Insteon being discontinued?

[MendozaJim]

SmartLabs is now producing a new product line named Nokia Smart Lighting (http://nokia.smartlabsinc.com/).  This article by Michael Brown at TechHive explains how SmartLabs is pouring all of their resources into this new product line and holding off on Insteon production.

https://www.techhive.com/article/3625886/nokia-smart-lighting-is-based-on-insteon.html

 

 

[lilyoyo1]

28 minutes ago, MendozaJim said:

SmartLabs is now producing a new product line named Nokia Smart Lighting (http://nokia.smartlabsinc.com/).  This article by Michael Brown at TechHive explains how SmartLabs is pouring all of their resources into this new product line and holding off on Insteon production.

https://www.techhive.com/article/3625886/nokia-smart-lighting-is-based-on-insteon.html

 

 

Old news. Already discussed on this post and numerous others

[Techman]

The Smartlabs / Nokia line still isn't available. It was scheduled to be released in September.  Not sure if it's due to parts shortages, delays in shipping as the products are made in China, or some other unknown issue.

The Insteon inventory is slowly being depleted, with very little still available from Smarthome. 

There's been no Smartlabs public press releases as to what the status is.

[stealle]

2 hours ago, lilyoyo1 said:

Old news. Already discussed on this post and numerous others

guess you told him 

[upstatemike]

No Black Friday deals. I guess Smarthome couldn't muster a last gasp to support another sale. RIP.

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, upstatemike said:

No Black Friday deals. I guess Smarthome couldn't muster a last gasp to support another sale. RIP.

You're obsessed with them aren't you?

[MrBill]

6 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said:

You're obsessed with them aren't you?

Didn't you hear?  they're going out of business!  ?

[asbril]

13 minutes ago, MrBill said:

Didn't you hear?  they're going out of business!  ?

Groundhog day.....

[lilyoyo1]

2 hours ago, MrBill said:

Didn't you hear?  they're going out of business!  ?

I really wish they would just so we can move on from the subject

[Michel Kohanim]

On 11/26/2021 at 9:59 AM, lilyoyo1 said:

I really wish they would just so we can move on from the subject

The last I heard, they were looking for buyers. So, your wish might come true sooner than you think ... 

With kind regards,
Michel

[Phasepilot]

Heard from Insteon that they aren't manufacturing due to supply chain issues but should be re-starting sometime in 2022.  Hopefully that's the case.

[stealle]

22 minutes ago, Phasepilot said:

Heard from Insteon that they aren't manufacturing due to supply chain issues but should be re-starting sometime in 2022.  Hopefully that's the case.

I totally believe that! ? 

[Teken]

25 minutes ago, Phasepilot said:

Heard from Insteon that they aren't manufacturing due to supply chain issues but should be re-starting sometime in 2022.  Hopefully that's the case.

There's an imbecil running the company literally into the ground just like Joe Dadda. They can't take a few moment to release a public statement affirming their supply issues?? ? ?They can't even pay their bills on time why would any vendor place them in the que for components / manufacturing???   

[DAlter01]

5 minutes ago, Teken said:

They can't even pay their bills on time why would any vendor place them in the que for components / manufacturing???   

That insight was one of the secrets of my success in business.  I paid vendors weekly.  When we needed something we were always at the front of the line with vendors in getting our needs met.  We dealt with some outfits that took 60-90 days to pay and only dealt with them if/when we had the time.  Since it seems Insteon has a history of slow pay, there really isn't any suprise they are not getting any components right now.  You reap what you sow.

[Teken]

10 minutes ago, DAlter01 said:

That insight was one of the secrets of my success in business.  I paid vendors weekly.  When we needed something we were always at the front of the line with vendors in getting our needs met.  We dealt with some outfits that took 60-90 days to pay and only dealt with them if/when we had the time.  Since it seems Insteon has a history of slow pay, there really isn't any suprise they are not getting any components right now.  You reap what you sow.

Exactly, and the consumer and all of the employee's are suffering due to this poor management. Any potential buyer is absolutely laughing their aszz off because this makes the company cheaper to buy!

I honestly wish this was twenty years ago because I would have bought this company from Joe Dadda and made it the market leader it could have been. 

What a complete waste  . . .

[Tim McDermott]

I'm now seeing a few folks selling capacitor replacement kits for the various Insteon PLMs. Rather than paying over $150 for the one 2413s I found on eBay, I went ahead and ordered a kit. There's certainly nothing more central to the continued use of our install base of Insteon devices than a PLM! I'm afraid this is what we've come to--repairing what we're got. I sure wish I had checked Smarthome before just highly recommending an Insteon/ISY base for a new home automation project a friend is considering. 

[PatPend]

No worries, in 2026 when Smartlabs' patent expires the market will be flooded with Insteon clones... /s

[Tim McDermott]

Worried, yeah. I doubt many of us have replacements stashed away to hold us until '26, especially given Insteon's notorious failure rate. Fortunately, I had the foresight to lay in an extra 2413s and some 2477ds. Having a whole-house surge suppressor has seemed to have decreased my fail rate significantly, as well. Perhaps a white knight will purchase Insteon's IP and resurrect to line soon.

[upstatemike]

Maybe this year will have some developments that will inform us on the direction HA is taking so we can decide if we even care what happens to Insteon in the long run.

There seems to be a trend in demand for more local control and less cloud dependency. "No subscription required" will likely replace "no hub required" in mass marketing. The question is how dependent new protocols will be on a central hub vs smarts in the devices themselves. A true Insteon replacement will follow the model of putting the associations/groups/scenes in device memory such that once the hub sets things up devices can operate on their own without the hub being a single point of failure for normal functions. The hub would still be needed to integrate with other technologies or to perform if/then logic of course but current Insteon alternatives are still too dependent on their hubs for basic functions to be good candidates to move on to.

[Tim McDermott]

I agree the "hardware centric" aspect of Insteon is probably its most valuable feature. It's a real comfort to be able to continue to access my devices via say a Mini Remote in the infrequent times Alexa is unavailable, for whatever reason. And the instantaneous reaction of scenes is unbeatable. 

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, upstatemike said:

Maybe this year will have some developments that will inform us on the direction HA is taking so we can decide if we even care what happens to Insteon in the long run.

There seems to be a trend in demand for more local control and less cloud dependency. "No subscription required" will likely replace "no hub required" in mass marketing. The question is how dependent new protocols will be on a central hub vs smarts in the devices themselves. A true Insteon replacement will follow the model of putting the associations/groups/scenes in device memory such that once the hub sets things up devices can operate on their own without the hub being a single point of failure for normal functions. The hub would still be needed to integrate with other technologies or to perform if/then logic of course but current Insteon alternatives are still too dependent on their hubs for basic functions to be good candidates to move on to.

All of that would be nice but I'm not seeing that happen at any level. At least when it comes to DIY solutions. There's simply no money in trying to create a protocol from scratch and sell it at a low price for a decent profit and existing (popular) solutions aren't capable of that at a high level the way insteon is. 

[dbwarner5]

Simple question, @Michel Kohanimprobably has a complex and legal answer, but here goes anyway:

In regards to Insteon, the PLM has always been one of the weakest links in the chain (besides ceiling fan modules and the new junk MSIIs!!). But it is also the MOST critical.  With limitations of 1000 links and constant failures, it greatly detracts from the awesome UD technology.

Cant the Polisy have an optional module in it that would replace the PLM, using its own AC cord to get into the line and its own RF transmitter? That way, we would have UD reliability etc etc. 

[MrBill]

53 minutes ago, dbwarner5 said:

Cant the Polisy have an optional module in it that would replace the PLM, using its own AC cord to get into the line and its own RF transmitter? That way, we would have UD reliability etc etc. 

This has actually been answered by Michel before, it wasn't for Polisy but UDI developed a competing PLM with smarthome/smarlab's/Insteon's full consent. They even had a prototype or 2.   Before it got to production Insteon got cold feet and refused to provide the required chips for the design.   They hold a patent that hasn't yet expired... someone posted something about 2025 for that in another thread, but I don't know if that's accurate or not.

[Tim McDermott]

Just received. Perhaps there's hope?

 

Update for Case 1163606 - "Product Availability"

Hi Timothy,

Thank you for contacting Smarthome Support.

Our apologies for the inconvenience caused. We understand that you would like to know about the availability of our products, we would be happy to assist you further!

Unfortunately, we are sorry to inform you that the Insteon Dimmer Switch (Item # 2477D) is out of stock (backorder) due to component shortages, and currently, we do not have an ETA on when the Insteon Dimmer Switch (Item # 2477D) will be back in stock, but we hope to have products back in stock by mid of this year.

Again we apologize for the inconvenience caused.

We are sorry for the delay in responding to your email.

Feel Free to write to us for any further assistance.

Regards,

Martin Brown

[MrBill]

2 minutes ago, Tim McDermott said:

but we hope to have products back in stock by mid of this year.

previously they were quoting March/April as I recall from something someone else posted... so this is adding months "Mid this year could be June or July or it could include august if "mid" is interpreted as the middle season (i.e. summer).