When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. "Alexa, dim the bedroom lights to 25%" etc. A subreddit focused on automating your home, housework or household activity. If you sometimes want warm white light but other times want to change to cool energizing white light, Hue White Ambiance Bluetooth Smart Bulbs are the bulbs for you. Assign easy-to-remember names to your new Hue lights. “Dim the lights.” “Brighten the lights in the living room to 75%.” “Make my lights warmer.” “Make my lights cooler.” “Turn my kitchen lights green.” “Set the lights in the den to Relax.” “Turn on Read in the study.” The handiest Hue commands for Alexa are some of the simplest. Go to the Philips Hue mobile app and confirm that you're able to control your lights via the Philips Hue mobile application. share. You don’t need one and can save by choosing a starter kit without one. A lot of people think that setting up Alexa smart lights is complicated and expensive and will involve a lot of wires and special new light fixtures — that smart lights are just for the techies. B. To fix this, just turn the light fixtures back on manually — once you do this, your Alexa commands and routines will work again. 34 comments. Connect your Philips Hue to Amazon Alexa so you can turn on and off, dim, and change the color of your bulbs with your voice. Pick the one that’s right for you. Philips Hue is the biggest name in smart lighting, and by most measures, Alexa is still the best smart assistant, so it figures that the two have come together in smart home harmony. Limit 25 per order. Here’s how: If you’re installing Hue smart light bulbs in a dimmable light, be sure the dimmer is all the way on. I used to say “Dim living room lights to 50%” and Alexa would set the level to 50%. Even if you have the white and color ambiance Hue bulbs, you can access 5 shades of white and 15 colors (from salmon to gold to sky blue and even cyan) through Alexa. A side note… you don’t need to enable the Hue Alexa skill if you are setting up directly via an Echo Show or Echo Plus (and not through the Philips Hue app). So you can set recurring daily alarms that turn your smart lights … Rename the smart light bulb you just screwed into your living room lamp “living room lamp.” Then when you want to turn it on and off you can just say “Alexa, turn on living room lamp” which is easier to remember than whatever Hue’s default name is. Read about them below. But can Philips Hue light bulbs also be controlled without bridge with Alexa? The fact that Alexa gives odd responses about what is and is not dimmable or available for Hue doesn't surprise me. That means you don’t need a separate bridge/hub and companion smartphone app for each each type of smart home device you add. Hue Setup. You have 3 options for buying these new smart bluetooth light bulbs: A. Screw the bulb into your light fixture, then turn the light fixture on. Connect a Smart Light Bulb to Alexa . Here are a few handy Alexa commands to try: Awaken at your usual time as the lights gradually come on. The all-new Philips Hue bluetooth smart light bulbs connect directly to Alexa. A note on which smartphone app to use… while setting up your new Hue lights with the Philips Hue app is easy, controlling your smart lights with this app is really confusing. If any of the light does not light, then you need to reconnect the bridge again. Easily connect your new smart bulbs to Alexa! Here are some examples to get you started. I could actually say anything as long as the keywords were there: “Alexa kitty cat living room lights 50%” worked fine. You can also just throw nouns and adjectives at her: "Alexa, living room lights, 25% (please). In addition to guiding you through Amazon Alexa lights, VoiceBrew can help with other popular Alexa smart home integrations, including the Nest thermostat and Ring doorbell (don’t miss the upgraded experience with an Echo Show! Now your new light group will be available as a tile directly from the Devices tab of the Alexa app, and you can ask Alexa to "turn on the lounge" or whatever you decided to name your new group. Press J to jump to the feed. save. Nanoleaf Canvas Smarter Kit (34) Model# NL29-0003SW-9PK ... alexa smart light bulbs. “Alexa, brighten {room} to 60 percent”, or “Alexa, dim the {room} lights” “Alexa, {room} lights fifty” or “Alexa, {room} lights fifty percent” You can also use this color list that will change the colors of the bulbs to matching colors… “Alexa turn the lights Tomato” – a nice shade of pink. E. When prompted, tap the “Discover Devices” button. VoiceBrew readers often ask me whether setting up Alexa smart lights requires expensive re-wiring or electrical work — the answer is definitely not. You can buy a kit that comes with a Hue Dimmer Switch and a Hue White bulb for $35, and it’s as easy as screwing in the light bulb, turning it on at the main switch, pulling the battery tab out of the remote, and instantly being able to control the light.It literally takes 30 seconds to set it up. They won’t flicker or buzz in your dimmable light fixture (unlike the regular Hue White smart lights). With VoiceBrew, you can learn about all of the latest Alexa home automation skills, including the ever-popular Philips Hue lights. 226. If this happens, you can ask Alexa to turn the Hue lights on and off, but they won’t respond. “Alexa, turn on living room lights” (insert your lights group name) “Alexa, dim table lamp” (insert your light’s name) “Alexa, brighten table lamp to 50%” “Alexa, set table lamp to magenta” (if you have Hue multi-colored bulbs) “Alexa, set table light to warm white”(if you have Hue white ambiance or multi-colored bulbs) #2. Help & Questions. Set up your Hue bridge using the Philips Hue App on your smartphone. The second light means it is successfully connected to a network. Refer to the instructions if a hub other than Alexa is involved. If you have lights with built-in dimmers, Hue White Ambiance Bluetooth Smart Bulbs are the answer. If you’re experiencing such issues, then […] After my v2 upgrade (though probably coincidental timing) saying “Dim” will actually send a relative command subtract the number from the current level. Does anyone got Hue lights connected to both a “Hue dimmer” switch and Amazon Alexa? Otherwise your bulbs will get confused and act funny. 22 comments. Another side note… if you are primarily going to control your Hue smart lights with Alexa and you have an Echo Show or Echo Plus, I recommend setting up the lights using steps A and B directly above. And when you’re ready to fall asleep, just say “Alexa, good night” to turn off the lights. Pro Tip: When I tried these regular Hue white smart bulbs in my dimmable lamps, the bulbs flickered and buzzed (even when they were off!). Same with controlling from Alexa if you are using the Hue Skill to control Hue lights, instead of exposing the Hue devices from the HE Hue Integration to Alexa via the HE Alexa Skills app. Alexa - “Goodnight” - set the ST mode etc. Tyler Lizenby/CNET "Alexa, set the lights to 50%." Congratulations: you successfully set up your new smart lights with Alexa! They connect wirelessly to Alexa so you can turn them on and off with Alexa voice commands and Alexa routines. B. If I have the bulbs connected to the dimmer they work fine with it, but Alexa won’t find them on a scan anymore. ), you’ll need to use a companion smartphone app. Instead, you can control all of your smart home devices (across different brands) all from one place: Alexa. Why not try pink! If your Hue lights aren’t responding to commands, it’s probably because someone in your household manually turned off the light fixtures. Full Hue lights set-up — with a regular Echo, Full Hue lights set-up — with an Echo Show or Echo Plus, The most basic (and cheapest) white light option, The mid-range option with different shades of white light (also works better in dimmable light fixtures), top 5 ways to get the most out of your Alexa smart light, basic set-up option with new bluetooth bulbs described above, renewed 4 bulb White Ambiance Starter Kit, Hue White and Color Ambiance Bluetooth Smart Bulbs, 4 bulb White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit ($200), 2 bulb White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit ($124), which version of the Philips Hue Lights are right for you, automate home cleaning with Alexa and Roomba, Go to the Devices tab in your Alexa app (lower right corner of the bottom navigation bar), Tap the + in the upper right corner of the Devices tab, Tap “Light” (under the All Devices section), Tap “Philips Hue” when prompted for the brand, Tap the “Discover Devices” button (you can ignore the on-screen instructions for set up with an Echo Show or Echo Plus), You will see an “Alexa is discovering devices…” screen for up to 45 seconds, Tap through the 2 set up screens, skipping these steps for now, Tap the 3 horizontal dots icon to the right of the “New scene” button at the top, Tap the white “Add light” button in the upper left, Tap the white “Search” button at the bottom, Wait while Philips searches for your new light (shouldn’t take too long), Tap the “Discover Devices” button (you’ve already completed the instructions shown), Tap the settings icon in the upper right corner, Change the name and tap the Done button on the keyboard, Type “Living room lights” (or whatever name makes sense!) Before landing on using webhooks through Home Assistant, I considered a few other options to automate my lights. “Regular Echo” includes Echo Dot, Echo Show 5, Echo Show 8 — any Echo device other than the Echo Show 2nd Generation or Echo Plus (those two devices have smart home hubs built into them). (That’s definitely what I’ll be setting my lights to for my birthday party!). Philips says that if you do use Hue lights with a dimmer, be sure to keep the dimmer on 100% at all times. I also want to note that this requires a Home Assistant instance to be set up with the ability to control the lights. They’re more expensive than regular Hue White smart lights at $25 per bulb but come with more flexibility. ), C. Add your new smart bulbs via the Philips Hue app (we’ll get to Alexa in a second). The fourth light shows that the Hue app has control of the lights. hide. Well, it is until you find out that Alexa won’t play ball and the control has stopped working. i tried saying alexa dim the bedroom light but it says its not possible. (You’ll need your username and password for step D below, so don’t forget them! Also compared to the ge lights , how bright are the hue 60w light bulbs? Make sure your Echo and Hue smart bridge (if you are using one) are connected to the same wifi network. There are now many brands of smart light bulbs, and as a result, setup procedures may differ from brand to brand. Posted by 3 days ago. All you need is a few of these light bulbs! Stick with warm white. Or at least mostly harmonious, since there can be the occasional glitch where lights don’t respond. [Optional] F. If you mistakenly skip over E, just follow these steps to connect your devices to Alexa. Open the Philips Hue app and follow these steps: Follow the on-screen instructions to link your Hue account (the one you created in step B above) to the Alexa skill. ), and show you how to automate home cleaning with Alexa and Roomba. That’s because they come with a dimmer switch you don’t need and cost significantly more than the 4 bulb starter kit, so I don’t recommend them. ", ... and FWIW, the same works GE's fan controller (cuz you know you want to do that next, right?) 1/4. Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance BR30 LED 65W Equivalent Dimmable Smart Wireless Flood Light Bulb with Bluetooth (35) Model# 548503 $ 49 97. Check out the top 5 ways to get the most out of your Alexa smart lights. RELATED: How to Control Your Philips Hue Lights with the Hue Dimmer Switch 1/4. Changes in the Hue app take a minute (if that’s what polling In the Hue Integration is set to) before they show up on HE. You’re going to have to pay up ($45+ per bulb). The Starter Kit comes with both the smart bulbs and the Hue bridge that you’ll need. They really are as cool as they look in this photo. However, if you want to be able to access all 16 million color options (which, admittedly, is pretty cool! Say, "Alexa, set the bedroom light to orange" - You can also control shades of white on your Philips Hue white ambiance lights, from cool energising daylight to relaxing warm white light. But they will also go back to their original color and brightness after you lose power. I have had it give this response for the Hue Skill on Alexa, for lights that I've been controlling for two years with Echo and Hue! The third light shows that your bridge has internet connectivity. Simply say, “Alexa turn off the lights in the kitchen,” or “Alexa, dim the lights in my bedroom to 50%.” If you have colored lights, you can also say, “Alexa, turn the lights in the living room red.” It may seem commonplace these days, but it’s pretty satisfying to turn your lights on and off just by asking Alexa. Regular Wednesday night dinner with the family? In one instance, I thought my bulb hadn’t connected, but then 30 seconds later I received a notification that Alexa had found it. Create a simple nightly Alexa routine that automatically turns the lights on and off even when you’re not home. You’ll learn which version of the Philips Hue Lights are right for you, as well as how to connect Philips Hue lights to Alexa and which Alexa Hue commands to use to change the lighting (and mood!) Amazon Alexa creates a smart home that responds to the way you live. These devices are different from regular Echo devices because they have a built-in home hub. I do this by using Alexa routines, unfortunately I’ve never found a way using ST alone. > tap Done on the keyboard > tap the Next button, Scroll down to the Devices section and select the lights you want to control as part of this group (a check mark will show up when you select a device to include) > tap the Save button, Your group is created! Get Tech Support 1-833-202-2695 Enterprise Solutions › Also if on set to xx or if on turn on xx percent (may or may not require percent), New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the homeautomation community. 193. Connecting the Philips Hue lights to the Amazon Echo or Echo Dot—or any of Amazon's Alexa-enabled devices—is fairly easy, but if you want to do more than just dim and brighten your lights… Of course, your list of possible commands will depend on which bulbs you have (you can't change the color of white bulbs). Usually, this means screwing the smart light bulb into a working outlet. This will connect all of your Hue lights to Alexa in one go. Put your Hue lights into groups by room so you can turn them on and off together. 2 Normally, Philips Hue light bulbs connect to a base station, the Philips Hue Bridge. The first light means the bridge is receiving power. The light-emitting diodes in your smart LEDs might not dim the way you'd expect -- but there's a good reason why. So for example my Alexa devices are aware of the ST “things” it is also aware of the Hue Routines like wake up and bedtime so I can combine them. 193. The below will also guide you through the right type of Hue product for set up with your Echo device. VoiceBrew is reader-supported. Alexa Hue lights are pretty cool. The perfect pairing for your Smart home lighting setup using Alexa is an Echo speaker and LIFX smart lights. Alexa will always turn on/off or dim … One of the cooler Alexa features is the ability to create routines that trigger the lights to turn on based on your location. But if you want to see all the different colors, go ahead and adjust your light’s color in the Alexa app: 6 Best Alexa Routines Right Now & Easy Set-Up Guide, 8 Alexa Settings That Will Seriously Upgrade Your Alexa Experience, 8 Best Uses For Your Alexa Speaker & Best Alexa Speaker For You, Top 5 Uses For Alexa Smart Lights & Easy Set-Up Guide. When I set up two smart bulbs the other day, one was discovered immediately, and it took a couple tries for the other. If you plan to use Alexa to control your lights then it doesn’t matter. are they just as bright or not as much? And the good news is that if you end up loving your smart lights set-up and want to do the full set-up (with either a regular Echo or an Echo with a smart hub built in), you can still use the same bulbs — you’ll just also need to also get a Hue Bridge or an Echo device with a smart hub built in. If your Philips Hue light bulbs are still not listed under 'Devices' then follow these steps to relink your account. With the Philips Hue Dimmer Switch you can control up to 10 Philips Hue bulbs and the two Alexa devices Echo Plus and Echo Show even have a built-in Zigbee Hub. Give it a little extra time to connect. No hub involved. With this guide, any normal (read: non-techie) person can easily set up Hue lights with Alexa — and figure out which type of Hue lights are right for you. There’s always the option to use an Alexa command like “Alexa, turn floor light to purple!”. are they just as bright or not as much? lt’s great to have a light bulb that you can ask Alexa to turn on and off. Hue Lightstrip aluminum light housing to hide low window lintel. You can save by buying a Hue Starter Kit which comes with bulbs and a bridge (the right starter kit for you will depend on which of the 3 different types of Hue bulbs you choose). Is there anyway to make alexa work with dimming ge smart bulbs or am i forced to do it through the smartthings app? If you want to be fancy, set up different routines for different days of the week so the routines look less automated to onlookers. “Alexa turn the lights … Or you try to use your Hue dimmer switch, and it won’t dim properly. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Some may work great, some may produce a little buzzing, and some will make the Hue lights flicker to the point of being unusable.