Philips Hue FAQ

OffalyMedic

Can Philips hue lights be synced to change colour and play with music over a Google mini?

The high horse brigade

OffalyMedic wrote: »

Can Philips hue lights be synced to change colour and play with music over a Google mini?

Yes, use this app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.ijsdesign.huedisco&hl=en_IE

scamalert

OffalyMedic wrote: »

Can Philips hue lights be synced to change colour and play with music over a Google mini?

hue sync works way better, if you have pc, but disco app is ok as well slight delay but nothing that be off putting. id imagine putting lightstrip with hue sync on good sized monitor or tv would be amazing with few lights in the room.


thou as not to dig online does the strip come analog or digital < cant remember exact terms, like cheap ones only can light entire strip in one color etc, where others can light individual leds - i presume with Philips each led can be individually lit to give deeper experience ?

wawaman

I have a light litting with 3 bulbs. And on occasion one bulb comes on by itself at random times despite not been programmed to come on at all? Anyone ever come across anything like this?

AndyBoBandy

wawaman wrote: »

I have a light litting with 3 bulbs. And on occasion one bulb comes on by itself at random times despite not been programmed to come on at all? Anyone ever come across anything like this?

Was the bulb previously in another room or grouping as per Hue? it could possibly be associated with another timer/routine that's still active?

wawaman

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Was the bulb previously in another room or grouping as per Hue? it could possibly be associated with another timer/routine that's still active?

No, its only ever been where it is.

OU812

New GU10s coming out. .5 inch shorter, but now have a rounded lens instead of the previous flat ones.

Richer colours & bluetooth enabled in case you don't have a hub.

nero123

Has anyone purchased the below Philips Hue Impress Bollard? I can't find much feedback or reviews on them?

https://www.reuter.com/philips-hue-impress-led-rgbw-bollard-light-w-10-h-77-h-10-cm-black-a746003.php

I'm hoping to manage them through my hue bridge along with a outdoor philips sensor.

scamalert

nero123 wrote: »

Has anyone purchased the below Philips Hue Impress Bollard? I can't find much feedback or reviews on them?

https://www.reuter.com/philips-hue-impress-led-rgbw-bollard-light-w-10-h-77-h-10-cm-black-a746003.php

I'm hoping to manage them through my hue bridge along with a outdoor philips sensor.

to be fair id look online just for the bollard pole/stand could pickup 2-4 depending on design size you need for the price of one from Phillips and stick hue lights in.

nero123

scamalert wrote: »

to be fair id look online just for the bollard pole/stand could pickup 2-4 depending on design size you need for the price of one from Phillips and stick hue lights in.

Ya, fair point, I just liked the look of them but the price is OTT alright. Thanks

illdoit2morrow

Slightly off topic, I'm having difficulties setting a non hue lightstrip I purchased.

I've purchsed a power supply locally, but the strip isn't working as expected, i can only get two colours (red and a dull green).

I don't know if this is down to the power supply i am using, a dud led strip or my stupidity.

I've attached three pics;
The strip i have is 24V 5m RGB+CCT strip light.IMG_20190817_144500.jpg
The power supply i boughtIMG_20190817_144251.jpg
The controller IMG_20190817_144632.jpg. I did the wiring based on info read on reddit.

Has anyone any idea what I'm doing wrong?
From reading reddit, i may have the incorrect power supply but i don't know much about that kinda thing. Could an led strip power up with the wrong power supply, but noy have a full range of colours?

TIA

digitaldr

I'd say it's your power supply alright - 24 volt strip needs a 24 volt power supply. I have the same controller and it works ok with a 24 volt RGBCCT strip and power supply. What you need is a 24 volt power supply rated at (21watts x 5) + 20% reserve = 126 watts (=5.25 amps @ 24 volts) minimum. Depending on what you read 10% reserve would probably be ok.

illdoit2morrow

digitaldr wrote: »

I'd say it's your power supply alright - 24 volt strip needs a 24 volt power supply. I have the same controller and it works ok with a 24 volt RGBCCT strip and power supply. What you need is a 24 volt power supply rated at (21watts x 5) + 20% reserve = 126 watts (=5.25 amps @ 24 volts) minimum. Depending on what you read 10% reserve would probably be ok.

Thanks for the reply, may i ask where you got the power supply?

digitaldr

I wasn't in a hurry so bought it off Aliexpress but you'd probably be better of buying it locally as more likely to comply with EU standards. I found xpresselectrical to be good - reasonable prices and very knowledgeable.

WildWater

WildWater wrote: »

What is the best option for Hue down lights in a kitchen? We doing some renovation and the kitchen ceiling has to come down so I have a green field.

Do I go with Hue GU10’s or with the recessed Hue Phoenix? It’s a large room so will probably need 12 down lights.

Thanks.

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

GU10’s would be the best bet in my opinion.

digitaldr wrote: »

Definitely go with GU10s - those phoenix ones need a 12.5cm diameter cutout so if they were ever discontinued and needed to be replaced you'd have a lot of patching up to do. Besides which theyre very expensive. I've been using Ikea tradfri GU10s for over a year with my Hue hub. Much cheaper and colour temperature 2700k so lovely warm light. I went with these fittings (also available in brushed aluminium/swivelling) - very sleek and modern looking if that's what you're after.

Just reporting back: Took longer to get here than expected but finally got to switch on the other evening. We went with 12 GU10s white ambient (felt colour would be overkill in the kitchen). Great decision. Delighted with the outcome. Really appreciative of the steer in the right direction.

AndyBoBandy

Next thing is a sensor.

Of the 5 I have, the one in the kitchen is by far the most used one. It works so so well.

digitaldr

WildWater wrote: »

Just reporting back: Took longer to get here than expected but finally got to switch on the other evening. We went with 12 GU10s white ambient (felt colour would be overkill in the kitchen). Great decision. Delighted with the outcome. Really appreciative of the steer in the right direction.

Did you go with Ikea ones?

WildWater

digitaldr wrote: »

Did you go with Ikea ones?

No, I went with Hue. To be honest, by the time I got round to buying the bulbs I had forgotten about that option. Anyway, IKEA is a bit of a haul for me. Delivered to the door by Amazon is awful handy.

NoeldeBournaix

OU812 wrote: »

New GU10s coming out. .5 inch shorter, but now have a rounded lens instead of the previous flat ones.

Richer colours & bluetooth enabled in case you don't have a hub.

These are for sale now on Amazon UK. £113 for two at the moment.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-11-4-Plastic-Lamp-White/dp/B07SHVQCTJ/ref=sr_1_51?keywords=philips+hue&qid=1567194166&s=gateway&sr=8-51

AndyBoBandy

NoeldeBournaix wrote: »

These are for sale now on Amazon UK. £113 for two at the moment.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-11-4-Plastic-Lamp-White/dp/B07SHVQCTJ/ref=sr_1_51?keywords=philips+hue&qid=1567194166&s=gateway&sr=8-51

Looks like they’ve crammed the colour bulb into the shell of the white/white ambiance bulb.

This will help a lot of folk with the restricted holders that couldn’t fit the original colour GU10 bulbs.

scamalert

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Looks like they’ve crammed the colour bulb into the shell of the white/white ambiance bulb.

This will help a lot of folk with the restricted holders that couldn’t fit the original colour GU10 bulbs.

a bit overkill at that cost.But at least older gen hopefully will get cheaper.

peteb2

I have a load of hue bulbs but have only rolled out one into the landing to sell the concept to the missus.....however I have a routine set up in the app for it to come on from 8pm to 6am dimmed. Sometimes it comes on not dimmed, sometimes it comes on and doesnt turn off at all in the morning. Am I missing something here or is it just hit and miss in terms of routines?? Surely something like that is the bread and butter of these things??!

RobbieTheRobber

peteb2 wrote: »

I have a load of hue bulbs but have only rolled out one into the landing to sell the concept to the missus.....however I have a routine set up in the app for it to come on from 8pm to 6am dimmed. Sometimes it comes on not dimmed, sometimes it comes on and doesnt turn off at all in the morning. Am I missing something here or is it just hit and miss in terms of routines?? Surely something like that is the bread and butter of these things??!

If you only have one bulb could it be a problem to do with distance to the hub?

Hue bulbs work off a mesh, so each bulb closest to the hub will extend to the signal outwards to the next bulb and so on. So if you only have one bulb could the distance to hub be affecting it.

peteb2

RobbieTheRobber wrote: »

If you only have one bulb could it be a problem to do with distance to the hub?

Hue bulbs work off a mesh, so each bulb closest to the hub will extend to the signal outwards to the next bulb and so on. So if you only have one bulb could the distance to hub be affecting it.

yeah i know its mesh and suspected that. but it isn't that far from the hub for me to expect it to fail so regularly.

AndyBoBandy

You’d be surprised what adding more bulbs to Hue does to its overall ability to function properly!!

I always had connection issues at the very beginning when I only had a 3 bull starter set..

RobbieTheRobber

peteb2 wrote: »

yeah i know its mesh and suspected that. but it isn't that far from the hub for me to expect it to fail so regularly.

You said the one bulb you have is on the landing. I'm assuming like most homes these days the router is in the front room. So the signal could be passing through walls and floors so more than just distance.

I have never done this, but as far as I know the hue hub only needs internet to use the app remote, switch etc.

So you could try moving the hub with multiple test routines created for changes every minute and turned on on the hub to dim and brighten the bulb.
And then plugging it in somewhere closer to the bulb. It might answer if it is a range issue.

THE ALM

Few new additions coming to the lineup https://www.facebook.com/309473069184584/posts/1863341990464343/

THE ALM

Latest app update seems to allow for the new additions so thy must be imminent.

For those looking at light switches there is another 'friends of hue' switch available, still pricey enough but the least expensive of the ones I have seen.

scamalert

THE ALM wrote: »

Latest app update seems to allow for the new additions so thy must be imminent.

For those looking at light switches there is another 'friends of hue' switch available, still pricey enough but the least expensive of the ones I have seen.

I have remote in one of my rooms, others are controlled by voice via alexa, while its handy thing not to wake others up, and have lights on off, but it usually becomes constant routine where someone switches lights off, then takes a min to figure that its off when trying voice activate.


Id say its handy for those that dont use alexa or the likes. but remote could be gotten under 40 quid on promotional sales and is more flexible, as can be mounted on top of besides existing switch. with minimal interference.

68 lost souls

Finally decided to get to the bottom of the horrible whine form two hue strip power supplies. Philips agreed to replace them so fingers crossed it solves it but all reports seem to say its 50/50 or worse if it will