Method1: Hue Bridge, Bulbs work with SmartThings; Dimmer is invisible to SmartThings but works with the bulbs via the bridge
Are you currently using the bulbs via the hue bridge? That is the only officially recommended way of using them with SmartThings.
If you are, things are pretty simple. You just add the Hue dimmer to your hue bridge and use the Hue app (not the SmartThings app) to set the dimmer up with those particular hue bulbs (which also have to be connected to the same hue bridge as the dimmer switch).
Then the Hue dimmer becomes an alternative means of Control. Smartthings won’t know that it exists, but you can continue to control the bulbs via the bridge through smartlighting or any other smartthings feature. And you can push the buttons on the dimmer switch and have them control those particular bulbs without changing how the bulbs work with SmartThings.
So with this method, smartthings will see the bulbs but not the dimmer switch; the hue bridge will see both; and you can use the Hue app to set up the dimmer switch to control any bulbs which are controlled by the same hue bridge.
This is how we have things set up at my own house so that guests have a physical switch to use with the nightstand lamps. It works very well.
So the key to this method is don’t add the Hue dimmer to your SmartThings account. Since you already have, you would just reset the dimmer switch, then add it to your hue bridge, use the Hue app to set up the bulbs that it will control, and you’ll be all set.
Method 2: Hue Bridge, using custom code to make the dimmer switch visible to SmartThings
There are some people who are getting to their bulbs through a hue bridge but who want to use the Hue dimmer switch to do things beyond what you can do with just the Hue app. They still have the Hue dimmer switch and Hue bulbs connected to the same hue bridge, but they want the dimmer switch to be visible to SmartThings. There is some code to allow you to do that, but it’s fairly complicated and it doesn’t work for everybody. But if that is what you want to do, then see the following thread: and ask any follow-up questions there .
Method 3: no Hue bridge
If instead you are trying to use the hue bulbs without a hue bridge, it’s technically possible, but it can mess up the rest of your zigbee network. But you can search the forum for discussions by people who have done that. My understanding is that this group has been less successful in getting the Hue dimmer switch to work reliably than the ones who do have a hue bridge, but check the threads to see the current status. I don’t really follow those projects very closely because of the problems with the zigbee mesh when you try to use Hue devices without a Hue bridge so I just stay away from that approach.
