Was curious if you know, when these do drop off the network and lose connectivity, do I really need to go through the process of removing the bulb(s) from the SmartThings app and then re-adding them from scratch? Or will they be “reinitialized” after doing the manual reset of the bulb(s) - 5x off/5x on, etc.?
Just one power cycle will wake them up and reconnect them 95% of the time.
If you do do the 5off 5 on 5 ( or 50 ) times. You will need to search for them through the app.
If you do manually reset the bulbs at the bulb DO NOT REMOVE THEM IN ST .
Once ST finds them and they are re-included they will go right back where they belong including all rules and automations.
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One of my bulbs disconnected after I switched the breaker while working on something else. That bulb has never been able to reconnect since (even after multiple attempts to reset it). The other two bulbs (on the same switch) are fine though. I went through the reset process on all of them and the third one still has issues. Not sure what else can be done at this point :T
If at first you don’t succeed try try again. They are known to be " finicky". Have you tried moving that bulb to one of the other sockets that you were able to get reconnected? Have a lamp ( or drop light ) you can put closer to the hub to get it included ?
What has worked for me is to take the problem bulb out, throw it in a drawer and forget about it for a while. When you find it, it is like a hidden treasure, screw it in and maybe you will get lucky.
lol… yea I’ve tried plugging it into other sockets closer to the hub but no luck. Not sure what’s wrong…
Like I said they can be “finicky” . I have wasted entire days trying to get one to actually reset and rejoin. I actually wore out the light switch on one of my lamps I turned it so many times. That was when I started using a drop light for inclusion.
I have been fighting ( and losing ) with a Hue dimmer since yesterday. I have reset it , searched and gotten the green light more times than I can count. I just will not register button presses in the app. I’m going to end up with a blister or callous on my finger from holding the pin in the back of it
There’s a FAQ for that. 
It should answer all your questions.
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Ugh, that’s pretty irritating… maybe it wasn’t a good idea to get so many of these lights 
Already, I’m finding it’s not practical when we have a 3-way switch and these lights are probably the most-often used. Having to control them by phone or Alexa is an added inconvenience! The one I bought for our front porch light is a boon though - love how we can automate turning it on with IFTTT + Ring doorbell.
WTH man!? I just switched the light off/on and it automagically appeared in my list of devices. I was even scanning for the stupid thing and it never showed up as “found” but it just appeared in the device list out of thin air.
Note that the issue is specific to this particular brand. If you buy the Hue whites which cost around $15 now, you won’t typically have the drop off problem. So at least that’s something to know going forward.
Yes, that’s step 2 in the FAQ link I gave you.
The reason why it works is because the fault is in the GE bulb itself. It loses track of where the network is. But it hasn’t actually been unpaired. So just turning it off and then on will often fix the problem.
The only reason that isn’t step one is because if you have a bunch of these, going around each one and turning it off and then on can be annoying. In step one you attempt to have the same thing happen for all the bulbs by just unplugging the hub for 15 minutes and then plug it back in, that way you don’t have to go around to each individual bulb. Again, this is all explained in the FAQ. 
I had 15 of these and had nothing but problems If you have a celling fan that has 4 bulbs and one happens to drop off you will have to unscrew the other 3 before you do a reset. Pain in the butt. It’s much easier to just put in a connected light switch with reagular led bulbs.
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Blame it on a solar flare or something. The Hue Dimmer I have been fighting with finally re-included too. It was not even in inclusion mode, I had given up and decided to just use another one I had sitting here. Took the new one out of the package, voodoo doll it in the back and magically the other one registered in the app for the first time since 9 last night.
Depends on the circumstances. My house is 125 years old. Smart switches require completely rewiring the box. In my basement I have 3 switches and 2 pull chains ( spread out across the basement ) to control 6 lights. Much much easier to install 6 smart bulbs and group them together, than it is to try and rewire them all to be on 1 smart switch.
Different things work for different people. Some people live in apartments and can’t go for any solutions that require wiring.
Replacing the GE links with white Hues typically solves the frequent drop off problem, but there may be some additional cost. So again it just depends on each person specific needs.
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With Hue you still need the Hue bridge though right? I’m assuming that’s the context you’re referring to. Although, I thought I saw that it is possible to directly pair the Hues with ST but unpairing/etc can be a huge pain from there on out.
Yes, you are right on both counts. It’s best to use the hue bridge and it will be more more stable if you do.
It is possible to pair directly without the hue bridge, but it’s not officially supported and it may mean you have to buy an additional device if you want to Unpair later and use it with something else.
https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us/articles/200848024-How-to-connect-Philips-Hue-devices
I have a Hue bridge kit (incl 2 A19s) on order w/ the new Echo Dot 2nd Gen from Amazon and was debating whether or not I should cancel or keep. As if I need more crap, but I guess I’ll keep it haha
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I have 3 and hate them. At least one gets goofy every week. Sometimes a quick power cycle will fix it but all to often it’s a 5-6 toggle on/off to reset then it repairs as itself. I wouldn’t take more of them for free. I’m looking to replace the 3 I have as soon as funds allow.
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If you have 2 or more 2 bulbs in a switch-controlled fixture, replacing the “dumb” switch with a smart version is the more cost effective solution anyway, no matter which smart bulb you’d otherwise use.
Unless doing so requires rewiring the fixture. If you have a ceiling fan with 3-4 bulbs in it, you need 2 smart switches. 1 Fan control and 1 light dimmer . Most ceiling fans/lights only have a single switch ( or even a 3-4 way switch) and are NOT wired to allow for separate switches for the lights and fan, so you need to pull new wire from the switch box to the fixture.
I have gotten around that by just wiring the fan with constant power and z-wave module hidden inside the bonnet. Pretty sure having an unswitched power on a ceiling fan is NOT up to code though.
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