Insteon HUB (2245) cloud servers shut down

[MrBill]

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. 

EDIT:   Here is a better link than the one belowthe link I posted yesterday.

Please Keep all 2245 Server shutdown discussion in this thread.

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by MrBill

[Athlon]

I'm running Homebridge on a Pi. I use it as a 'bridge' from my Kasa stuff to my Velux blinds controller enabling me to do more elaborate scheduling than the Velux app allows. (There is no PG3 node for Velux.) It just sits there and works great.

I just checked - there are several plugins available for Insteon in Homebridge. I have not tried any of them, but for those  already running Homebridge there may be a solution there as well.

Having said all of that - if starting from scratch from your 'broken' Hub - I would go with Home Assistant and watch this thread.

Edited April 15, 2022 by Athlon

[mmb]

24 minutes ago, Athlon said:

I just checked - there are several plugins available for Insteon in Homebridge. I have not tried any of them, but for those  already running Homebridge there may be a solution there as well.

I suggested in another post UDI should consider building a connector like HA to the Hub PLM for Polisy.

I now have two dead hubs in our Scottsdale condo and Polisy would be a nice addon.

[gary123]

Are there any apps that can take the place of the insteon app - as the insteon app isnt working

 

[kyderr]

I had bought an ISY a long time ago and never really took advantage of it's capabilities.  Now I am diving into that system and trying to make it work. They have an app and it appears I can restore most of my functionality. Just wondering if I have to get the subscription or can I set it up without one myself and still get the benefits.  

I guess though the camera's won't work anymore.

[Athlon]

5 minutes ago, gary123 said:

Are there any apps that can take the place of the insteon app - as the insteon app isnt working

 

It's not your app - it's the cloud your app talks to. (It's gone.)

[kyderr]

I can't imagine how you can just shutter a company overnight and not even bother to launch an email or put a message on your home page to all your customers.  

 

[MrBill]

1 minute ago, kyderr said:

I had bought an ISY a long time ago and never really took advantage of it's capabilities.  Now I am diving into that system and trying to make it work. They have an app and it appears I can restore most of my functionality. Just wondering if I have to get the subscription or can I set it up without one myself and still get the benefits.  

I guess though the camera's won't work anymore.

As long as you have a PLM (Insteon 2213s) you can set your ISY up fine without any subscriptions needed.

the portal subscription is less than a buck a month and is the recommended method for remote access.  (you can however open ports and use the old fashioned and UNSECURE method if you really want to)

[MrBill]

Just now, kyderr said:

I can't imagine how you can just shutter a company overnight and not even bother to launch an email or put a message on your home page to all your customers.

It's been happening slowly for a long time. There are MANY threads debating the topic on this forum.   It just became apparent yesterday to a lot of users because the cloud server went offline. 

[larryllix]

We still only have conjecture and guessing as we always have had.

Who knows what will become of the technology with a different name?

[kyderr]

Yes, Saw those threads.  But nothing official from the company itself.  No notice to it's users. They did take the items out of stock from the Smarthome.com store, but it's still a featured brand.  

[apostolakisl]

4 minutes ago, kyderr said:

Yes, Saw those threads.  But nothing official from the company itself.  No notice to it's users. They did take the items out of stock from the Smarthome.com store, but it's still a featured brand.  

The store is closed for all brands.  You will notice if you try to buy anything that still exists it just forwards you to Amazon.

This is not unusual to just "boom" be gone.  There have been large companies that just one day the employees show up and the doors are locked, even they have no idea.  I had a tenant that actually did that to me and stiffed me on the rent.

Edited April 15, 2022 by apostolakisl

[MikeB_NJ]

I think it was all sold to Nokia.  I really hope they will realize that -- despite the poor customer service and the cheap capacitor thing that made everyone's 2245 fry -- the technology is pretty solid: cost effective, reliable and easy to use.  More important. there's a large installed base, readyto be loyal. Many of us have spent a lot of time and money installing devices. I've recommended insteon to everyone who visits my house and enjoys telling it what to do.  

[kyderr]

25 minutes ago, MrBill said:

As long as you have a PLM (Insteon 2213s) you can set your ISY up fine without any subscriptions needed.

the portal subscription is less than a buck a month and is the recommended method for remote access.  (you can however open ports and use the old fashioned and UNSECURE method if you really want to)

I have that.  But I recently changed my gateway to a cellular one, and my ISY no longer shows.  I will have to reset the ISY and rebuild. Now with the idea that it will be the primary controller.  I can use my old hub for target practice.   Some modules are not compatible with ISY, so I have lost those forever, and I'll have to write scripts and try and recreate the notifications for my smoke bridge, and water detector.  I have no problem paying that reasonable fee if it helps keep this company afloat.  Hopefully they won't leave me behind.

2 minutes ago, apostolakisl said:

The store is closed for all brands.  You will notice if you try to buy anything that still exists it just forwards you to Amazon.

I see that now.  I never tried to buy anything but Insteon. I wonder what they did with all the old stock.  Well perhaps when I get my ISY up and running. 

 

I was a beta tester for a while for insteon,  I thought there was hope, but when the new app came out and the nokia rumors swirled, I could see it wasn't good.

 

 

I don't have a history of picking the winners though.

 

RIP

Stringify

Guardzilla

Insteon

[MrBill]

2 minutes ago, kyderr said:

But I recently changed my gateway to a cellular one, and my ISY no longer shows. 

Cellular gateways typically don't have routable external IPs.  They use a technology called "Carrier NAT".     If you have a local network beneath the gateway you should still be able to access your ISY on the local LAN.

You can subscribe to the portal to get access remotely, but you will need LOCAL ISY access to get that set up.

[kyderr]

1 minute ago, MrBill said:

Cellular gateways typically don't have routable external IPs.  They use a technology called "Carrier NAT".     If you have a local network beneath the gateway you should still be able to access your ISY on the local LAN.

You can subscribe to the portal to get access remotely, but you will need LOCAL ISY access to get that set up.

Thank you.  Yeah, my ip for the gateway changes everyday, because I have to reboot it everyday to keep it running.  But I am done paying $100 a month for internet, and this is only $25 a month.  A factory reset for the ISY might be good for me to relearn how to do things and get rid of some of the old scenes that were on there.  

[larryllix]

2 minutes ago, kyderr said:

<snipped>

I see that now.  I never tried to buy anything but Insteon. I wonder what they did with all the old stock.  Well perhaps when I get my ISY up and running.

<snipped>

The old stock has been sold off for the last 3-4 years.
I purchased directly from Igonsteon once. All three items were received defective or became defective within a few months. They also held my shipment for over a month before shipping to Canada. When I claimed warranty they replied I could just ship each product back for warranty repair costing more than each product sold for.

For example: The iRLinc I received had the sensor wiring reversed and could never work. Of course they couldn't just accept the sensor back or ship me a new sensor (all the way from China?) based on my word. I had to ship the whole thing back to them at about $50 shipping across the border cost. I never dealt with Smarthome/Insteon sales again. Despite all their sales, Canadian distributors were always cheaper after paying the exorbitant shipping and handling fees. (yeah... USPS also takes about 3 weeks).

[Athlon]

Igonsteon

Now that's funny. ?

[roberthleeii]

51 minutes ago, MikeB_NJ said:

I think it was all sold to Nokia.  I really hope they will realize that -- despite the poor customer service and the cheap capacitor thing that made everyone's 2245 fry -- the technology is pretty solid: cost effective, reliable and easy to use.  More important. there's a large installed base, readyto be loyal. Many of us have spent a lot of time and money installing devices. I've recommended insteon to everyone who visits my house and enjoys telling it what to do.  

The technology is great, it seems so much easier to work with and more reliable than the z-wave. It would be wonderful if it got a new life somewhere else ?

[navybuff]

"cheap capacitor thing that made everyone's 2245"   Which capacitors are the ones creating the problems on this device?

 

 

[navybuff]

[JRM]

I am glad I found your forum. I have two hubs and last night my home hub went red. I did not reset. I have been an Insteon user for 9 years. It was easy for me to setup and monitor. I bought 4 enbrighten smart switches at Christmas as I found them at Wally World for $6. So at least for now I can turn lights off and on while away. I hope someone buys them and gets us back online soon. I am not savvy enough to interface with with HA, unless someone has an easy method to set up. I will keep checking back. Thanks for info from the users. 

[Teken]

25 minutes ago, navybuff said:

"cheap capacitor thing that made everyone's 2245"   Which capacitors are the ones creating the problems on this device?

 

 

Given there are only five capacitors on that board and all are cheap sh^t. Replace them all because you're only buying & wasting time otherwise. 

[Athlon]

18 minutes ago, JRM said:

I am glad I found your forum. I have two hubs and last night my home hub went red. I did not reset. I have been an Insteon user for 9 years. It was easy for me to setup and monitor. I bought 4 enbrighten smart switches at Christmas as I found them at Wally World for $6. So at least for now I can turn lights off and on while away. I hope someone buys them and gets us back online soon. I am not savvy enough to interface with with HA, unless someone has an easy method to set up. I will keep checking back. Thanks for info from the users. 

Welcome. My guess is there will be a step by step here for you very soon. In the meantime, check this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/insteon/comments/u3oj4o/my_hub_is_now_offline/i4spl7s/?utm_term=39472169896&context=3&utm_medium=comment_embed&utm_source=embed&utm_name=667e0dd8-bcc6-11ec-9c09-5afb4e42df57

 

[kyderr]

16 minutes ago, JRM said:

I am glad I found your forum. I have two hubs and last night my home hub went red. I did not reset. I have been an Insteon user for 9 years. It was easy for me to setup and monitor. I bought 4 enbrighten smart switches at Christmas as I found them at Wally World for $6. So at least for now I can turn lights off and on while away. I hope someone buys them and gets us back online soon. I am not savvy enough to interface with with HA, unless someone has an easy method to set up. I will keep checking back. Thanks for info from the users. 

You can use the ISY that universal devices sells to bring back most and more functionality.  That is the route I am going.  Backwards compatibility is unlikely if someone buys the assets of insteon.  In my opinion, since they made no attempt to save the customer base before pulling the plugs. (Pun intended)