If you’re choosing between the Insteon 2245 vs. 2242, or are looking to upgrade your Insteon 2242 to the upgraded 2245 version, then you’ve come to the right place.
With the Insteon hub, you can simply control your smart home devices from any smartphone or tablet, anywhere in the world. Both the Insteon 2245 and 2242 allow for control of Insteon light bulbs, outlets, wall switches, and thermostats. Whether you’re at home or away, you always have access to your home. And in case something goes wrong, you’re the first one to know thanks to instant email or push notification alerts. The alerts can be triggered via water leak, door and window, motion, and smoke sensors while you’re away from home.
Both hubs have almost identical features when it comes to Insteon device control, and yet there’re some technical differences between them:
Insteon 2245 vs. 2242 — Differences
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Difference #1: Setup time – Both the Insteon 2245 and 2242 are relatively easy to set up. However, with the Insteon 2245 you’ll spend way less time doing it — Well, at least that’s what Insteon advertises. However, we haven’t noticed any differences in setting up the hubs. Though, we’ve heard that there’re more customers having trouble pairing Insteon devices with the Insteon 2242 than with the Insteon 2245.
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Difference #2: Dimensions – The Insteon 2242 is generally bigger, but not by a lot. The Insteon 2242 is 9” x 6” x 3”. Whereas the new Insteon 2245 is just 3.75” x 3.75” x 1.5”. The new hub does have a sleeker profile, yet neither of the hubs is something you place for everyone to see. So the difference in dimensions might not be a key factor in deciding whether to go with the Insteon 2242 or the Insteon 2245.
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Difference #3: Field upgradeable – Unfortunately, the Insteon 2242 hub is not field-upgradeable, meaning that whenever new features are added, firmware upgrades won’t be available for it. In fact, the Insteon 2242 is officially discontinued, so that makes sense. But, you can still buy it online via Amazon. On the other hand, the Insteon 2245 is field-upgradeable, since it’s the newer version.
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Difference #4: RF range – The Insteon 2245 has a better RF range, which is a greater advantage for bigger houses. The Insteon 2245 hub offers up to 250 feet of RF range. And the Insteon 2242 has a range of up to 150 feet. So, depending on the area you want to cover with your Insteon devices, you can choose the right one for the job.
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Difference #5: Remote access – Insteon 2242 is user configurable. Whereas Insteon 2245 is automatically configured, meaning no port forwarding is required.
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Difference #6: Time tracking – The Insteon 2242 has internal time tracking. You can verify the internal clock by opening the Insteon for Hub app and navigating to the Settings menu.
The Insteon 2245 automatically syncs with the network server time, which is simpler and more reliable overall.
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Difference #7: Maximum # of alerts and schedules – The Insteon 2242 offers a limited number of alerts and schedules — 256 for each purpose. With the Insteon 2245, we see a greater increase of up to 1,000. It’s hard to imagine how long it’ll take to create 1,000 schedules, and why you’d need them, but Insteon 2245 is definitely pushing the boundaries when it comes to custom schedule creation.
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Difference #8: X10 supported – If you have X10 devices, you’ll definitely want to use the Insteon 2242 since it’s fully compatible with X10. Unfortunately, the Insteon 2245 do not support X10 communication.
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Insteon 2245 vs. 2242 — Comparison Chart
| Insteon 2242 | Insteon 2245 | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Time | 15-30 minutes | 3-5 minutes |
| Field Upgradable | No | Yes |
| Remote Access | User configurable | Automatically Configured (no port forwarding required) |
| RF Range | Up to 150 feet | Up to 250 feet |
| Time Tracking | Internal | Synced with network time server |
| Maximum # of Alerts | 256 | 1,000 |
| Maximum # of Schedules | 256 | 1,000 |
| PLM* | Yes *(can be used as an interface for HouseLinc) |
No |
| X10 Supported | Yes | No |
Insteon 2245 vs. 2242 — Our Thoughts
When choosing between the Insteon 2245 vs. 2242 hubs, we’d say go with the Insteon 2245. It has better technical specifications and, overall, it’s more up-to-date. In the event that you’re transforming your home into a smart home home from scratch, we’d like to point you to better options on the market — specifically, the Lutron Smart Bridge Pro. Not only does it have very similar features to Insteon 2245, but it also supports Homekit and a bunch of other popular smart home appliances. You can learn more about it by reading our article Insteon vs. Lutron — What’s the Difference?
If you already have the Insteon 2242 and are contemplating an upgrade to Insteon 2245, then make sure you know what you sacrifice with the upgrade (like PLM and X10 compatibility). Other than that, the upgrade is inevitable, but is there a rush? Probably not. We wouldn’t hurry, unless you have issues with your existing hub.
Upgrading from the Insteon 2242 to Insteon 2245 is fairly easy, just make sure you record your home’s setup and delete all scenes, devices, and your account before switching to the upgraded hub. Once the new hub is plugged in, you’ll need to create a new account, add your devices, create rooms, scenes, schedules, etc.
Last update on 2024-04-24 at 13:20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Visitor Rating: 5 Stars
Just so everyone knows, the 2245 is compatible with Alexa where the 2242 is not but this was added at the expense of having the capability to send commands via ASCII strings. My home built home automation and security system utilized a 2242 for the interface between the home controller and the Insteon devices. When I saw Alexa integration had been added in the 2245 I immediately purchased one. So I found out the hard way and now I have to support them both. That is a royal pain but it is a necessary evil as I have lots of Insteon device. I am looking for a solution I can eventually migrate to and I will then leave the Insteon camp for good.
Hello all,
I bought a 2242 Hub before I found out its not compatible with Alexa,.. Mainly bought it to run my X10 older controllers, which it does well.
Then discovered the 2245 which is Alexa compatible. However, just found out it doesnt support X10 !
Question is, if I buy the 2245 , is there a way to have both 2242 and 2245 talking to each other in view of my X10 products? or would there be a conflict between the hubs?
Would like to know if anyone else has done this please .
Louis George
Hi Louis,
If I could guess, there’d definitely be a conflict. However, make sure to contact Insteon support for more details.