2245-222 HUB II - Tare Down & Review

[Teken]

I received a care package from a good friend on the forum which allowed me to perform a short term review and tare down of the latest HUB II.

It should be noted (full disclosure) that I have never been much of a fan of the Smartlabs HA Controllers. The primary reason is the use of cheap parts which translates to short 2 year service life. Other factors such as no method to update the firmware along with almost no possible future updates to the platform.

Lastly, over the years these controllers have offered almost no real options or features or in some instances not even supporting their very own hardware?

Really?!?!?

The HUB II is the 5th generation of the controllers offered by Smartlabs which there are 7 in the product mix or soon to be.

For those keeping count the following controllers and their like were offered over the years. Anyone who has owned any flavor of these controllers can attest to the things I have offered here.

iGateway, SmartLinc, HUB v1, HUB v2, HUB II, HUB Pro, HUB Alljoyn. It should be mentioned various controllers were able to use and connect using the now end of life product of House Linc (HL2) software.

HL2 provided the end user more conditional logic not found in the base controllers. Along with a very nice suite of diagnostic tools to help determine half links, COM issues, to remotely updating a MS unit simply by walking by the FOV.

The first thing I wanted to load up was a break down of this new square HUB II unit. Annotations and images are to follow as I am loading them from my iPhone.

 

To purchase this new HUB II you can follow this link: http://www.smarthome.com/insteon-2245-222-hub.html The full users manual can be obtained by following this link: http://cache-m2.smarthome.com/manuals/2245-222-en-03-26-2015.pdf

 

 

This is a comparisons of the HUB II against other more expensive competing products.

 

 

This is a comparisons of the older 2242-222 rectangle HUB v2 vs the 2245-222 square body HUB II.

 

 

Lastly, this is a direct comparisons of the new HUB Pro vs the HUB II.

 

 

As seen below the outer casing is held together by 4 small screws. The unit has two long slits for venting and two screw mounts on the under side of its base. This unit on hand was a hardware Rev 1.0 produced in 3614.

 

The actual base has four gray rubber feet and don't appear to have the marring issue from the 2440 remote linc of past years.

 

Inside of the lower base plate.

The single layer PCB appeared to be well made and lots of residue flux was apparent on this production unit. The PCB is held in place by four additional smaller screws.



The bottom of the case has a LED flute to direct the light upwards for better visibility.



I was rather surprised to see and feel that on either side of this unit are two massive metal lined bars. I summize these metal bars are to focus the RF signal along with reducing its over all signal output governed by the FCC.

I wasn't able to remove the metal bars from its current placement but its fair to say 70% of the actual weight of the HUB II unit comes from these massively heavy metal plates.



As can be seen in the photo below this unit has two antenna's which are glued in place to two foam support boards. The bulk of the electronics are surface mounted devices using wave soldering techniques seen in many production gear.

Sadly, it was not surprising to see that many of the IC were unmarked. There are 5 capacitors in this unit which have some markings indicating value and voltage. The other components had absolutely nothing on the outside to determine their rating or values.

[Teken]

Place holder

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Teken]

Review Notes:

 

PROS:

 

- Small and light form factor which can be placed or mounted anywhere.

 

- Long 250 FT RF line of sight range as stated by the maker.

 

- Low energy consumption which the advert indicates as 2 watts. My diagnostic testing confirms 1.9 - 2.1 watts depending upon what the unit is doing.

 

- The system ran very cool and became only slightly warm over a 24 hour period.

 

- Very easy set up and configuration via the smartphone application. My setup took less than 5 minutes from start to finish which bold's well for novice and those looking to get out of the hole quickly.

 

- As far as I can tell the HUB II supports all of the basic devices I had on hand with caveats listed on the CON section.

 

- Offers simple push & email notification with the ability to add multiple contacts with caveats listed in the CON section.

 

- This unit is field up-gradable and this was seen the very first time I had plugged the unit in. Caveats are listed below in the CON section.

 

- The system has a basic dusk to dawn feature.  Caveats are listed below in the CON section.

 

- The unit provides automatic port forwarding and WAN access with out any user intervention. Caveats are listed below in the CON section.

 

- The unit provides an extremely clean and easy user interface which reflects the Apple feel and look. The system offers 6-7 pages of bubble art to reflect the most common Insteon devices and related gear / appliances in the home. Caveats are listed below in the CON section.

 

- Very low price for those who purchased this unit for $39.99 and still a great value at the $79.99 price point for those wanting only the most basic controller to extend their Insteon network.

 

 

CONS:

 

- DEVICE SUPPORT: It was noted that the current iOS Application does not offer any of the advanced options as seen in the ISY Series Controller. They are RF, Powerline, Smarthops, Message cleanup, Blink on error, LED disable.

 

 

It should be noted that various smartphone platforms also show disparity between one another. Meaning some features are available on iOS, Andriod, but not on Windows etc.

 

 

NOTIFICATION: The system has a very basic notification which allows the end user to set up for On / Off states as seen below. The system has no ability to define when notification should be sent based on time, schedule etc.

 

Meaning you can be bombarded with endless alerts with absolutely no method to fine tune them.

 

These notifications also do not operate if the device is remotely controlled or scheduled to activate. Meaning the On / Off notification only operate if you physically (locally) operate the device? 

 

The latest iteration of this firmware / software also removes the advertised SMS ability and replaces it with Push Notification and email. As was seen in the SH forum quite a few people were taken aback and upset this feature was removed.

 

It should be noted this is exactly one of many reasons a cloud based service can not be relied upon. Features and options can and will go away with out notice or recourse to the end user.

 

 

FIRMWARE: The system has the ability to be field up-gradable. It should be noted that the end user has absolutely no say as to when this will happen and you can not roll back to a previous firmware release.

 

This was seen during the on boarding process where the smartphone app indicated a software / firmware load was available and would automatically be done? 

 

This is a terrible idea from the onset because Smartlabs has been known over the years to remove features and capabilities from a device without reason or just cause. They have also shown very little care and control on testing their hardware / firmware and use their end users as Beta testers to flesh out bugs.

 

History has also proven they are extremely slow if not *could care less* about providing solid time lines of fix's in the works or when a solution will be provided.

 

Smarthome / Smartlabs has a zero response policy on engaging the customer base. This behavior has been seen over a ten year period and hasn't stopped.

 

As a point of reference for those unaware the following devices have been summarily updated and features removed or adjusted with out notice.

 

Leak Sensor, Open Close (Trigger Linc), Lamp Linc, Appliance Linc, KPL, etc.

 

Lastly, most recently a update to a Windows App caused all of the users to lose features or capabilities? Doesn't Smartlabs have some kind of QA prior to release or do they simply use the end users as a Beta tester?

 

 

ACCESS & CONTROL: This device is 100% cloud based and relies on a constant 24-7-365 connection to the Internet to add, remove, create, and perform global changes to the HUB II.

 

There is no method to do any of the above locally via the LAN and direct IP address. As seen below the only thing a person sees when the direct LAN IP is accessed is the following.

 

For those who want more privacy, security, and the ability to access and do basic additions, deletions, scene, schedules, good luck!

 

You have zero ability to do so here . . .

 

Will they offer local access and control in the future I highly doubt it. The reason I can say this is the fact the company doesn't really show a long term vision in terms of their controllers. The bulk of them are simply released into the wild and left to die. 

 

This was seen in all of the previous controllers up to generation 4. It is also considered that there is not enough memory to allow very much upgrades in this box. This is bolstered by the fact many companies use the cloud as a means of or thin client solution.

 

This reduces actual hardware costs because the bulk of the processing, storage, and memory is utilized by the cloud infrastructure.  

 

 

 

 

DUSK TO DAWN: The current software does not allow the person to adjust the dusk to dawn with a +/- minutes / hours. 

 

 

 

DST BUG: In its current form the system has been updated to address a persistent DST bug. Which left people with schedules off by 1 hour either forward or back. There was no method and still is no method to set the time manually in this device.

 

 

REAL TIME CLOCK (RTC): The system relies on the cloud to time sync its devices. There have been many customers reporting in that the HUB II has the same time drift as previous generation devices such as the 2412N Smartlinc. The fact they couldn't add in a $0.25 RTC device to insure accurate time could be kept is mind boggling.

 

Even if that could not be done there should be a method to access and sync to a time server. It should not be relied upon by the *Magic Happy Cloud* to do so.

 

Why?

 

Because many people still saw a time drift even connected to the Internet?

 

 

CLOUD SERVICE: As can be seen leaving your system reliant on a cloud based system is a recipe of disaster. Many people are under the impression that the Internet and cloud based services are infallible.

 

They are not and even the largest companies such as Apple, Microsoft, let alone Smartlabs is prone to service interruptions.

 

What are you going to do if you rely on the cloud service to monitor the state of your sensors such as leak, entry, doors? Any mission critical system should be accessible and have local capabilities that do not rely upon other third party vendors or many hops in the systems infrastructure.

 

 

As can be seen it took Smartlabs 15 days to resolve this Push Notification issue? The bottom line is you should not count on cloud hosted service for mission critical systems and alert notifications.

 

[Brian H]

Thanks for the tear down. The added photos complement the ones Smartlabs submitted to the FCC Database.

I added  them to my folder for the HUB II data.

 

Could be the two weights on the side. Are to add weight so it doesn't slide all over the place if on a table or shelf.

 

I did see the LNK354GN switching power supply IC in you photos.

 

I have seen the double sticky foam pads. Holding antenna wires in other Dual Band devices.

[lilyoyo1]

Great write up. I did want to add a few counterpoints however. I never compare the hub or any cheaply priced device to the ISY. IMO thats like comparing a compact car to a luxury car. Your not going to get the same things.  The market that the hub is designed for doesn't need those additional features. If anything, it will get them in trouble. 

 

In regards to the cloud, I agree with every point that you make. While I understand why Insteon and other mfg. have gone the cloud route, I feel that people who use those products for security is taking a calculated risk. For me, it's sort of like riding around with no insurance. Will you get in an accident? Probably not and you will be ok. But that slight chance is not worth it to me (which is why I use the ISY along with Alarm system. 

 

I see the hub as a gateway device. Most people do not know what automation is truly capable. For them going from flipping a switch to having your phone do it for you, its a major step up. The hub allows for that control at an affordable price. Once you get accustomed to the system and you start seeing what automation is really about, at that point, you can step up to the ISY or a controller such as that. 

 

Lastly, it's about dollars and cents. You get what you pay for. While it would be nice to have more features, Looking at software costs and the cost of the ISY, I personally have low expectations for an eighty dollar dollar device. I wouldn't expect a device to have the features of more expensive software (though some do I am sure). Personally, I think Smarthome has a better idea about things that what it looks like on the surface. The hub is all over. While it may look like they are throwing things to see what sticks, they are giving people what they want at a low cost and when the winds change, it's easier for someone to move on since they are not as vested in their controller. 

[Teken]

Great write up. I did want to add a few counterpoints however. I never compare the hub or any cheaply priced device to the ISY. IMO thats like comparing a compact car to a luxury car. Your not going to get the same things.  The market that the hub is designed for doesn't need those additional features. If anything, it will get them in trouble. 

 

In regards to the cloud, I agree with every point that you make. While I understand why Insteon and other mfg. have gone the cloud route, I feel that people who use those products for security is taking a calculated risk. For me, it's sort of like riding around with no insurance. Will you get in an accident? Probably not and you will be ok. But that slight chance is not worth it to me (which is why I use the ISY along with Alarm system. 

 

I see the hub as a gateway device. Most people do not know what automation is truly capable. For them going from flipping a switch to having your phone do it for you, its a major step up. The hub allows for that control at an affordable price. Once you get accustomed to the system and you start seeing what automation is really about, at that point, you can step up to the ISY or a controller such as that. 

 

Lastly, it's about dollars and cents. You get what you pay for. While it would be nice to have more features, Looking at software costs and the cost of the ISY, I personally have low expectations for an eighty dollar dollar device. I wouldn't expect a device to have the features of more expensive software (though some do I am sure). Personally, I think Smarthome has a better idea about things that what it looks like on the surface. The hub is all over. While it may look like they are throwing things to see what sticks, they are giving people what they want at a low cost and when the winds change, it's easier for someone to move on since they are not as vested in their controller. 

 

As always your counter points are much appreciated.

 

To be fair (I always try to be honest) yes its unfair to compare a $39.99 - $79.99 controller to a $2XX - 4XX unit like the ISY Series Controller.

 

My goal here was to point out in one concise spot what the attributes and limitations of the current HUB II and their like which has cloud dependencies. There is absolutely no reason why the most basic programming control is not available locally to the end user, none.

 

I can also accept the fact *What do you expect from a cheap controller in the sub $80.XX* because to be quite honest its heads and shoulders better than the 2412N SmartLinc.

 

If I was to view this as the next generation 2412N SmartLinc than you know what?

 

This is a very nice upgrade from that device and accept its the next version of such. Ultimately, I would like to see Smartlabs be allowed to unleash their full engineering potential in this space. They are in my mind doing quite well in the other hardware areas and lots of improvements have been seen over the years.

 

Perhaps the HUB Alljoyn platform is the next evolution and door which we shall see real potential given its geared toward the 3rd party developers etc. What Smartlabs should have gleaned over the years is to apply what they have learned over the years in previous generation controllers and integrated more of what they had on hand.

 

Since they insist upon using the *Hosted Cloud Service* there is no reason why conditional logic, and diagnostics can't be made available.

 

That's why its called the cloud . . .

 

You leverage the computational power and resources to allow you to offer more features and options. This is not being done and what really chaps my aszz more than anything.

 

If you're going to use the cloud how about you actually use it??

 

Overall I do want to state the sample I have and the short time playing with this thing. In my mind is a solid product and offers lots of value to those seeking to enter the market at the lowest price point. I always say this and will continue to do so, who ever is the designer of the Insteon product line deserves a raise!

 

The HUB II is sleek, sexy, and elegant . . . It's over all start to finish enrollment of devices is fast, clean, and makes sense. I have mostly been an observer in reviewing this device from other people and have never had the chance to do a full on start to finish set up.

 

In the end I hope people read my review of this product and understand expectations need to be set and what you're getting for your money. Also, my hopes are that Insteon / Smartlabs takes what I have written and decides to improve upon some of these limitations.

 

Listening to your customer base always results in more revenue . . . 

[elvisimprsntr]

@Teken

 

I know your review is not the Pro model, which supports HomeKit, but if you know...

 

Can the Hub Pro be used in conjunction with the ISY as a secondary controller purely for Siri voice control?

 

If so, can the topology and links be imported from the ISY?

 

Or should I roll up my sleeves and get the NodeJS version of HK running on a RPi?

[Teken]

@Teken

 

I know your review is not the Pro model, which supports HomeKit, but if you know...

 

Can the Hub Pro be used in conjunction with the ISY as a secondary controller purely for Siri voice control?

 

If so, can the topology and links be imported from the ISY?

 

Or should I roll up my sleeves and get the NodeJS version of HK running on a RPi?

 

I have two clients who intend to try this out at some point in time when their HUB Pro arrives. They have asked me to try to integrate the two systems with the same goals as you.

 

I am unsure if this is the best route to follow given the obvious conflict and the fact status can never be 100% accurate. One of the clients intends to deploy it the way I suggested and that is to select key areas where only the HUB Pro has complete command and control of the Insteon product.

 

There will be no association, links, scenes related to the ISY Series Controller.

 

I believe this is a good compromise and insures stability, reliability, and balance while having Siri control. Although I am highly skeptical that the need for voice control is something 99% of the populace will need or use on a daily basis. The only reason this person is doing this *trial* is because I helped his father who is very much physically challenged do his home using Mobilinc.

 

Overall he was very impressed in the Mobilinc voice control but wanted to see and validate if using the Siri interface will provide a much cleaner and easier method for voice control. Given the fact the HUB Pro has been halted due issues with Apples Homekit this testing may take awhile to complete.

 

I believe its best to let others blaze a trail in the next 6-12 months and let the dust settle while this whole Homekit gets more hammered out and Insteon gets their act together as to supporting all sensors and other 3rd party Apple Homekit hardware.

 

Apple Home Kit has lots of potential for sure but at this moment I wouldn't drop any funds toward this hardware or HA protocol.