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Philips Hue Discussion

I'll be using them to activate a lights-out routine for the kids, and for security, e.g., motion outside turns on an upstairs light, and motion dowstairs at night would trigger lights in the house including a flashing bright light in the bedroom as an alarm.
 
That's what I use smartthings for it gives far more options for such things I have it use sonos to alert us when someone is here.
 
LiveM said:
Is there any way with current apps to set sunset triggers sooner or later based on weather? On-time triggering has very limited uses.
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Definitely - I don't know who would be able to know in advance what time you will want the lights on. I'm amazed there isn't a 'sunset' option in the revamped app - is this something Apple have built into the new Home app for iOS 10?

Also how does the triggers of arriving/leaving home work when there are other people still inside - do they get left in the dark when you leave?
 
kiranmk2 said:
Definitely - I don't know who would be able to know in advance what time you will want the lights on. I'm amazed there isn't a 'sunset' option in the revamped app - is this something Apple have built into the new Home app for iOS 10?

Also how does the triggers of arriving/leaving home work when there are other people still inside - do they get left in the dark when you leave?
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Hue does not deal with multiple people yet. So I rely on smartthings for that and turning the lights on and off with sunset I dam set a time before or after sunset or with a light sensor
 
I have been thinking about this, but I am worried about security.
Is sthere a risk to introducing this to the home network?
 
Last edited:
I don't think so. I think it is like anything, make sure your WIFI is secure, with a decent password, and maybe even set the volume of allowed IPs. Lastly, clear out old unused devices from the WIFI list on the router...

kristoffer4 said:
I have thinking about this, but I am worried about security.
Is sthere a risk to introducing this to the home network?
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Does anybody know what, if any, 3rd party bulbs will work with Hue? I thought some did, but recall reading something about Philips discontinuing support for 3rd parties.
 
Superman07 said:
Does anybody know what, if any, 3rd party bulbs will work with Hue? I thought some did, but recall reading something about Philips discontinuing support for 3rd parties.
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Hue did shut down third party bulb support, but users complained so much, Hue added it back so the new hubs will still work with third party bulbs. I know people use the GE Link bulbs with Hue. i think I read there are issues with using these third party bulbs and Homekit though.
 
Weaselboy said:
I know people use the GE Link bulbs with Hue. i think I read there are issues with using these third party bulbs and Homekit though.
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That is correct. I use a Hue hub to control 3 Hue bulbs as well as 6 GE Link bulbs (I used to use the Wink ecosystem but have slowly been converting to Homekit, so Hue bulbs are slowly replacing the old GE Links). Siri/Homekit has no problems controlling the 3 Hue bulbs, but does not recognize the GE Link bulbs.
 
HerdJC said:
That is correct. I use a Hue hub to control 3 Hue bulbs as well as 6 GE Link bulbs (I used to use the Wink ecosystem but have slowly been converting to Homekit, so Hue bulbs are slowly replacing the old GE Links). Siri/Homekit has no problems controlling the 3 Hue bulbs, but does not recognize the GE Link bulbs.
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Once hue came out with the 15.00 bulb I dumped the he bulbs they would loose the pairing way too often.
 
steve knight said:
Once hue came out with the 15.00 bulb I dumped the he bulbs they would loose the pairing way too often.
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Yes, I've been fighting that the last few months. I bought a couple of Gen 2 bulbs on the cheap yesterday to start replacing those Links. Going to put them in the guest bedroom so I really didn't need the Gen 3 bulbs there. Really waiting on the Gen 3 to finally start having greater availability before I replace the rest.
 
BSben said:
Does the new Hue app not have an Apple Watch app?
Also I seem not to be able to teach Siri new scenes in the new app, any idea how to do it?
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The Hue app does have an Apple Watch component as I have it on my watch.
[doublepost=1484153939][/doublepost]So I wanted to get some opinions here. I am just starting to put in Hue bulbs (already have the starter kit installed) and was wondering about the additional bulbs.

How many of you are using just all white bulbs and how many are finding good uses for the colored bulbs and what are those uses?

I am debating between all white bulbs or mostly white bulbs with a few color bulbs mixed in.
 
I have a mix. the 15.00 bulbs in most places though my colored ones are the first gen. I have couple of hue blooms for color they do it better and one light strip. but only get color if you are really going to use it. though if you want color on the wallow ceiling the boom or light strip does a better job.
 
steve knight said:
I have a mix. the 15.00 bulbs in most places though my colored ones are the first gen. I have couple of hue blooms for color they do it better and one light strip. but only get color if you are really going to use it. though if you want color on the wallow ceiling the boom or light strip does a better job.
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So what do you use your colored bulbs for? I am trying to figure out if I need any and what application they would be used for.
 
The Martian said:
The Hue app does have an Apple Watch component as I have it on my watch.
[doublepost=1484153939][/doublepost]So I wanted to get some opinions here. I am just starting to put in Hue bulbs (already have the starter kit installed) and was wondering about the additional bulbs.

How many of you are using just all white bulbs and how many are finding good uses for the colored bulbs and what are those uses?

I am debating between all white bulbs or mostly white bulbs with a few color bulbs mixed in.
Click to expand...

I have 9 bulbs total: 6 white, 2 white ambiance, and 1 color. I never really use the colors or even the different temperatures of the ambiance bulbs, but then again I've only had my system for a month. But my favorite features of Hue are voice control, phone control, automation, and dimming, and you still get all of that with the white bulbs. The colors are cool to play with every once in a while, but do people really like their house to look like a night club all the time? If the price difference was only like $10, I might get all color bulbs just in case, but $15 vs $50 is a pretty huge difference.
 
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HerdJC said:
That is correct. I use a Hue hub to control 3 Hue bulbs as well as 6 GE Link bulbs (I used to use the Wink ecosystem but have slowly been converting to Homekit, so Hue bulbs are slowly replacing the old GE Links). Siri/Homekit has no problems controlling the 3 Hue bulbs, but does not recognize the GE Link bulbs.
Click to expand...

Let me know if you end up getting rid of more Wink stuff.
 
gtg465x said:
I have 9 bulbs total: 6 white, 2 white ambiance, and 1 color. I never really use the colors or even the different temperatures of the ambiance bulbs, but then again I've only had my system for a month. But my favorite features of Hue are voice control, phone control, automation, and dimming, and you still get all of that with the white bulbs. The colors are cool to play with every once in a while, but do people really like their house to look like a night club all the time? If the price difference was only like $10, I might get all color bulbs just in case, but $15 vs $50 is a pretty huge difference.
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Your night club comment is kind of how I was thinking too. I do have a 1 color bulb in my hallway that I set to a color at night and leave it on low power as a night light. I am thinking of setting up a color bulb in my bathrooms too and they would be one of the 3 bulbs in each bathroom and I night I would change the color and set it to low power and when you turn it on it doesn't blind you or wake you up completely. Now I have to figure out the color as I heard blue lights can interfere with your sleep.

As for the rest so far I have gone with all $15.00 bulbs and I think that will be my primary bulb. I can always swap out color bulbs later if I find a use/need for them.
 
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Hi all,

I recently got some Philips hue lights and hub. I'm finding a few things very flakey, though. First is trying to use Siri to control anything. I'd wager it works less than half the time. Often it says "the lights are not responding", but if I go into the Hue app, the lights are immediately responsive. Similarly, I think the HomeKit control centre pane will frequently fail to connect or take considerably longer to connect than just going directly to the Hue app. Is there a way to get HomeKit to behave more reliably?

Lastly - and I think this one is an actual Hue issue - the "arriving home" feature seems to work only 10-20% of the time. I also have the "leaving home" routine setup to turn off lights, but I never trust it because I know how utterly unreliable these location based features are. Any tips to help?

Overall I like the premise of the hue lights, and they're great when they work, but the issues seem to kill any real feeling of added convenience. Its worth noting that my home network otherwise seems to be quite reliable, I don't experience any base connectivity issues in terms of devices accessing or staying connected to the internet. But is there any setting anywhere that I'm overlooking that could be impacting reliability?
 
stevemiller said:
Hi all,

I recently got some Philips hue lights and hub. I'm finding a few things very flakey, though. First is trying to use Siri to control anything. I'd wager it works less than half the time. Often it says "the lights are not responding", but if I go into the Hue app, the lights are immediately responsive. Similarly, I think the HomeKit control centre pane will frequently fail to connect or take considerably longer to connect than just going directly to the Hue app. Is there a way to get HomeKit to behave more reliably?

Lastly - and I think this one is an actual Hue issue - the "arriving home" feature seems to work only 10-20% of the time. I also have the "leaving home" routine setup to turn off lights, but I never trust it because I know how utterly unreliable these location based features are. Any tips to help?

Overall I like the premise of the hue lights, and they're great when they work, but the issues seem to kill any real feeling of added convenience. Its worth noting that my home network otherwise seems to be quite reliable, I don't experience any base connectivity issues in terms of devices accessing or staying connected to the internet. But is there any setting anywhere that I'm overlooking that could be impacting reliability?
Click to expand...

I have very little trouble with unresponsive lights unless someone turns off the light. I don't know if this makes a difference but I have an Apple TV gen 4 that I leave powered on all the time to act as my control center hub for HomeKit which also allows me to control my devices when not at home.

I have my lights setup to turn on at sunset automatically and that works great. My elderly mother lives with me but I have taught her how to use the Apple TV remote and say "Turn on the living room lights" and the lights come on for her. She has never complained about using it since she can just talk to my Apple TV.

As for the leaving home or arriving home I am wondering if you have an Apple TV or an iPad that you leave at home all the time that can be your control center for your HomeKit stuff. If you don't than that might be the issue you are having is you are getting out of range before the Home/Away script executes. I have no problem with the home/away setup with my Apple TV in the mix.

Hope this helps.
 
The Martian said:
I have very little trouble with unresponsive lights unless someone turns off the light. I don't know if this makes a difference but I have an Apple TV gen 4 that I leave powered on all the time to act as my control center hub for HomeKit which also allows me to control my devices when not at home.

I have my lights setup to turn on at sunset automatically and that works great. My elderly mother lives with me but I have taught her how to use the Apple TV remote and say "Turn on the living room lights" and the lights come on for her. She has never complained about using it since she can just talk to my Apple TV.

As for the leaving home or arriving home I am wondering if you have an Apple TV or an iPad that you leave at home all the time that can be your control center for your HomeKit stuff. If you don't than that might be the issue you are having is you are getting out of range before the Home/Away script executes. I have no problem with the home/away setup with my Apple TV in the mix.

Hope this helps.
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Thanks! I will try setting up my iPad Pro as a hub to see if that makes things run any smoother.
 
I have a question about using a Hue bulb in an area they don't recommend. I have 2 porch lights that I would like to use the Hue bulbs in and I know they are designed for inside use only. My question is do you think it would be safe to use them in these porch lights anyway since they are both under a roof and they NEVER get wet from rain or snow.

Have any of you used one outside in an environment like I am describing?
 
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