Does Hue Essentials have a setting to allow use when app is in background?
I have fireplace effects going in three rooms but when I put phone to sleep or switch apps (even if Hue Essentials is still on and active) all the effects stop playing. Then they all start playing again if I go back to app. But app has to stay on and on your screen or no go (from what I can see).
Seems with all this ability to do so much - this would be standard which is why I think I’m just not finding the right switch.
Can anyone help? Or does this app simply not work in the background?
And is there any update coming to resolve this issue?
On Android the effects work when the app is in the background.
However, on iOS (which I assume you are using), this is not possible. The effects will stop as soon as Hue Essentials is not visible. Apple does not allow us to have the app active in the background for the effects.
The Dance Sensation does work in the background, because this uses the microphone which is allowed by Apple. However, the effects like the Fireplace do not use the microphone, so they cannot play in the background, unfortunately. There are some other background modes on iOS as well (e.g. play audio, location updates, etc), however, none of them really fit the effects use case. We are looking into ways we can work around this. Maybe we could play some audio which should keep the app active.
