Philips Hue FAQ

darrenheaphy · 05-09-2017 5:07pm

Am curious - what have you all done with your existing hardwired dimmers and switches that are now redundant? Do you just have the Hue switches mounted nearby and leave the normal, now somewhat redundant, switches powered on? If a visitor inadvertently turns them off - does the app warn you that you've lost a connection to bulbs?

Shlippery · 05-09-2017 5:16pm

darrenheaphy wrote: »

Am curious - what have you all done with your existing hardwired dimmers and switches that are now redundant? Do you just have the Hue switches mounted nearby and leave the normal, now somewhat redundant, switches powered on? If a visitor inadvertently turns them off - does the app warn you that you've lost a connection to bulbs?

I've some lovely sellotape over em with the dimmer switch mounted beside them.

Need to find a more graceful cover but don't want to do too much messing in a rented house.

edit: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Philips-Hue-Dimmer-Remote-UK-Light-Switch-Adapter-Cover/253124817208?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D45992%26meid%3Da5372de7b47249ae9787f1e4721703f6%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D263091551232&_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850 Quick google says something like this might be handy though...

darrenheaphy · 05-09-2017 5:21pm

:-D I wonder has anyone went so far as to remove the switches entirely, though I guess that would still a blank white socket over them. I s'pose one could add motion sensors so that it reduces the likelihood of visitors pressing the original switch off, disabling the bulbs entirely. Although I *guess* (my bulbs haven't arrive yet) if one did press them back on, the bulbs actually come on too (as opposed to being 'off' but ready to receive instructions).

How cool would it be if one were starting a new house to have no light switches! Smart bulbs would make it redundant, place the Hue dimmers were the switches would have been!

Shlippery · 05-09-2017 5:27pm

Motion Sensor works wonders in the corridor, probably my favorite piece of the kit so far and the one that visitors are most impressed with :P

irelandrover · 05-09-2017 5:55pm

Shlippery wrote: »

Motion Sensor works wonders in the corridor, probably my favorite piece of the kit so far and the one that visitors are most impressed with :P

I have one of the sensors in my living room. When the level of the light drops below a certain level the lamps come on. Also have a sensor in my kitchen so when i walk in there the lightstrip along the cabinets comes on.

The sensor really is the best bit of kit in my opinion.

darrenheaphy · 05-09-2017 6:19pm

irelandrover wrote: »

I have one of the sensors in my living room. When the level of the light drops below a certain level the lamps come on. Also have a sensor in my kitchen so when i walk in there the lightstrip along the cabinets comes on.

The sensor really is the best bit of kit in my opinion.

So the sensor doesn't just detect motion but can detect light levels too?

AndyBoBandy · 05-09-2017 6:29pm

darrenheaphy wrote: »

So the sensor doesn't just detect motion but can detect light levels too?

You can set it so it only activates the light it is assigned to in low light level situations,

I.e., I go in and out of my kitchen during the day and the light doesn't come on, but after dusk, when the light level is low, walking into the kitchen activates the sensor and turns on the light.

irelandrover · 05-09-2017 7:08pm

darrenheaphy wrote: »

So the sensor doesn't just detect motion but can detect light levels too?

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

You can set it so it only activates the light it is assigned to in low light level situations,

I.e., I go in and out of my kitchen during the day and the light doesn't come on, but after dusk, when the light level is low, walking into the kitchen activates the sensor and turns on the light.

You can also set it to activate based on the light instead of motion.

donegal. · 14-09-2017 2:59pm

Dance Hue app is free atm on google play.
I've no idea if its any good

dance hue

Black_Knight · 14-09-2017 4:32pm

Shlippery wrote: »

Motion Sensor works wonders in the corridor, probably my favorite piece of the kit so far and the one that visitors are most impressed with :P

Motion sensor on my gate. Turns on the porch light when coming home at night.

Put one in the shed too. The light switch is behind the door

Black_Knight · 14-09-2017 4:34pm

Optimus Prime wrote: »

I've a bulb and a lightstrip in my kids room. Can you create a scene to turn the light bulb off and the lightstrip a certain colour at the same time with the remote ?

E.g.

1 press bulb on and lightstrip pink
2 press bulb off and lightstrip pink
3 press bulb off and lightstrip blue

Etc , can you control multiple hue devices like that with the remote ? The way it is now it just turns them on and off.

Thanks

Not using the hue switch afaik.
Flic might be more what you're after:
https://flic.io/

irelandrover · 14-09-2017 4:39pm

Black_Knight wrote: »

Motion sensor on my gate. Turns on the porch light when coming home at night.

Put one in the shed too. The light switch is behind the door

you have a motion sensor outside? how do you protect it from the weather?

Black_Knight · 14-09-2017 4:57pm

irelandrover wrote: »

you have a motion sensor outside? how do you protect it from the weather?

It's underneath my letterbox (magnet holding it on).

Shlippery · 14-09-2017 6:48pm

Black_Knight wrote: »

It's underneath my letterbox (magnet holding it on).

Brilliant. I need a house..don't think it'd work so well on the gate to my apartment block.

AndyBoBandy · 14-09-2017 6:51pm

Black_Knight wrote: »

Motion sensor on my gate. Turns on the porch light when coming home at night.

Put one in the shed too. The light switch is behind the door

You could just use geo location though to turn on the porch light when you come home, and use the sensor somewhere else!

irelandrover · 14-09-2017 7:21pm

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

You could just use geo location though to turn on the porch light when you come home, and use the sensor somewhere else!

the advantage for me in a sensor for the porch light would be it trips for visitors.

illdoit2morrow · 09-10-2017 12:58pm

I have a setup which includes a few rooms which i can control from the hue app, i can also use our echo dot to control the lights.

Is it possible to use Google assistant (without a google home) to control hue lights?

There was a few old posts asking the same question, but i couldn't find anything else.

wexfordman2 · 09-10-2017 1:01pm

illdoit2morrow wrote: »

I have a setup which includes a few rooms which i can control from the hue app, i can also use our echo dot to control the lights.

Is it possible to use Google assistant (without a google home) to control hue lights?

There was a few old posts asking the same question, but i couldn't find anything else.

You could use Google Assistant on your phone, that works for me as well as the Home devices

illdoit2morrow · 09-10-2017 1:08pm

wexfordman2 wrote: »

You could use Google Assistant on your phone, that works for me as well as the Home devices

Thanks for the reply.
I'm in work at the moment, so i can't give it a go. Is there any setup involved (i.e. linking assistant app to my hue bridge)?

A google search only seems to a retrieve setups where a physical google home is present.

wexfordman2 · 09-10-2017 1:38pm

illdoit2morrow wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.
I'm in work at the moment, so i can't give it a go. Is there any setup involved (i.e. linking assistant app to my hue bridge)?

A google search only seems to a retrieve setups where a physical google home is present.

Well it worked by default for me when I configured my Google homes, the assistant on my phone was Configured as well.

Download the home app to your phone and set it up, you link your devices through that, and I think that should get it working for you

09-10-2017 8:08pm

I can't get the hue hub to show when I try and login to hue skill of alexa app. Any ideas? It's working otherwise with alexa controlling brightness on/off etc but no scenes available until I login

The Black Oil · 12-10-2017 3:52pm

Two issues.

I've a Hue Go on an evening routine, but it doesn't seem to have worked the last two Tuesdays, for some reason. Settings are: Starts at 6:40pm, room - Hue Go, lamp, Hue Go - Fade - Instant - Dimmed. Turn off at 9. Switch/slider is on.

Porch sensor - trying to figure out the best option. I don't want it to be too sensitive to go off based on people passing by on the street. Am not directly on the street, but am close enough and some bushes partly blocking. I also do I not want it go off based on someone coming down the stairs internally. I have the porch sensor facing away from the stairs and there's concrete, glass and wood obviously re the porch. So, is it about juggling the motion sensitivity (take it down a notch or two) and the physical position of the sensor? Ideally, it should activate if someone opens the front door going out or if they open the porch sliding door*, late evening time.

*Again, sensor should preferably kick in only if they're close enough to the house.

NyOmnishambles · 19-10-2017 10:23am

Bit of a strange one

Recently my routines have started misbehaving, if left to their own devices they work but there would be times when I would want to go into the App and turn the lights off from the home page in the middle of a routine

After that the routine never works again, I have to delete it and create a new one

Anyone else having similar issues?
Software is up to date and I have cleared down all routines from the app and any other apps, even deleted the lights and re-added them

I used to be able to do with with no issues

darrenheaphy · 26-10-2017 9:47pm

Question - can one configure Hue from a browser or is it exclusively through the smart phone app? The app itself is great, I find Apple's Siri very unreliable though

AndyBoBandy · 27-10-2017 6:41am

darrenheaphy wrote: »

Question - can one configure Hue from a browser or is it exclusively through the smart phone app? The app itself is great, I find Apple's Siri very unreliable though

Yes, there is a desktop/browser version of Hue that allows control of Hue white outside the app.

I’m not sure about using it to set up lights etc, but you can control the lights with it.

Obviously you need a hue account and be set up for remote control (away from
Home network)

irelandrover · 27-10-2017 8:15am

darrenheaphy wrote: »

Question - can one configure Hue from a browser or is it exclusively through the smart phone app? The app itself is great, I find Apple's Siri very unreliable though

my.meethue.com

i dont think you can set up the bulbs using this. Its a very basic control.

darrenheaphy · 27-10-2017 8:31pm

Just playing around with the app, the coming home feature is a nice touch (lights up selected rooms automatically). Is there a way activate lights from the app *without* a direct wifi connection? If I open the app without wifi it just says no hue connected

Shlippery · 27-10-2017 9:27pm

darrenheaphy wrote: »

Just playing around with the app, the coming home feature is a nice touch (lights up selected rooms automatically). Is there a way activate lights from the app *without* a direct wifi connection? If I open the app without wifi it just says no hue connected

Yea, not sure how though. I've been able to turn them on and off while away :P..coming home is good - there's an experimental feature in lab where you can do multiuser geofencing so it doesn't turn off the lights on someone who's at home..

AndyBoBandy · 27-10-2017 9:44pm

darrenheaphy wrote: »

Just playing around with the app, the coming home feature is a nice touch (lights up selected rooms automatically). Is there a way activate lights from the app *without* a direct wifi connection? If I open the app without wifi it just says no hue connected

You need to set up a free hue account to allow access to your system while away from your home network or on 3G

The Black Oil · 31-10-2017 9:53pm

NyOmnishambles wrote: »

Bit of a strange one

Recently my routines have started misbehaving, if left to their own devices they work but there would be times when I would want to go into the App and turn the lights off from the home page in the middle of a routine

After that the routine never works again, I have to delete it and create a new one

Anyone else having similar issues?
Software is up to date and I have cleared down all routines from the app and any other apps, even deleted the lights and re-added them

I used to be able to do with with no issues

Not 100% happy with mine this last while. The Hue Go is the only one that seems to work all of the time, for whatever reason. A front light didn't come on today for me. I made some adjustments to the routine last night - to start a little earlier in the evening. Saved it, but nada and. Could be user error. Hopefully it'll work tomorrow.

Philips Hue FAQ

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