There are many ways to connect your new light to your bridge in Hue Essentials. Let’s go through them!
Steps:
- Tap the ‘Devices’ icon in the bottom bar. This will take you to the devices menu which shows all your bridges, smart controls, and lights.
- Tap on + (this is a floating action button in Android or you can find it in the top corner in iOS).
- Select ‘Light’ in the ‘Add device’ dialogue.
- Depending on whether you have one or more bridges, you can choose the bridge you wish to use to add the new light in the ‘Select Hue bridge’ dialogue.
Note: Certain lights can be connected directly in Hue Essentials; examples are Philips Hue Bluetooth. Light sources from LIFX can be added directly as well. Compatible bridges in Hue Essentials depend on the version you are using; iOS supports Philips Hue bridge, deCONZ (ConBee), diyHue. Android also supports TRÅDFRI. Support for the latter will be extended to iOS in the future; this depends on permission from IKEA HomeSmart.
PHILIPS HUE BRIDGE
You will now see the ‘Search for lights’ screen. Here you have a couple of options to choose from:
- ‘Search for light’ can be used directly if you just switched on your new light(s).
- ‘Enter serial number’ is used for Philips Hue lights which have serial numbers on the bulb or in the luminaire. Once you have typed the serial number in the field, you can tap ‘Search for lights’. Learn more.
- ‘Touchlink’ is a feature you can use for any light. It is the recommended feature if you have third party light bulbs which are hard to connect to a Philips Hue bridge. Hold your light bulb very close to the bridge. Tap on ‘Touchlink’. Your light will then start to flash. Tap ‘Search for lights’ when your light starts flashing. Learn more.
DECONZ (ConBee)
This is still under development. Add them through Search for lights. Alternatively, please open the Phoscon app on your phone or computer and add the lights in there. Your lights can then be controlled from within the Hue Essentials app.
TRÅDFRI
To connect a light bulb to the TRÅDFRI gateway, you will need to use a TRÅDFRI smart control to set up the link. This smart control will help you to pair the light to the gateway. After you choose your smart control in the selection menu, you will get instructions in the app how to proceed.
DIYHUE
The diyHue bridge follows the same steps as the Philips Hue bridge. Its software simulates a Philips Hue bridge.