I’m new to ST so still experimenting with things.
I got 3 Cree Connected ($15 each) and they work like a charm.
I walked into Home Depot this weekend and I found GE Link Bulb at $9 each.
GREAT PRICE! I got some of them and ST found them in a blink of an eye.
Problems (which by the way I didn’t have with Cree Connected):
If lights are on and someone turn the switch off, ST will continue indicating the light is on.
When using the app to turn them on, some times they respond near real time some times they will take a little longer than expected.
It raises the question: Is there some tweaks, or changes I have to make in order to to have a good experience with them or are they just not worth it considering they are unsupported?
Also the GE links drop off the network quite frequent due to the firmware. Not sure there is a new firmware so I don’t think it’s worth it. I have 8 of them and they are a pain. I have about 6 Phillips hue white lux direct connection to ST Hub and love them even though I have a hue hub with a bunch of lights as well. Only downfall is that you can’t exclude the bulbs from ST Hub without a lutron switch.
I have two of the GE bulbs and they work fine for me as far as the response, only very minimal delays if any so not an issue. However I have mostly smart switches instead of bulbs because of the reason of someone flipping a dumb switch that is killing the smart bulb. The GE Bulbs I do have is because they are on the same light switch and I needed to independently control each of the bulbs for better lighting in the stairwell for night lighting
I would avoid them like the plague for reason mentioned above about them dropping off network. I have 5 of them and now only use 1 and went alternative routes. They look great in the store aisle at $14 and it ends there
I have to say that the 90W floods I have are pretty reliable; at least as reliable as the platform has been, anyway. Since the latest firmware update they’ve been fine. The only other (positive) thing that I can think of is that the device handler runs locally, which should (in theory) give them better reliability/response than some other types.
I’ve now purchased four Cree bulbs and they have been bulletproof. By contrast I purchased two GE bulbs, and neither was successfully identified by the system.
For a savings of just a few bucks, it’s not worth the headache of that kind of problem.
bamarayne
(Jason "The Enabler" as deemed so by @Smart)
7
If you have a hue hub, use those bulbs. They are the same price and a lot better.
If you want the local processing, the GE bulbs work well for that.
Same as @bamarayne here. I had 15 going at one time (when they were fairly new to market). I had a lot of problems with them initially. Back then it was difficult to tell what was platform issues vs. bulb firmware.
Over the past year I’ve learned that reliability seems to follow that of the platform itself. Funny how the same bulbs I’ve cursed over and over all the sudden seem to behave quite nicely…hmmm…
There is a undeniable firmware upgrade issue but I don’t think that’s near as big an issue as is a stable platform.
bamarayne
(Jason "The Enabler" as deemed so by @Smart)
12
This is very true. The GE bulbs have been good to me and their behavior definitely follows that of the platform. But it is time for me to move beyond them.
I’m down to only five of them installed. I’ve replaced them with Phillips bulbs.
I did this fire two reasons
quality of the lighting experience. Phillips really knows what they are doing. GE should stick to the appliances.
if the platform fails I will still have my Phillips bridge and Alexa to make the lights go on and off. It’s a lower level of existence, but we are prepared for such an event.
