Computers & Hardware > Other Technologies & Hardware
Smart bulbs
Alex Atkin UK:
--- Quote from: banger on February 15, 2021, 08:49:47 AM ---Thanks peeps. I like the look of the LIFX bulbs and advantage of not needing a hub? I will give this Tp-Link plug/switch for a while then decide.
--- End quote ---
I will say they can be a bit unstable at times. The app frequently sees the bulbs as offline yet Alexa will still control them. Sometimes they DO go offline, tends to be if I fiddle with the WiFi AP they can crash needing a power cycle. But the vast majority of the time they are fine.
They were much more reliable for me when they supported plain LAN control without tying into the cloud, but then that was before I had Alexa so I'd need cloud control anyway. But I think in that respect, hub based units are possibly more stable as you have one point connecting to the cloud rather than every individual bulb.
What really bothers me about all these smart devices is if they ever decide to drop support, they become useless unless they have a LAN API. Although with LIFX they will at least default to white light bulbs by default so not entirely useless in that scenario.
j0hn:
--- Quote from: banger on February 15, 2021, 08:49:47 AM ---Thanks peeps. I like the look of the LIFX bulbs and advantage of not needing a hub?
--- End quote ---
Most smart home devices that need a hub are Zigbee devices.
A decent Zigbee hub will do all other Zigbee devices across a range of manufacturers.
If you don't already have a Zigbee hub/devices then I wouldn't recommend getting a hub for a single device.
The main benefit of Zigbee is when you use lots of devices. They mesh together to extend range and are very low powered.
I have 2 LIFX WiFi RGB bulbs. I love them.
They never lose their 2.4Ghz connection to my router.
I also have a couple Yeelight WiFi bulbs that work perfectly (Yeelight are owned by Xiaomi).
I watch a guy on YouTube who reviews a lot of smart home devices. He has a few reviews of Lifx bulbs and LED strips.
https://youtu.be/wxwdEznPRW4
kitz:
I have Hive because of my heating. The hive hub will control both Hive and Phillips bulbs. Think I have 7 Hive bulbs of various types and a few other lamps and LED strip lighting that use a switch. I then also have lots of other switches and devices connected to Echo/Alexa. I would eventually like all lights connected, but I have a couple of lights that have several GU9s and a lot of GU10s in the kitchen. Hive do GU10s but it would be expensive to replace them all... plus they are not as bright.
parkdale:
I have a TP Link smart switch, as is common with these, they only work on 2.4Ghz WiFi, and the TP Link one's (seems to only) work with IP address's in the 192.168 range!
I spent age's trying to figure out why I could not connect to my Fritzbox 7590 IP range 192.178, gave up and bought a TCP Smart home switch which worked first time.
Archetype486:
--- Quote from: parkdale on February 16, 2021, 04:20:37 PM ---I have a TP Link smart switch, as is common with these, they only work on 2.4Ghz WiFi, and the TP Link one's (seems to only) work with IP address's in the 192.168 range!
I spent age's trying to figure out why I could not connect to my Fritzbox 7590 IP range 192.178, gave up and bought a TCP Smart home switch which worked first time.
--- End quote ---
I am not sure that is correct regarding only working in the 192.168 range. I have currently 5 TP Link smart plugs, 1 smart power strip (used for xmas lights) and 1 smart bulb all running along with my other IoT devices in their own VLAN with the IP address range of 20.0.0.
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