Review: The Philips Hue Outdoor Lightstrip With HomeKit Integration Lights Up Your Backyard

[MacRumors]

Earlier this year, Signify (formerly Philips) debuted a new range of outdoor Hue lighting products that are designed to bring the iPhone-controlled multi-colored lights that you're used to using inside to the outside.

There are outdoor spotlights, wall lanterns, pathway lights, outdoor bulbs, and for accent lighting, the Hue White and Color Ambiance Outdoor Lightstrip.

Measuring in at 80 inches, the $89 Outdoor Lightstrip is perfect for balconies, patios, backyards, and anywhere else you'd like to add gorgeous and functional accent lighting that's also weatherproof.

Design

I've been using Hue products for years and I have a standard indoor Hue Lightstrip, and when I got the outdoor version, I assumed it'd be similar. It is, in the sense that it's a long string of LEDs, but the similarities end there.

While the indoor Hue Lightstrip features LEDs that are uncovered, for weatherproofing reasons, the outdoor Hue Lightstrip's LEDs are protected by an opaque silicone cover that diffuses the light and looks fantastic.

I'm a fan of my indoor Hue Lightstrips, but the way the outdoor version diffuses the light is superior, and I wish the indoor models looked like this. Because of the silicone-covered design, the Outdoor Lightstrip doesn't need to be used as background accent lighting, it can be front and center on a pathway, along a railing, on a fence, or in other similar spots.

The Outdoor Lightstrips are available in 80 or 197 inch configurations. Unlike the indoor version, there is no adhesive involved here. Instead, the Outdoor Lightstrip is made from a flexible material that can be manipulated and shaped into the design that you need. It's not going to fully bend, but it can be routed along a soft curve.

Hue's Outdoor Lightstrip is fully weatherproof, so it's going to hold up in rain, snow, and other harsh weather conditions. There are some limitations to be aware of if you live in an area with extreme temperatures, though, because it has an operational range of -4 degrees Fahrenheit to 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is a heavy duty setup with a large weatherproof power supply and an extra long two-piece cord, all of which is resistant to rain, dust, and other outdoor elements. I was tempted to use the Outdoor Lightstrip indoors because I loved the look of the diffuse light, but there is a lot of cord to deal with and no option to make it shorter.

The Outdoor Lightstrip measures in at .78 inches tall and .43 inches wide, so it's slim enough to go just about anywhere. There is no adhesive involved because it likely wouldn't stick outdoors. Instead, Signify supplies mounting brackets and screws that can be used to attach the Lightstrip to a fence, an overhang, or anywhere else.

I live in an apartment so my ability to permanently attach the Lightstrip to an outdoor area is limited, but I did install it on a set of shelves that I have to hold my plants, where it worked brilliantly. With the individual LEDs covered, the Outdoor Lightstrip looks like one continual light strand.


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Article Link: Review: The Philips Hue Outdoor Lightstrip With HomeKit Integration Lights Up Your Backyard

 

[HEK]

If you like the diffused effect so much, here is a tip. You may use the outdoor lighting strip indoors. Nothing prevents it.

 

[jclo]

If you like the diffused effect so much, here is a tip. You may use the outdoor lighting strip indoors. Nothing prevents it.

Well, there's no included adhesive on the outdoor lightstrip, nor can you cut it or add additional lightstrips so it's not really set up for indoor use. It has a pretty long and heavy duty cord too, which isn't very easy to hide indoors.

 

[zuiram]

The power supply generates a tone at 1kHz. I measured it to 51dB at 10cm. Both of mine make this sound always when on. Our ears are very sensitive around 1kHz but have a negligible sense of direction. So this becomes a very audible, very distracting and eerily unlocalizable noise that you’ve paid good money to be subjected to.

PSA, I guess.

They’d be close to flawless without this dealbreaker.

 

[jclo]

The power supply generates a tone at 1kHz. I measured it to 51dB at 10cm. Both of mine make this sound always when on. Our ears are very sensitive around 1kHz but have a negligible sense of direction. So this becomes a very audible, very distracting and eerily unlocalizable noise that you’ve paid good money to be subjected to.

PSA, I guess.

They’d be close to flawless without this dealbreaker.

I didn't notice this while testing at all, but this is something that I've noticed with lightstrips from other companies when set to certain colors, so I went back and did more testing. Mine isn't emitting a sound except when it's set to two of the white light shades, and it's not too much of a distraction when it's outdoors.

With all of the other colors, I'm not hearing any noise. Still, this could be a factor if you have this in a location nearby and often use the white shades.

 

[Bistroengine]

Well, there's no included adhesive on the outdoor lightstrip, nor can you cut it or add additional lightstrips so it's not really set up for indoor use. It has a pretty long and heavy duty cord too, which isn't very easy to hide indoors.

An industrious person could probably by their own double sided adhesive and even butt 2 outdoor light strips right next to each other if you wanted to extend it. You just couldn't shorten one if it was too long.
[doublepost=1539728866][/doublepost]Just curious, how long is the power cord? It's hard to tell in that photo where it's wound up. Do you get a decent amount of length to route it a nearby power outlet?

 

[jclo]

An industrious person could probably by their own double sided adhesive and even butt 2 outdoor light strips right next to each other if you wanted to extend it. You just couldn't shorten one if it was too long.
[doublepost=1539728866][/doublepost]Just curious, how long is the power cord? It's hard to tell in that photo where it's wound up. Do you get a decent amount of length to route it a nearby power outlet?

Yes, it's certainly possible if you want to use 3M adhesive strips or something. It's thicker and heavier than the indoor lightstrip with adhesive, so that's something to keep in mind. I'm not entirely sure how well it would stick. The main reason that I'm not going to be using this as an indoor lightstrip is because of the long bulky cord and the power supply.

An indoor version that has an opaque silicone covering that retains the same customization options would be nice, but if you have a spot for a bulkier outdoor version, there's no reason why it can't go indoors.

The cord, by the way, is plenty long and will definitely reach a power outlet from fairly far away. There are also cable extensions: https://www2.meethue.com/en-us/p/hue-white-and-color-ambiance/1742430VN

 

[x-evil-x]

They need to update the indoor version to not have the leds so far apart. If you have them close to a wall you can see the gaps in lighting it creates.
The outdoor version the leds seem closer together.

 

[MrJeffreyGee]

Philips really needs to get rid of the hub. There's so many other manufacturers that have already done this.

 

[SigurTom]

The power supply generates a tone at 1kHz. I measured it to 51dB at 10cm. Both of mine make this sound always when on. Our ears are very sensitive around 1kHz but have a negligible sense of direction. So this becomes a very audible, very distracting and eerily unlocalizable noise that you’ve paid good money to be subjected to.

PSA, I guess.

They’d be close to flawless without this dealbreaker.

My indoor strips make this noise, but none of my outdoor Hue devices do.

 

[Dunners]

It would be great if they released an outdoor version of their motion sensor to compliment this.

 

[x-evil-x]

Philips really needs to get rid of the hub. There's so many other manufacturers that have already done this.

whats wrong with the hub? Its not that expensive and it ALWAYS works
My 3 lifx bulb suck so bad in comparison. If they had a hub it would make their stuff more reliable.
[doublepost=1539773728][/doublepost]

It would be great if they released an outdoor version of their motion sensor to compliment this.

id imagine the normal motion sensor would work fine outside. just not in direct path of rain. Not sure where you'd put it besides right outside of the backyard door?

 

[RightMACatU]

A buck an inch or so. I'll have to remortgage the house if I want to do something nice around the pool

 

[bbednarz]

whats wrong with the hub? Its not that expensive and it ALWAYS works
My 3 lifx bulb suck so bad in comparison. If they had a hub it would make their stuff more reliable.
[doublepost=1539773728][/doublepost]
id imagine the normal motion sensor would work fine outside. just not in direct path of rain. Not sure where you'd put it besides right outside of the backyard door?

Can confirm the motion sensor works just fine outside as long as it stays dry. I have had one outside through a full winter and now a full summer and it works perfectly regardless of the temperature. I just wish there was a way to tell when the battery dies or is getting low.
[doublepost=1539789338][/doublepost]

Philips really needs to get rid of the hub. There's so many other manufacturers that have already done this.

I think they just need a hub that supports more than 50 devices. All the lights work 100% of the time. Some of my wi-fi only smart devices tend to get "stuck" every now and then.

 

[x-evil-x]

Can confirm the motion sensor works just fine outside as long as it stays dry. I have had one outside through a full winter and now a full summer and it works perfectly regardless of the temperature. I just wish there was a way to tell when the battery dies or is getting low.
[doublepost=1539789338][/doublepost]
I think they just need a hub that supports more than 50 devices. All the lights work 100% of the time. Some of my wi-fi only smart devices tend to get "stuck" every now and then.

can you combine both hubs so say in HomeKit your scene will trigger all the lights on different hubs? Im almost up there

 

[bbednarz]

can you combine both hubs so say in HomeKit your scene will trigger all the lights on different hubs? Im almost up there

Yep, that's the beauty of HomeKit. For instance I have a goodnight scene in HomeKit that will turn on my fan, and turn off a couple of salt lamps, and turn off all of the other lights in the house except the front door. You can also do things like this in Alexa which I also use.

 

[x-evil-x]

Yep, that's the beauty of HomeKit. For instance I have a goodnight scene in HomeKit that will turn on my fan, and turn off a couple of salt lamps, and turn off all of the other lights in the house except the front door. You can also do things like this in Alexa which I also use.

I just wish smart switches could turn on things like my espresso machine. but I still have to press the power button on the machine. Ohhhh the humanity

 

[bbednarz]

I just wish smart switches could turn on things like my espresso machine. but I still have to press the power button on the machine. Ohhhh the humanity

Lol soon enough there will be smart products without the need for the plug at all. I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon already had something of this nature floating around

 

[John Adriaan]

Philips really needs to get rid of the hub. There's so many other manufacturers that have already done this.

Actually, I completely disagree for larger installations. With only one or two lights, the extra Hub expense is a factor - but otherwise? I experimented with some different manufacturers' products, including Belkin's Wemo and TP-Link. These directly connect to the WiFi, which is all well and good - until you start to scale. A typical house has (say) 30 lights. That'd be 30 extra WiFi connections to the router over and above the normal ones for laptops, tablets, smartphones etc. This starts to reach the limitations of many routers. Using a Hub means that all the lights, switches and accessories connect to it using ZigBee (a completely different protocol that doesn't interfere with WiFi), and then the Hub only has a single connection to the router.

The fact that the Philips Hub only has a wired connection is a small concern. You can place the Hub almost anywhere in the house, since all the devices don't need to see the Hub directly: they can pass data through their siblings to reach the Hub in a mesh network. So sit the Hub next to the router, connect using the supplied Ethernet cable, and everything should work fine.

If the outdoor strip is your only Philips Hue device, then the Hub has to be less than 20 metres (60 feet) away - that might be a problem.

 

[x-evil-x]

Phillips stuff is very consistent. Never fails for me. LIFX on the other hand. Sometimes drops out and I have to reconnect the light which is a pain. Wifi bulbs and strips are crap. Hue is much much better.

 

[MrJeffreyGee]

Actually, I completely disagree for larger installations. With only one or two lights, the extra Hub expense is a factor - but otherwise? I experimented with some different manufacturers' products, including Belkin's Wemo and TP-Link. These directly connect to the WiFi, which is all well and good - until you start to scale. A typical house has (say) 30 lights. That'd be 30 extra WiFi connections to the router over and above the normal ones for laptops, tablets, smartphones etc. This starts to reach the limitations of many routers. Using a Hub means that all the lights, switches and accessories connect to it using ZigBee (a completely different protocol that doesn't interfere with WiFi), and then the Hub only has a single connection to the router.

The fact that the Philips Hub only has a wired connection is a small concern. You can place the Hub almost anywhere in the house, since all the devices don't need to see the Hub directly: they can pass data through their siblings to reach the Hub in a mesh network. So sit the Hub next to the router, connect using the supplied Ethernet cable, and everything should work fine.

If the outdoor strip is your only Philips Hue device, then the Hub has to be less than 20 metres (60 feet) away - that might be a problem.

That's a good point. Didn't think about all those Wi-Fi connections. I still think it would be more beneficial to most user if the strips/bulbs were wifi since they aren't currently at a price point where the average home can replace every single bulb or have strips everywhere. As for a fix for all those wifi connections... If Philips made everything wifi then they could also release a router that bridges over to your regular router and when the bulbs connect to that Philips router they automatically switch to hidden SSID, so it doesn't show in the wifi lists on devices. Eliminating the hub would reduce cost and spur adoption; as well as, giving people the option to buy 1 or many bulbs/strips. Wifi would also allow people to use their existing router, buy Philips (with additional benefits), or go out and get another brand of router. Either way, good point and good discussion! ^_^

 

[x-evil-x]

Actually, I completely disagree for larger installations. With only one or two lights, the extra Hub expense is a factor - but otherwise? I experimented with some different manufacturers' products, including Belkin's Wemo and TP-Link. These directly connect to the WiFi, which is all well and good - until you start to scale. A typical house has (say) 30 lights. That'd be 30 extra WiFi connections to the router over and above the normal ones for laptops, tablets, smartphones etc. This starts to reach the limitations of many routers. Using a Hub means that all the lights, switches and accessories connect to it using ZigBee (a completely different protocol that doesn't interfere with WiFi), and then the Hub only has a single connection to the router.

The fact that the Philips Hub only has a wired connection is a small concern. You can place the Hub almost anywhere in the house, since all the devices don't need to see the Hub directly: they can pass data through their siblings to reach the Hub in a mesh network. So sit the Hub next to the router, connect using the supplied Ethernet cable, and everything should work fine.

If the outdoor strip is your only Philips Hue device, then the Hub has to be less than 20 metres (60 feet) away - that might be a problem.

Didnt think about that also. I already have 18 wifi connections not including all the hue bulbs. so id have well over 50 then. In a studio apartment that's a tad much.
my lifx strips have issues on and off I think its because of my mesh router and the 2.4 ghz line on it(AmpliFi). I prefer the hue hub over anything else I have "smart" in my place. It just never fails or has issues.