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Insteon being discontinued?

jimg

By jimg
in Coffee Shop

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MrBill Advanced

MrBill

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, Teken said:


I don’t see a delete button on Tapatalk so gather it’s only available via the web interface.

image.thumb.png.95d332e54f3aa0aecb76fb678296e806.png

It's available via the web interface, but only for your own posts.

Back in the day that I ran forums, I turned that option off for users. I don't know whether or not this web application has that feature available to the admin.

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kclenden Advanced

kclenden

Posted
Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, MrBill said:

The thread appears to be SHRINKING..... we are again posting on page 40!

Maybe the thread has grown so large that it is collapsing under its own gravitational pull and will eventually become a black hole - though some might say that has already happened.  ?

Edited by kclenden
  • Haha 3
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upstatemike Advanced

upstatemike

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, kclenden said:

Maybe the thread has grown so large that it is collapsing under its own gravitational pull and will eventually become a black hole - though some might say that has already happened.  ?

Still shows page 41 for me. Doesn't matter anyway as we are in the final days of classic Insteon so there will be nothing left to talk about. Anybody get their Nokia preorder stuff yet? Just over a week left in the month so we should be seeing it soon!

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MrBill Advanced

MrBill

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, kclenden said:

For me your post again appears as the last post on page 40.  So isn't it really 1000 redux?

Yes.  I mis-understood the counter in the top right.  In other forum software I've worked with it's a post count not a "replies count", replies don't count the first post of the thread, only the subsequent "replies".

21 hours ago, MrBill said:

Now I understand that the count of "replies" starts at post two... The OP"s post is not included in "replies".

 

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idaholion Newbie

idaholion

Posted
Posted

I was hoping on getting real information rather than who was post 1000.  I started to wade through 1000 posts to determine what people are doing to find decent replacements for Insteon.  I have insteon smarthome items in my house, so I started using them in the rental house I purchased, since things like fanlinks and keypads worked so well for me in my house.  I tried to get a 1 switch mini remote that would let me put a switch on a wall where I couldn't use a wired switch.  Found out they are discontinued, only 8 position switches are offered now  Tried to get plug in lamplinks, they are discontinued.  In fact, all plug in modules, discontinued.  Micro dimmers?  discontinued.  Inline dimmers?  Discontinued.  weatherproof outdoor module?  Discontinued.  I confirmed with Insteon and Smarthome.  They aren't out of stock.  They are gone, not to be available in the future. I wonder if I should cut my losses and start over with some other brand that isn't wiping out half of its product line.  Who else has something like the fanling/keypad combo?  With the capability of being able to be controlled by phone from away from home  if desired?  

Sorry to drag you away from the  "who made the 1000th comment" topic.  Hope i can get some feedback.  Thanks 

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upstatemike Advanced

upstatemike

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, idaholion said:

I was hoping on getting real information rather than who was post 1000.  I started to wade through 1000 posts to determine what people are doing to find decent replacements for Insteon.  I have insteon smarthome items in my house, so I started using them in the rental house I purchased, since things like fanlinks and keypads worked so well for me in my house.  I tried to get a 1 switch mini remote that would let me put a switch on a wall where I couldn't use a wired switch.  Found out they are discontinued, only 8 position switches are offered now  Tried to get plug in lamplinks, they are discontinued.  In fact, all plug in modules, discontinued.  Micro dimmers?  discontinued.  Inline dimmers?  Discontinued.  weatherproof outdoor module?  Discontinued.  I confirmed with Insteon and Smarthome.  They aren't out of stock.  They are gone, not to be available in the future. I wonder if I should cut my losses and start over with some other brand that isn't wiping out half of its product line.  Who else has something like the fanling/keypad combo?  With the capability of being able to be controlled by phone from away from home  if desired?  

Sorry to drag you away from the  "who made the 1000th comment" topic.  Hope i can get some feedback.  Thanks 

I don't think we have come to a consensus yet on what the best future path would be. It kind of looks like it may be a whole new protocol probably called "Radio Control RA4 ZB-Wave" or something. 

If you want something today the best match for the devices you have called out is probably going to be Z-Wave or Zigbee. I don't think you can get where you want to go with Wi-Fi. Caseta would also be a reliable alternative but the device selection is very limited so you would have to see if it covers everything you need.

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apostolakisl Advanced

apostolakisl

Posted
Posted
17 hours ago, idaholion said:

I was hoping on getting real information rather than who was post 1000.  I started to wade through 1000 posts to determine what people are doing to find decent replacements for Insteon.  I have insteon smarthome items in my house, so I started using them in the rental house I purchased, since things like fanlinks and keypads worked so well for me in my house.  I tried to get a 1 switch mini remote that would let me put a switch on a wall where I couldn't use a wired switch.  Found out they are discontinued, only 8 position switches are offered now  Tried to get plug in lamplinks, they are discontinued.  In fact, all plug in modules, discontinued.  Micro dimmers?  discontinued.  Inline dimmers?  Discontinued.  weatherproof outdoor module?  Discontinued.  I confirmed with Insteon and Smarthome.  They aren't out of stock.  They are gone, not to be available in the future. I wonder if I should cut my losses and start over with some other brand that isn't wiping out half of its product line.  Who else has something like the fanling/keypad combo?  With the capability of being able to be controlled by phone from away from home  if desired?  

Sorry to drag you away from the  "who made the 1000th comment" topic.  Hope i can get some feedback.  Thanks 

If you have an ISY, I don't think you need to get all that hung up on it.  If you like the Insteon products that are still being sold, then buy them.  Since ISY can mesh many technologies together, you can mix and match.  Personally, I don't think Insteon is going out of business and I suspect that many of these currently unavailable items will be available in the future.

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MrBill Advanced

MrBill

Posted
Posted
17 hours ago, idaholion said:

Hope i can get some feedback. 

17 hours ago, idaholion said:

I started to wade through 1000 posts

Apparently you got bored reading quickly... ALL the views have been presented, discussed, reahashed, about 20+ times in this long thread. 

In a nutshell...  Insteon/smarthome's new owner is an investment fund... instead of offering a niche product line they will now offer only products that turn a profit for investors.

The marketplace has changed too... where plug in modules for lamp control were once popular the newer invention is the smart bulb which is less expensive. 

Clearly the way forward is far fewer SKU's... there's also a current Out-of-stock issues driven by the worldwide semi-conductor shortage, as well as the desire to produce adequate stock levels of new item being marketed under a partnership with Nokia... which has been affectionately dubbed Ninsteon.

For greater detail see the first half of this thread....

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Techman Advanced

Techman

Posted
Posted
45 minutes ago, MrBill said:

Apparently you got bored reading quickly... ALL the views have been presented, discussed, reahashed, about 20+ times in this long thread. 

In a nutshell...  Insteon/smarthome's new owner is an investment fund... instead of offering a niche product line they will now offer only products that turn a profit for investors.

The marketplace has changed too... where plug in modules for lamp control were once popular the newer invention is the smart bulb which is less expensive. 

Clearly the way forward is far fewer SKU's... there's also a current Out-of-stock issues driven by the worldwide semi-conductor shortage, as well as the desire to produce adequate stock levels of new item being marketed under a partnership with Nokia... which has been affectionately dubbed Ninsteon.

For greater detail see the first half of this thread....

A while back Insteon had a Smart bulb. It was discontinued. The manual is attached.

914265111_2672-222LEDBulbmanual.pdf

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apostolakisl Advanced

apostolakisl

Posted
Posted

I don't get the smart bulb thing at all.  What a PITA.  So first off, led's that are claimed to last 15 years just don't.  Except for the high end bulbs (which wifi bulbs never are).  So every few years you are replacing the bulb and screwing with reconfiguring all your connections and programs.  And then you have lamps that might have multiple bulbs.  So multiply that times 3 or whatever.  And finally, you only get to pick from a limited number of bulb styles and light type.  I just don't understand what is so bad about a lamp module.

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Teken Advanced

Teken

Posted
Posted
I don't get the smart bulb thing at all.  What a PITA.  So first off, led's that are claimed to last 15 years just don't.  Except for the high end bulbs (which wifi bulbs never are).  So every few years you are replacing the bulb and screwing with reconfiguring all your connections and programs.  And then you have lamps that might have multiple bulbs.  So multiply that times 3 or whatever.  And finally, you only get to pick from a limited number of bulb styles and light type.  I just don't understand what is so bad about a lamp module.

Nobody really knows if the plug-in module of whatever will come back in the new line or left abandoned in the Insteon line. Like you there are endless use cases for a plug-in module vs outlet.

I use both where it makes sense like a open area to keep that clean look while offering relay vs dimmer. Other areas I use the so called wall warts because it allows me to move something anywhere when needed. Since I live in Canada and the vast majority of JB are metal.

The plug-in modules insures the RF signalling to proper bridging / coupling is always present. If past experience is any indicator units failing along with housings breaking clean off would be some reasons for the two hardware to be killed off.

As it has been noted by me 9999999 times Smartlabs rarely if ever iterates an existing piece of hardware and simply lets it die. The jump from Appliance Link to the new modern style housing was literally the only major change along with integrating dual band and some really great diagnostics features into the relay version.

Look at the I/O Link 20 years later the company is still too lazy to update this very important integration tool!

MS II - Nothing to correct the existing bugs on this unit?!? Only to turn around and release another MS under the Nokia moniker?!?

Toggle switch as outdated and ugly as this design is. 20 years later this lazy company won’t update the same to dual band!

The argument is slow sales blah blah blah. When you don’t improve upon the technology from 1908 is it a surprise sales go down the toilet?!? So no I’m not surprised they killed it off as stated up above because this isn’t a serious company wanting to improve.
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upstatemike Advanced

upstatemike

Posted
Posted
36 minutes ago, apostolakisl said:

I don't get the smart bulb thing at all.  What a PITA.  So first off, led's that are claimed to last 15 years just don't.  Except for the high end bulbs (which wifi bulbs never are).  So every few years you are replacing the bulb and screwing with reconfiguring all your connections and programs.  And then you have lamps that might have multiple bulbs.  So multiply that times 3 or whatever.  And finally, you only get to pick from a limited number of bulb styles and light type.  I just don't understand what is so bad about a lamp module.

I don't know about anybody else but my reasons are as follows:

* I only deal with retrofit situations in old houses (nothing less than 100 years old). Existing fixtures often do not have switches or any way to wire to one. They have pull chains or some other fixture mounted switch. The easiest upgrade by far is to throw in a smart bulb plus a wireless switch and in minutes you have a better user experience in that room even if you don't do any further automating. Small fixture modules are sometimes a possible alternative but many light fixtures have no space for them and old electrical boxes definitely don't.

* Even if you think color bulbs look gimmicky or dumb the ability to adjust the color temperature of a white bulb can be very nice.

I would also note that it is a moot point with Insteon since they currently have no smart bulbs, no screw-in modules, and no plug in modules (probably on account of going out of business and all). I have 6 Insteon bulbs in my own bedroom wall sconces that I could never wire to a switch. Fortunately for me I also have 6 of the old Insteon screw in modules I can revert to when the bulbs ultimately die. I'm pretty sure neither of those products are coming back into production. Maybe Ninsteon will add plug in modules to their product line eventually but I don't think "eventually" exists for legacy Insteon.

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