With full-blown smart home systems, such a setting is probably no problem, but in the Hue universe, on the other hand, you come up against your limits. It's about a question about the Philips Hue motion detector that Mike sent me by email: I've been searching the net for a few days and can't find what I'm looking for.
It's time again to show you a small Hue installation from my own four walls. Nothing spectacular, but maybe something to stimulate your thoughts and reflections. The focus is on the Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip for the PC. This has been on the market since last September and is available in three different configurations: for monitors from 24 to 27 and 32 to 34 inches or triple setups with three 24 to 27 inch screens.
Yesterday evening, Philips Hue released another update for its app, version 4.42 is now available for download. There don't seem to be any obvious innovations, because the update description only says: “Various bug fixes and stability improvements.” However, it is possible that more has been done in the background. When I started the app for the first time after the update, it didn't immediately want to connect to two of my three bridges and instead installed the first firmware update.
It wasn't really a secret anymore, now the final details have been revealed. Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue, has presented the first indoor camera of its budget brand WiZ. Just like the WiZ lights, the camera relies on a WLAN connection and is not directly compatible with Philips Hue. Compatibility is a good keyword.
Before I get back to more exciting topics tomorrow, I would like to share a little side note with you today. On Amazon, the Hue White E27 bulb is now sold with an alternative packaging. Functionally, however, nothing should have changed. While there are two smaller logos for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant on normal Philips Hue packaging, we see a large “Works with Alexa” logo on this variation.
I have already been asked this question several times, and I also discover it again and again in social networks or in the community. Manfred also had problems with the motion sensor in the same room after setting up new Hue lamps. I connected two new Hue White bulbs on the bridge and put them in an existing room with two other bulbs and a motion detector.
Regardless of whether it's a large or small provider: When things don't run smoothly, the most important thing is good support. Those who offer fast and good solutions can gain points with their customers. I tried the Philips Hue support this week and would like to tell you about my experience.
“Never change a running system” – this is a more than well-known wisdom from the IT world. The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, for example, has not received a single firmware update in the past year, with the last update dating back to 29 October 2021. If you have encountered one problem or another during this time, you might be helped with an update now.
After the update to version 4.40, it wasn't worth writing a separate article because the new features weren't visible at all. Only with the update to version 4.41 does Philips Hue show the latest products from the in-house portfolio in the Discover section of the Hue app. A change in the Hue app that can hardly be surpassed in terms of excitement.
The Lightguide collection from Philips Hue, which was officially launched in September 2022, has not exactly gone according to plan so far. After the first models had just gone on sale, sales were stopped again a short time later. Our own experience and numerous reader reports showed that the light sources fogged up inside.
Fabian