Philips Hue FAQ

PMC999

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

No Hue is Bluetooth!!!!!

It’s all Zigbee

And the V3 1m extension is there, just pick the 2m base, and then change the option to the 1m extension...

Version 3 is not compatible with the version 4 Bluetooth enabled hue light strips. I checked with Amazon customer support and they could not provide a date of when or if the older version 3 would be back in stock.
There is one available from a third party seller on Amazon but the £28 delivery charge is a rip off.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Ambiance-Lightstrip-Extension-Synthetics/dp/B0148NMVJW/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=philips+hue+light+strip+v3+1m&qid=1603621081&sprefix=philips+hue+light+strip+v3&sr=8-3

acalmenvoy

PMC999 wrote: »

Version 3 is not compatible with the version 4 Bluetooth enabled hue light strips. I checked with Amazon customer support and they could not provide a date of when or if the older version 3 would be back in stock.
There is one available from a third party seller on Amazon but the £28 delivery charge is a rip off.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Ambiance-Lightstrip-Extension-Synthetics/dp/B0148NMVJW/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=philips+hue+light+strip+v3+1m&qid=1603621081&sprefix=philips+hue+light+strip+v3&sr=8-3

I'm about to send back 3 v3 extensions, unopened, to amazon, Im in Limerick, maybe we can arrange something?

AndyBoBandy

Well then....

I sent my Lily PSU back to Philips last week, and looks what shows up on Amazon today!!!

They actually didn’t have a replacement PSU to send me so will send me a full Lily spot set (I sent back the PSU as well as 3 of my 5 spots).

Nedved85

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Well then....

I sent my Lily PSU back to Philips last week, and looks what shows up on Amazon today!!!

They actually didn’t have a replacement PSU to send me so will send me a full Lily spot set (I sent back the PSU as well as 3 of my 5 spots).

Interesting, just got the same email from Amazon - must check mine tomorrow.

AndyBoBandy

Mine simply stopped working a few months ago, and I thought they were out of warranty, but alas I contacted Hue on Facebook and to their credit, said I was still in warranty and they’d be happy to replace whatever was not working....

It also mentions 2018 to 2020, which is basically the entire time they’ve been selling that PSU with outdoor lights....

And I now also don’t see the Lily base set available on Amazon!! Only the single extensions...

PMC999

acalmenvoy wrote: »

I'm about to send back 3 v3 extensions, unopened, to amazon, Im in Limerick, maybe we can arrange something?

Thanks Acalmenvoy but I managed to get one from Amazon warehouse today.

BoardsMember

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

I've two rooms with Hue Colour bulbs in them. Each room also has a Hue Smart Button on the wall, and an Echo Dot.

In each room, if I set the bulb to say green, then switch it off with the Smart Button, then turn it back on with the Smart button, it comes on as a default warm white.

However, if I switch the light off with the Echo, then tell Alexa to turn the light on again, it comes back on green (or whatever colour/shade it was before it turned off).

Looking through the settings of both Alexa and Hue apps, I can see that in the Hue app, the Smart Button is specifically set to use "Bright" (which is a warm white) - so this ability to reset to a default is attached to the button itself, and not the bulb. Is there any way to set a default colour at the bulb level? I don't see it in the Hue app.

Ideally, I'd like it to always reset itself to a default when turning back on via the Button, Echo or any other means.

You need to go into the Hue App -> Settings -> Accessory Setup....select the button you want to program. On the button, you can set what happens for first press thru to 5th press. When you select first press, the top of the list in each room linked to that button is Last On State. If you select that, it will come on as green if it was last green when on.

That probably requires that there was power to the bulb while off, not sure about that.

Gregor Samsa

BoardsMember wrote: »

You need to go into the Hue App -> Settings -> Accessory Setup....select the button you want to program. On the button, you can set what happens for first press thru to 5th press. When you select first press, the top of the list in each room linked to that button is Last On State. If you select that, it will come on as green if it was last green when on.

That probably requires that there was power to the bulb while off, not sure about that.

No, I know about those settings. They work. I only mentioned the button as it contrasts with the issue I’m having with the Echo.

The issue is when I turn it in via the Echo: “Alexa, turn on the light”. It comes on as the last colour used. And there’s no way to set it as a default colour (the way there is with a button press). The last state must be stored in the bulb itself (or maybe the hub) . The button lets you override it, but the Echo doesn’t (unless you give it an explicit instruction like “Alexa, turn the light on warm white”).

BoardsMember

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

No, I know about those settings. They work. I only mentioned the button as it contrasts with the issue I’m having with the Echo.

The issue is when I turn it in via the Echo: “Alexa, turn on the light”. It comes on as the last colour used. And there’s no way to set it as a default colour (the way there is with a button press). The last state must be stored in the bulb itself (or maybe the hub) . The button lets you override it, but the Echo doesn’t (unless you give it an explicit instruction like “Alexa, turn the light on warm white”).

Can you use a scene name?

IK09

Hey

Just wondering does anybody know of a smart lamp like the Philips Hue Go light that is cheaper and works with the Philips hub? £60 is an awful lot for it. I have one already but my daughter has commandeered it.

Bluefoam

IK09 wrote: »

Hey

Just wondering does anybody know of a smart lamp like the Philips Hue Go light that is cheaper and works with the Philips hub? £60 is an awful lot for it. I have one already but my daughter has commandeered it.

You could buy a regular lamp and a Hue bulb.

AndyBoBandy

Bluefoam wrote: »

You could buy a regular lamp and a Hue bulb.

Poster is presumably looking for a battery powered lamp though......

IK09

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Poster is presumably looking for a battery powered lamp though......

Ya I'm looking for something portable like the go light

The Black Oil

IK09 wrote: »

Ya I'm looking for something portable like the go light

They're pricey alright. Bribe the daughter to get your Go back and give her something like this instead? :P:)

Link or this.

Pete123456

Does anybody know how to interpret model numbers or how to know if the model is the latest one on Amazon?

I take it the following is an old model?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LF9G9HC/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_dlC_rCfOFbNTA3RF2

punisher5112

Pete123456 wrote: »

Does anybody know how to interpret model numbers or how to know if the model is the latest one on Amazon?

I take it the following is an old model?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LF9G9HC/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_dlC_rCfOFbNTA3RF2

This one would be latest as Bluetooth symbol.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SS38CVG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_nPfOFbDFW4FS9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Pete123456

punisher5112 wrote: »

This one would be latest as Bluetooth symbol.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SS38CVG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_nPfOFbDFW4FS9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you... what other than Bluetooth am I missing out on? £90 for three colour bulbs and a hub seems like a decent deal?

punisher5112

Pete123456 wrote: »

Thank you... what other than Bluetooth am I missing out on? £90 for three colour bulbs and a hub seems like a decent deal?

Richer colour is the ones you want and that's them.
They would be latest up to Bluetooth which to be honest don't really need anyway.

Good price yes, £89.99 in 2017 when I bought 2 lots.

ablelocks

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

I ordered an extra 2M and 1M extension colour lightstrip. I've enough for the kitchen under counter lights and am wondering if anyone has any suggestion where I could stick the extra light strip. I see some people go with behind the TV but it seems like a shame to waste 3M for a 43" TV ? Anyone got any clever suggestions ?

another suggestion for a lightstrip - on the edge of your working from home desk....

kaisersose77

Anygone know of a good flat ceiling light that has the energize colour option and can light up a living room on its own? Obssessed with the energize colour!

Have this at the moment

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KXMLKC4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

AndyBoBandy

kaisersose77 wrote: »

Anygone know of a good flat ceiling light that has the energize colour option and can light up a living room on its own? Obssessed with the energize colour!

Have this at the moment

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KXMLKC4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Any Hue light that is White Ambiance or Colour Ambiance will do Energise..

As long as its an Ambiance bulb with will do the 4 Ambiance colours (Read, Relax, Energise & Concentrate)

FastFullBack

maxamillius wrote: »

Bought the below GU10 from Ali express 3 weeks ago, delivered yesterday.

I have hue all over my house but decided to try these out as they are ridiculously cheaper than hue GU10.

Very happy with the colour output and also easier to connect to hue app than hue lights.

I got these (120 degrees)

€ 16,96 51%OFF | ZIGBEE smart home LED gu10 bulb RGB+CCT color change 5W smart led spotlight AC100-240V led dual white light work with echo plus
https://a.aliexpress.com/_dZNzE0G

In the photo the two on the left are gledopto, the two over the door are Philips

I decided to try these. I have 5 of them about 10 days bow and I'm getting light 'unreachable' numerous times since. At least 5 times on one particular light. Did you get the same? Having to delete, re-add and recreate the scenes is a frigging pain.

rodneytrotter15

So I setup an Ambilight Tv for the folks today was blown away by the picture. I've a Samsung QLED that I've yet to unbox and was hoping to see if I can replicate the Ambilight effect somehow with a Hue product. I've a spare 2M lightstrip with I'm almost certain won't to the job. Is there something I can run at the back of the TV that connects to it to give the Ambilight effect ( colour changing to match what is on the screen )

Gregor Samsa

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

So I setup an Ambilight Tv for the folks today was blown away by the picture. I've a Samsung QLED that I've yet to unbox and was hoping to see if I can replicate the Ambilight effect somehow with a Hue product. I've a spare 2M lightstrip with I'm almost certain won't to the job. Is there something I can run at the back of the TV that connects to it to give the Ambilight effect ( colour changing to match what is on the screen )

there's the new Play Gradient Lightstrip specifically made for this

https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/p/hue-white-and-colour-ambiance-play-gradient-lightstrip-55-inch/8718699784751


It's supposed to work very well, but there's a couple of caveats.

It's made in three lengths for 55, 65 and 75 inch TVs, and you can't cut it. You might get away with some other TV sizes - I think I read about someone making the 55" one fit on the very edges of a 49" TV, but it seems it certainly wouldn't fit on anything smaller.

It required a Hue Sync Box (https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/p/hue-play-hdmi-sync-box/8718699704803) which is pretty pricey (over €200). This passes the HDMI signal from a set-top box to the TV, analyses it, and creates the illumination . It had 4 HDMI ports, so you can have input from 4 boxes, but, it cannot analyse the signal from the TV itself - so you you have a standard aerial or apps that run on the TV itself, the box can't see that signal, and so it can't create the illumination. However, I think there's PC software that you can use instead of the box that's free, so if you're streaming from a PC or laptop to your TV, you can set it up without the costly box. There's some people that have done complicated casting from their set-top box to their computer to process the illumination and not need the HDMI box, but that seems to be fraught with difficulty.

It supports HDMI 2.0b, and not the newer 2.1. This probably isn't much of an issue now, unless you have a very high end TV that you want to run at top spec, but may be if you want to support the latest and greatest picture and sound quality in the future.

Gooey Looey

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

So I setup an Ambilight Tv for the folks today was blown away by the picture. I've a Samsung QLED that I've yet to unbox and was hoping to see if I can replicate the Ambilight effect somehow with a Hue product. I've a spare 2M lightstrip with I'm almost certain won't to the job. Is there something I can run at the back of the TV that connects to it to give the Ambilight effect ( colour changing to match what is on the screen )

If you have a Fire Stick or an Android TV box like a Nvidia shield, Mibox or the new Chromecast you can use the hue stream app to sync an area of your screen using hue entrainment areas and the hue led strip. You may need a few more lights as you will get the same colour as the way around the led strip, not a gradient of different colours like official ambilight strip
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bullbash.huestream

rodneytrotter15

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

there's the new Play Gradient Lightstrip specifically made for this

https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/p/hue-white-and-colour-ambiance-play-gradient-lightstrip-55-inch/8718699784751


It's supposed to work very well, but there's a couple of caveats.

It's made in three lengths for 55, 65 and 75 inch TVs, and you can't cut it. You might get away with some other TV sizes - I think I read about someone making the 55" one fit on the very edges of a 49" TV, but it seems it certainly wouldn't fit on anything smaller.

It required a Hue Sync Box (https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/p/hue-play-hdmi-sync-box/8718699704803) which is pretty pricey (over €200). This passes the HDMI signal from a set-top box to the TV, analyses it, and creates the illumination . It had 4 HDMI ports, so you can have input from 4 boxes, but, it cannot analyse the signal from the TV itself - so you you have a standard aerial or apps that run on the TV itself, the box can't see that signal, and so it can't create the illumination. However, I think there's PC software that you can use instead of the box that's free, so if you're streaming from a PC or laptop to your TV, you can set it up without the costly box. There's some people that have done complicated casting from their set-top box to their computer to process the illumination and not need the HDMI box, but that seems to be fraught with difficulty.

It supports HDMI 2.0b, and not the newer 2.1. This probably isn't much of an issue now, unless you have a very high end TV that you want to run at top spec, but may be if you want to support the latest and greatest picture and sound quality in the future.

Thanks for that. It's actually only for a 43" inch TV so I might be snookered. Anyoo I ain't paying that much to get it setup but thanks again.

copacetic

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

Thanks for that. It's actually only for a 43" inch TV so I might be snookered. Anyoo I ain't paying that much to get it setup but thanks again.

It’s not very practical anyway, as it doesn’t work with smart TVs apps, we haven’t used a hdmi feed to watch a movie, series etc in a few years.

Gregor Samsa

copacetic wrote: »

It’s not very practical anyway, as it doesn’t work with smart TVs apps, we haven’t used a hdmi feed to watch a movie, series etc in a few years.

That is a big limitation, it’s a pity there isn’t an Android app that could run on the TV itself to drive it (I’ve no idea of this is technically possible - I suspect that Android TV apps can’t run low level enough to be able to parse everything that the screen displays).

Personally, I run everything from an Apple TV 4K (even though I have an Android powered TV), so it would actually work perfectly for me. But it’s too expensive and like the OP, my TV is 43”, so it wouldn’t fit anyway.

AstraMonti

Question for you guys. Can i get something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Linkable-Cabinet-Lighting-Dimmable-Showcase/dp/B088M98YJT/ with this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XPJ22W3/ ? Would I be able to connect these two and control the lights through the hue app?

stesaurus

Anyone got some experience of a large lightstrip project?
I want to downlight each step on a staircase from under the nosing.
From what I can see v3 stock seems to be gone so I'd need to go with v4. The max length is 10m according to Philips.
I have 13 steps total at about 90cm width.
So my questions, if I use a generic extension to loop under each step does that count to the overall max length? These would not contain LEDs.
Has anyone come across 3rd party v4 extensions yet?
Either way I think I'd need two bases to manage 13 steps. What's the best way to setup? Create a room containing the 2 sets or is there a better setup?
Anything else I'm missing?