I'll have to check out those settings this evening. I set mine up a while ago. After my lights go on when I arrive home, I control the individual lights with the app Rapid Hue. Some I dim, others I don't. It's much easier doing that through the Rapid Hue app versus the Hue App.
In the Phillips app. Create a new "scene" and just add the lamps that are in a particular room. Then name the scene as the room they are in. If you want to control a particular fixture, make a new scene and add only the lamps that are in that fixture.
Once you set it up so you can control, every room and/or every fixture you'll understand how bad the UI is. They need a folder option for rooms at the least.
If you want to fine tune things I would recommend Lightbow. It adds a crazy amount of control and a better UI than the Stock App. If only it had geofencing...
Never heard of Rapid Hue. I'm going to check it out now! Thanks!
In the Phillips app. Create a new "scene" and just add the lamps that are in a particular room. Then name the scene as the room they are in. If you want to control a particular fixture, make a new scene and add only the lamps that are in that fixture.
Once you set it up so you can control, every room and/or every fixture you'll understand how bad the UI is. They need a folder option for rooms at the least.
If you want to fine tune things I would recommend Lightbow. It adds a crazy amount of control and a better UI than the Stock App. If only it had geofencing...
Never heard of Rapid Hue. I'm going to check it out now! Thanks!
Thank you for the information. I'll check out that Lightbow app.
Rapid Hue is a very good simple app for controlling individual lights. There aren't really any features. It's just a simple interface with your lights listed and you can change the colors, hue, and brightness. One app I really like is the Goldee app. They have some cool dynamic lighting scenes for your Hue lights.
I've actually had mine longer then a few months. I bought the starter packs not long after they came out. I lose track of time. Anyway, now that I think about it, I did have an issue at first with the bridge not recognizing the lights from the other starter pack. From a little research on Philips website, I downloaded their application Lampstealer and got the lights working that way.
My research also pointed towards that app "lampstealer", but I've never lost control of a lamp. I found the idea for that when one lamp couldn't be picked up by the apps. So I said ""what the hell" and just turned the ACTUAL light switch on and off, and they were picked up by every app within a second. Never had to use lampstealer, though I've heard and read about it. I've always had control and I've never totally lost a lamp.
I did find out that putting than in ceiling fans messes with them. It doesn't ruin them, it just messes with them. It's the magnetic inference from the motor in the ceiling fan (I think) which isolates them from the bridge. Just turn the actual switch off and then on again and every app will find them right away.
Edit: Now that I think about it, that whole "Lampstealer" app could have come from people buying two starter packs instead on one and then more lamps.
Thank you for the information. I'll check out that Lightbow app.
Rapid Hue is a very good simple app for controlling individual lights. There aren't really any features. It's just a simple interface with your lights listed and you can change the colors, hue, and brightness. One app I really like is the Goldee app. They have some cool dynamic lighting scenes for your Hue lights.
Rapid hue looks like it's an iPhone only app. Lightbow works on both the iPad and iPhone. I didn't know that until now. Just downloaded Lightbow for my phone also. Cool thing is if one device picked up the bridge, the other already has it.
They're getting better at this I suppose.
It will be cool to see what the Homekit brings to this area.
> First of all, you have to EXPLICITLY add a widget, nothing is added by default.
Understood, thanks. Already knew that. Never said they're added by default.
> Secondly, notification center doesn't have to be STRICTLY for notifications-
So why is it it called the Notification Center and not the "tool drawer" or something else?
> To me, widgets in notification shade seems like a genius idea-
Well that's your opinion. Would be nice if you expressed it with less emotion and swearing.
> doesn't clutter anything up,
Oh, I think it clutters things. You've got your notifications, which people already get a lot of, now mixed in with widgets. Put your widgets at the top for easy access, now you have to scroll to see your notifications, which could be important. Put the widgets below, and they might or might not be visible without scrolling, depending on how many notifications you got at a given time.
I don't know how it's implemented, it might be a separate tab at the top, but the screenshots don't show that. In that case, you'd have to pull down then tap a button - not very convenient.
> I guess what you wanted Apple to do is just blindly clone whatever Android is doing with widgets, which is a complete mess? Would that have been "Apple-like"? No, you would have then said "lol apple ripping off android".
Wouldn't have said that, but thanks for your opinion.
Would have been nice to have widgets available on the home screen, where they could be available immediately, without even pulling down the NC.
Thank you for the information. I'll check out that Lightbow app.
Rapid Hue is a very good simple app for controlling individual lights. There aren't really any features. It's just a simple interface with your lights listed and you can change the colors, hue, and brightness. One app I really like is the Goldee app. They have some cool dynamic lighting scenes for your Hue lights.
While we're on the subject, check out Hue Disco. It's not really usefull for much, but it's pretty cool for what you pay for it. Sorry I can't tell you, once you buy an app you never see the price again... Always thought that was strange. I think it was $.99 or $1.99. It discos your lights, all or some, to music or just sounds in your house. Mostly just for parties or showing off I suppose. Probably makes the neighbors think your off your rocker.
I don't understand why this site doesn't showcase this type of stuff. It's rumor based and "review/editorial" only crap. Only recently have they added a few things that show what Apple devices can do. There are some old articles, but trying to dig them up is not worth the trouble.
That's actually not true. I did buy 2 starter packs from the Apple store. They were out of extra bulbs so I just went ahead and bought another starter pack since I wanted 3 more bulbs. The lights from one starter pack will work with the bridge on another starter pack. Mine work fine.
If you have time in the future, you can order the lamps from the Apple Store App on your phone, or on the web on the Apple site from your computer. They will send you an e-mail and/or text (or both) letting you know when you can pick them up. For me it's always been within 24hours. Except when I ordered my iPad Air on launch and I received multiple e-mails saying it's ready for pickup and a few hours later - "sorry your order is not ready for pickup" which went on for a month. They did give me a free alarm clock which is better than any I've ever seen when I called to complain. Very Apple like alarm clock... when the Apple woman on the phone said "we appreciate your buisness, we're extremely sorry, and I have something special waiting for you with your iPad" I laughed. I thought it would be something I'd dump on some kid as I walked out of the mall. I was actually surprised. Felt like a "one more thing". I kept it. It's awesome! Honestly it was still two weeks after that that I could pick it up... Just saying.
Anyway, last night I did see the Phillips Hue at Home Depot, so you shouldn't have to worry about buying two bridges again. Or having to go to the Apple Store again, which in my area is a real pain!
My research also pointed towards that app "lampstealer", but I've never lost control of a lamp. I found the idea for that when one lamp couldn't be picked up by the apps. So I said ""what the hell" and just turned the ACTUAL light switch on and off, and they were picked up by every app within a second. Never had to use lampstealer, though I've heard and read about it. I've always had control and I've never totally lost a lamp.
I did find out that putting than in ceiling fans messes with them. It doesn't ruin them, it just messes with them. It's the magnetic inference from the motor in the ceiling fan (I think) which isolates them from the bridge. Just turn the actual switch off and then on again and every app will find them right away.
Edit: Now that I think about it, that whole "Lampstealer" app could have come from people buying two starter packs instead on one and then more lamps.
I think I did try turning the lights on and off and couldn't get the bridge to recognize them. Lampstealer worked right away. What's odd is I tried 3 bulbs in one ceiling fan and they worked great. Another ceiling fan, all 3 would just flash white and I could never get them to work. I ended up using a few of the bulbs for accent lighting.
My plan is eventually to have the whole house with Hue bulbs. I have the lightstrips and I'm really happy with those. I did buy the Bloom lamp, but it was defective and didn't work. I ended up returning the bloom lamp and bought the downlights for my bathroom instead.
Rapid Hue is an iPhone only app unfortunately. That Lightbow app looks pretty good. I actually do have the Hue Disco app. I have another similar one called HueParty. Both are pretty neat, but I don't use them that often.
I do order online from the Apple Store. Sometimes I get impatient and want to get something right away and not wait for it to ship. The closest Apple Store to me is 45 minutes away. I haven't seen the Hue bulbs at Home Depot in my area yet. Hopefully the one here will start carrying them soon. That's too bad about what you had to deal with buying your iPad Air. That's cool you got a free alarm clock for the hassle. I'm guessing the hiccup with your order was the Apple Store maybe didn't get the amount of inventory they thought they were going to get or possibly some sort of technical error.
I am looking forward to Homekit. Speaking of the website, they have been much better showcasing products to use with your iPhone. Of course I would love to see more. One thing I'm really interested in is the Flir One personal thermal imager for the iPhone 5/5s. I don't recall seeing anything about that on here. It's supposed to come out this month.
I can't wait for that control widget. I've been pretty happy with my Hue lights so far. I know many people don't like the app, but I think it's fine. It definitely could use some improvements though.
I completely agree. I'm quite happy that they do exactly as they promise. The app works, it's the first iteration and is lacking on its usability and intuitiveness, but it works and works well for what it is.
I think I did try turning the lights on and off and couldn't get the bridge to recognize them. Lampstealer worked right away. What's odd is I tried 3 bulbs in one ceiling fan and they worked great. Another ceiling fan, all 3 would just flash white and I could never get them to work. I ended up using a few of the bulbs for accent lighting.
My plan is eventually to have the whole house with Hue bulbs. I have the lightstrips and I'm really happy with those. I did buy the Bloom lamp, but it was defective and didn't work. I ended up returning the bloom lamp and bought the downlights for my bathroom instead.
Rapid Hue is an iPhone only app unfortunately. That Lightbow app looks pretty good. I actually do have the Hue Disco app. I have another similar one called HueParty. Both are pretty neat, but I don't use them that often.
I do order online from the Apple Store. Sometimes I get impatient and want to get something right away and not wait for it to ship. The closest Apple Store to me is 45 minutes away. I haven't seen the Hue bulbs at Home Depot in my area yet. Hopefully the one here will start carrying them soon. That's too bad about what you had to deal with buying your iPad Air. That's cool you got a free alarm clock for the hassle. I'm guessing the hiccup with your order was the Apple Store maybe didn't get the amount of inventory they thought they were going to get or possibly some sort of technical error.
I am looking forward to Homekit. Speaking of the website, they have been much better showcasing products to use with your iPhone. Of course I would love to see more. One thing I'm really interested in is the Flir One personal thermal imager for the iPhone 5/5s. I don't recall seeing anything about that on here. It's supposed to come out this month.
Wow! The last time I've dealt with F.L.I.R. Was almost five years ago. I had mandatory instructions from that company and every three months I attended classes. We used it for thermal imaging of electrical equipment. ...hot spots are close failures... From my experience, they dropped competing in personal (or person and equipment imaging long before that) Being F.L.I.R. Certified was a very BIG deal! I'm wondering if we're speaking of the same company...
I'm not impatient. Usually, anyway. After ordering my latest iPad and both myself and those I work with laughing our asses off seeing the responses of "your order is ready for pickup" followed by "your order is not ready for pickup" with accompanying voicemails from store employees. After a month it got to be hilarious! They convinced me that those who were camping out we're getting them, and I was being towed by a string. I do agree at this point even in retrospect, which is the only reason I called to complain. Worked out to my benefit though. So no complaints. Still had the iPad three while I was waiting.
I bought two "Bloom" lamps basically for plants. Both perfect, and still work perfect. I have one strip which looked as someone had previously bought and returned. Due to the packaging they ripped the insulation on the conductors. Only the outside jacket. I just white taped them. Works great! Bad packaging though. That horrible stiff plastic packaging should be outlawed. It only ruins the product and causes wounds.
I checked out the Rapid Hue app. I use my iPad more than my iPhone. So it's not a fit for me.
Is there a way we can chat besides on this main forum. I think you and I could exchange ideas seeing as we're using similar equipment. Sharing ideas is never a bad thing.
I completely agree. I'm quite happy that they do exactly as they promise. The app works, it's the first iteration and is lacking on its usability and intuitiveness, but it works and works well for what it is.
Check out a few third party apps. You might be amazed if you don't have them already.
Wow! The last time I've dealt with F.L.I.R. Was almost five years ago. I had mandatory instructions from that company and every three months I attended classes. We used it for thermal imaging of electrical equipment. ...hot spots are close failures... From my experience, they dropped competing in personal (or person and equipment imaging long before that) Being F.L.I.R. Certified was a very BIG deal! I'm wondering if we're speaking of the same company...
I'm not impatient. Usually, anyway. After ordering my latest iPad and both myself and those I work with laughing our asses off seeing the responses of "your order is ready for pickup" followed by "your order is not ready for pickup" with accompanying voicemails from store employees. After a month it got to be hilarious! They convinced me that those who were camping out we're getting them, and I was being towed by a string. I do agree at this point even in retrospect, which is the only reason I called to complain. Worked out to my benefit though. So no complaints. Still had the iPad three while I was waiting.
I bought two "Bloom" lamps basically for plants. Both perfect, and still work perfect. I have one strip which looked as someone had previously bought and returned. Due to the packaging they ripped the insulation on the conductors. Only the outside jacket. I just white taped them. Works great! Bad packaging though. That horrible stiff plastic packaging should be outlawed. It only ruins the product and causes wounds.
I checked out the Rapid Hue app. I use my iPad more than my iPhone. So it's not a fit for me.
Is there a way we can chat besides on this main forum. I think you and I could exchange ideas seeing as we're using similar equipment. Sharing ideas is never a bad thing.
I'm pretty sure we are talking about the same company. Here is the link to info on the Flir One:
FLIR still makes quite a few models for personal thermal imaging cameras. I would use the Flir One for wildlife viewing/tracking. I'm not a hunter, but I track to find and photograph animals. I'm hoping it does come out this June so I can use to it find wolves in the Yellowstone area this summer.
That is pretty funny getting the ready, then not ready e-mails. Too bad they didn't send a "your order might be ready for pickup" e-mail. I've never waited in line for an Apple product. Not really my thing. I always do the midnight ordering. At least you had an iPad to use while you waited for the iPad Air.
I still may eventually get a Bloom lamp. I do have one of those Living Colors lamps. Supposedly you can get it to work with the bridge and app, but so far, no luck with me. I've found various sites with instructions, but for some reason, I can't get the bridge to recognize it. The lightships packaging is awful. I almost accidentally cut the strip trying to get the stupid thing out. Philips definitely needs to change the packaging. I hate that stiff plastic packaging.
Check out a few third party apps. You might be amazed if you don't have them already.
After reading you and boltsfan17's conversation I have since downloaded some of them. Hue Disco for 2.99 is exactly what I was hoping the hue app would have done right out of the box. Thanks for the tips and the good read.
I absolutely LOVE my Philips Hue bulbs. It's true that the current iOS app isn't great, but I never use it anymore. Hue has an open API, so I whipped up a bit of code to control mine using my Mac. With Applescript, an Apple remote and the free BetterTouchTool OSX app, I now have a physical remote for my lights. I've been using it this way for over a year, and it works flawlessly. Better still: it's easy to teach a universal remote the Apple remote functions, which means my lights are also on my universal remote. My only complaint about Hue is that I want more form factors. Specifically, I want tiny bulbs for my small desk task lamps, but I might pitch them and buy new lamps that fit regular size bulbs.
What I want is dimmer switches that are wifi enabled. I want to be able to set moods for each room and preferences for what each room should do based on my location in my home. With this technology and the built-in location technology I should be able to walk through my home and lights go on and off as I'm walking through my home if that's what I wish.
I don't want wifi bulbs...give me wifi switches and I'll gladly swap out the light switches in my home.
Happily, I have fingers, which enable me to turn lights on and off...at the flick of a switch.
That's actually not true. I did buy 2 starter packs from the Apple store. They were out of extra bulbs so I just went ahead and bought another starter pack since I wanted 3 more bulbs. The lights from one starter pack will work with the bridge on another starter pack. Mine work fine.
I'm very sorry then. A few months ago when I had purchased all of mine that was not possible. I do know that the bridge had received several updates since then. At the time of my purchase it was definitely true that bulbs from one starter pack could not be used with bulbs from a separate starter pack.
Hopefully my feedback to Phillips had something to do with that, but it doubt it.
There's a slight chance that your wiring had something to do with it.
After reading you and boltsfan17's conversation I have since downloaded some of them. Hue Disco for 2.99 is exactly what I was hoping the hue app would have done right out of the box. Thanks for the tips and the good read.
There's a slight chance that your wiring had something to do with it.
I can guarantee that wasn't the problem, and after all of the bridge updates everything is fine. For a while there they were pushing out updates every other day. I'm hoping that my feedback had something to due with that.
Also, ever think that one of these apps I'm shamelessly pushing might me mine? I do know what's up with these things believe it or not.
I can guarantee that wasn't the problem, and after all of the bridge updates everything is fine. For a while there they were pushing out updates every other day. I'm hoping that my feedback had something to due with that.
I think I did try turning the lights on and off and couldn't get the bridge to recognize them. Lampstealer worked right away. What's odd is I tried 3 bulbs in one ceiling fan and they worked great. Another ceiling fan, all 3 would just flash white and I could never get them to work. I ended up using a few of the bulbs for accent lighting.
My plan is eventually to have the whole house with Hue bulbs. I have the lightstrips and I'm really happy with those. I did buy the Bloom lamp, but it was defective and didn't work. I ended up returning the bloom lamp and bought the downlights for my bathroom instead.
Rapid Hue is an iPhone only app unfortunately. That Lightbow app looks pretty good. I actually do have the Hue Disco app. I have another similar one called HueParty. Both are pretty neat, but I don't use them that often.
I do order online from the Apple Store. Sometimes I get impatient and want to get something right away and not wait for it to ship. The closest Apple Store to me is 45 minutes away. I haven't seen the Hue bulbs at Home Depot in my area yet. Hopefully the one here will start carrying them soon. That's too bad about what you had to deal with buying your iPad Air. That's cool you got a free alarm clock for the hassle. I'm guessing the hiccup with your order was the Apple Store maybe didn't get the amount of inventory they thought they were going to get or possibly some sort of technical error.
I am looking forward to Homekit. Speaking of the website, they have been much better showcasing products to use with your iPhone. Of course I would love to see more. One thing I'm really interested in is the Flir One personal thermal imager for the iPhone 5/5s. I don't recall seeing anything about that on here. It's supposed to come out this month.
Seeing as you stated that you plan on purchasing more of the Hue lamps, and I noticed that you live stateside, do yourself a favor and check with your utility supplier. There's a rebate for LED's that just took affect this year which was actually signed into effect by Bush believe it or not. Fill out a simple form and you could get a rebate from your utility company for up to $30 per lamp. It's different per style. Also, each state has different rebate plans so I'm not sure about California, but it's worth looking into. It's supposed to be handled by the retailer, but Apple doesn't seem to be doing it.
Just letting you know. It's out there, but I don't know what your state has in place for rebates.
Edit: in my state it's limited to 20 lamps per purchase. You can however submit on multiple purchases.
It works for every type of LED, not just Hue. In some cases you actually get paid for buying them (not hue LOL!). Also keep in mind that big box retailers are somehow taking the rebate upfront (so they are -$2.00 or more before you purchase the lamp there) so purchases at big box retailers are not included in the rebate program. Makes you think twice when you know they are making the full purchase price plus when you buy a standard LED from them doesn't it?
Comments
In the Phillips app. Create a new "scene" and just add the lamps that are in a particular room. Then name the scene as the room they are in. If you want to control a particular fixture, make a new scene and add only the lamps that are in that fixture.
Once you set it up so you can control, every room and/or every fixture you'll understand how bad the UI is. They need a folder option for rooms at the least.
If you want to fine tune things I would recommend Lightbow. It adds a crazy amount of control and a better UI than the Stock App. If only it had geofencing...
Never heard of Rapid Hue. I'm going to check it out now! Thanks!
In the Phillips app. Create a new "scene" and just add the lamps that are in a particular room. Then name the scene as the room they are in. If you want to control a particular fixture, make a new scene and add only the lamps that are in that fixture.
Once you set it up so you can control, every room and/or every fixture you'll understand how bad the UI is. They need a folder option for rooms at the least.
If you want to fine tune things I would recommend Lightbow. It adds a crazy amount of control and a better UI than the Stock App. If only it had geofencing...
Never heard of Rapid Hue. I'm going to check it out now! Thanks!
Thank you for the information. I'll check out that Lightbow app.
Rapid Hue is a very good simple app for controlling individual lights. There aren't really any features. It's just a simple interface with your lights listed and you can change the colors, hue, and brightness. One app I really like is the Goldee app. They have some cool dynamic lighting scenes for your Hue lights.
My research also pointed towards that app "lampstealer", but I've never lost control of a lamp. I found the idea for that when one lamp couldn't be picked up by the apps. So I said ""what the hell" and just turned the ACTUAL light switch on and off, and they were picked up by every app within a second. Never had to use lampstealer, though I've heard and read about it. I've always had control and I've never totally lost a lamp.
I did find out that putting than in ceiling fans messes with them. It doesn't ruin them, it just messes with them. It's the magnetic inference from the motor in the ceiling fan (I think) which isolates them from the bridge. Just turn the actual switch off and then on again and every app will find them right away.
Edit: Now that I think about it, that whole "Lampstealer" app could have come from people buying two starter packs instead on one and then more lamps.
Rapid hue looks like it's an iPhone only app. Lightbow works on both the iPad and iPhone. I didn't know that until now. Just downloaded Lightbow for my phone also. Cool thing is if one device picked up the bridge, the other already has it.
They're getting better at this I suppose.
It will be cool to see what the Homekit brings to this area.
> The **** are you talking about?
Wow. What an attitude.
> First of all, you have to EXPLICITLY add a widget, nothing is added by default.
Understood, thanks. Already knew that. Never said they're added by default.
> Secondly, notification center doesn't have to be STRICTLY for notifications-
So why is it it called the Notification Center and not the "tool drawer" or something else?
> To me, widgets in notification shade seems like a genius idea-
Well that's your opinion. Would be nice if you expressed it with less emotion and swearing.
> doesn't clutter anything up,
Oh, I think it clutters things. You've got your notifications, which people already get a lot of, now mixed in with widgets. Put your widgets at the top for easy access, now you have to scroll to see your notifications, which could be important. Put the widgets below, and they might or might not be visible without scrolling, depending on how many notifications you got at a given time.
I don't know how it's implemented, it might be a separate tab at the top, but the screenshots don't show that. In that case, you'd have to pull down then tap a button - not very convenient.
> I guess what you wanted Apple to do is just blindly clone whatever Android is doing with widgets, which is a complete mess? Would that have been "Apple-like"? No, you would have then said "lol apple ripping off android".
Wouldn't have said that, but thanks for your opinion.
Would have been nice to have widgets available on the home screen, where they could be available immediately, without even pulling down the NC.
Just one person's opinion.
While we're on the subject, check out Hue Disco. It's not really usefull for much, but it's pretty cool for what you pay for it. Sorry I can't tell you, once you buy an app you never see the price again... Always thought that was strange. I think it was $.99 or $1.99. It discos your lights, all or some, to music or just sounds in your house. Mostly just for parties or showing off I suppose. Probably makes the neighbors think your off your rocker.
I don't understand why this site doesn't showcase this type of stuff. It's rumor based and "review/editorial" only crap. Only recently have they added a few things that show what Apple devices can do. There are some old articles, but trying to dig them up is not worth the trouble.
If you have time in the future, you can order the lamps from the Apple Store App on your phone, or on the web on the Apple site from your computer. They will send you an e-mail and/or text (or both) letting you know when you can pick them up. For me it's always been within 24hours. Except when I ordered my iPad Air on launch and I received multiple e-mails saying it's ready for pickup and a few hours later - "sorry your order is not ready for pickup" which went on for a month. They did give me a free alarm clock which is better than any I've ever seen when I called to complain. Very Apple like alarm clock... when the Apple woman on the phone said "we appreciate your buisness, we're extremely sorry, and I have something special waiting for you with your iPad" I laughed. I thought it would be something I'd dump on some kid as I walked out of the mall. I was actually surprised. Felt like a "one more thing". I kept it. It's awesome! Honestly it was still two weeks after that that I could pick it up... Just saying.
Anyway, last night I did see the Phillips Hue at Home Depot, so you shouldn't have to worry about buying two bridges again. Or having to go to the Apple Store again, which in my area is a real pain!
My research also pointed towards that app "lampstealer", but I've never lost control of a lamp. I found the idea for that when one lamp couldn't be picked up by the apps. So I said ""what the hell" and just turned the ACTUAL light switch on and off, and they were picked up by every app within a second. Never had to use lampstealer, though I've heard and read about it. I've always had control and I've never totally lost a lamp.
I did find out that putting than in ceiling fans messes with them. It doesn't ruin them, it just messes with them. It's the magnetic inference from the motor in the ceiling fan (I think) which isolates them from the bridge. Just turn the actual switch off and then on again and every app will find them right away.
Edit: Now that I think about it, that whole "Lampstealer" app could have come from people buying two starter packs instead on one and then more lamps.
I think I did try turning the lights on and off and couldn't get the bridge to recognize them. Lampstealer worked right away. What's odd is I tried 3 bulbs in one ceiling fan and they worked great. Another ceiling fan, all 3 would just flash white and I could never get them to work. I ended up using a few of the bulbs for accent lighting.
My plan is eventually to have the whole house with Hue bulbs. I have the lightstrips and I'm really happy with those. I did buy the Bloom lamp, but it was defective and didn't work. I ended up returning the bloom lamp and bought the downlights for my bathroom instead.
Rapid Hue is an iPhone only app unfortunately. That Lightbow app looks pretty good. I actually do have the Hue Disco app. I have another similar one called HueParty. Both are pretty neat, but I don't use them that often.
I do order online from the Apple Store. Sometimes I get impatient and want to get something right away and not wait for it to ship. The closest Apple Store to me is 45 minutes away. I haven't seen the Hue bulbs at Home Depot in my area yet. Hopefully the one here will start carrying them soon. That's too bad about what you had to deal with buying your iPad Air. That's cool you got a free alarm clock for the hassle. I'm guessing the hiccup with your order was the Apple Store maybe didn't get the amount of inventory they thought they were going to get or possibly some sort of technical error.
I am looking forward to Homekit. Speaking of the website, they have been much better showcasing products to use with your iPhone. Of course I would love to see more. One thing I'm really interested in is the Flir One personal thermal imager for the iPhone 5/5s. I don't recall seeing anything about that on here. It's supposed to come out this month.
I completely agree. I'm quite happy that they do exactly as they promise. The app works, it's the first iteration and is lacking on its usability and intuitiveness, but it works and works well for what it is.
Wow! The last time I've dealt with F.L.I.R. Was almost five years ago. I had mandatory instructions from that company and every three months I attended classes. We used it for thermal imaging of electrical equipment. ...hot spots are close failures... From my experience, they dropped competing in personal (or person and equipment imaging long before that) Being F.L.I.R. Certified was a very BIG deal! I'm wondering if we're speaking of the same company...
I'm not impatient. Usually, anyway. After ordering my latest iPad and both myself and those I work with laughing our asses off seeing the responses of "your order is ready for pickup" followed by "your order is not ready for pickup" with accompanying voicemails from store employees. After a month it got to be hilarious! They convinced me that those who were camping out we're getting them, and I was being towed by a string. I do agree at this point even in retrospect, which is the only reason I called to complain. Worked out to my benefit though. So no complaints. Still had the iPad three while I was waiting.
I bought two "Bloom" lamps basically for plants. Both perfect, and still work perfect. I have one strip which looked as someone had previously bought and returned. Due to the packaging they ripped the insulation on the conductors. Only the outside jacket. I just white taped them. Works great! Bad packaging though. That horrible stiff plastic packaging should be outlawed. It only ruins the product and causes wounds.
I checked out the Rapid Hue app. I use my iPad more than my iPhone. So it's not a fit for me.
Is there a way we can chat besides on this main forum. I think you and I could exchange ideas seeing as we're using similar equipment. Sharing ideas is never a bad thing.
Check out a few third party apps. You might be amazed if you don't have them already.
Wow! The last time I've dealt with F.L.I.R. Was almost five years ago. I had mandatory instructions from that company and every three months I attended classes. We used it for thermal imaging of electrical equipment. ...hot spots are close failures... From my experience, they dropped competing in personal (or person and equipment imaging long before that) Being F.L.I.R. Certified was a very BIG deal! I'm wondering if we're speaking of the same company...
I'm not impatient. Usually, anyway. After ordering my latest iPad and both myself and those I work with laughing our asses off seeing the responses of "your order is ready for pickup" followed by "your order is not ready for pickup" with accompanying voicemails from store employees. After a month it got to be hilarious! They convinced me that those who were camping out we're getting them, and I was being towed by a string. I do agree at this point even in retrospect, which is the only reason I called to complain. Worked out to my benefit though. So no complaints. Still had the iPad three while I was waiting.
I bought two "Bloom" lamps basically for plants. Both perfect, and still work perfect. I have one strip which looked as someone had previously bought and returned. Due to the packaging they ripped the insulation on the conductors. Only the outside jacket. I just white taped them. Works great! Bad packaging though. That horrible stiff plastic packaging should be outlawed. It only ruins the product and causes wounds.
I checked out the Rapid Hue app. I use my iPad more than my iPhone. So it's not a fit for me.
Is there a way we can chat besides on this main forum. I think you and I could exchange ideas seeing as we're using similar equipment. Sharing ideas is never a bad thing.
I'm pretty sure we are talking about the same company. Here is the link to info on the Flir One:
http://www.flir.com/flirone/
FLIR still makes quite a few models for personal thermal imaging cameras. I would use the Flir One for wildlife viewing/tracking. I'm not a hunter, but I track to find and photograph animals. I'm hoping it does come out this June so I can use to it find wolves in the Yellowstone area this summer.
That is pretty funny getting the ready, then not ready e-mails. Too bad they didn't send a "your order might be ready for pickup" e-mail. I've never waited in line for an Apple product. Not really my thing. I always do the midnight ordering. At least you had an iPad to use while you waited for the iPad Air.
I still may eventually get a Bloom lamp. I do have one of those Living Colors lamps. Supposedly you can get it to work with the bridge and app, but so far, no luck with me. I've found various sites with instructions, but for some reason, I can't get the bridge to recognize it. The lightships packaging is awful. I almost accidentally cut the strip trying to get the stupid thing out. Philips definitely needs to change the packaging. I hate that stiff plastic packaging.
I'll send you a PM.
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Check out a few third party apps. You might be amazed if you don't have them already.
After reading you and boltsfan17's conversation I have since downloaded some of them. Hue Disco for 2.99 is exactly what I was hoping the hue app would have done right out of the box. Thanks for the tips and the good read.
What I want is dimmer switches that are wifi enabled. I want to be able to set moods for each room and preferences for what each room should do based on my location in my home. With this technology and the built-in location technology I should be able to walk through my home and lights go on and off as I'm walking through my home if that's what I wish.
I don't want wifi bulbs...give me wifi switches and I'll gladly swap out the light switches in my home.
Happily, I have fingers, which enable me to turn lights on and off...at the flick of a switch.
That's actually not true. I did buy 2 starter packs from the Apple store. They were out of extra bulbs so I just went ahead and bought another starter pack since I wanted 3 more bulbs. The lights from one starter pack will work with the bridge on another starter pack. Mine work fine.
I'm very sorry then. A few months ago when I had purchased all of mine that was not possible. I do know that the bridge had received several updates since then. At the time of my purchase it was definitely true that bulbs from one starter pack could not be used with bulbs from a separate starter pack.
Hopefully my feedback to Phillips had something to do with that, but it doubt it.
There's a slight chance that your wiring had something to do with it.
Glad I could help someone! Happy using!
I can guarantee that wasn't the problem, and after all of the bridge updates everything is fine. For a while there they were pushing out updates every other day. I'm hoping that my feedback had something to due with that.
Also, ever think that one of these apps I'm shamelessly pushing might me mine? I do know what's up with these things believe it or not.
Seeing as you stated that you plan on purchasing more of the Hue lamps, and I noticed that you live stateside, do yourself a favor and check with your utility supplier. There's a rebate for LED's that just took affect this year which was actually signed into effect by Bush believe it or not. Fill out a simple form and you could get a rebate from your utility company for up to $30 per lamp. It's different per style. Also, each state has different rebate plans so I'm not sure about California, but it's worth looking into. It's supposed to be handled by the retailer, but Apple doesn't seem to be doing it.
Just letting you know. It's out there, but I don't know what your state has in place for rebates.
Edit: in my state it's limited to 20 lamps per purchase. You can however submit on multiple purchases.
It works for every type of LED, not just Hue. In some cases you actually get paid for buying them (not hue LOL!). Also keep in mind that big box retailers are somehow taking the rebate upfront (so they are -$2.00 or more before you purchase the lamp there) so purchases at big box retailers are not included in the rebate program. Makes you think twice when you know they are making the full purchase price plus when you buy a standard LED from them doesn't it?