Smarthome is gone need another source for Insteon

I couldn’t find any announcement from Smarthome that they were going out of business and they are still accepting orders but they don’t actually ship the orders or respond to emails. Calling them just results in an out-of-service signal. I’ve tried google but all the insteon listings there all go back to Smarthome. Does anyone know another source for Insteon devices?

Have you looked at MQTT? Here is an article

Thanks but right now my issue is replacement hardware. In particular, open/close door sensors to replace an existing one that’s failed. It’s part of a DIY alarm system for several outside shop buildings. I think the replacement really needs to be Insteon since there isn’t any infrastructure in place for zwave or Zigbee.

Sorry - I read devices as HA devices not the hardware.

Have you looked at e-bay?

https://www.ebay.com/b/Insteon/bn_21827151?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5337590774&customid=&toolid=10001

Yes. There are a few hubs and quite a few switches but no open/close sensors and I’d be reluctant to buy used anyway.

Might have to investigate wifi if I can’t find another source for Insteon. It’s my only other option but I bet the batteries don’t last very long.

I use z-wave open/close and the batteries last 12 -16 months. And that is being opened 5-10 times a day on the pantry that turns on the light. I have Shelly wi-fi motion sensors that are rechargeable and each charge lasts about a year before needing recharged - which is really amazing. I have 10 z-wave water detectors and the last anywhere from 6 months to a year. The shortest life is the one on my mailbox and it sees -5 F to 105 F.

Hope this helps.

P.S. I love the Shelly devices. Here is a link to the door window sensor.

Not a bad price. Half of what the Insteon costs. I see they don’t include batteries. Wonder if rechargeable batteries would reduce the replacement cycle much?

Do they just use a smart phone app to get connected to wifi?

You can use their app, but the shelly have an internal web server and access point for initial setup.

It is easiest to include from phone app due to having to connect to device to include in wi-fi. I don’t know about rechargeable batteries. After it is connected you don’t need the phone app. I use HA and a web browser to set all the parameters.

Rechargeable batteries are generally a lower voltage, but they are worth a try.

I don’t suppose the Shelly’s have a charge level signal?

My motion sensor does (that has a rechargeable battery).

All of my battery devices have a battery level.

Thanks for the info.

One thing to be careful of is to check the power rating on some of these devices, they don’t all support 600W or 1200W like the Insteon switches. And some devices don’t support CFL, etc. The other thing I will miss is getting custom etched buttons for keypads. Haven’t found any solution that supports that yet.

I just ordered some Aeotec zwave plug in modules to replace some failed insteon ones. I have an ISY which supports both so my HASS interface won’t change. Haven’t exactly been happy with the reliability of my current zwave devices, but seemed like an easy decision for now. Not sure what lighting platform I will go with in the future.

I’ve got an Amber on order so will probably eventually switch most of the Insteon devices to Zigbee. The problem is that I don’t use automation much inside my house. It’s mostly outdoor lighting and lights/alarms in outdoor buildings. Since Insteon communicates over the power lines distance wasn’t really a problem. I have a feeling getting a Zigbee signal from one building to several others won’t be simple.

They make range extenders for zigbee. It is a mesh network so the more devices you have the better. Z-wave is also mesh and I built mine over time extending further. My mailbox device is ~50’ from the house and my z-wave dongle is in the basement and I still communicate with the device. I will recommend that if you use a usb stick that you get an extension cable to get it away from the computer and interference.

zigbee is 2.4 ghz so you may have interference more likely in that band from phones, wifi, baby monitors etc.

Is there a wifi Zigbee hub? Maybe I could setup a Zigbee hub in one of my buildings and link it to Home Assistant over wifi? Not sure how that would work with the hub not directly connected to the device running Home Assistant.

There may be. I remember reading on this forum on some ways to accomplish out buildings but don’t remember the details. I do not run zigbee, only z-wave and wifi. The zigbee range is supposed to be better than z-wave.