Philips Hue Lighting - owners thread

[durbster]

s2kjock said:

I decided for the first time to buy some basic innr bulbs to replace a failed Hue one, and when adding it to the network it seemed initially to find it and activate it, it fails to work with Google Home properly - I thought google home would just update for any changes made to the Hue network?

Basically I was replacing one lamp bulb which is in a "room" of two lamps so normally I ask Google to "turn on sitting room lamps" and it worked fine with the Hue bulbs - now it seems to tell me it can't find anything.

Is this a compatibility issue or am I setting it up wrong?

I am getting to the point of returning the innr ones and just reverting to the more expensive Hue.

The problem might be Google Home. It's rubbish. Ours barely understands anything.

Could it be the names of the device are too similar so it doesn't know what's what?

[Cotty]

s2kjock said:

I am getting to the point of returning the innr ones and just reverting to the more expensive Hue.

I had two WEMO plugs. They were all right to start with but after a few years they started to get very temperamental and having to factory reset them to get working again. When one eventually broke I bought the more expensive Philips Hue plug. The thing is the Philips stuff just works.

Just checked and the price seems to have gone up to £29

Edited by Cotty on Friday 27th October 07:56

[theboss]

BigBen said:

Doesn't that only work with in home control and you have to manually switch between them in the app?

I will get iConnectHue as agree the Hue app is not what it should be

Indeed, I have 3 bridges and set them up with unique email addresses as otherwise remote control isn't possible - at least that was the case at the time. Not sure if anything has moved on. I do have to switch between them in the app - there is no aggregation of lights/zones across all bridges.

[s2kjock]

durbster said:

s2kjock said:

I decided for the first time to buy some basic innr bulbs to replace a failed Hue one, and when adding it to the network it seemed initially to find it and activate it, it fails to work with Google Home properly - I thought google home would just update for any changes made to the Hue network?

Basically I was replacing one lamp bulb which is in a "room" of two lamps so normally I ask Google to "turn on sitting room lamps" and it worked fine with the Hue bulbs - now it seems to tell me it can't find anything.

Is this a compatibility issue or am I setting it up wrong?

I am getting to the point of returning the innr ones and just reverting to the more expensive Hue.

The problem might be Google Home. It's rubbish. Ours barely understands anything.

Could it be the names of the device are too similar so it doesn't know what's what?

I have managed to sort it now, and it just seemed to be Google Home losing the plot a bit - now back on track.

Whether it will still understand my PH's West of Scotland accent (which gets broader the more annoyed she gets) now it is reset remains to be seen

[UTH]

Hue, you have got to stop drawing me in.

I bought the Christmas tree lights last year.

So this year they have now decided to upgrade them so they can go outside.....and you can get longer/more lights:

https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/p/hue-white-and-...

So of course I'm going to have to replace my cheap stty outdoor lights I have with these!

[DoctorX]

UTH said:

Hue, you have got to stop drawing me in.

I bought the Christmas tree lights last year.

So this year they have now decided to upgrade them so they can go outside.....and you can get longer/more lights:

https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/p/hue-white-and-...

So of course I'm going to have to replace my cheap stty outdoor lights I have with these!

There must be several grands worth in that picture

I bought them last year. Slightly underwhelming and 100 is not really enough for a 6-7 foot tree. I'm not paying those prices for more though.

[UTH]

DoctorX said:

UTH said:

Hue, you have got to stop drawing me in.

I bought the Christmas tree lights last year.

So this year they have now decided to upgrade them so they can go outside.....and you can get longer/more lights:

https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/p/hue-white-and-...

So of course I'm going to have to replace my cheap stty outdoor lights I have with these!

There must be several grands worth in that picture

I bought them last year. Slightly underwhelming and 100 is not really enough for a 6-7 foot tree. I'm not paying those prices for more though.

I don't like to admit to myself that I was also slightly underwhelmed by my tree lights. But I'm fairly sure I would be happy with the 20m set lighting up my pergola, but as always the price isn't friendly.

[wjwren]

Anyone got the tap dial light switch? I heard you can operate 4 lights off the one switch but can't seem to manage to do it.

[Oakey]

s2kjock said:

I decided for the first time to buy some basic innr bulbs to replace a failed Hue one, and when adding it to the network it seemed initially to find it and activate it, it fails to work with Google Home properly - I thought google home would just update for any changes made to the Hue network?

Basically I was replacing one lamp bulb which is in a "room" of two lamps so normally I ask Google to "turn on sitting room lamps" and it worked fine with the Hue bulbs - now it seems to tell me it can't find anything.

Is this a compatibility issue or am I setting it up wrong?

I am getting to the point of returning the innr ones and just reverting to the more expensive Hue.

"Okay Google, sync devices" may be the solution you're looking for

[Oakey]

Has anyone managed to salvage a faulty Hue Light Strip Plus?

At least two of mine have failed drivers, I picked up a Geloptro wi-fi controller and wired it in to the lightstrip and whilst it works, a lot of colours will flicker rapidly which isn't ideal.

I'm think maybe I'll just use these to extend existing light strips that still work.

As an aside, I've been with Hue for nearly ten years and I kind of feel they're really falling behind now. At their price point you would expect premium quality but it's just mediocre at best. They're still shipping faulty light strips whilst you can get 5m of RGBIC strip for £25 on Amazon

[dxg]

Yup.

I'm really starting to find the price of Hue kit a barrier.

Having said that, after pontificating about whether or not to mount the TV above the fireplace, I opted to not and finally got my gradient strip mounted to the back of the TV and connected to the sync box and it is awesome. I'd previously been "making do" with a couple of play bars.

In fact, it is almost sufficiently awesome to make to me not gaul at the fact that the Govee system (albeit with the camera) would have been about 1/3 to 1/4 of the cost).

Almost.


Case in point, one of the jobs for this weekend was gallery staircase lighting. The plan was to get an Ikea Nymane set of four spots and swap in Hue colour G10s. Until I realised it was £100 for just three bulbs. £33 a bulb is just too much. I have a few already dotted around the place and I don't remember them costing that much before...

Suspect I'll just crack on with the White Ambience GU10s I've got lying around.

Edited by dxg on Sunday 31st December 14:14

[BigBen]

I needed 12 GU10 Hue bulbs which adds up to quite a lot of money. Instead I bought some Hue compatible items for about 25% of the price. They were st, in particular all 12 would not reliably switch on when requested.

Therefore I replaced with 12 Hue bulbs and still have a box of the st ones that I CBA to sell. Buy cheap by 1.25 times......

[Greedydog]

dxg said:

Yup.

I'm really starting to find the price of Hue kit a barrier.

Having said that, after pontificating about whether or not to mount the TV above the fireplace, I opted to not and finally got my gradient strip mounted to the back of the TV and connected to the sync box and it is awesome. I'd previously been "making do" with a couple of play bars.

In fact, it is almost sufficiently awesome to make to me not gaul at the fact that the Govee system (albeit with the camera) would have been about 1/3 to 1/4 of the cost).

Almost.


Case in point, one of the jobs for this weekend was gallery staircase lighting. The plan was to get an Ikea Nymane set of four spots and swap in Hue colour G10s. Until I realised it was £100 for just three bulbs. £33 a bulb is just too much. I have a few already dotted around the place and I don't remember them costing that much before...

Suspect I'll just crack on with the White Ambience GU10s I've got lying around.

Edited by dxg on Sunday 31st December 14:14

I agree with the cost criticism, the bulbs are just too expensive when you start with multiple bulbs of downlighting or in fancy light fixtures.

Re the synch box and gradient strip. Far, far too expensive for yesterday’s technology. I have the same kit and found it unreliable and incompatible with modern standards. You mention the Govee camera system, which is better, albeit with the usual camera lag that is intrinsic to these solutions, but there are multiple, better Chinese direct HDMI systems (and a more advanced Govee kit only available in the US in TV sizes), the latest work with 4k UHD and HDR and are still much cheaper than the Hue synch box and strip.

[Cotty]

dxg said:

Yup.
I'm really starting to find the price of Hue kit a barrier.

I just saw a Hue plug at £35. I wanted it for a lamp, turned out cheaper to buy a Hue bulb

Edited by Cotty on Sunday 31st December 17:04

[dickymint]

Greedydog said:

dxg said:

Yup.

I'm really starting to find the price of Hue kit a barrier.

Having said that, after pontificating about whether or not to mount the TV above the fireplace, I opted to not and finally got my gradient strip mounted to the back of the TV and connected to the sync box and it is awesome. I'd previously been "making do" with a couple of play bars.

In fact, it is almost sufficiently awesome to make to me not gaul at the fact that the Govee system (albeit with the camera) would have been about 1/3 to 1/4 of the cost).

Almost.


Case in point, one of the jobs for this weekend was gallery staircase lighting. The plan was to get an Ikea Nymane set of four spots and swap in Hue colour G10s. Until I realised it was £100 for just three bulbs. £33 a bulb is just too much. I have a few already dotted around the place and I don't remember them costing that much before...

Suspect I'll just crack on with the White Ambience GU10s I've got lying around.

Edited by dxg on Sunday 31st December 14:14

I agree with the cost criticism, the bulbs are just too expensive when you start with multiple bulbs of downlighting or in fancy light fixtures.

Re the synch box and gradient strip. Far, far too expensive for yesterday’s technology. I have the same kit and found it unreliable and incompatible with modern standards. You mention the Govee camera system, which is better, albeit with the usual camera lag that is intrinsic to these solutions, but there are multiple, better Chinese direct HDMI systems (and a more advanced Govee kit only available in the US in TV sizes), the latest work with 4k UHD and HDR and are still much cheaper than the Hue synch box and strip.

I've had Hue Sync for years (with 2 x play lights and LED strip) and it's been faultless with our new Samsung TV. The only downside is it doesn't work on TV native apps as understandably the signal has to go through the sync box to work.

Well I just found this..............

https://www.philips-hue.com/de-de/explore-hue/prop...

[dapprman]

BigBen said:

I needed 12 GU10 Hue bulbs which adds up to quite a lot of money. Instead I bought some Hue compatible items for about 25% of the price. They were st, in particular all 12 would not reliably switch on when requested.

Therefore I replaced with 12 Hue bulbs and still have a box of the st ones that I CBA to sell. Buy cheap by 1.25 times......

We need Lidl to start selling theirs again. I have 5 in the kitchen and they've been flawless.

[BigBen]

dapprman said:

BigBen said:

I needed 12 GU10 Hue bulbs which adds up to quite a lot of money. Instead I bought some Hue compatible items for about 25% of the price. They were st, in particular all 12 would not reliably switch on when requested.

Therefore I replaced with 12 Hue bulbs and still have a box of the st ones that I CBA to sell. Buy cheap by 1.25 times......

We need Lidl to start selling theirs again. I have 5 in the kitchen and they've been flawless.

Similarly I have a few of the Lidl smart plugs and they have also been flawless.

[UTH]

Been sucked in again, payday plus spring sale = https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/p/hue-white-and-...

Hoping they'll look good replacing my cheap amazing festoon lights, but if not they might look good wrapped into a tree we have near our patio.

[Sheepshanks]

I might be missing something, but is there a Hue (or compatible) solution for under cabinet lighting in kitchens?

I know there's their own lightstrip but it's too bulky and inflexible.

A superslim panel would probably be most ideal.

[UTH]

Sheepshanks said:

I might be missing something, but is there a Hue (or compatible) solution for under cabinet lighting in kitchens?

I know there's their own lightstrip but it's too bulky and inflexible.

A superslim panel would probably be most ideal.

I assume you mean this one that's not flexible enough? I think it's the only option at the moment

https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/p/hue-white-and-...