Insteon Hub vs. Pro

As with any technology, there’s a lot of excitement when an upgrade comes out for an existing version. And with the Insteon Hub Pro, there was a lot of hype. Unfortunately, the Insteon hub pro version didn’t quite meet peoples’ expectations.

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Now, in a comparison between most standard hubs vs. their pro versions, usually the pro version has a few new features and a hardware redesign that make it stand out from the standard one. But, the Insteon hub pro is an exception. We’ve compared the Insteon hub vs. pro purposefully to warn you about the limited features of a pro version.

Insteon Hub vs. Pro — Differences

  • Difference #1: App – Insteon hub runs on a standard Insteon app that’s been around for years already. You can download it for Android, iOS, and Windows devices. Whereas the Insteon hub pro only works with iOS devices. Insteon has even created a new, updated app for the Insteon hub pro only: it’s called Insteon+.

    You can download it on your iPhone or iPad, but not on any Windows or Android device. It seems like Insteon+ was released in a rush, since it’s not even universally compatible. This means that if you use the app on your iPad, you’ll be basically running the iPhone app on a bigger screen. Also note that the Insteon+ app seems generally pretty slow and buggy in comparison to the standard Insteon app.

  • Difference #2: Appliances compatibility – With the standard Insteon hub you can control all Insteon devices, like: dimmers, cameras, thermostats, light bulbs, etc. The standard hub works with Nest, Logitech, Amazon Echo, Cortana, Apple Watch, MiLocks, First Alert, and Sonos. The only downside is that the standard hub doesn’t support Homekit. And that’s the only place where the Insteon hub pro has an advantage.

    Insteon hub pro was created for HomeKit devices. Unfortunately, there’s a price for the Homekit feature, and we are not talking about money: by enabling the Homekit feature, the Insteon hub pro had to sacrifice standard compatibility features. The Insteon hub pro cannot control Insteon cameras, sensors, and remotes. It also doesn’t work with Nest, Logitech, Amazon Echo, Cortana, Apple Watch, MiLocks, First Alert, and Sonos. The reason is that Apple restricts access control devices that are only exposed via a hub/bridge.

    Funny thing though: a different hub, the Lutron Smart Bridge, works with all the above mentioned devices and can control Homekit devices — we’d recommend checking that one out in Insteon vs. Lutron — What’s the Difference?

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  • Difference #3: Alert support – With the standard Insteon hub, you can get instant alerts via email or push notification the moment any of your Insteon sensors trigger something. Insteon offers the following sensors: motion, door and window, water leak, and smoke. So basically, no matter what happens at home, you’ll be notified.

    The Insteon hub pro doesn’t support any sort of notifications; as we mentioned above, it doesn’t support Insteon sensors to begin with, so the lack of notifications isn’t surprising.

  • Difference #4: Guest Users – The Insteon Hub Pro allows you to create guest profiles. Your family and close friends can have different levels of access to your home control, making it easy for the neighborhood to take care of its own. Others with guest profiles will need an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and an Apple ID to get the access to your hub controls. They can be granted access to just control devices and scenes, but you are the only one who can make changes to your home configuration.
    The standard Insteon hub lacks this guest profile feature.

  • Difference #5: Dimensions – The standard Insteon hub is a small, white box. You can easily hide it near your router; it measures just 3.75”L x 3.75”W x 1.5”H. Whereas the Insteon hub pro looks like a router itself: its dimensions are 7”L x 4”W x 1.5”H.


Insteon Hub vs. Pro — Comparison Chart

Insteon Hub Standard (2245) Insteon Hub Pro (2243)
Control Insteon Devices Yes Yes
Control HomeKit Devices No Yes
Siri No Yes
Guest Users No Yes
WiFi Camera Support Yes No
Scenes Yes Yes
Schedules Yes Yes
Email Alerts Yes No
Push Notifications Yes No
Works With Nest Yes No
Works With Logitech Yes No
Works With Amazon Echo Yes No
Works With Cortana Yes No
Works With Apple Watch Yes No
Works With MiLocks Yes No
Works With First Alert Yes No
Works With Sonos Yes No
Works With HomeKit No Yes
IOS Yes Yes
Mac OS X No No
Android Yes No
Windows 8 Yes No
Windows Phone 8 Yes No
Insteon API Yes No

Insteon Hub vs. Pro — Our Thoughts

When choosing between the standard Insteon hub vs. pro, we’d say go with the Lutron Smart Bridge. Seriously, if you need to control Homekit devices, we recommend skipping over Insteon altogether. The Lutron Smart Bridge Pro gives you all the functionality of HomeKit and, unlike the Insteon Hub Pro, lets you build upon your automated home with a wide range of great smart home appliances.

However, if you already have the standard Insteon hub and are looking to upgrade to the Insteon Hub Pro, be ready to sacrifice a whole lot of compatibility with other smart home products; we honestly don’t even feel comfortable calling it an “upgrade” from the standard Insteon hub to the Insteon hub pro. But, compatibility is price you’ll need to pay when switching to the HomeKit enabled Insteon hub pro.


Last update on 2024-03-28 at 10:55 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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