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It is software you can run on a computer or just buy a dedicated HomeSeer box. It completely takes the place of the Insteon app and their front end that never was great. I’m amazed at how well it works and it gives you back all the control/programming abilities/Alexa and Google home integration back.
It’s a step towards a more integrated, easy-to-use smart home with improved security, comfort, and convenience. The key to a reliable Z-Wave network is having plenty of Z-Wave signal repeating devices, or range extenders. Since the hub creates the communication route to any device, it uses existing nearby signal extenders to reach new devices. Any non-battery powered of hardwired Z-Wave device will act as a signal repeater so light switches, smart plugs, relays and other constantly powered devices make for great range extenders. This is one of the most robust home automation systems out there. You can even add an Insteon Plugin to keep your existing devices in use.
INSTEON Scenes
Some systems use wireless, others RF, others are waves on the actual powerline themselves . You can rebuild/relink devices using Home Assistant. I am beta testing the newest software now and bought another hub just so I can test out the process.
Everything else people are talking about is just a way of attaching a new app to the existing Insteon hub. So is it worth paying $5 a month for Wink’s service? The platform hasn’t been adding new features or expanding its list of supported devices for a while now.
Build Scenes
Funny how many times this must be said but people need to really know and not read. So I’m afraid this is just something you’ll have to research individually. The general answer will be yes, they have Alexa integration, but the details can vary as to exactly what’s included in that integration and whether it costs anything extra. I do have it connected via a PLM, which IS required to make things work.
I have a couple of switches that i have as spares that i check out to see how they are actually located. Some of the devices that i set upas scenes still seem to be in operation and are functioning. But obviously none of the devises are presently recognized by Alexa. Which was they way we would initiate everything. We have Alexa’s in every room, and use it as normal way turn on our lights, thermostats, TV’s as well as to handle all the scenes we maintain for different social situations.
Does X10 work with ZigBee?
I've also noticed google thinks she can dim the lights and the inteon app responds but the light doesn't change brightness. Once your devices are linked to the Hub again they will appear in Home Assistant automatically. The first time autodiscovery runs, the duration may require up to 60 seconds per device. Subsequent startups will occur much quicker using cached device information. If a device is not recognized during autodiscovery, trigger the device, such as toggling a button, to force the device to send a message to the modem. You may need to trigger the device a few times.
Like I had Broadlink, Ring, Tuya, Vizio TV, Spotify, Pandora … I am slowing ridding myself of all these as they are all controllable things by Home Assistant linked to my Nabu Casa account. I know there has been some discussion of the Insteon shutdown over on the SmartThings forum, but no one there has suggested the non zwave devices could be brought into SmartThings directly. Or better, if you believe your ISY can control your devices without a Hub/PLM/USB then unplug that device .
Home control for the rest of us.
There is also a USB stick version which is only RF as it does not plug into the wireline. Now after going from homeseer 1.0 to Wink to SmartThings, to Home Assistant and back to Homeseer 4.0 again. Even the Intermatic Handy and Master controllers.
If you have the time to wait and you want to see if it’s a good candidate once it does finally arrive, I think that makes sense. Smartthings is in the middle of a huge transition with a complete rewrite of their base architecture. Many of the old integrations will be going away, and even the way they were created is going away. The Insteon PLM directly connects to the ISY994 so that the ISY can issue Insteon commands over the power lines and via RF. If you don’t have one they may be difficult to get now. They are prone to capacitor failures in the power supply section but this is simple to repair so even a broken one may be good to get hold of.
Does anyone have experience with leak detectors and garage door opener‘s from Insteon? Besides the switches I have, I need to integrate the alarms that the leak detectors will send to my phone, or at least used to go to my phone before insteon shut down. I have found a number of device addresses that were not uploaded on my Home Assistant Device list. I assume there should be some way to manually upload them but I haven’t found anything on YouTube or by googling to tell me how to do it. There I have posted some screens which can help a person to understand scenes and how to use them.
The things like “Rooms” that existed in the Insteon App were with the App’s data and not exposed to Home Assistant. Instead, you can put devices into Home Assistant Area’s. If you open any switch/light you can expand the Advanced Settings, you can assign or change the Area in which you wish to gather the devices together.
It sounds like that March timeframe, when a sale fell through, would have been a good time to give one month's notice to your customers so they could plan for a smooth transition. A shutdown is never easy, but warning your customers that their gear is going to break soon seems like the absolute minimum a company can do. X10 is a protocol for communication among electronic devices used for home automation . … A wireless radio-based protocol transport is also defined.
To seek help I had to join forum where the software developer was part of, but I could never actually post questions or conversation directly to him. I spent 6 hrs on my initial attempt to set everything up and three days in frustration on the forum not getting direct assistance. But I believe none of those have committed to matter support yet. That doesn’t mean they won’t do it, but it means we just don’t know yet. That’s what people agree to when they create a smartthings account, although of course a lot of people don’t read the fine print.
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