4 ms·

Phillips hue works like a normal light if there is no internet or if you cycle the power from the switch.

timrichard 6y ago
Mine works completely if there is no internet. I like the Hue system as it only relies on the internet connection for software updates of you want them. The Zigbee network it uses has been super reliable for me, and always responds to the app which only needs to work on my LAN. It only gets spotty sometimes for me when used via Amazon Echo devices, which have to phone home to interpret the voice command before triggering the Hue devices.
- rorykoehler 6y ago
  Yes good point. I always have internet so I never noticed but of course it's all on the local network.
- twothamendment 6y ago
  Your approach sounds similar to mine. While it is true the switches work without internet, out even without the local controller - I just learned the hard way that they don't work at all when the capacitor inside dies. Keep a dumb switch on hand so you can swap it in when you have a light you can no longer turn on! I had 2 die recently. The is a thread out there on repairing them, but I don't think my soldering skills are that good. I'm also thinking "repair my light switch?" What has the world come to?
jrussino 6y ago
I was considering buying a bunch of hue bulbs but this feature is making me hesitant: The hue bulbs can “remember” their last setting, but if you power cycle them twice in a row (without waiting ~15 seconds in between) then they reset to the default brightness & color. I don’t care about any of this automatic timing or app control. What I want is for every lightbulb in my house set to the same color temperature, and for that temperature to change over the course of the day - circadian lighting like f.lux for my entire house. It seemed to me that this should be possible with hue bulbs, but it turns out they can’t work that way unless I want to also replace all of the switches in my house with “smart” switches.
- rorykoehler 6y ago
  I didn’t replace the switches. They’re additional. The smart switch and the dumb switch both work. One great advantage is you can use a greater variety of bulbs and due to this fixture positioning is much more flexible. You can turn on 20 bulbs at once if you like. Make zones in your house. Turn on the whole house at once. Timers, programmed changes etc etc

Mine works completely if there is no internet. I like the Hue system as it only relies on the internet connection for software updates of you want them. The Zigbee network it uses has been super reliable for me, and always responds to the app which only needs to work on my LAN. It only gets spotty sometimes for me when used via Amazon Echo devices, which have to phone home to interpret the voice command before triggering the Hue devices.

rorykoehler 6y ago
Yes good point. I always have internet so I never noticed but of course it's all on the local network.
twothamendment 6y ago
Your approach sounds similar to mine. While it is true the switches work without internet, out even without the local controller - I just learned the hard way that they don't work at all when the capacitor inside dies. Keep a dumb switch on hand so you can swap it in when you have a light you can no longer turn on! I had 2 die recently. The is a thread out there on repairing them, but I don't think my soldering skills are that good. I'm also thinking "repair my light switch?" What has the world come to?

jrussino 6y ago

I was considering buying a bunch of hue bulbs but this feature is making me hesitant: The hue bulbs can “remember” their last setting, but if you power cycle them twice in a row (without waiting ~15 seconds in between) then they reset to the default brightness & color. I don’t care about any of this automatic timing or app control. What I want is for every lightbulb in my house set to the same color temperature, and for that temperature to change over the course of the day - circadian lighting like f.lux for my entire house. It seemed to me that this should be possible with hue bulbs, but it turns out they can’t work that way unless I want to also replace all of the switches in my house with “smart” switches.

rorykoehler 6y ago
I didn’t replace the switches. They’re additional. The smart switch and the dumb switch both work. One great advantage is you can use a greater variety of bulbs and due to this fixture positioning is much more flexible. You can turn on 20 bulbs at once if you like. Make zones in your house. Turn on the whole house at once. Timers, programmed changes etc etc