How to set up your Philips Hue lights without a Bridge

A bridge too far? Attempt these routes as a substitute

Philips Hue gives one of the complete and versatile sensible lighting ranges on the market, and, usually, you’re required to have the Philips Hue Bridge plugged into your router with a purpose to management put in bulbs.

What if you happen to don’t need the Hue Bridge, although? Nicely, the excellent news is that you just haven’t hit a useless finish.

Due to the Hue bulbs’ compatibility with the Zigbee normal, there are different methods to get entry to your Hue bulbs with out all of the official gear. Philips Hue additionally has Bluetooth bulbs, supplying you with one other manner across the hub.

It’s value declaring that putting in the Hue Bridge is one of the simplest ways to go, because it provides you the perfect, most dependable management over your Hue sensible lights, and entry to all of the performance of the Hue apps.

If you wish to do it in another way, nevertheless, learn on for all of the alternative ways you may keep away from the Hue Bridge.

1. Use Philips Hue Bluetooth bulbs

(Picture credit score: The Ambient)

In 2019, Signify found this miraculous normal referred to as Bluetooth, and, since then, all Hue bulbs have supplied each assist alongside Zigbee, supplying you with choices in the case of setup.

Due to Bluetooth, a kind of choices is to not use a hub in any respect. As a substitute, you may merely screw the bulb in and join it on to your cellphone.

Up to now, that meant utilizing a standalone Hue BT app, however it’s all now been rolled into the identical Hue app, for ease. The added versatility might make Hue extra interesting to anybody not able to go “all in” by bringing the entry worth down.

This does include limitations, although: you may solely join as much as 10 bulbs, there’s no distant management as soon as you allow the home and third-party app integrations aren’t supported.

You can also’t group Bluetooth Hue bulbs into completely different rooms, though you may technically create teams in rooms, so you might do a “lavatory” and a “kitchen”. Creating an upstairs group could be a stretch, nevertheless, contemplating it is advisable be in Bluetooth vary (therefore the rooms limitation).

Nonetheless, Alexa and Google Assistant play good right here, and you may as well use Google’s Seamless Setup function so as to add Hue Bluetooth bulbs to a Google Assistant sensible residence with out utilizing a Hue Bridge.

2. Utilizing the Hue Dimmer Change

How to set up your Philips Hue lights without a Bridge
(Picture credit score: Signify)

For those who purchase a Hue Dimmer Change bundled with a Hue bulb, they’re already linked if you get them out of the field. All it is advisable do is screw the bulb right into a vacant socket, flip the sunshine change on, after which put the battery within the Dimmer Change.

Right away, you’ll be capable of use the Dimmer Change to regulate the Hue bulb: turning it on and off, and adjusting the brightness. You may’t management the colour in any respect (one of many causes you would possibly think about shopping for a Hue Bridge), however it does offer you some performance.

Philips Hue bulbs work with an everyday mild change, too, after all – even if you happen to don’t purchase the Dimmer Change or the Hue Bridge or some other accent, you may flip the bulb on and off utilizing the usual mild change on the wall.

Every Hue Dimmer Change can assist as much as 10 bulbs. If you wish to add a brand new bulb with out a Hue Bridge, set up the bulb and change it on, then carry the Dimmer Change near it and press and maintain the On button. You’ll see a small LED mild come on the Dimmer Change and the bulb will blink to verify the connection.

All these linked bulbs (as much as 10 of them) are going to reply in the identical solution to the Hue Dimmer Change, however that is a technique of including Philips Hue sensible bulbs to your private home with out a Hue Bridge.

4. Utilizing a Hue Sensible Button

How to set up your Philips Hue lights without a Bridge
(Picture credit score: The Ambient)

As with the Dimmer Change, the Hue Sensible Button may also be used to regulate 10 Bluetooth Hue lights with out the necessity for the Bridge.

Start by long-pressing the Hue sensible button for 3 seconds till it initiates a blinking sequence. Then preserve the sensible button in shut proximity, roughly 15 cm, to the sunshine you want to handle.

If it is advisable disassociate a lightweight from the Hue sensible button, comply with the identical steps, however prolong the button maintain to 10 seconds.

4. Utilizing an Amazon Echo as a hub

use amazon echo as hub for phlips hue
(Picture credit score: The Ambient)

As Philips Hue bulbs use the Zigbee normal, they’ll work with some Zigbee sensible residence hubs somewhat than a Hue Bridge. Nonetheless, the mixing isn’t at all times as dependable, or out there with as many options, as it’s with a Hue Bridge.

Some Echo audio system – such because the Third-gen Echo Present 8, Echo Hub and Echo Studio – can work as Zigbee hubs. For those who’ve already acquired certainly one of these speaker fashions arrange, new Hue bulbs may be added by Alexa with out the necessity for the Philips Hue talent.

Make sure that your Hue bulbs are linked and powered on, then head into the Alexa app (which you must have already put in when organising your Echo). Choose Units, then the Plus button, then Add Machine. After a number of seconds of looking out, your Hue lights must be detected and added.

For those who favor you should use a voice command as a substitute: say “Alexa, discover my units” and your Alexa sensible speaker will scan your home for suitable Hue bulbs.

Whichever manner you add the Hue bulbs, you may management them by the Alexa app or by way of your voice with instructions like, “Alexa, flip the bed room lights off,” as soon as they’re linked.

By the Alexa app, you may as well group your Hue bulbs collectively and even group them with sensible lights of a distinct model. Nonetheless, with out the Hue Bridge, you may’t create customized scenes, have lights activate or off primarily based in your location, or entry numerous different superior options out there within the Hue app.


5. Utilizing an Ikea Trådfri gateway as a hub

How to set up Philips Hue with Ikea Tradfri
(Picture credit score: The Ambient)

Another choice is to make use of an Ikea Trådfri gateway as a hub on your Hue sensible bulbs as a substitute of the official Philips Hue Bridge. Identical to the Amazon Echo Zigbee units, the gateway, which plugs straight into your router, handles communications between your cellphone and the Hue bulbs you’ve put in.

Assuming you’ve already acquired your Ikea Trådfri gateway and Trådfri bulbs up and working, including Hue lights to the combo isn’t too tough: you simply comply with the identical course of as you do for including a Trådfri mild.

Get your Hue bulb put in and switched on, then open up the Trådfri app and select to Add units then Bulb. You’ll be requested to choose a management system, which you’ll have used to arrange your Trådfri lights — a movement sensor, a wi-fi dimmer or a distant management, for instance.

Once you’ve made your choose, maintain the management system inside two centimeters of the bulb, and press and maintain the hyperlink button on it for ten seconds. It is best to see the bulb flicker, and, as soon as this flickering stops, launch the button. The Hue mild is now added.

As with the Amazon Echo integration, you don’t get the entire scheduling, geolocation and colour biking choices you get with an precise Hue Bridge, although it’s nonetheless a neat manner of including Hue lights if you happen to’ve already acquired a Trådfri system arrange – it saves you having to plug two hubs into your router.

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