Princess Scott Tech 04.23.2022 00:Apr AM EDT

Insteon Finally Reveals Why It's Going Out of Business

(Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

It went dark for smart-lighting company.

Without releasing any announcement to its users, the smart-lighting company Insteon shut down abruptly on mid April, saying afterwards that the company is going out of business because of the pandemic and supply chain problems.

Without giving any warning at all, its array of connected light switches, dimmer outlets, wall keypads, and smart home sensors lost the ability to connect with Insteon servers, angering many users who relied on Insteon's cloud.

Insteon Sudden Exit Explained

In an unsigned post in Insteon website, the company penned a goodbye message to its community explaining that in 2019 "the onset of the global pandemic brought unforeseen disruption to the market."

Despite of the struggles in 2019, Insteon managed to move forward. However, "the subsequent disruption to the supply chain caused by the pandemic proved incredibly difficult and the company engaged in a sales process in November, 2021."

Insteon looked for a buyer that would continue to invest in new products and technology but was unsuccessful.

The company explained that the plan resulted in several interested parties and a sale was expected to be realized in the March timeframe. But, the sale did not materialize.

"Consequently, the company was assigned to a financial services firm in March to optimize the assets of the company," the message further stated.

Despite the exit, Insteon remains hopeful that a buyer may be found in the days to come as the company said "The pioneering work in smart lighting and world-class products have created an extraordinary following and community. Clearly, all Smartlabs' employees who have worked so hard to produce such world-class products and technology hope that a buyer can be found for the company."

In the latter part of the message, Insteon apologized to its community and expressed its hope for the customers to understand the tireless efforts by all the employees to serve.

Lack of Warning Angered Customers, CEO Mum on the Issue

The sudden exit of Insteon without prior warning angered users, who found themselves unable to control their home's lights with the Insteon mobile app, per WIRED report.

According to WIRED's report, although some of the company's smart switches currently still work as regular on-off light switches, many models are bricked. After resetting their glitchy devices to the default settings, customers found that the devices no longer worked at all.

Insteon also initially shut down its user forums. The leadership page is also wiped off from its website.

When requested for comments, Insteon did not respond. Insteon CEO Rob Lilleness said he had no information to share and was no longer involved with the company, WIRED reported.

Lilleness scrubbed his LinkedIn page of information. He removed his role at Insteon from LinkedIn, and cut his name and picture. Consequently, he deleted his entire LinkedIn account.

Insteon was a proprietary home automation system that enabled light switches, lights, thermostats, leak sensors, remote controls, motion sensors, and other electrically powered devices to interoperate through power lines, radio frequency (RF) communications, or both.