Insteon HUB (2245) cloud servers shut down

[upstatemike]

5 minutes ago, Rabbit910 said:

If the owners of the server software (Nokia?) would charge a minimum subscription service to keep the server software running, I think this would be reasonable solution to get it back online.  The Insteon system is very reliable, and I hate moving away from it.

 

I'm not clear what the servers have to do with anything? If you were using an Insteon hub as your ISY/Polisy interface then spend $40 on a USB PLM and life goes on as before.

[n0kjf]

1 hour ago, Teken said:

Are you asking about a Insteon HUB or a 3rd party controller? If its a Insteon HUB it makes no difference if you purchase a new / old one as the Insteon servers are shut down. If on the other hand you want a controller that will provide you even more control and integration:

https://www.universal-devices.com/#powerful

 

I'm looking for a 3rd party replacement hub that can take to the insteon devices.  I'm looking at the Univ devices now. 

Thanks,

Lew

[upstatemike]

Good News!

https://www.insteon.com/systemstatus

 

[Teken]

1 minute ago, n0kjf said:

I'm looking for a 3rd party replacement hub that can take to the insteon devices.  I'm looking at the Univ devices now. 

Thanks,

Lew

Hi Lew,

If you intend to migrate to a new third party controller (Polisy Pro) you'll need to quickly pick up a Insteon USB dongle from eBay.

[ClickChick]

I don't know what to say.  I am still in shock a day later.  I am not a very technical person.  I know very little about this stuff. I am glad to have found this forum but I am also afraid because I don't understand what everyone is talking about. I bought insteon outlets,switches, a ceiling fan controller, and a hub and replaced pretty much everything on the 1st floor of our house back in 2017.  I bought more devices a couple years ago for a room upstirs but never got around to hiring the electician to install them.  I had meant to order more for another the last room but never made the purchase becuase I thought there was no rush...lol

Since the downstairs installation everything has worked well and we have become very dependant on controlling things with Alexa. Since I had no issues I never thought to do any research (set it and forget it) and was oblivious to the fact that the company was in trouble. I thought this was an amazing system so didn't wonder about the companies viability.  Needless to say this disconnection hit me like a sledge hammer.

I see people throwing all kinds of letters, numbers. and names around but it means nothing to me.  Given what everyone on here seems to know and given that I know nothing, I was hoping that someone could advise if there is any hope that my current insteon devices will ever be remotely usable again (voice or app controlled)?  I don't want to make any rash decisions but if there is anything I need to do right away to preserve any chance of saving my system I would like to know.

At first my app was just stuck on the clock(spinning circle) but now it asks me to sign in and won't accept what I think is my username and password (I don't think i have had to input it since i set everything up in 2017)

I really appreciate any advise that the experts on this forum can provide.  Thanks for taking the time to listening.  I hope to recover from the realization of this disaster soon

 

[g800]

Stupid question:

 

So for the solution, do we buy a polisy pro, connect that to router, and then this USB dongle that Teken mentioned, is that this:?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353621496562?hash=item52557bd2f2:g:nssAAOSwciphFce3
 

If so, how does that allow me to still operate my lights from my smartphone?

[Ross]

I will say that this is a Golden Opportunity for UDI and those who support UDI to take a moment this weekend to determine how best they can assist all of these hub users who have been thrown to the wolves.  Not to be snarky, but there really needs to be a "Polisy for Dummies" board on here and a step-by-step transition for all the non-tech hub owners to come over to UDI.   Maybe UDI needs to buy about 1000 UBS Dongles to help with the transition.

As I've said before, many on this board talk over the head of many trying to learn what they need to do next - ClickChick above is a perfect example of who we should bring on board and assist.  It will take a bit of dedication.

ClickChick - most of us feel your pain and would like to help you.  Polisy is not as crazy as you think, but it can be scary to jump into.  However, if you have a lot of Insteon devices, it's your only option at the moment.

Ross

 

[lilyoyo1]

Just now, Ross said:

I will say that this is a Golden Opportunity for UDI and those who support UDI to take a moment this weekend to determine how best they can assist all of these hub users who have been thrown to the wolves.  Not to be snarky, but it really needs to be a "Polisy for Dummies" board on here and a step-by-step transition for all the non-tech hub owners to come over to UDI.   Maybe UDI needs to buy about 1000 UBS Dongles to help with the transition.

As I've said before, many on this board talk over the head of many trying to learn what the need to do next - ClickChick above is a perfect example of who we should bring on board and assist.  It will take a bit of dedication.

ClickChick - most of us feel your pain and would like to help you.  Polisy is not as crazy as you think, but it can be scary to jump into.  However, if you have a lot of Insteon devices, it's your only option at the moment.

Ross

 

It's not UDI's job to cover for INSTEON. UDI can want to buy as many chips as they want but INSTEON has to be willing to sell them and sell them at a price that it makes sense for UDI. 

With that said, it's hard and costly to develop a simple click by click interface with 2 competing interfaces along with all the disparate options that both controllers offers. Simply put, the return on investment has to be worth it. 

[FloridaGary]

1 hour ago, Teken said:

Hi Lew,

If you intend to migrate to a new third party controller (Polisy Pro) you'll need to quickly pick up a Insteon USB dongle from eBay.

That's what I did. A few hours ago, the eBay seller was only showing 10 left when I purchased. I also spoke to UD and not surprisingly, they are getting inundated from Insteon owners. It looks like I'll be migrating to Polisy. UD is working hard to identify sources that can provide the PLM's needed for what will be The Great Migration.

[ClickChick]

2 hours ago, Ross said:

I will say that this is a Golden Opportunity for UDI and those who support UDI to take a moment this weekend to determine how best they can assist all of these hub users who have been thrown to the wolves.  Not to be snarky, but there really needs to be a "Polisy for Dummies" board on here and a step-by-step transition for all the non-tech hub owners to come over to UDI.   Maybe UDI needs to buy about 1000 UBS Dongles to help with the transition.

As I've said before, many on this board talk over the head of many trying to learn what they need to do next - ClickChick above is a perfect example of who we should bring on board and assist.  It will take a bit of dedication.

ClickChick - most of us feel your pain and would like to help you.  Polisy is not as crazy as you think, but it can be scary to jump into.  However, if you have a lot of Insteon devices, it's your only option at the moment.

Ross

 

 

2 hours ago, g800 said:

Stupid question:

 

So for the solution, do we buy a polisy pro, connect that to router, and then this USB dongle that Teken mentioned, is that this:?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353621496562?hash=item52557bd2f2:g:nssAAOSwciphFce3
 

If so, how does that allow me to still operate my lights from my smartphone?

Ross, I saw g800's post and several other mentions of a 2448A7 USB adabtor if I go with the Polisy solution?  If so, I should probably try to get one right away.  Thanks.

Edit:  Just to be on the safe side I bought one.  Figured from other posts it might keep my options open.  I figured it was best to get one while I could.

[FloridaGary]

1 hour ago, lilyoyo1 said:

It's not UDI's job to cover for INSTEON. UDI can want to buy as many chips as they want but INSTEON has to be willing to sell them and sell them at a price that it makes sense for UDI. 

With that said, it's hard and costly to develop a simple click by click interface with 2 competing interfaces along with all the disparate options that both controllers offers. Simply put, the return on investment has to be worth it. 

It may not be "UDI's job to cover for Insteon", but I agree with Ross. This is a tremendous business opportunity for UD to not only gain new customers, but loyal customers for helping them/us out.

[LynnOnline]

11 hours ago, MrBill said:

Smarhome appears to have shut off their cloud servers which operate 2245 Hubs.

It appears there is a path for you to migrate to home assistant using that hub.  DO NOT FACTORY RESET IT.

I have very little information on this other than a user on reddit is reporting success. 

 My son's house uses this hub and I've ordered a Pi so he can run Home Assistant and we will be trying this, but have not yet.

Please Keep all 2245 Server shutdown discussion in this thread.

 

Sadly, my husban did the reset when things went south early today. That said, we have lamps we can no longer control etc. Is there a simple replacement hub that just uses our local network? I'm not sure all of the topology of the devices (plugs, mainly). Are they on our local network or were they dependent on the cloud? Put another way, is there a local replacement hub that can discover our plugs etc. and that has a local wifi app?

[lilyoyo1]

32 minutes ago, FloridaGary said:

It may not be "UDI's job to cover for Insteon", but I agree with Ross. This is a tremendous business opportunity for UD to not only gain new customers, but loyal customers for helping them/us out.

Still has to matter in regards to ROI. If the numbers dont add up then its not worth it.

[FireRunt]

Hello.

Hello.

 

I’ve had about 50 insteon switches/sensors/etc installed in my house about 10 years ago. I’m a computer guy… But do not really know Linux or how to fully make the home assistant work properly. Does anybody have a full walk-through of how I can get everything up and running again, or maybe a new device to buy that will be compatible with all of my equipment? I use Alexa as well… And as I am sure you are all aware of, does not work properly if the Insteon hub is down 

Thanks

[FloridaGary]

6 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said:

Still has to matter in regards to ROI. If the numbers dont add up then its not worth it.

The ROI has already been determined in the products/price point they sell at. This is a chance to sell more product. What doesn’t add up? Be specific. 

[upstatemike]

1 hour ago, FireRunt said:

Hello.

Hello.

 

I’ve had about 50 insteon switches/sensors/etc installed in my house about 10 years ago. I’m a computer guy… But do not really know Linux or how to fully make the home assistant work properly. Does anybody have a full walk-through of how I can get everything up and running again, or maybe a new device to buy that will be compatible with all of my equipment? I use Alexa as well… And as I am sure you are all aware of, does not work properly if the Insteon hub is down 

Thanks

Polisy Pro Hub plus an Insteon PLM such as https://www.amazon.com/Insteon-2448A7-Portable-Adapter-White/dp/B0046V767Y/ref=sr_1_10?crid=3JPN31S2MF74K&keywords=insteon&qid=1650075924&sprefix=Insteon%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-10

This will work with Alexa.

I would not wait too long to get the PLM though, they might be gone by tomorrow!

[armymutt]

I'm in the same boat as everyone else.  I looked at ISY years ago, but stuck with the Instegone hub.  I was dabbling with CastleOS in 2014 or so and realized that I bought a 2413U.  Found it in my spare parts box with an Insteon bulb tonight.  I have about 2 months to set this thing up before I head out for many months and leave my wife with a house previously controlled by Alexa via the hub.  From reading this thread, it sounds like Polisy is the way to go?  I stayed away from the ISY because It was a bit intimidating for the time I could devote to learning it.  She's going to be home with two kids under 7 while working full time, which means I need something that is practically fire and forget or I'll be dead.  Mostly she'll use it to control lights via the switch modules.  I would like remote access, but that's not a major requirement.

[lilyoyo1]

7 hours ago, FloridaGary said:

The ROI has already been determined in the products/price point they sell at. This is a chance to sell more product. What doesn’t add up? Be specific. 

UDI's business isn't just isy and polisy. The man hours it takes to make the hub work with polisy  as if it were a standard PLM does add up to significant dollars. When you add the fact that  means lost time for working on their own projects (they have other stuff besides isy/polisy), the ROI has to add up. 

I remember when I first looked at RTI and INSTEON. I abandoned it because it wasn't worth the time and effort.  Ditto when I first left INSTEON behind. I caught hell. Was told how I was leaving money on the table etc. Yet, i make 3x that on any given house now than i did then. 

Not all money is good money. What sounds like a good deal isnt always a good deal. On the surface it seems like a win for UDI. If you look at their other business adventures and time, it may not be worth it

[Bumbershoot]

5 hours ago, ClickChick said:

Edit:  Just to be on the safe side I bought one.  Figured from other posts it might keep my options open.  I figured it was best to get one while I could.

Now, if you can get your hands on a Polisy, you should be able to keep your Insteon investment alive.  Don't expect it to be simple, but this can actually be a vast improvement over your experience with the Insteon hub.  Expect a learning curve, sometimes a steep one.

[FireRunt]

They were sold out by the time I saw this post  I am not sure what a PLM even is.  I already have the Insteon 2245-222 hub. I would still need this Polisy thing along with the PLM thing? Forgive my noob questions…I’m at a complete loss here unless I can figure something out

I did order a hubitat to try out. Does anyone know of the Insteon add on will work with it? If so, how?

[Athlon]

3 hours ago, FireRunt said:

They were sold out by the time I saw this post  I am not sure what a PLM even is.  I already have the Insteon 2245-222 hub. I would still need this Polisy thing along with the PLM thing? Forgive my noob questions…I’m at a complete loss here unless I can figure something out

I did order a hubitat to try out. Does anyone know of the Insteon add on will work with it? If so, how?

Because of supply chain issues the PLMs and Policys discussed here could be very difficult to get quickly. PLMs may never be available again (we just don't know about that today). UDI is trying to acquire some as I write this, but it could take a while. Policys are in short supply as are many things with 'chips' in them.

The reason for the start of this thread was to warn everyone with a dead hub not to factory reset it (wipe it).

Why? Because there may be a very cost effective and relatively quick solution for you. It's called Home Assistant. If set up properly it will read your setup from your current Hub and you will be good to go. (That's the simple explanation.) If you reset your Hub, there will be nothing to read and you will have to start over.

The OP of this thread will be posting a guide about how to do just that after he does it himself for his son.

For HA (Home Assistant) all you will need is a Raspberry Pi and some free software (I think I'm correct when I say that.) (I'm running a Policy Pro, so I'm not using HA.)

Stay tuned...

 

[Athlon]

2 hours ago, FireRunt said:

I am not sure what a PLM even is.

It's the communication link between the Policy and your Insteon devices. Remember, the Policy can control a lot more than just Insteon devices - it's not just a replacement for your Hub. Insteon is only one of the many things it can control.

See the list here:

https://forum.universal-devices.com/forum/221-polyglot-v3-node-servers-pg3/

 

[Markee]

Wish I would have seen this web area before I reset my hub.  Is it now a boat anchor?   What next?  Any hope to reactivate the hub?  What is the recommended replacement technology? 

[Athlon]

3 minutes ago, Markee said:

Wish I would have seen this web area before I reset my hub.  Is it now a boat anchor?   What next?  Any hope to reactivate the hub?  What is the recommended replacement technology? 

When you ask for recommended replacements here (in a UDI forum), you will likely see a Policy as the answer. We as users are certainly partial to that.

Otherwise - see my post just above yours. HA could be a solution for you if all you want to do is get your Insteon stuff running again. Because you reset your Hub you'll have to start over like you did when you first bought your Hub.

Is your Hub a boat anchor? Most likely, yes. There are some very creative folks out there though.

[MR_CW]

I've been using insteon for many years. Fortunately about 5 years ago I migrated to ISY also and ran both hubs in parallel. Since insteon was native to Alexa, I used ISY for major programs and the Insteon Hub for voice commands. 

 

I have about 60 insteon devices in the house and the good news is they all still work in PL and Radio mode. I also have about 20 spare keypads and dimmer switches. 

 

When the Hub went red at first I thought it died but went on line and realized the plug was pulled.

I deleted all the insteon devices from Alexa, installed the Portal and paid the subscription and got the ISY hub up and running in a couple of hours. Still tweaking device names as I have alot of different devices on several platforms.

One get's used to voice control and automation and I am well invested in HA.

Don't know if Insteon will ever come back. I like the devices and may purchase some more just to have some spares. ISY is nice because you can configure alot more parameters... For instance on all my keypads, I was worried about LED's eventually burning out with them lit up 24/7 for in ISY I programed the keypad lights to only come on from sunset to 12 AM and then from 5 AM to sunrise. Lots of versatility in ISY with Insteon