Insteon control when internet is out

[Gothambeat]

I’m a long time user of Insteon and have been having internet issues in my home. I find it unbelievable that I can’t control my lights locally through the hub and my wireless when there is no internet service. Why doesn’t the hub have a stored fall back local option if it can’t reach the internet? Has anyone found a solution for this. My phone app should be able to access my local WiFi and the hub to control my devices.

[NdnaJnz]

First, I felt compelled to reply because I noticed this is your first post here, and I find it unbelievable that, in your long-time use of Insteon, you've never had an issue with your Hub that warranted posting here previously. Anyway, I feel your pain. This is a big issue with me as well. I have thought about what would happen if I heard a noise in the middle of the night and thought someone may have managed to get inside the house. As I reach for my phone to issue an All-Lights-On, I notice I don't have a WiFi signal. Great. This is the most important issue on the subject for me, even though our Internet very rarely goes out.

I thought there was at one time, a way of issuing commands via Ethernet (directly.) But, I saw some posts last year that said that functionality no longer existed. I never tried it. Maybe do a search for it.

But, you know...
If your mobile phone still has a signal, you could try connecting your computer through your phone's hotspot; then share your computer's connection via Ethernet to your Hub. Of course, my MacBook doesn't have an Ethernet port, but I do have a USB to Ethernet dongle for that. Let's see how many connections and dongles we can use in this scenario!

The most disappointing thing here is, Insteon (the transport) works so well. But, they have never followed through with a decent app on any platform – even though their new guy-in-charge (as of two years ago now) said they were determined to get a new app out very soon. That took about a year, and we ended up with a very poor excuse of an app that rendered several popular devices incompatible (like my $200 cameras.) And the user interface is abysmal. My point being, if they can't provide a decent means of control from an app, adding some kind of local control at this point is unlikely to ever see the light of day. Well, unless that Ethernet command thing still works.

[Gothambeat]

First, I felt compelled to reply because I noticed this is your first post here, and I find it unbelievable that, in your long-time use of Insteon, you've never had an issue with your Hub that warranted posting here previously. Anyway, I feel your pain. This is a big issue with me as well. I have thought about what would happen if I heard a noise in the middle of the night and thought someone may have managed to get inside the house. As I reach for my phone to issue an All-Lights-On, I notice I don't have a WiFi signal. Great. This is the most important issue on the subject for me, even though our Internet very rarely goes out.

I thought there was at one time, a way of issuing commands via Ethernet (directly.) But, I saw some posts last year that said that functionality no longer existed. I never tried it. Maybe do a search for it.

But, you know...
If your mobile phone still has a signal, you could try connecting your computer through your phone's hotspot; then share your computer's connection via Ethernet to your Hub. Of course, my MacBook doesn't have an Ethernet port, but I do have a USB to Ethernet dongle for that. Let's see how many connections and dongles we can use in this scenario!

The most disappointing thing here is, Insteon (the transport) works so well. But, they have never followed through with a decent app on any platform – even though their new guy-in-charge (as of two years ago now) said they were determined to get a new app out very soon. That took about a year, and we ended up with a very poor excuse of an app that rendered several popular devices incompatible (like my $200 cameras.) And the user interface is abysmal. My point being, if they can't provide a decent means of control from an app, adding some kind of local control at this point is unlikely to ever see the light of day. Well, unless that Ethernet command thing still works.

Thank you for your post. I never had bad internet until recently. I also think of the use case where you have a cabin in the woods and would like to automate it. I use to post on other forums but honestly, other than my old hub crapping out and occasional rf interference, I’ve never had major issues. Figuring out a secondary internet source for my whole network to fall back on is a bigger issue but one I might have to address sooner rather than later. I also agree the new app sucks. It is missing some scenes and devices.

[lilyoyo1]

I’m a long time user of Insteon and have been having internet issues in my home. I find it unbelievable that I can’t control my lights locally through the hub and my wireless when there is no internet service. Why doesn’t the hub have a stored fall back local option if it can’t reach the internet? Has anyone found a solution for this. My phone app should be able to access my local WiFi and the hub to control my devices.

Any system that is cloud based will always require internet connection. This is true across the board. If you want something that allows for local control, then you must have a hub that allows for local control such as the isy, homeseer, indigo, Home assistant, and more.

[Gothambeat]

I get that whole cloud based solution but if I have to go to a non Insteon competitor to use all my Insteon products off line that is a major marketing hole In he Insteon roadmap. I might as well abandon Insteon and adopt a more flexible system. My old hub didn’t have this issue and supported legacy x10 this new one is basically an inferior product.

also even my cloud based systems allow an offline mode (I drive, google drive, Dropbox, etc). So just saying it’s cloud based is not a legitimate answer.

[lilyoyo1]

I get that whole cloud based solution but if I have to go to a non Insteon competitor to use all my Insteon products off line that is a major marketing hole In he Insteon roadmap. I might as well abandon Insteon and adopt a more flexible system. My old hub didn’t have this issue and supported legacy x10 this new one is basically an inferior product.

also even my cloud based systems allow an offline mode (I drive, google drive, Dropbox, etc). So just saying it’s cloud based is not a legitimate answer.

It's not a hole in their roadmap. It's a different business model. One that enhances the insteon experience. No different than someone buying a car from the dealer and putting 3rd party parts on it to make it what they want. I would definitely argue the inferior statement. I'm assuming you are comparing the new hub to the smartlinc hub. Removing a substandard protocol doesn't make it inferior. Id much rather have the speed, look, and voice control with my Google and Alexa devices than what the smartlinc gave.

That's the wonderful thing about capitalism. If you don't like something then you can always switch.

It may not be a legitimate answer to you but it is the answer. Its the reason why your Ring cameras, Google home and Alexa do not work without an internet (many others)

Obviously you do not know how offline mode works so let me enlighten you. You are not accessing Dropbox, Google drive etc. without an internet connection. When you make something available to use offline, those systems area downloading your files so that you can have offline. Should you change any of your files while offline, they will not sync until you have an internet connection. Go ahead and try it. Downloading files is a much different ball game than controlling your lights.

[Gothambeat]

My point is just like those other cloud services you can download a local copy to use off line. So there is an option in Insteon to “Get latest configuration”. If they are already saving that locally, why not allow access to it in a local mode?

[lilyoyo1]

My point is just like those other cloud services you can download a local copy to use off line. So there is an option in Insteon to “Get latest configuration”. If they are already saving that locally, why not allow access to it in a local mode?

Downloading a file is a lot different than going through their servers to control a device. Insteon, Smartthings, ring, and other cloud based systems are not the same as using a file sharing service.

You should learn the system that you are using. Get latest configuration isn't downloading anything. It updates other phones to changes that may have been made. For example. You make changes via your Android phone while your wife is using the app on her IPhone. If she hits the button, she will get the updates that you just made.

At the end of the day, it's a moot point. Its a cloud based system and you've already stated that you'll rip it out and install something else that allows for local use. Just make sure you research which system you go to since many of them are cloud based now.