IKEA Again Delays HomeKit Support for Trådfri Smart Lighting Range

[MacRumors]

IKEA has had to backtrack once more on its claim that the company's Trådfri Smart Lighting range is ready to work with Apple HomeKit.

According to German tech blog SmartDroid, IKEA began rolling out an update yesterday to owners to bring support for Apple's smart home platform as well as Amazon Alexa, only for the company to announce on its blog that many users were reporting "technical difficulties" in getting the connectivity to work.

This is the second time IKEA has had to apologize to Trådfri owners waiting for HomeKit compatibility. Back in August the company told customers that support was ready, but quickly retracted the advice when word spread online.

IKEA has promised HomeKit support for its affordable range of home lighting products since May. The system was originally announced in late March, and includes LED bulbs, illuminated panels, a motion sensor kit, a gateway kit, and dimming lights.

IKEA went on to say yesterday that there is still no working support for HomeKit and Alexa, and apologized for the inconvenience while it works on another update that rectifies the situation. As it stands, Philips Hue smart hubs remain the only other means to control the Trådfri lights from smartphones.

Article Link: IKEA Again Delays HomeKit Support for Trådfri Smart Lighting Range

 

[michael siccofield]

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[Hustler1337]

IKEA went on to say yesterday that there is still no working support for HomeKit and Alexa, and apologized for the inconvenience while it works on another update that rectifies the situation. As it stands, Philips Hue smart hubs remain the only other means to control the Trådfri lights from smartphones.

Being able to control Trådfri lights though the Philips Hue hub is misleading - you need to update the firmware on the Trådfri bulbs before you can take advantage of that. In order to update the firmware, you need to buy the Trådfri Gateway (hub) which defeats the purpose of being able to control Trådfri bulbs via the Hue hub.

I think a lot of Trådfri users have fallen into that trap, only to find out that they need to buy the Trådfri hub!

At this rate, I think people would start to consider paying the premium for Philips Hue or LIFX if they want HomeKit integration.

 

[MrZippyUK]

I returned my Tradfri bulbs as they are unlreliable with the remotes dropping out. More importantly the bulbs are rubbish quality with the white only bulbs flickering at 100hz which I find noticeable. Just use the 240fps camera on iPhone to see the flicker. Hue don’t flicker.

You get what you pay for, plus Amazon UK has some 3for2 offers on Hue bulbs at the moment making almost same price as Ikea ones, without the hassle and disappointment.

 

[zorinlynx]

I used to complain that Hue was expensive but after seeing how many problems there are with competing companies I'm realizing that you really do get what you pay for.

I own several Hue bulbs; I have had one bulb go bad but it was replaced swiftly by Philips. My only complaint about them right now is they really should sell higher lumen bulbs.

 

[big-ted]

Being able to control Trådfri lights though the Philips Hue hub is misleading - you need to update the firmware on the Trådfri bulbs before you can take advantage of that. In order to update the firmware, you need to buy the Trådfri Gateway (hub) which defeats the purpose of being able to control Trådfri bulbs via the Hue hub.

I think a lot of Trådfri users have fallen into that trap, only to find out that they need to buy the Trådfri hub!

At this rate, I think people would start to consider paying the premium for Philips Hue or LIFX if they want HomeKit integration.

If you buy the latest bulbs they work out of the box with Philips Hue

 

[allenvanhellen]

I returned my Tradfri bulbs as they are unlreliable with the remotes dropping out. More importantly the bulbs are rubbish quality with the white only bulbs flickering at 100hz which I find noticeable. Just use the 240fps camera on iPhone to see the flicker. Hue don’t flicker.

You get what you pay for, plus Amazon UK has some 3for2 offers on Hue bulbs at the moment making almost same price as Ikea ones, without the hassle and disappointment.

Good point, but Hue — at least the original bulbs — due flicker a bit, at least when dimmed.

 

[MrkJensen]

It is IKEA stuff and as cheap as it gets so what is new? I stick with Hue as that seems to work

 

[MrZippyUK]

Good point, but Hue — at least the original bulbs — due flicker a bit, at least when dimmed.

I haven’t noticed any flicker with my Hue bulbs, even when dimmed. I have a E27 richer colours, BC22 white ambience and E14 candle white ambience plus an E27 white. All 220-240V European bulbs purchased in last month.

I have tested the flicker rate using Viso Flicker Tester on the iOS App Store (free), believe all 799hz at all measurable brightness, as the app doesn’t work when too dim. But I did use the 240fps camera live view on my iPhone, that shows banding on screen opposed to flicker which I believe indicates a high flicker rate.

What is interesting when returning to ikea I went to lighting dept and used the 240fps camera live view to see their numerous display bulbs, a few types of regular LED had flicker, most OK though and just the white only Tradfri showed flicker. Of course display bulbs are well used!
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As it stands, Philips Hue smart hubs remain the only other means to control the Trådfri lights from smartphones.​

Article Link: IKEA Again Delays HomeKit Support for Trådfri Smart Lighting Range

Not quite true, install Homebridge and the Ikea Tradfri plug-in and you can, tested this before returning my bulbs.

 

[dennyf]

Being able to control Trådfri lights though the Philips Hue hub is misleading - you need to update the firmware on the Trådfri bulbs before you can take advantage of that. In order to update the firmware, you need to buy the Trådfri Gateway (hub) which defeats the purpose of being able to control Trådfri bulbs via the Hue hub.

I think a lot of Trådfri users have fallen into that trap, only to find out that they need to buy the Trådfri hub!

At this rate, I think people would start to consider paying the premium for Philips Hue or LIFX if they want HomeKit integration.

no update needed with "new Lamps" since production batch 1721

 

[apple_iBoy]

I’m not actually sure ikea wants to sell these items at present. I’ve read multiple comments on other stories where readers say they were in an ikea and couldn’t find the TRÅDFRI stuff. At our store it’s tucked away against a wall behind several rows of other stuff and is very poorly labeled. There was a little easy-to-miss pamphlet off to the side that at least tells you the function of the items (like the motion kit for instance). But the product boxes and the shelf labels themselves are almost completely devoid of information.

So, of course, those few people who do stumble upon the stuff have no idea what it is and end up breaking the demo units. For instance, the sensing portion of motion sensor module looks like a button to press, so in the absence of any helpful information on what the thing is, of course someone pressed it. And broke it. The dimmer remote was also broken in some way.

I bought a gateway and a few bulbs. I planned on controlling the system with my phone and didn’t want the remote (and still don’t), so I didn’t get the $79.99 kit, instead opting to purchase the pieces I wanted separately. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, told me that a “steering device” like the remote would be required to pair the bulbs and gateway. Didn’t find out about that until I got home — meaning another trip back to the store to buy a remote, which I used to pair the bulbs and which now lives in a drawer. I’m surprised I didn’t just take the whole mess back, as I’m sure many others have.

While at the store, I was trying to use their lousy WiFi signal to look up info on HomeKit connectivity. And of course the first few things I read were from the August timeframe — stories that mentioned HomeKit was now comparable, and didn’t include the key “well actually not yet” update. So that was a major disappointment.

All in all, I do like the lights. I have about a dozen of them, in several groupings, both inside and outside the house. I’ve set up timers for my backyard and front porch groups, and “mood settings” for various rooms inside the house. It’s all very cool. The ikea app, however, is clunky and kind of a pain in the ass. When (if?? No, when) HomeKit compatibility is activated, I think it will be a major improvement.

But until then, I’m left to wonder why they released what feels like a beta version product. I honestly do think they are trying to hide them in the stores to cut down on returns and bad reviews by frustrated and disillusioned customers.

 

[davetaz]

Just to let you all know the gateway update is now available with HomeKit enabled!

You will also need the new IOS app when that is released to get the HomeKit code. Alternatively there is a python script that can extract it from the gateway. I used this and can report that HomeKit works like a dream.