Philips Hue Lighting - owners thread

[Blue Oval84]

Scott W said:

You can do that with Stringify. The minimum on/off time is 1 second though. Here's a sample flow that I've created in a few minutes. The left hand side is the on and the right is off. You would just need to add the set of lights you want blue/white into the flow at the end.

Oh cool, will give that a go but may need to reconsider the whole "mexican wave" thing, five seconds to complete it and switch the lights on would turn it from a novelty into an annoyance...

[Blue Oval84]

ecsrobin said:

I think you’d be looking at PC control for that level of command.

Using what? Is there a site that helps or am I going to have to start learning to code?

Incidentally, if I'd been able to play with something like Hue coding when I was doing my A-levels then I may have maintained my interest in computing!

[Scott W]

Blue Oval84 said:

Oh cool, will give that a go but may need to reconsider the whole "mexican wave" thing, five seconds to complete it and switch the lights on would turn it from a novelty into an annoyance...

It might for five lights but it's worth a try. The screenshot I had originally wouldn't work as the flow needs to go from left to right and it will not fit on the one screen. Below is how it would actually start to appear in Stringify.



Definitely take a look at the app as you can do a lot with it (easier to work with than IFTTT as you can turn things off automatically i.e. wait 10 mins and turn off lights).

[ceebmoj]

Blue Oval84 said:

B17NNS said:

TRÅDFRI GU10's are much cheaper (compatible with Hue).

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/lighting/smart-...

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/lighting/smart-...

Oh wow, they really are a lot cheaper! They any good? I heard that the Innr ones sometimes make a noise.

Also, any ideas if the Ikea ones will be available in colour versions anytime soon?

I have been using 10 TRÅDFRI GU10's for a bit now and they are great.

[ecsrobin]

Blue Oval84 said:

ecsrobin said:

I think you’d be looking at PC control for that level of command.

Using what? Is there a site that helps or am I going to have to start learning to code?

Incidentally, if I'd been able to play with something like Hue coding when I was doing my A-levels then I may have maintained my interest in computing!

I’m not too sure what app but the PC apps seem to offer more control. One of the more useful/powerful ones I’ve seen reccomended is here: https://www.huedynamic.com you can alter lots of settings if you have buttons/switches. You can also change the hub software to stop all lights turning on after a powercut.

And finally I believe you can set it to change bulbs based on what’s on YouTube (like Hue+ on ambilight TV’s)

[LeadFarmer]

When Im away from home and have the Philips Hue app open on my iPhone, what do I need to control my lights using the app? Do I need a wifi connection, or will a 3G/4G connection work?

[JimbobVFR]

LeadFarmer said:

When Im away from home and have the Philips Hue app open on my iPhone, what do I need to control my lights using the app? Do I need a wifi connection, or will a 3G/4G connection work?

Any connection will do (I'm on Android but can't see the iOS app being different)

When I'm away from my own network I see a small orange bar at the top of the app that says out of home connection.
I believe you also need to be signed in the My Hue and have granted access to the bridge using the button on the bridge for it to work

Edited by JimbobVFR on Friday 5th January 07:39

[LeadFarmer]

JimbobVFR said:

Any connection will do (I'm on Android but can't see the iOS app being different)

When I'm away from my own network I see a small orange bar at the top of the app that says out of home connection.
I believe you also need to be signed in the My Hue and have granted access to the bridge using the button on the bridge for it to work

Thanks, so 'Out of Home Connection' just means exactly that, and not that you don't have a connection at all?

[JimbobVFR]

LeadFarmer said:

Thanks, so 'Out of Home Connection' just means exactly that, and not that you don't have a connection at all?

Yes, that screen shot was taken while I'm laid up in hospital, my wife texted shortly after to tell me to stop pissing about with the lights 🤣

There's also a similar banner for no connection but it's red.

[ecsrobin]

Worth a trip to your local John Lewis. These are in Hampshire 3 packs in total

[jmorgan]

JimbobVFR said:

LeadFarmer said:

Thanks, so 'Out of Home Connection' just means exactly that, and not that you don't have a connection at all?

Yes, that screen shot was taken while I'm laid up in hospital, my wife texted shortly after to tell me to stop pissing about with the lights ??

There's also a similar banner for no connection but it's red.

I assume there is a device back at home acting as the hub?

[Blue Oval84]

What a bloody disaster, the Hue bulbs are so much deeper than regular GU10's that they don't actually fit in the lights fittings I just bought (https://www.wayfair.co.uk/lighting/pdp/saxby-lighting-odyssey-2-light-wall-spotlight-gqb1184.html?piid=11014218#readmoremodal1)

I'm trying to find a replacement, clearly it can't be one with a screw on cap as shown, but even alternative lights are going to leave a ridiculous amount of exposed bulb. Has anyone actually found a good fitting for these?

Alternatively, I need to find an E14/E27/Bayonett bulb fixture that will looks modern, sleek, and isn't too big. Got close to one on Amazon but am concerned about the reviews suggesting that the quality isn't all that... It has an obvious flaw in that the wire comes out the back of the fitting, but there is no recessed area to tuck it away, making it impossible to fit the light flush without chasing out a decent section of the wall...

[Digitalize]

Blue Oval84 said:

What a bloody disaster, the Hue bulbs are so much deeper than regular GU10's that they don't actually fit in the lights fittings I just bought (https://www.wayfair.co.uk/lighting/pdp/saxby-lighting-odyssey-2-light-wall-spotlight-gqb1184.html?piid=11014218#readmoremodal1)

I'm trying to find a replacement, clearly it can't be one with a screw on cap as shown, but even alternative lights are going to leave a ridiculous amount of exposed bulb. Has anyone actually found a good fitting for these?

Alternatively, I need to find an E14/E27/Bayonett bulb fixture that will looks modern, sleek, and isn't too big. Got close to one on Amazon but am concerned about the reviews suggesting that the quality isn't all that... It has an obvious flaw in that the wire comes out the back of the fitting, but there is no recessed area to tuck it away, making it impossible to fit the light flush without chasing out a decent section of the wall...

The Innr ones look fairly small? Smaller than the Hue and Ikea ones at least. However I think lowest lumens and not temperature/colour adjustable.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Innr-dimmable-Compatible-...

Ikea's basic one looks the same size, but the temp adjustable looks like it would stick out.

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/lighting/smart-...

[dmsims]

Innr are the equal in terms light output and you can get temp adjustable

[Blue Oval84]

If I get the white bulbs then they should fit even with Hue, but if I want colour then they are bigger, that's what I'm struggling with. To be honest it also occured to me that sealing the bulb inside a metal tube may stop the zigbee signal anyway

Of course the other question is whether Amazon will accept all the bulbs back now that one is open.

It's a real shame as my current white metal wall lights do up/down lighting and are really compact, with clean lines. I can find plenty that would take an E27 bulb but they're all plaster and they look far less sharp (obviously the edges are all rounded, being plasterwork)

Anyone got any other suggestions for colour changing Hue wall lights that are small, have clean lines, and do up/down?

[Blue Oval84]

Think I found a solution. In the product questions someone says that they have colour Hue GU10's fitted in this-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01M23THCQ/ref...

I've ordered some to try it out. Only other question which just occurred to me, it's essentially a metal tube with holes in the end, how on earth does this not block the signal?! I suppose it must work, unless this guy in the Q&A is just winding people up...

[robfox]

I've got some Innr GU10s in these steel outside wall lights.

The lights by the front door work without any problems, as the router and the Hue hub are in the hall near the front door. The lights by the back door are 25' from the Hue hub and there are a few walls in the way, and that's enough to block the signal from the hub. I'm not sure if that's any worse than any other type of light fitting.

The lights apparently form a mesh network, so another Innr bulb positioned about halfway between the hub and the back door relays the signal and fixes the problem.

[Blue Oval84]

robfox said:

I've got some Innr GU10s in these steel outside wall lights.

The lights by the front door work without any problems, as the router and the Hue hub are in the hall near the front door. The lights by the back door are 25' from the Hue hub and there are a few walls in the way, and that's enough to block the signal from the hub. I'm not sure if that's any worse than any other type of light fitting.

The lights apparently form a mesh network, so another Innr bulb positioned about halfway between the hub and the back door relays the signal and fixes the problem.

Brilliant, my Hub is in the same room as the spotlights so should have no problem then if the Innr's work ok in those.

I'll report back on whether the colour Hue's fit in the spotlights I've ordered in case anyone else is ever looking for a similar solution. It seems that there are very few fittings that will allow the larger colour ones to fit without a ridiculous overhang at the end.

[JimbobVFR]

jmorgan said:

I assume there is a device back at home acting as the hub?

The Hue bridge connected to my router, nothing else.

When you sign into My Hue in the official app you are asked to separately authorise the web service again with the button on the front of the bridge.

It's only the official app that can do this, 3rd party apps need to be on the same network.

[HantsRat]

How can you do the alarm wakeup to choose a different colour? It only seems to wake up on white.