The Hub can be used as a modem instead of a PLM device. However, you must use either a PLM or a Hub, you cannot use both.
Hubs do not have any technical benefit over a PLM. But it may save you from having to purchase a PLM if you already own a Hub.
You can't use the features of the Hub (the Insteon Mobile app) with Insteon-Mqtt. Any changes made using the Insteon Apps will not be reflected inside Insteon-Mqtt.
The interfaces available on Insteon Hubs have changed a bit over the years, be sure to check you model number and follow the instructions for your hub.
Models:
- 2242-222 (~2012)
These hubs have a port(9761) that allows for direct serial commands.
insteon:
port: "socket://<IP Address>:9761"
# where <IP Address> is the address of your hub.
use_hub: False
Be sure
use_hub
is false.
Models:
- 2245-222 (~2016)
These hubs only have a http interface. So all commands have to be issued over http.
Configuring Insteon-Mqtt to use a Hub rather than the PLM is easy. Simply add the following lines to your config.yaml file. In the sample file you will see that they are near the top.
insteon:
use_hub: True
hub_ip: <<ip address of Hub>>
hub_user: <<username>>
hub_password: <<password>>
The username and password can be found on a printed label on the underside of your hub. These values are unchangable.
Because modern hubs only have an http interface there are a few downsides:
- Slightly slower response (approximately 1/4 of a second) because of how the Hub works.
- If you use any of the direct integrations with the Hub such as Alexa, Google Home, Logitech,... the states of your devices will not be properly reflected in Insteon-Mqtt. However, if these integrations are made through Home Assistant, everything will work as normal.
You may notice a lot of the following warnings in your log file. This is normal and they can be ignored:
WARNING Protocol: No read handler found for message type
These occur because the Insteon cloud, even when not using the Insteon App, periodically polls the devices as well as performs other tasks.