Hue bulb without Hue Bridge?

I’ve been running my HUE RGBw bulb for about 4 months connected straight to ST, never had a single problem. (Well the SmartThing firmware upgrade 16.9 took out my zigbee network which orphaned my bulb but that’s another story.) Anyways, took 10 minutes to connect and the default ST handler worked just fine. I have full control via my ST app. Alexa only gives me brightness but Google Home even handles color changes for me. My opinion, don’t waste $60 on a bridge. I have all the bells and whistles I require with this setup. Anyway, that’s my 2 cents.

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I ended up buying a Hue Bridge and not the ST hub. Even the Hue Bridge will not be perfect, but at least it was very cheap with a kit. The Hue app has a super low rating on the Play Store (2.7). The reason I chose the bridge is because I figured it will be useful for firmware updates, resets and experimentation. The reason I did not choose ST is because of its cloud philosophy. I just couldn’t wrap my head around the thought that turning my lights on in my own house needs a roundtrip to the cloud. (Even though I know they’re working on some kind of limited offline mode.) The Hue Bridge doesn’t need internet, it exposes a nice API on the LAN and that’s perfect.

what code are you using to connect direct?

I connected it as a zigbee bulb, any zigbee bulb, then went into the IDE and changed it. I forgot whether I changed it to a Hue bulb or ZLL RGBW Bulb, (the later I think). I can’t go look because I removed it when the ST 16.9 upgrade killed my zigbee network and orphaned all my bulbs. I’m waiting on my Philips remote to arrive so I can go reset it. Once I do I’ll be certain to post the process. You’ll be happy with the direct connect. I can’t think of a single thing I wasn’t able to do. It was fully automated and incorporated into 8 different scripts. WARNING: The ST documentation says to remove and re-add the hue bulb. . . DON’T DO IT!! It can’t be re-added without a tool to reset it.

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Here is the DTH I am using for my Hue RGBW bulb.

I can’t see an option to add a zigbee bulb, only shows HUE, LIFX x 2 and WeMo. How do i add as Zigbee, and is there a new device handler required. i’m very new to this game. thanks in advance.

@James_Norris - - I just noticed things changed dramatically with that last update. I don’t fully remember how I did it in the previous app. It looks like your only option now is “Add a Thing” … then afterwards go into the IDE and change your device-type handler for the “Unknown” device. Be sure to let me/us know if that worked for you. (I’ll be re-adding mine once I get it factory-reset.) IDE -> https://graph.api.smartthings.com

I’m fairly new here and have been searching for quite a while to find a way to directly connect a white-only Hue bulb to my ST hub (without a Hue bridge).

Can someone please post a step by step guide (from beginning to end) on how I can get this set up properly?

The ST app won’t allow me to add the Thing without pairing with a Hue bridge first. Additionally, I’m not quite sure I’ve found the correct device handler for a white-only bulb. Furthermore, I’m not entirely sure I fully understand how to correctly apply the device handler to the bulb (once I can first get ST to recognize the bulb and add it to my devices).

Any help/insight that can be offered will be greatly appreciated!

I have mine directly connected. Follow these steps, also this won’t work if the hue white’s were already paired to a hue bridge before, in which case you need to reset them (you need a switch/remote by Lutron. Not sure exactly which one by @JDRoberts can help ).

Part 1

  1. go to https://graph.api.smartthings.com/
  2. Login, then click on My Locations, then your hub name, now Login again. (THIS IS REQUIRED)
  3. Go to My Device Handlers
  4. Click on Create New Device Handler, then select from code
  5. Copy and paste the following Device Handler: Philips Hue Lux Device?
  6. Click Create
  7. Click Publish and publish it

Part 2

  1. With the switch turned off (and make sure it is not a dimmer, if it’s a dimmer you will fry the bulb) screw in the light bulb to a lamp or something similar closeby the hub.
  2. In your SmartThings App, go to Things and select Add a New thing and let it start searching.
  3. Turn on the lamp so the light bulb turns on.
  4. In a few mins the device should show up in the app, configure it and you are done.
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In the US, the $24 Lutron “connected bulb remote” ( but not the similar looking Lutron “pico remote”) can reset a Hue bulb to factory specs regardless of the zigbee channel that your SmartThings hub is on.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lutron-Connected-Bulb-Remote-LZL-4B-WH-L01/206196450

If you’re in the UK, or you want more details about why this works, see the following thread:

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Thanks for the quick reply!

I’m making progress, but still seem to have an issue:

I set up the handler as instructed. I was able to get my ST hub to find the bulb. It configured and appears to show me controls to turn the light on/off and control brightness. However, the bulb is not responding to the controls (i.e., on/off or dimming). The bulb is plugged into a regular, non-dimming socket, and the switch is “on” (i.e., the lightbulb works manually but just not through the ST app).

Any idea how to resolve this?

FYI, the bulb has never been paired with a Hue bridge.

Thanks!

You might have to change the device handler manually the first time.

  1. go to https://graph.api.smartthings.com/1
  2. Login, then click on My Locations, then your hub name, now Login again. (THIS IS REQUIRED)
  3. Go to My Devices, find the bulb and click on it
  4. Under device type switch it to the Device Handler you installed and save

Then try again in the app.

I checked this and the handler was correctly assigned. It still did not work.

However, I went ahead and removed the bulb and then re-added it with the ST app…and VOILA! It works like a charm! Thank you both so much for all of the help!!

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If you’re just planning on using white bulbs consider Cree’s connected bulbs. They’re super simple to add without a handler or another hub.

Sonny,

Thanks for the suggestion! I bought the white bulb initially for a test. I plan on utilizing ambient white lights as well as color lights. I’m thinking Hue is the best solution out there currently for those (unless you have another recommendation?)

Hi all,

Im new to the community and wanted to share my 1st piece of added knowledge.
I too want to cut down on the amount of bridges etc, retaining just ST to function all devices. Im aware of the ‘de-pairing’ issue once a device is paired with ST (ZHA).

However, as an experiment I ordered a cheap £15 Philips Hue White Bulb B22 (LWB010) Purchased here to give a bash. Pairing the ‘Thing’ was easy, the difficult part was getting this cheap bulb to function.
Heres a quick guide to get it working:
1.Pair the Thing on the ST app
2.Log in to : https://graph-eu01-euwest1.api.smartthings.com/device/list
3.Edit the Thing and change settings:

Name: Bulb
Label:
Type: GE Link Bulb
4.Save
Ensure the type is set as above, I did try the default HUEs (and ors) but none where responsive.

5.Back to your ST app, and voila - fully dimable and reponds v well to on off :slight_smile:

Hope this helps a few users, enjoy!

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Hi, sorry forgot to reply. All sorted and connected fine with a change of device handler. on off and dimmer. all i needed.

Hi.
Just to confirm. You still had to reset the bulb before connecting it to ST and using the device handler, correct?

I’ve never had to reset it. Normally it’s only required if the bulb was added to a hue bridge before.

Hi all,

I just bought some hue color bulbs and a ST hub. Can I control the color bulbs from the ST bulb? If so, can someone tell me step by step what to do? Or should I just go buy a Phillips bridge?