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All of Hue’s bulbs and fixtures have their own built-in Zigbee radios, as does the Hue Bridge, which you keep plugged into your router. Its job is to act like a Zigbee-to-Wi-Fi translator for your home network and your lights. For instance, you send a signal to your router whenever you turn a Hue bulb on using the app.
Do Hue lights need a bridge?
New Philips Hue smart bulbs are powered by a new chip that has both Bluetooth and Zigbee radios on board, rendering the Hue Bridge optional for the first time. Since Bluetooth has much more limited range than Zigbee, Signify recommends that you be in the same room as the bulb to control it with your smartphone.
Is Hue lighting worth it?
Overall, Philips Hue light bulbs make home living easier and more enjoyable. Philips Hue light bulbs are extremely convenient, and great for any size home. Since it has voice control, you’ll never need to fumble for a light switch ever again.
How do you control Philips Hue lights?
Philips Hue with Bridge * With an Amazon Alexa or Google Home device, you can use simple voice commands such as, ‘Alexa, dim the lights’, or,’ ‘Hey Google, turn on the table lamp’, to control your lights.
Do Hue lights connect to Wi-Fi or bridge?
While Philips Hue lights and bulbs don’t connect directly to Wi-Fi, they can be connected indirectly via the Hue app, and bridge devices such as Amazon’s Alexa/Echo, and Samsung SmartThings. Your smartphone then uses Wi-Fi to connect to the Hue app, whereas Echo and SmartThings also require Wi-Fi to various degrees.
Is Philips Hue being discontinued?
The company has announced that starting in April 2020, they will be discontinuing support for the first-gen Hue Bridge. After April 2020 no software updates will be made available for the Hue Bridge v1 and compatibility with our online services will be terminated at that time.
Is Philips discontinuing Hue?
Since 30 April 2020, no software updates are made available for the Hue Bridge v1 mobile application and compatibility with our online services has been terminated at that time. Subsequently, the dedicated Philips Hue Bridge v1 mobile application will go out of support and be retired on 30 April 2022.
Is Lifx better than Hue?
LIFX is known to produce more vibrant colors than Hue and none of its bulbs require any type of hub for you to control them. As stated previously, the trade off is that they do tend to cost more than Hue bulbs and there’s less third-party support, so they might not be as convenient to use.
How long do Philips Hue last?
With an average lifespan of 25,000 hours, a Philips Hue light bulb will not need replacing anywhere near as often. Exactly how often you will need to change a Hue light bulb depends on how many hours a day it is used — but it can last up to 25 years.
How much do Hue lights cost to run?
Philips Hue promises 9.5 watts of consumption on average. This was confirmed in Brian’s test where at 100% brightness, the consumption was even just around 9 watts. If the bulb is left on for a whole year at 100% brightness, the estimated cost would be around $10.82.
What does the button on the Hue Bridge do?
A solid LED means that it has an internet connection. Internet connection is not necessary if you don’t want to control your lights through the cloud. The center button is the Sync button. This can be pressed to allow apps to control your lights.
How many Hue bridges do I need?
If you have determined that you need to follow through with this, you will need 1 hub for every 50 bulbs you want to use. Someone who uses 200 bulbs would need to have 4 hubs, while someone who’s trying to use 80 would want 2. The key is to avoid overloading any single hub with too many devices.
What is the difference between the Hue Bridge and hub?
Hubs and bridges are essentially the same thing. You need the bridge to control any bulbs or other hue lighting that you have, so without the bridge the bulbs don’t work, essentially it’s a controller that plugs directly into your router to send a signal to all of your corresponding bulbs.
Does Hue work without Internet?
For the record, yes, Philips Hue works without WiFi. However, you will need to be at least connected to the same router that the Philips Hue is connected to in order for it to work properly. Either that or you need to have generation 3 or newer bulbs in order to connect via Bluetooth.
How far can Hue lights be from Bridge?
With Bluetooth control, you’re limited to only being able to operate your smart lights within Bluetooth range — about 30 feet or 10 meters. If you have a larger home or Philips Hue outdoor lights (which require a Hue Bridge to function), the full power of the Hue Bridge is your best option.
Does Philips Hue use your WiFi?
Internet is not required for the newer (and more limited) Philips Hue Bluetooth bulbs. But the initial setup and some Hue features do still require the internet. In short, Philips Hue requires the internet a lot less than many other smart bulbs.
