Unfortunately, this is only in development guides from Insteon. That is one of the items I want to start a thread on regarding how do we document for people how to use Insteon to get the most out of it.
My approach (right or wrong) was to get this up and running for people that have the technical knowledge and who can walk others through things. The next phase is to hide the more technical elements as “advanced” features to display on request. I did this with properties for the most part. For example there are a lot of KPL properties that are hidden from users unless you select the “Show advanced” menu under the “…” menu.
For the all link database there are two features on the roadmap. The first is to create a “Scenes” page that will allow you to create and manage scenes. The second is to create a utility page that can identify broken links, remove dead devices, etc. These are a lot of work so I wanted to get this first version out there which is fully functional if you understand the underlying tech. My hope and belief is we will support each other as a community to apply the tech until the dev work catches up.
But after this release is out there and demonstrated to be stable I have a number of backlog items that will come before improving the UI. There are a few devices that need to be added for example. These are not common devices like the morninglinc door lock but they are important to people who want to transition fully to HA.
The post I referenced above will serve as a way for the community to suggest features and we need to get a process in place to prioritize the work. Still working through how that will happen so any suggestions are very welcome.
So a simple example that may help here to understand scenes.
First open the Insteon panel, you would see a list of all your devices.
Since I wanted this to be simple, I am using a beta installation with a second Hub in my home where I only have one Switch.
First, click the device you want to control (read: add to the scene). In my case, this is the switch.
Then select the All-Link Database. If this is a fresh new Switch, there should be at least two entries for Responder and Controller. Click the Add ALDB record lower right and fill out the appropriate information:
In my case, says turn on this switch when scene 98 is executed.
Select write to device to add the record.
Now go back to the devices and select the hub. Again click the add ALDB record and add the appropriate information. Here this is a controller, data1, data2, data3 are 0:
Call it. Should all be fine. You can turn scene on/off. To add more devices to the scene, rinse and repeat. Data1, data2 and data3 for the specific devices can be set when you first add the device or edited later. Allowing you to say turn on this switch and that light to 50% etc.
@wgstarks … yes. But in my simple example and as @teharris1 says, we should really find the definitive guide to data1, data2, data3 values. What I showed works, but it is not clear to me those values are correct.
Not to muddy the waters but there is another way to add a device to a scene in Home Assistant. If you use the service insteon.add_all_link enter the scene number into the group field and check the controller mode then click Call service. This will put the modem into linking mode as a controller for the scene. Then, for whatever device you want to add to the scene set the device to whatever state you want it (on, off, 25%, etc.) and press the Set button on the device. This will create a link to the modem for that scene with the right data1, data2 and data3 values. You probably want to reload the All-Link Database using the Insteon panel just so HA knows the device is in that Insteon scene.
Is this something I will be able to install without having supervisor? I have HA running on Synology which no longer supports it to my knowledge. Thanks for all that you do.
Can I install what I need now? Referring to the screen shots you posted for the scenes? If so, can you point me to a link or something to get this insteon beta tab? Please?
@image969 that is all above BUT if you are patient and just wait until next week I think then it is 100% in the next release.
My screens I did take from an installation that is 2022.6.0.dev0 (meaning a developers pre-release).
I would never put such software over my existing installation.
I keep two machines, one having developer and one having my personally approved version.
That said, you can follow the instructions above and download just the insteon part. Back up your existing one and install it. The Insteon panel from @teharris1 has been working for sometime. You will get some errors in the log until the final release, but if you have at least 2022.4.7 it should work (maybe even older).
OK perfect. Ya I’ll attempt patience for now, if its out soon. Preciate your help. Brand new to Home assistant. Part of me is so happy that insteon went down, cause I never would have found out about this world otherwise lol Have a good one.
We all learned alot and I for one am also very happy. @teharris1 sold (at least one if not many) Nabu Casa subscriptions. And the fact that I finally did subscribe to Nabu Casa has opened a whole new world for me at my house.
There was no way I would be able to get my wife off of “Alexa, do this” … no way.
And it is there, easy-peasy. And the insteon demise caused me to do it.
Now I am here today, removing many, many other integrations to Alexa. They already existed in Home Assistant and work perfectly. Broadlink, Vizio TV, Stereos, etc. And no more worry about name collisions … where Alexa says “A few things share that name, which one did you want?” And my wife yells “The f*&(*& TV damn it” and then calls me names.
Things are coming together like they should … one app to rule them all!
This has been a great thread, and has definitely helped me as newer HA user looking for further insteon integration. I don’t recall if this question was asked here, but there has been looks of discussion in different groups. Schedules! I have lots of inconsistent behaviour, some nights some scheduled lights come on so nights no lights turn on. Every night seems different, I’ve looked through the previous panel by addeing the custom code my .yaml file but didn’t see anything obvious? This this new version address that, is there another way that we can clear the existing hub schedules?
@teharris1 there are not enough thank you’s for 18 months of time into this, so thank you, thank you. I’ve looked at using HA for a couple of years now but it was missing this, and a kick in the pants from Insteon.
There is no known way to change any of the hub configurations now that the app is dead. This includes, schedules, network configuration, and authentication. SmartLabs did not expose those items locally. If they are causing an issue one option is to factory reset the hub and relink all of your devices. This will not hurt the hub as was reported earlier in some forums but it does wipe it clean.
If you do that the username/password is printed on the bottom of the Hub and you would need to relink all of your devices to the Hub. You would also want to build automation in Home Assistant to replace your Hub schedules. Trust me when I say this is a big leap forward. HA has a lot more functionality to their schedules than the Insteon app did.
Ahh… reading above maybe my problem is with the scenes…
I am trying to use my switches to turn on and off certain cameras (That I now have working again as foscam)… but the switches do not turn one and off…
I assume when the new update comes out I need to flash a new SDCard… not clear how to update… sorry only have 2-3 days experience here.
Parenthetically, I actually have a new/unused Insteon Hub, which i got when my old one went bad… was able to repair the bad capacitor in the old one and kept the replacement they sent me.
I finally bit the bullet and reset the hub - at least I think I did… I tried it 3 times just to be sure. It doesn’t exactly exhibit the same behavior as stated in the reset procedure:
Factory Reset Insteon Hub (2014)
Disconnect Insteon Hub from power
Press and hold the set button while reconnecting power. Insteon Hub will emit a long beep.
When the long beep ends, release the set button. Insteon Hub will double-beep and after 30 seconds, Insteon Hub will beep again.
Power cycle Insteon Hub by disconnecting and then reconnecting it to power.
… for me anyway. On step 3 I get a single beep (not double) followed by a double-beep at ~ 30 sec (or more what I would call a double chirp).
Anyway when I go back to HA after all my devices/entities are still there and they are operational… if I load the all link db from the hub itself there is only 1 device I played with removing and readding after the reset to make sure i wasnt nuts.
This seems like it’s too good to be true - I thought I was going to have relink everything. Is it because the devices still have the link as the hub as controller… and the hub itself it just acting like a modem for HA now?
hi looks like you found your way to thread that’s mainly geared toward beta testing - as for the update you wont need to reflash any media or anything - just wait for the update in the notifications on your HA home page when the production update becomes available and follow the prompts from there
Thanks for the response and clarification, I thought this might the answer but have been avoiding doing this as I have a lot of keypads linked to multi device scenes. I do see the value and increased capabilities i’ll get using HA to control Insteon.
I have one more question regarding keypads, over the years I have switched a few from 8 to 6 and 6 to 8. HA doesn’t seem to detect these changes and displays the wrong number of buttons. Will resetting everything correct this issue? Or is there a way to change the configuration using the new control panel?
