Beginner Problems for Beginner Land

General Discussion
1

I am an absolute newb and I can no longer control my light bulbs. I was hoping to find help or a help forum but I haven’t been able to locate one.

This seems like a forum for contractors but not for newb homeowners. Were can I ask a simple question. Why does my iphone no longer control my lights?

Sorry for the intrusion. Thanks for any directions!

Gee, I cant even figure out how to submit this question.

2

This is a fine spot for this kind of question. What kind of lights do you have? Do they show up under the “things” section in the iPhone app?

3

Great, thanks for your response.
I have three GE link bulbs from Lowes. They are individually listed in my ap. They were all responding. Then they all stopped. I attributed the failure to spotting internet because it started working again then next day.

Now a couple of weeks later the lights are not controlled from the ap and this has persisted for several days with no return of functionality.

The ap shows that the lights switch on and off but in reality they never turn off. I have tried using the switch to turn them on and off with a few seconds interim but the ap still will not control them. I have rebooted the smartthings hub. The light on the hub is a stable green.

Also the phone is functional and under the activity list the ap shows that the lights have been turned on and off but in reality that isnt happening. Obviously, the physical switches to the lights are in the on position.

I do have an appliance module that is switching on and off by the ap.

Thanks for any input.

4

@jalex1

Did you contact SmartThings Support to make sure your Hub has the latest Zigbee firmware? The GE Link bulbs need the newer Zigbee firmware on the ST Hub in order to function properly.

5

Thanks, I will contact support and see.

6

Support did the update and the bulbs are now working well. Thanks for your help!

7

James (@jalex1),

Glad to hear the zigbee firmware resolved the issue. There are some other discussions going on regarding the GE Link bulbs, especially one that include a much improved Device Type for the GE Link bulbs. You may want to check it out if you haven’t already. New Device Type adds soft on/off, and can detect the status of the bulb if it is turned on manually (i.e. turning power switch at the lamp on.) I really like the new Device Type behavior.

8

I agree with Dan (@ogiewon) about the new device type. Nice enhancements and more responsiveness/stability. Around post 50 are step-by-step instructions to installing the code if it’s your first time.