Insteon device replacements

Hardware
1

I have quite a few Insteon devices in my home (34 at last count). Given that they all have a single point of failure with the Insteon PLM, and that those are just about impossible to get now, I’m considering moving all of those devices to Z-Wave or Zigbee. However, I’m finding I have a few things that aren’t easy to replace and wanted to see if the community had any suggestions. The only real restriction I have is “no wifi devices”.

Ceiling Fan control:
Currently I use an Insteon KPL, a FanLinc, and in some cases a Micro Dimmer to control my ceiling fans and lights over a single pair of wires (most of these were installed in ceiling light fixtures, so don’t have a separate wire to control the light). Short of rewiring and replacing j-boxes to add a switch, does anyone know of any fan/light controls? The only one I have been able to find is Inovelli’s that hasn’t been available for well over a year. Even if I do have three wires and an extra space in the j-box, I haven’t found a decent fan control, although the Lutron Caséta doesn’t look too bad.

Contact Sense / Relay
I have a couple of IOLincs for device control and monitoring – garage door, projector screen, doorbell, etc. Has anyone found anything equivalent to the IOLinc? The Zooz 700 is close – it has two relays and two inputs, but you have to power it separately (not a deal breaker, but something of a pain in the neck).

Micro switch/dimmers
I have some motion sensor lights on Micro Modules. The best replacements I have found are the Aeotec Nano Switch and Dimmer, but they are both expensive and hard to find - not even available directly from Aeotec. Anyone know of any other reliable options?

Mini Remotes
Ok, these aren’t critical, but it’s nice having a multi-button remote that is the same size as a regular switch and can even be mounted with a regular Decora switch plate. I can’t seem to find anything equivalent in the Z-Wave/Zigbee space.

Everything else is easy – switches are easy to find, both in dimming and relay versions (I may go with Inovelli, I’m hearing good things about their new Blue switches). The same is true of motion sensors.

If anyone else has gone through this process and has any suggestions I would love to hear them. The same is true of any leads on devices for replacements.

Thanks!

2

Just curious, why?

3

Many reasons… the main one is that if I’m going to run WiFi IOT devices I want them on their own network. And that means setting up yet another AP, making sure I have coverage though the whole house with decent signal strength, and finding available channels so it all works reliably. It’s a lot of work when Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Insteon all take care of that for me with devices that run in a mesh.

4

I have a robust Wi-Fi network (pfSense & Ubiquiti). This to manage vlans and firewall rules for control and segregation of specific stuff: the Roku’s, “smart tvs”, mobile phones (‘yes’ they should be on the IoT VLAN), Google home, etc. This stuff was pre-Home Assistant (HA also on IoT vlan). PCs & laptops are on a separate vlan. And I have a ‘guest’ vlan. And I can VPN into my home network when I am away.

My rational was that even if I didn’t have HA, I would want this network configuration anyway for what I think are obvious reasons. Coverage, channel usage and reliability have not been an issue for me because it is designed and configured to meet my requirements. It has been rock solid and I have had zero issues.

You will find many opinions and facts concerning the different wireless protocols. Here is one. I always find the views and bias associated with this topic interesting. I’m not against or for any of the protocols - pick what meets your requirements.

After replacing multiple Insteon Range Extenders/Repeaters and two PLMs plus having switches die, I started to make the transition to Home Assistant (to replace the ISY994). So I went down the WI-FI path because I wanted to keep it simple (didn’t want another wireless protocol to manage).

I have some regrets on some of the wi-fi hardware I selected to replace the Insteon switches but I am, so far, satisfied with most of the wi-fi devices for the other things (even the battery powered wi-fi devices).

Just my two cents.

5

That is just wrong. Sorry. Not impossible, currently being made, can be repaired, I have 4 modems laying in my house right now although I never used any more that my original except for Insteon testing for another. Two other sit there in perfect condition.

6

And if you would like my topology, I have at least 60-70 Insteon devices (switches, lights) and 20 some-odd groups all mapped and working like a charm. I would never say that ZWave or some other thing is better/worse, just telling you that many of us with Insteon installations still have the best control working.

Then again, if you are still thinking that Insteon is terrible then of course your equipment is worthless. I would be happy to pay you only shipping and $0 for every device you have.

7

And this is why I tend to avoid this community… I post a question and basically get attacked.

First of all, I can show you many examples of equipment failures that can’t be repaired. I’ve had a few of them with Insteon devices, and one or two with z-wave as well. Fused components and melted circuit boards can’t be repaired — and given the quality of the products that Smarthome/Insteon was putting out for the last few years before they went under, I’m surprised I haven’t had more die.

If you actually read my post, nowhere did I say Insteon was terrible (although as mentioned above, they haven’t been all that great lately). In fact, I think most of their older devices are far superior to anything else on the market and offer more functions for the same price. But given that I have already replaced one PLM that fried the internals beyond repair, it’s only a matter of time til my current one dies. Maybe I can repair it maybe not, but it’s still a single point of failure with little chance of being able to get a replacement if it can’t be repaired. If you read some of the Insteon-specific forums, many people only get 2-3 years out of them before they die. While fixing them is often as easy as swapping out the cheap caps they used in them, that isn’t always the case.

Every other HA protocol had devices that can be sourced from multiple vendors. Like Betamax, Smarthome made the decision to not license out the Insteon protocol and became the sole vendor for it. I have high hopes that the folks who are trying to revive it are going to be successful, but in the meantime I don’t want to end up in a situation where I either can’t control my smart devices or have to spend a fortune on a replacement PLM. This means exploring other options and seeing what others have done.

In your case you’ve been lucky and you have spares — as I do for my switches, KLMs, and IOLincs. If it works for you, great! Hopefully you’ll be able to keep repairing your devices and keep your Insteon network working. But don’t assume that just because that works for you it is the best solution for everyone.

8

Wasn’t an attack by any means … it was an offer to buy equipment should you feel you won’t use it.

I do not work for Insteon and yes it cost me many, many hours of programming to make things “better” than it was. I wrote for HA people a customization for examining and understanding groups.

As for equipment availability, you can buy a replacement right now (maybe not PLMs) … but hubs:

All I was pointing out is that devices are available, even new. But maybe old ones are better, I don’t know. Over the many years since Insteon was launched, I have had one PLM fail (when I had that and an ISY), but the 36 Lights and the 77 switches in my house have never failed. Not burn outs, no fried circuits. Even when the power goes out and I have to switch to a generator with fluctuating power and no internet during the frequent storms we get.

I guess I am lucky, but then again I would say that I have three other good friends in the same boat with the same experiences.

9

You’re lucky… I’ve had around a half-dozen Insteon device failures – a couple of SwitchLincs, one KPL, an IOLinc, my original 2412S PLM (looks like the transformer failed and melted itself to the board) and at least one FanLinc. The failure modes vary – some just stop working (usually bad caps), one fried the board, one threw sparks and melted a few components, and my favorite was a SwitchLinc that would just sit there and beep after a power failure but would usually work fine once you popped the air gap switch and reset it. I finally got tired of dealing with that one and replaced it with an Inovelli Red. Oh, and I have one KPL that will turn the attached light on but not off.

The newer revs are much less reliable – for example my older FanLincs work great, the newer ones down’t work at all with some LED bulbs and with lower voltage bulbs flicker every time there is an Insteon message. One of my fans has both a newer FanLinc and a MicroDimmer in it, as if I hook up the lights to the FanLinc it causes it to go into a power-cycle loop if you turn the lights on. I had a ticket open for over 3 years with Smarthome over both of these issues, they never found a solution. If you open any newer product up (anything after SmartHome off-shored the product and outsourced support), you’ll find the later product revs typically have the cheapest parts they could find. For example, one of the standard fixes for PLMs is to replace all of the caps with ones from a reputable manufacturer, it almost always brings them back to life.

Over all, Insteon is hands down the best of the home automation protocols. By being both RF and power line, it almost never misses a message. The FanLinc is a one-of-a-kind product, only the Inovelli fan controller comes close – but they don’t know when that one is shipping again. In addition, the ISY (started with the original ISY99i, have a 994i now) is a great controller and Universal Devices is a company with great support who stands behind their products. But notice that even UD has distanced themselves from Insteon with their polisy and eisy products.

Insteon has always had the problem of being single-vendor. I have hopes that the new owners will be able to produce the old products and the Dial and Outlet they just started shipping look nice (although not something I need in my home). It does look like they plan on having PLMs by the end of March! The better solution would be if they started licensing the technology so we’re not all shocked if they don’t make it and the Insteon line goes away again.