Toggle and change brightness using a single switch button

Automation
1

This is an example of an automation in Hue Essentials. With the automations created you can use a single switch button to toggle on and off a group, increase the brightness by holding it, and decreasing the brightness by holding it again.

On Friends of Hue switches this can be quite useful, as you could use every button for a different group of lights.

Create automations

For all the automations below it is important that you use the same room/group. If you want can repeat the steps below for other buttons with different groups.

Toggle automation

This first automation will simply toggle the lights on and off when the button is pressed.

  1. Open Hue Essentials
  2. Go to the Devices tab
  3. Select your smart switch
  4. Select the button you want to create this automation for
  5. Tap the + button under the Automation header
  6. Make sure that for the event:
    • Type is set to: Release (Press)
    • Multiple presses is set to: Always
  7. Tap the Add action button, select Toggle group, select your group, and make sure the state is set to Toggle
  8. Save the automation

Instead of toggling a group, you could instead toggle a scene

Now you can toggle on/off your lights with a press. Next up is creating three automations for the brightness control:

Increase brightness automation

  1. On the same screen, tap the + button under the Automation header
  2. Make sure that for the event:
    • Type is set to: Hold
    • Multiple presses is set to: First press
  3. Tap the Add action button, select Set group brightness, select your group, and make sure that:
    • Type is set to: Increase brightness
    • Brightness is set to: 100%
    • Fade time is set to 3 seconds
  4. Save the automation

Decrease brightness automation

  1. On the same screen, tap the + button under the Automation header
  2. Make sure that for the event:
    • Type is set to: Hold
    • Multiple presses is set to: Second press
  3. Tap the Add action button, select Set group brightness, select your group, and make sure that:
    • Type is set to: Decrease brightness
    • Brightness is set to: 100%
    • Fade time is set to 3 seconds
  4. Save the automation

Stop brightness change automation

  1. On the same screen, tap the + button under the Automation header
  2. Make sure that for the event:
    • Type is set to: Release (Hold)
    • Multiple presses is set to: Always
  3. Tap the Add action button, select Set group brightness, select your group, and make sure that:
    • Type is set to: Stop brightness change
    • Fade time is set to 0 seconds
  4. Save the automation

Now you have set up your switch to toggle and change brightness all on a single button.

1 Like
2

does not work!!!
although the button is continuously pressed the lights are blinking because HUE essential switches continuously between first and second press

3

True i have the same problem

1 Like
4

Works on a ”Friends of Hue” button, but not on a Philps Hue Wall switch module. On Philips the light is going up and down in brightness as the automation is jumping between increase and decrease brightness. I have both buttons/switches

1 Like
5

try the eve app. it works for me however you need to play a little with the automations (so toggle does not work but separate automation for on and off does) also the trigger condition must be set to some brightness related value so the second action won’t happen… not 100% perfect but 95%.
Until irbid fixed maybe in hue essentials