keep my devices working and with much more control and functionality than any management system that has been offered by Insteon. The Lutron smart systems are considered the market leader when it comes to lighting solutions. 2. And it's easygoing. Aeotec Smart Home Hub. Wink suddenly started charging a monthly fee for their already dwindling service and theres no guarantee these days that the smart home hardware you buy is really yours. At the core of the company was Insteon's proprietary networking protocol, which was a competitor to more popular and licensable alternatives like Z-Wave and Zigbee. But there's a reason people keep switching to Plex: it's better. Things like controlling the dimming rate, ramping level, brightness of the brightness LEDs on dimmers, . Heres the phrase from the current Samsung SmartThings terms of service, as an example: 1. However, if those schemes exist, my non-scheduled ones obviously are stored in that Hub, but I have no idea how to activate them or get them uploaded to Home Assistant. On top of that, only a few basic steps need to be followed to install and integrate your system. I will always miss my true Insteon system. If youre just looking for something to help with the management of your smart lights, then Lutron presents the best value. It is NOT a replacement. There really isnt a more superior hardware choice you can run out and buy at the moment for a whole-house level integration. All my scenes are either controlled from a wall keypad or by sunset and sunrise event times. Homeboy for Insteon Hub 4+ Insteon app alternative Homeboy Software Inc. If any of you who are actually reading this and have some insight to resolve any of the issues I have raised. I would appreciate any advice about this platform and which brand controllers (Lutron, Wemo, Aqara etc) should I go with. I was looking at alternatives that use in wall switches and plugs like insteon and found kasa but it isn't supported any longer and casita doesn't have in wall plugs. There is also a USB stick version which is only RF as it does not plug into the wireline. Since the hub creates the communication route to any device, it uses existing nearby signal extenders to reach new devices. Hence the word proprietary. If you were trying to use it without HomeKit, I dont know what results you would get. I liked using the app from time to time and Id also like to get schedules back up. I also discovered something new on Alexa, I can ask her to shut down all light and they all go off, except that items that HA list as switches do not. This level of unethical move is par for the course for Insteon. Ha, long live Insteon. Compare Hubitat Vs SmartThings Which Ones Better? I never thought as many of us that Insteon would close there doors, and probably if they didnt go through the world wide effects of the pandemic they would not have suffered through the difficulty of obtaining the hardware products they developed and sold that were made entirely in China. Youd think the IP proprietary protocol would have monetary value to whats left of Insteons assets. Some devices like buttons and sensors, can be problematic with some hubs. This is sad news as the functionality of Insteon switches seems far superior to than anything else out there. Insteon is gone and will be missed. The key to a reliable Z-Wave network is having plenty of Z-Wave signal repeating devices, or range extenders. Then there was the smart home hub maker Insteon which collapsed in April, 2022 leaving thousands of customers cut off from the company's servers and without access to many of the features of the hub they purchased. Add voice control when you use it with your smart speakers or program scenes via mutli-tap triggers. I assume there should be some way to manually upload them but I havent found anything on YouTube or by googling to tell me how to do it. Whats the alternative and is it even worth it to have a connected house these days? No need to dim? That is a long time. A lot of things simply dont. A lot like my Home Assistant and my up load insteon devices. A similar solution would be to purchase a HOOBS box, which stands for HomeBridge Out Of the Box. 07-27-2021, 10:45 AM. I am concerned with where to go from here, though. Thats if someone (or some company) really cares enough to jump in financially. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Alternatives to Insteon Hub? Alex has been swapping hardware and standing-up services. Device support is provided by the underlying pyinsteon package. Zwave has enough issues on its own that I don't consider them a viable replacement to insteon (in regards to capabilities and flexibility). The ISY will do everything the hub will do and I think much more but you will need the Insteon power line modem to connect it to all your switches. The real question is why are you looking to not use Insteon. You must have one of these devices in order for Indigo to communicate with your Insteon devices. Different things will work for different people, and if she is already committed to Android phones then its probably not worth switching. And its not only the Insteon benefits. So, it can potentially save you a lot of hassle, and the installation is also effortless. All of the above hubs allow you to connect with your smart speaker but note that these are cloud integrations that may not always be free and that take your data outside of your home network. One goal of this project is the complete elimination of the Insteon-compatible hub (from all manufacturers), while at the same time recovering control over the Insteon house-wiring network. So just getting to it is problematic. The reverse engineering cant be done legally until the company that owns the intellectual property releases it for open use. It currently doesnt support Z-Wave, the protocol of choice for home automation thanks to its high speed and low interference with other connected devices in your home. That said, you are instead recommending anything that uses Zigbee protocol is that correct? I currently have over 100 Insteon devices in my house, but for the last couple of years I have been unable to buy any new ones so I have started using a few zWave devices. Ive used the Universal Devices controller to program and interact with my devices for years and definitely recommend it. If it were me and I only had a few Insteon devices, Id lean towards using a completely different platform. Best smart home hub overall. The issue is getting hold of one of these. They work with both Android and iOS. Homeseer -> Insteon Switches. Funny how many times this must be said but people need to really know and not read. Thanks, I contacted HomeSeer today, they seem to actually have access to a software program that was developed for Insteon, prior to the development of their hubs, so it was developed to handle all the Insteon features, it works with in conjunction with their interface which will work with Alexa, I may have to enter all the six digit identifiers that are on each device, it will take time and effort, hopefully but unlikely they are on the front of device but I doubt it. I am not a lawyer. All functions perfectly. By Sebastien Bini | More Programs (1) Alternative apps : Games Game Character Hub is a program aimed at both video game developers and sprite artists. Insteon Smart On/Off Wall Switch, 1800 Watt, 2477S (White) - Insteon Hub required for voice control with Alexa & Google Assistant. Confirm that you have access to an Ethernet connection where you want to keep the hub. If you do not have one of those three devices and you have an ISY you cannot control diddlesquat in the Insteon world. Maybe after watching numerous YouTube videos I may someday concur this. I have an extensive Insteon setup in my house. Cloud systems, like Insteon, are expensive to maintain and challenging to keep secure, so were likely to see more interruptions in platforms heavily reliant on cloud. Those clauses have held up with previous companies, including Revolv, Iris, Wink, Staples Connect, and the ADT/SmartThings dual logo security system. We are not truly creditors that havent been paid debts. I run IP scanner in my home right now and I get 50+ things TVs, DirecTV devices, Alexas, Vonage modems, computers, phones, . but I followed this guys tutorial on getting Hass to talk to Queen Alexa. Were we Android users, Id lean towards Google Home followed by Amazon Alexa as a platform, although SmartThings is still a viable and good option. Or being able to view security camera video. I am a Home Assistant fan though and not Smartthings knowledgeable. What are Insteon device owners and service users to do? palayman. Once I determined each devices location I then inidated what room or location of device was jotted it down on my excel sheet as well had column to indicate the common name I had used on insteon software when named it previously. The price of this hub is also pretty reasonable. I have some small older computers that I could use for a server, but am not sure what to do now that I have pressed the button on the back of my insteon HUB thought I was doing the right thing apparently not! Reduce your energy consumption by 30%with custom heating schedules, or just switch to the thermostats built-in Economy mode to keep things efficient. I installed Home Assistant in Docker on my Synology NAS, and I added the Insteon integration. Some of us are exploring other systems and it would be beneficial to others if we post how successful we are in exploring these alternatives as we move forward. You could still run Insteon Hub locally without relying on their clouds and servers. People who dont mind tinkering and are looking for something much more sophisticated and powerful will want to look at some of the other alternatives that have already been mentioned in this thread, including home assistant, Homeseer, and hubitat. How many times have we had devices fail and find out there are no replacement parts because no one makes it anymore. If you have any Insteon smart home devices, you might have noticed they suddenly stopped working in April . I was mad, at the whole situation, and it cost me a lot of money. My understanding is that the latency on Thread devices is very low and the mesh systems does a great job in connections. There may be individual states that have different laws that apply, I dont know. But if I had the knowledge to do it and the funds, I would certainly hack and give it away. However, once everything is integrated with the smart hub, everything will become effortless. All of these Insteon alternatives bring unique value and price points to the owners. Im amazed at how well it works and it gives you back all the control/programming abilities/Alexa and Google home integration back. I spent 6 hrs on my initial attempt to set everything up and three days in frustration on the forum not getting direct assistance. I had a significant amount of scenes previously and they had to be on the hub as well. Dont buy into a platform and buy devices for it. Home Assistant as well as HomeSeer both utilize this device as means of operating and communicating with the Insteon Hub. The downside with SmartThings is that you will be spending a lot of time on the initial installation. You'll need a central Z-Wave hub to control all your smart devices. Its a less expensive way to keep using the old devices and given that most of the solutions are open-source software, Id expect them to be around for years to come. Alexa will work a lot better after a couple of weeks of use, because the assistant adapts to your speech patterns and personal preferences. Your IP: So theres no one-size-fits-all answer, but I do think most people can find a home automation system that they will be pretty happy with as long as they take the time to do their own research first. I have Dayton Audio DAX88 multizone music systems, other music servers, Meater thermometers, Tuya devices, etc. Good descriptions and diagram here to understand: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insteon. Legally or better yet morally, I would hope someone gets access to the proprietary code to build out the chips that actually control switches. entire box for $250. It would be wonderful if someone could find a way to get the servers back online at least temporarily, but without any news from SmartLabs or Insteon it's doubtful. Homeseer -> Insteon Hub/PLM -> Insteon Switches. If you dont pay, youll lose your automations, smart rules, and access to voice control. So just one more possibility to consider. It is really to take a house and completely rewire it. No one wants to rely on Cloud services for *anything*. Home Assistant seems like a good option. It one of those fail and you have no backup device, your switches are as dumb as a simple toggle switch. Tried to login today to add the new devices and are unable to do so. As Long as your rules requirements are simple, you could just go with an Amazon based system for now. I hope somebody has something out there that is simple and can handle both the devices and the interface with Alexa, if I had to I would change over to google or apple if I had to. So my whole insteon installation with 80+ devices is still fine, even through Alexa. I like your lesson about an open source solution. But I would expect that decision to be maybe 10 months away, and then another six months for the reverse engineering to get going. So as always, the first rule of home automation applies: the model number matters.. Native support . You have linked buttons for a fixed scene. item 5 INSTEON Hub Model 2245-222 INSTEON Hub Model 2245-222. It talks directly to your Insteon Hub on the local LAN. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. So anyone considering a HOOBS device beware it also cost me $20 to get it shipped to me in the first place and oh yes they warned me they may charge me 25% restocking fee. Personally, I wait to evaluate these kind of devices until they are actually shipping. Introducing an all new lighting-centric mobile app for Insteon Hub 2. Why? Pro. Dont worry, be happy. From light switches to sensors, you can integrate a variety of smart devices with this option. Easy install with guaranteed peace of mind: connect the 3 pigtail wires to the last smoke alarm in series, pair the Zooz relay to your Z-Wave hub, and receive status notifications in the app whenever any of your smoke alarms is triggered. May 10, 2020 If you dont have one they may be difficult to get now. If it successful, I will sent an acknowledgment once i actually go through the process. Thanks. You need to know the scene number which since the insteon app is down, it can be a bit difficult. If they had tried that approach they still might be in operation, but they were also impact with there inability to get hardware product to sell or there credit dried up as well that they couldnt secure hardware to sell. Since the ISY works with both, I can just replace any failed Insteon devices with an equivalent zWave device. You can even add an Insteon Plugin to keep your existing devices in use. Universal Devices' ISY or Polisy, Home Assistant, Homebridge, HomeSeer, and others will all bring new . Everything else people are talking about is just a way of attaching a new app to the existing Insteon hub. I use Home Assistant and Nabu Casa and Alexa. Looks like Homeseer is out of stock until may 6th? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. If you already have Amazon Echo set up, you know how convenient it can be. So it would seem to to be difficult to justify what are losses are for. (2245-222) Not having heard or read a single mention of WEMO worries me as well do ALL OF YOU know something that I dont? The basic app just does basic rules, but by using the Shortcuts feature you can build much more complex logic. So, you will often notice owners complaining about not being able to secure an Insteon hub for their homes. 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