Tell me about smart bulbs!

[MariaLynda]

Hello! sorry to start another thread amazon related, alexa made me do it :| only just got our echo dots yesterday and so far loving it! I feel terribly old but isn't tech amazing! haha

Anyway, i'm interested in getting a couple of smart bulbs, mainly as I fancy having funky colours and being able to change and dim them. Any recommendations? I'm thinking maybe in a couple of lamps?

Do you have them? This could all get very expensive, I saw the smart plug thread earlier.

x

[pinkbelle]

I am in no way an expert, we have quite a high tech home, as as an electrical engineer it’s my DH’s “thing”

Some systems are expensive and complicated, but we bought TCP light bulbs to go with Amazon echo dots for my nephews Birthday. No bridges or hubs required. Very affordable and easy to use to turn off on, and change colour.
We bought them from screwfix although I think they are quite widely available.

[Guest]

We have a Phillips Hue system, just in the living room which is the only room Alexa is in. I have the main overhead, two wall lights and a floor lamp all connected.

I don’t know what it cost as DH organised it. I believe the colour bulbs were expensive (about £150 in total maybe?) but I also think they are very long lasting.

[wanye]

ikea tradfri is compatible with hue kit too (and cheaper)

personally i went for smart lightswitches (lightwaverf)... that way the bulbs are only a couple of quid each, and you dont have to have them switched on permanently to be able to control them with the app

[MariaLynda]

there are quite a few available on amazon at the moment, can get a pack of two for £15-20.

[GoldenAvalanche]

I bought a couple of Lohas ones as they were cheaper but I can't get them to work because it needs a different type of wifi apparently? It's really confusing. We will have a hive hub next month but Hive bulbs are so much more expensive.

[400ixl]

Originally Posted by GoldenAvalanche

I bought a couple of Lohas ones as they were cheaper but I can't get them to work because it needs a different type of wifi apparently? It's really confusing. We will have a hive hub next month but Hive bulbs are so much more expensive.

See more...

They tend to work only on 2.4ghz networks. They can get confused by modern routers that use both 2.4 and 5ghz.

The solution is usually to log into your router and switch off the 5ghz network temporarily. Set up the devices and then switch back on the 5ghz network.

Usually this resolves the problem.

[wanye]

a lot of routers, you can usually set up separate 2.4ghz and 5ghz wifi networks (with a different SSID) - doing this should mean most devices work ok. its when the 2.4ghz and 5ghz networks are using the same SSID that you start running into problems.

[Dinglebert]

If you have a BT hub heres how to do it.

bt/help/broadband/fi..work-name--

[GoldenAvalanche]

Originally Posted by 400ixl

They tend to work only on 2.4ghz networks. They can get confused by modern routers that use both 2.4 and 5ghz.

The solution is usually to log into your router and switch off the 5ghz network temporarily. Set up the devices and then switch back on the 5ghz network.

Usually this resolves the problem.

See more...

Sorry to sound daft but how do I log into my router?