How to use an Insteon device without a cloud connection

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Yesterday, I reported Insteon has gone out of business And shut down all cloud services without notice. Insteon applications use the Insteon server to handle requests from the application, effectively rendering them useless. Things like schedules are stored on the hub, so those things will continue to be processed.

However, not all is lost. One of the attractive features of Insteon is its ability to integrate into other systems.

As reported yesterday, you should avoid doing any kind of factory reset on your Insteon hub.

Insteon PLM Serial Modem Interface/2413S PLM

One option that users use in place of the Insteon Hub is the Insteon PLM Serial Modem.This gives you an RJ45 connection to power cable Connectivity of the Insteon system.

While this is a good option, this product appears to be discontinued. Unfortunately, unscrupulous eBay sellers have dramatically increased the price of these units into the hundreds of dollars.

A popular option for controlling Insteon devices is the ISY994 from Universal Devices. This requires a PLM modem, so I don’t recommend buying it at this time.

The following options use the hub’s native API and do not require a PLM modem module.

Alternatives to Insteon Hub

There are two popular options available:

1. Home Assistant is a free and open source home automation software designed to be the central control system for smart home devices, focusing on local control and privacy.This needs to be run on a local computer/server, but can be run from an affordable device such as a Raspberry Pi 4 (if you can find stock) or many NAS devices such as Synology and Terracotta Warriors. Alexa/Google voice support is available through the Home Assistant Development Group’s Nabu Casa subscription service and Amazon and Google’s skills support
2. Homeseer, a popular commercial alternative to Home Assistant, also requires a dedicated device to run. You can also purchase a dedicated Homeseer hub. These will then require an Insteon software plugin to allow you to integrate your Insteon device.

For HomeSeer, HomeSeer HomeTroller Plus seems to be your best bet right now. HomeTroller Pi is out of stock everywhere.

Set up Home Assistant on Windows 10 / Windows 11

I usually recommend picking up a Raspberry Pi and using it as a dedicated Home Assistant server, but it doesn’t seem to exist in stock at the moment.

One problem with this solution is that you want your Windows PC to run 24/7 and electricity prices are ridiculous right now. So until you get an RPi, this might be a temporary solution.

For Windows, using Home Assistant Windows Portable (HassWP) is probably the fastest and easiest way to get up and running. This pre-installs all prerequisites for you, including Python.

With this, you just need:

1. download HaasWP.zip
2. unpack
3. Run Hass.cmd (if you don’t have a visible extension, you’re in trouble)

When you run Hass, everything will be installed automatically and Home Assistant will load in your browser under a local IP address such as 127.0.0.1:8123

1. Then, you need to create an account and follow the setup process.
2. Home Assistant should automatically detect compatible devices on the network.
3. If Insteon does not automatically recognize:
4. Add Insteon under Configuration -> Devices and Services -> Add Integration: Insteon
5. Find the IP address of the hub (I use an advanced IP scanner), it should be listed as Smartlabs inc, the username and password are on the sticker on the bottom of the hub
6. If any equipment is missing, you can:
   • Go to developer tools and click on services tab
   • In the box that pops up, use the following settings:
   • Service: Insteon: add all links
   • Group: 0
   • Mode: Controller
   • Using the call service button
   • Go to the device (within about 3 minutes) and press the “Settings” button (or press and hold – it may vary by device – check the instructions)
   • More info here

You can learn more about Insteon and Home Assistant features are here.

Amazon Alexa and Google integration

To do this, you need to sign up for Home Assistant Cloud, a service provided by Nabu Casa. It’s free for 31 days, then $6.50 per month (also $65 annual plan in the US).

Home Assistant Cloud is available on HassWP by default. You just need to go to the configuration page, Home Assistant Cloud, and start your one-month trial.

Then you need to enable the Home Assistant Cloud skill Alex.