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IKEA Trådfri Smart Lighting System Supports Apple HomeKit [Update: Not Yet]
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The Ikea bulbs with firmware 1.2.217 are now working with the Philips Hue hub and therefore HomeKit. It's likely that an update to the Ikea gateway is imminent.
(UPDATE): Ikea is now saying their gateway/hub will be updated in the Fall, but their bulbs do work as of right now with Hue and it's HomeKit compatible hub after applying the newly available update).
(UPDATE): Ikea is now saying their gateway/hub will be updated in the Fall, but their bulbs do work as of right now with Hue and it's HomeKit compatible hub after applying the newly available update).
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"Make sure you have the latest upgrade of the WIRELESS gateway to pair it with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, or Google Home."
For us that only have Ikea hubs.
Yes I understood that. What I was saying is that the bulbs themselves already have received the update and are currently working with the Hue hub. Therefore it's fairly safe to assume that Ikea will also be updating their gateway firmware as well at any time.
Does this mean I can buy Ikea bulbs now and connect to my existing Hue Hub (v2)?
OR to update the bulbs (to work with hue) do I need to purchase the ikea bridge to perform the update?
Sure, if you only have two lightbulbs in your house, it costs about the same as Philips Hue. If you have more than that, Hue bulbs costs 50-100% more. The savings add up. Hue may be worth the extra cost, but I don't think its fair to say it will cost about the same.
In Canada though if I compare the basic white one Ikea's one is at $14 vs Hue white is at $15...not much of a difference here.
Just in case anyone with Ikea bulbs doesn't already know, its already possible to connect the bulbs/panels to HomeKit using a piece of free software called HomeBridge, you will still need an Ikea Wireless Hub for this to work though.
Ok, so the downside is that you need a computer to run HomeBridge for you, but you can either install it on a Mac or if you have a raspberry Pi that is the cheapest option ( I think you can buy a rPi zero for under 10 pounds ).
So you install HomeBridge, then install the 'Ikea' plugin and that's all you need to do, the Ikea plugin will automatically find the Ikea Wireless Hub and then send all your bulbs/panels to HomeKit and they just appear like any other bulbs, you can turn them on or off, change the brightness, or the colour, and use Siri to control them.
I've been using this for a few weeks, I've got 5 Ikea bulbs and 2 Ikea panels connected, and another advantage of the HomeBridge software is that it works with other IoT appliances not just Ikea.
So I've also got 3 TP-Link wireless plug sockets, they are very cheap because they are not HomeKit compatible, but with the HomeBridge plugin I can also control them using Siri via HomeKit.
I'll definitely switch over to the Ikea HomeKit solution though once their new firmware is released, but for now, you can go 100% HomeKit and Siri activated with all your Tradfi appliances today
Ok, so the downside is that you need a computer to run HomeBridge for you, but you can either install it on a Mac or if you have a raspberry Pi that is the cheapest option ( I think you can buy a rPi zero for under 10 pounds ).
So you install HomeBridge, then install the 'Ikea' plugin and that's all you need to do, the Ikea plugin will automatically find the Ikea Wireless Hub and then send all your bulbs/panels to HomeKit and they just appear like any other bulbs, you can turn them on or off, change the brightness, or the colour, and use Siri to control them.
I've been using this for a few weeks, I've got 5 Ikea bulbs and 2 Ikea panels connected, and another advantage of the HomeBridge software is that it works with other IoT appliances not just Ikea.
So I've also got 3 TP-Link wireless plug sockets, they are very cheap because they are not HomeKit compatible, but with the HomeBridge plugin I can also control them using Siri via HomeKit.
I'll definitely switch over to the Ikea HomeKit solution though once their new firmware is released, but for now, you can go 100% HomeKit and Siri activated with all your Tradfi appliances today
I'm not sure it is officially supported yet. This is from the IKEA Facebook thread in question:
"Good evening!
There has been information going out today about the compatibility of TRÅDFRI. We can now inform you that TRÅDFRI is not yet compatible with Apple, Amazon and Google. The plan is that everything will work as we'd like this fall.
We are very sorry for the confusion!
Best regards, Maja"
"Good evening!
There has been information going out today about the compatibility of TRÅDFRI. We can now inform you that TRÅDFRI is not yet compatible with Apple, Amazon and Google. The plan is that everything will work as we'd like this fall.
We are very sorry for the confusion!
Best regards, Maja"
The Hue white ambiance bulbs is about $12 more than IKEA's, $26 vs $18. So, yes 50%. But the Hue white ambiance bulb also has a wider color range. You get what you pay for. Additionally, Hue has a lot more different types of bulbs available, including the cool color ones, so it's a more complete system. For my money, it's not worth saving a few bucks to buy into a more limited system with less functionality. Wait until Black Friday and they blow out Hue. Bought a few color sets last year for $100. They are cheap on eBay too.
I just don't see where the IKEA bulbs are on par with the other makers in this space and the price does not reflect that as it does with IKEA's furniture. Typically IKEA furniture is very reasonably priced but you up front it's junk and disposable. Here, their lighting system really isn't discounted much and it's still junk by comparison.
And most important, adds automation. While optional, HomeKit HUBS (4th gen Apple TV or an iPad) allow users to configure automated actions. Automated actions are the most useful part of HomeKit where you can schedule a single event to control products from various manufacturers. For example, at sundown, turn on my living room lights (Leviton dimmer via wifi) and landscape lights (Koogeek smart plug via wifi). Now I should be able to add various Ikea smart devices via their Ikea GATEWAY
That's the $64k question right now. But any Ikea bulb that is running the new firmware will be recognized by the Hue 2.0 hub and therefore also work with HomeKit based on those that have already tried it. This is a boon to those of us with a Hue setup as we can now use the lesser expensive alternatives from Ikea if we so desire.
Yep thats exactly what I'm thinking. I have a hue set up already and I love the colour bulbs. But for areas where I don't need colour and just want normal white bulbs the ikea ones work out as a great price alternative, especially with things like the motion sensor to factor in which a great price.
It's cheap because it's not as easy as it may seem, I went to my local online Ikea shop to find out how this works and I am still not really sure I understand.
For instance, they don't really say you need a hub when you buy a bulb online, next I found out you need a steering device to control it, that's what I thought but then I downloaded the manuals (more about this later on) and found out the steering device is needed for setup beside needing a hub, WTF....
Below is a screenshot I took from Manuals, there are 3 of them, all the same number but are different, one of them is the real manual, others are just supporting papers.
What a crap experience. (Wish Ikea reads this)
For instance, they don't really say you need a hub when you buy a bulb online, next I found out you need a steering device to control it, that's what I thought but then I downloaded the manuals (more about this later on) and found out the steering device is needed for setup beside needing a hub, WTF....
Below is a screenshot I took from Manuals, there are 3 of them, all the same number but are different, one of them is the real manual, others are just supporting papers.
What a crap experience. (Wish Ikea reads this)
I didn't realise they did GU10 which I have a lot of so am interested, especially if HomeKit and can integrated with SmartThings.
Use converter/adapter what I've done for several lamps. Like below but loads about
https://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/brands/es-to-bc-lampholder-adaptor/
From what I've read so far anyway, it takes either having the Ikea gateway or knowing a friend that does so you can connect the bulbs to it for the update. At some point they'll obviously start selling bulbs that are already at version 1.2.217 or later as well.
Used one of those before at Halloween but hardly an elegant solution, they add a couple of inches onto the space the bulb takes up meaning it isn’t in the right place in the shade. Odd as Ikea do normal B22 caps for non smart bulbs.
Update
Ikea sell the BC to ES adaptor, 2 for £1. Might have to check these out. Before I used a ES to BC adaptor, maybe these are shorter.
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/...oppla-b22-to-e27-bulb-converter-art-90295615/
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