Community question of the week: Configure dimmer switch via Bluetooth?

Thanks to the Bluetooth function, Philips Hue now makes it very easy to enter the world of smart lighting. Buy a lamp, screw it in, turn on the light switch and you're ready to go. Different colours can be selected and lamps dimmed via Bluetooth. But what about accessories? This is where a question from Sebastian from our community comes into play.

Since yesterday, I have a Hue lamp that I can operate via Bluetooth using the app – great. In addition, I have a new dimmer switch with which I can also control the lamp in ready-made scenarios. However, my Hue app does not have the option to search for a switch. I can only add lamps. Is that not possible without a bridge? I would like to reprogram the scenarios of the switch.

Thanks to a direct ZigBee remote connection, a dimmer switch can also be paired with up to 10 lamps without a bridge. This way, you can conveniently switch the light on and off, dim it as well as access five standard scenes. However, these are only different shades of white; colours cannot be activated with a direct connection between the dimmer switch and the lamp.

The fun really starts with the Hue Bridge

Unfortunately, the dimmer switch does not have Bluetooth and thus cannot be addressed or configured directly with the Bluetooth app. In order to place your own scenes on the Hue button of the dimmer switch, a Hue Bridge is absolutely necessary.

Particularly in the context of bundles, the bridge is always available at a reasonable price. At the latest when you buy more lamps, the fun with the bridge really starts – I think many readers of this blog can agree with this opinion.