Insteon Hubs Bricked? Insteon going out of business? What about switch purchase, what now?

[mvgossman]

Facebook Insteon chat group reports that Insteon Hubs can no longer access their servers. It’s being claimed that the whole company is now out of business. Since switches break, and the PLM is, I believe anyway, the critical link between the ISY994 and Insteon switches, we’d be needing spares when they fail. Am I understanding the situation correctly? I just verified that the PLM and even a basic white dimmer switch are out of stock. This has been blamed on supply chain problems, but is it in fact that they were selling their existing stock in preparation for going out of business?

 

I shudder to consider having to put manual switches in or spend thousands on replacement technology.

[lilyoyo1]

12 minutes ago, mvgossman said:

Facebook Insteon chat group reports that Insteon Hubs can no longer access their servers. It’s being claimed that the whole company is now out of business. Since switches break, and the PLM is, I believe anyway, the critical link between the ISY994 and Insteon switches, we’d be needing spares when they fail. Am I understanding the situation correctly? I just verified that the PLM and even a basic white dimmer switch are out of stock. This has been blamed on supply chain problems, but is it in fact that they were selling their existing stock in preparation for going out of business?

 

I shudder to consider having to put manual switches in or spend thousands on replacement technology.

They are out of business. See the link in the red banner at the top of the forum

[mvgossman]

7 hours ago, lilyoyo1 said:

They are out of business. See the link in the red banner at the top of the forum

I have seen that and from what I can see, it refers to the Insteon Hub cloud server that they operate. It doesn't say if it's deliberate due to closing down, or simply that they are down which could be a glitch. Or maybe I missed something. Of course, if this is permanent, that they have turned their back on all the Insteon Hub owners, that's sad for those who invested in it, but that's business sometimes. I'm not a Hub user, so I'm more interested in the health of the company that produces the Insteon devices for all of us, plus the ISY994 from Universal Devices does a good job and can step in to replace the Insteon Hub.

If the tech is dead, that's bad because of the investment we've all made in it, and we'll be forced to hang on, replacing switches as they die and hope we can find them on ebay, or move switches around the house, replacing seldom used ones with something else.

Or maybe another company will step in and take over the production, like Nokia perhaps.

Mitch

[lilyoyo1]

14 minutes ago, mvgossman said:

I have seen that and from what I can see, it refers to the Insteon Hub cloud server that they operate. It doesn't say if it's deliberate due to closing down, or simply that they are down which could be a glitch. Or maybe I missed something. Of course, if this is permanent, that they have turned their back on all the Insteon Hub owners, that's sad for those who invested in it, but that's business sometimes. I'm not a Hub user, so I'm more interested in the health of the company that produces the Insteon devices for all of us, plus the ISY994 from Universal Devices does a good job and can step in to replace the Insteon Hub.

If the tech is dead, that's bad because of the investment we've all made in it, and we'll be forced to hang on, replacing switches as they die and hope we can find them on ebay, or move switches around the house, replacing seldom used ones with something else.

Or maybe another company will step in and take over the production, like Nokia perhaps.

Mitch

It's not just about the hub. It's covering all that you state in 1 area so that people can easily find the answers to the questions like yours vs a multitude of different posts all over the forums. 

Take the 2nd post on that link. It lets users know that INSTEON has closed their doors and what options they have to keep their devices working. 

[mvgossman]

8 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said:

It's not just about the hub. It's covering all that you state in 1 area so that people can easily find the answers to the questions like yours vs a multitude of different posts all over the forums. 

Take the 2nd post on that link. It lets users know that INSTEON has closed their doors and what options they have to keep their devices working. 

It's unfortunately probably so, but even that second post doesn't specifically say that they've stopped their manufacturing, or provide the source for the information. For all I know, you yourself work for Insteon but I'm curious if this has been confirmed.

I don't see any alternative but to continue with what I have and hope that switches and the PLM don't crump.

I'm sure there will be further posts on how to react to this in terms of replacement technology, hopefully one that will work alongside existing Insteon switches. The 8 butt Insteon Keypad is a great piece of technology and there's nothing like it that I've found out there, and I would be glad to be corrected, that there is something as good.

[LHZ]

mvgossman and others -

Since I live 20 miles north of Smarthome's Millikan address and have been in their onsite store many times in the past, I decided to just drive down there because they weren't answering my emails and my hub tanked.  Much to my surprise the Millikan office was closed and after peering through windows and the lobby, there was no sign that it had been operational for some time. 

While in the parking lot, Googled Insteon and found another address on Alton, which was only about a mile to the West.  Drove there and saw the familiar Smarthome/Insteon logo on the building.  Went inside and found them to be located in Suite 100.  Opened the door to this suite only to find it was completely vacant.  Spoke to neighboring businesses who said they had left about a few weeks earlier.  Just missed them.  

I find it odd that they would have tanked considering the fact that they were the leader in home automation before it was popular.  They should have been at the top of their game and now I have a whole house filled with Insteon (and X10) devices that are no longer on a schedule or voice actuated.  I just sold this house and home automation was one of its selling features.  Bummer.  

Now I don't know what my alternative is going to be.  

[lilyoyo1]

28 minutes ago, LHZ said:

mvgossman and others -

Since I live 20 miles north of Smarthome's Millikan address and have been in their onsite store many times in the past, I decided to just drive down there because they weren't answering my emails and my hub tanked.  Much to my surprise the Millikan office was closed and after peering through windows and the lobby, there was no sign that it had been operational for some time. 

While in the parking lot, Googled Insteon and found another address on Alton, which was only about a mile to the West.  Drove there and saw the familiar Smarthome/Insteon logo on the building.  Went inside and found them to be located in Suite 100.  Opened the door to this suite only to find it was completely vacant.  Spoke to neighboring businesses who said they had left about a few weeks earlier.  Just missed them.  

I find it odd that they would have tanked considering the fact that they were the leader in home automation before it was popular.  They should have been at the top of their game and now I have a whole house filled with Insteon (and X10) devices that are no longer on a schedule or voice actuated.  I just sold this house and home automation was one of its selling features.  Bummer.  

Now I don't know what my alternative is going to be.  

Their store on Millikan closed in 2016 and they moved off Alton in 2017/2018

Edited April 17, 2022 by lilyoyo1

[LHZ]

I guess that shows how long it's been since I was at the Millikan store!  Was not even aware that they moved to the Alton location.  

[Brian H]

Did you know that Richardson Capital Partners where the present owners of the Smarthome, Smartlabs and Insteon brand for many years ago? The moves where part of their ownership.

[MrBill]

3 hours ago, Brian H said:

Did you know that Richardson Capital Partners where the present owners of the Smarthome, Smartlabs and Insteon brand for many years ago? The moves where part of their ownership.

Actually if @lilyoyo1's move date is correct, the move occurred under the old ownership just before the company was acquired by RCP in Jun 2017

 

[Brian H]

Thanks for the date correction.

The old management also hosed me over on the Developers Group going away and us paying for the access just dropped. Then papers just available to all.

My hostility against them does show its ugly head occasionally.

[lilyoyo1]

25 minutes ago, MrBill said:

Actually if @lilyoyo1's move date is correct, the move occurred under the old ownership just before the company was acquired by RCP in Jun 2017

 

The move was already happening before purchase (not that private negotiations weren't happening).

The building they were leasing was bought by an investment group looking to build apartments in that area.

[mvgossman]

Well unless someone here has millions in capital to take over and move the brand forward, there's nothing us end-users can do except hope, wait, conserve switches, dig deep in the wallet on ebay, etc.

[Techman]

4 hours ago, lilyoyo1 said:

The move was already happening before purchase (not that private negotiations weren't happening).

The building they were leasing was bought by an investment group looking to build apartments in that area.

Sometime after the 16542 Millikan property was sold to developers they moved to a lease in the Eureka Building at 1621 Alton Parkway. Apparently their Alton Parkway lease expired at the end of January, 2022 as their space was put on the market for lease available as of February 1, 2022.

[PatPend]

What are the odds the midnight shift in some factory in Shenzhen runs off a few batches of Insteon goodies?

[lilyoyo1]

4 minutes ago, PatPend said:

What are the odds the midnight shift in some factory in Shenzhen runs off a few batches of Insteon goodies?

zero to none

[Teken]

zero to none

Here’s something to consider for everyone given how the Chinese are as it relates to stealing IP. To this very day not a single Chinese maker has tried or offered the Insteon technology.

I won’t lie if that same manufacturer decided to rebrand and sell Insteon devices I’d buy them! If only to stick it in the eye to those dirty kunts at Smarthome / Smartlabs!

[lilyoyo1]

21 minutes ago, Teken said:

Here’s something to consider for everyone given how the Chinese are as it relates to stealing IP. To this very day not a single Chinese maker has tried or offered the Insteon technology.

I won’t lie if that same manufacturer decided to rebrand and sell Insteon devices I’d buy them! If only to stick it in the eye to those dirty kunts at Smarthome / Smartlabs!

Thats why I say zero to none. To be honest though, there was also never a need to steal the IP since theres no money in it. Its of limited use outside N.A and would get shut down before they made their money back. Zwave and other technologies accomplishes the same thing as insteon at the same price (if not more) they would get copying insteon's tech. Especially since they couldnt sell in Europe, S.A nor N.A

[Techman]

I just noticed that Smarthome renewed their domain name last month for an additional 10 years. So, either they plan on selling the domain or are hopeful that someone will come along and salvage the mess they left behind.

[Beach Guy]

Damn them, the race for dominance has just begun, and no clear winners have been picked.

It is too early to drop out, the race is still happening.  However, I do not know what is being discussed by the big boys, alliances may already been set secretly and unannounced.

I have two houses with lots of Insteon parts and Insteon hubs, fortunately I have been running them in parallel with Homeseer hubs so all is not lost at this point.  Fortunately, my X-10s have been gone years ago.    

Insteon was great and had the potential to be high-end leader, so sad.

[lilyoyo1]

29 minutes ago, Beach Guy said:

Damn them, the race for dominance has just begun, and no clear winners have been picked.

It is too early to drop out, the race is still happening.  However, I do not know what is being discussed by the big boys, alliances may already been set secretly and unannounced.

I have two houses with lots of Insteon parts and Insteon hubs, fortunately I have been running them in parallel with Homeseer hubs so all is not lost at this point.  Fortunately, my X-10s have been gone years ago.    

Insteon was great and had the potential to be high-end leader, so sad.

I wouldn't call them a potential high end leader. There's a huge difference between them and the high end guys. 

I don't think there needs to be a clear winner. With the amount of people, technologies, and how they work, it's really about choosing the right system that fits your needs.

For example, if you want 2 or 3 switches to turn some outside lights on, wifi switches are sufficient. They'd work for a spare room to have control over with a voice assistant. 

ZigBee devices work well for those with the Alexa ZigBee hub. This can help those who need more devices but don't want to invest in managing their wifi network. 

Zwave for those with whole house aspirations. While I'm not a fan of it and wouldn't use it as the foundation of my lighting system, it does offer benefits for most people. Especially when you consider the broad range of devices and ecosystem. 

Lutron for those with the income for it who desire a luxury system with a lower entry point along with the ability to manage it themselves. 

The great thing is that you can integrate different supported devices together without locking yourself into 1 system. This allows you to use the best for any given situation vs needing to pick a winner overall.

[MrBill]

2 hours ago, Techman said:

I just noticed that Smarthome renewed their domain name last month for an additional 10 years. So, either they plan on selling the domain or are hopeful that someone will come along and salvage the mess they left behind.

the domain name smart home dot com is worth more without the business attached to it.  a 9 character easy to remember .com will bring lots of gold... perhaps high 6 or even 7 figures.

Edited April 17, 2022 by MrBill

[auger66]

FWIW

https://staceyoniot.com/insteon-is-down-and-may-not-be-coming-back/

[RPerrault]

vhs won

matter will win

 

[Teken]

vhs won
matter will win
 

That’s only because Sony was plain stupid. The Beta format was a superior technology at that time but Sony was run by an imbecile.

They were just like Microsoft always a day late and dollar short.