I was wondering if Philips Hue would work in a college dorm/apartment? I know we have an ethernet port in the wall so is it as simple as plugging in an ethernet cable into the Hue bridge into the port in the wall and controlling the lights via the school's Wi-Fi network? Not too sure if this would work or not or if I needed a router. Thanks.
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Philips Hue in College Dorm?
- Thread starter VAustinV
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It's going to depend on how your school's network is set up. Some require registration for the MAC address of every device on their network by some sort of enrollment utility (to verify that it meet security requirements, e.g., all the latest Windows Updates on Windows or the presence of an antivirus program, often checked with the download and running of an EXE or .app or Java program). Not all schools require this, but if yours does, you may need to see how you can register the Hue bridge. Many IT departments can do it manually because they'd also do the same for, e.g., a gaming console.
But beyond that, you'll also need your mobile device and the bridge to be on the same network. If wired and wireless devices on your school's network can talk to each other, this shouldn't be a problem, but it could be if they are, for example, on separate vLANs or firewalled off from each other for any reason. Even if they are, however, you should be able to set it up at home or somewhere where you can get them on the same network, set up the bridge for Internet controllability via your Philips Hue account, then bring it to school and be able to use it with somewhat reduced functionality (there are certain things you can't do over the Internet, like edit scenes in the app).
It could also work with your own router, but most schools do not allow you to use your own networking equipment on their network.
But beyond that, you'll also need your mobile device and the bridge to be on the same network. If wired and wireless devices on your school's network can talk to each other, this shouldn't be a problem, but it could be if they are, for example, on separate vLANs or firewalled off from each other for any reason. Even if they are, however, you should be able to set it up at home or somewhere where you can get them on the same network, set up the bridge for Internet controllability via your Philips Hue account, then bring it to school and be able to use it with somewhat reduced functionality (there are certain things you can't do over the Internet, like edit scenes in the app).
It could also work with your own router, but most schools do not allow you to use your own networking equipment on their network.