2024 the best home automation hub review
Price: $59.99 - $53.70
(as of Nov 30, 2024 01:57:10 UTC - Details)
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Personal wireless lighting. Get started with Philips Hue and control your lights from your smart phone or tablet, or even with your voice. The Philips Hue Hub is the heart of the system. It unlocks endless possibilities through the Philips Hue app. Add up to 50 Hue lights.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX - Includes one Hue Bridge, one power adapter, and one Ethernet network cable; Unlocks the full suite of Philips Hue smart lighting features
MATTER COMPATIBLE - The Bridge enables Matter, the new foundation for connected things. That means that your Philips Hue lights and accessories automatically support Matter—and you can easily integrate other smart home brands through Matter, too.
ULTIMATE SMART CONTROL - The Bridge makes it possible to control your lights any way you want—from anywhere with an internet connection.
AUTOMATE IN THE APP - Schedule your lights to turn on and off. Set up an automation once, and the Bridge remembers what you want your lights to do.
EXTEND YOUR RANGE - Your lights create a mesh network. Each light you add acts as a repeater, so you can extend your lights throughout your home, inside and out.
VOICE CONTROL - Get the full range of voice control features with a Bridge. Use voice commands to turn your lights on and off with the leading smart assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and Google Assistant.
SET UP - Plug the Bridge into power, connect to your router, and follow the step-by-step instructions in the Hue app. Changing internet providers or swapping out routers? Everything is stored on the Bridge, so you won’t have to set anything up again!
Reviewer: Nick Naylor
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A fun product - but is it worth the crazy cost for a whole system?
Review: I struggled with what to include in this review as the product itself is pretty straightforward and really has no meaningful functionality to "review," per se: it either works or it doesn't. In my case, the hub worked just fine, setup was easy enough, and I haven't had any actual trouble with the hub. Since most people looking at the hub are likely considering diving into the Hue system as a whole, my review, instead, will focus on my experience with a relatively built-out Hue system after a few weeks.My current setup includes two BR-30 multicolor lights in my theater room, three of the same in my kitchen, a LightStrip with multiple extenders in the bedroom, and two A7 lightbulbs for our nightstand lamps in the bedroom. The only "smart" home product that I've owned prior to the Hue lights was two Nest thermostats and a Ring doorbell, so my experience with this category of technology is fairly limited.Overall, this lights are just fun. Adding lights to the system was straightforward, the automatic detection worked well, and it was easy to get individual lights assigned to rooms and scenes set up. The Hue app itself is fairly easy to use, though some of the UI decisions in the most recent version of the app are a little annoying (for example, having different "tabs" for individual lights and scenes). I've had some hiccups with getting individual lights to "group" together for color changes when setting up scenes, though this has been relatively rare. Setting up scenes was straightforward, though I'll admit I almost immediately deleted most of the included presets since I thought they were a bit strange. But setting up individual scenes with custom colors and brightness was a breeze.Getting used to using an app - rather than light switches - has been a bit of a challenge. This isn't a fault of the Hue system itself but is something relevant, I think, to the experience of switching to a smart lighting system. A few weeks in, I still accidentally use my light switches at times. I'm looking forward to getting some of the Hue motion sensors to see if this can make the system truly automated; I love the idea of lights turning on and off automatically based on need, and I imagine that this will improve my experience with the system immensely. For now, though, there's definitely a bit of a learning curve to getting used to using an app (and carrying a phone around) to turn your lights on rather than the much more convenient light switch.The main problem I've had thus far is having individual lights being "unreachable" for, sometimes, long periods of time. Interestingly, the lights still respond to scene changes even when they're listed as "unreachable," but I can't control "unreachable" lights individually. I haven't quite figured out what the issue with this is, and I've verified that all of the firmware for the lights and the iOS app are up-to-date. This seems to mostly happen with the bedroom lights, which are located upstairs while the hub is downstairs, and I wonder if this is part of the problem. Perhaps it'll be less of an issue as I continue to expand the system and have a stronger mesh network throughout the house. But I will say that this has been quite an annoyance that I haven't been able to sort out completely. Not enough to say that I won't continue to buy Hue lights, but certainly something to be aware of if this might be enough to cause you to think twice.Because of this issue, HomeKit integration has been spotty for me. While the Hue app will allow me to change the lights via scenes even when they're "unreachable," this isn't the case in HomeKit. As a result, I rarely use HomeKit, and frankly I just find the Hue app easier to use. Since I don't have a ton of smart products, I don't necessarily need the deep integration and automation that can be achieved with the HomeKit system.The brightness and color setting are very granular, and you can create just about any lighting situation you can imagine. You're really only limited to your creativity. For day-to-day use, most of these features are a bit unnecessary, though even at times it can be fun to use some of the different colors. The adjustable brightness and color warmth are incredibly useful on a regular basis. But I can imagine this being a very nice touch for parties or big get togethers.Overall, do I think the Hue system is work the admittedly high cost? After about $600 to be able to light three rooms, I have to say I don't think so. It's a very fun toy, and I'll continue to expand the system, but I don't see this as a huge game-changer. Maybe it's because I'm not using the system to its fullest extent (e.g., integration with a smart thermostat), but I see this as a very expensive amusement and nothing else. Hopefully the lights will last quite a while: at $30-40 for each replacement, this can very quickly become an expensive system. But for those looking for the ability to fine tune your home lighting setup and are willing to pay the high price, I would definitely recommend it, although perhaps try setting it up in just a room or two to see how it goes before you spend a ton of money for whole-house lighting.
Reviewer: RT
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great product
Review: As a customer, I am thoroughly impressed with the Philips Hue Bridge Smart Lighting Hub. I have been using it for a few months now, and it has completely transformed the way I control my lights at home. The setup was a breeze, and it only took me a few minutes to get it up and running.One of the things I love about the Philips Hue Bridge is its compatibility with other smart home devices, such as my Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. I can now control my lights using just my voice, which is incredibly convenient. The routines and scenes feature has also been a game-changer for me, as I can set my lights to turn on and off automatically at specific times, making my life a lot easier.The app is very user-friendly and provides an intuitive interface for controlling my lights. I can easily customize my lighting settings to suit my preferences, and it's great to be able to control all of my Philips Hue lights from one central location.In terms of performance, the Philips Hue Bridge has exceeded my expectations. The lights respond quickly to commands, and I have never experienced any lag or delays. The ability to control up to 50 lights is also a big plus, as it allows me to create a fully integrated smart lighting system in my home.Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my purchase of the Philips Hue Bridge. It has made controlling my lights so much easier and more convenient, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a smart lighting solution. The Philips Hue Bridge is definitely worth the investment, and I am confident that it will continue to serve me well for years to come.
Reviewer: DR
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: What a great system!
Review: After trying several different smart bulb brands, I am very happy and impressed with the Hue system. Mine consists initially of the hub, three light bars, and 4 dimmable white bulbs.Make sure you set up an account with your Phillips Hue before connecting with Alexa, and I recommend using the same email address as your Alexa. If you donât, youâll end up with an error/failure message. (Took me a couple of tries to figure that out.)Everything was very, very easy to set up. No turning off and on light switches to make bulbs discoverable, wondering if youâre doing it at the right speed. The hub detects your lights automatically, as long as theyâre switched on. Love that!I needed a smart light in an outbuilding, far from my router. The distance makes for an unstable connection with normal smart bulbs. In building my Hue network, I now have a light out in the yard that dependably goes off and on as programmed. This is the main reason for choosing Hue in the first place. Works perfectly!Automating is easy, too, and when the lights turn off and on, they fade instead of doing an abrupt on/off. Love that! Youâre not limited to one light/color intensity on automation either. The lights can be set at one brightness and/or color at one time of day, then a different brightness and/or color at a different time of day. Wonderful!This system is more expensive than other smart bulbs, but definitely worth it. This is my system of choice now, and I will be expanding it as my budget allows. A++
Reviewer: Osvaldo LD
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Fácil de instalar, se vincula también con google home y en un departamento tiene buen alcance.
Reviewer: Bret
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Works great. It does what it says on the box. Easy to set up
Reviewer: Klaus
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: works as expected
Reviewer: Jessica L.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Es necesario si tienen solo el foco phillips, antes se desvinculaba y no me permitÃa colocar escenas, actualmente ya con el aparato sin problema puedo cambiar, generar automatismos, sin duda alguna vale mucho la pena.
Reviewer: Mr Elliot J Black
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Good communication from seller and quick dispatch! Would buy from them again! Thanks.System works great and is easy to install!