I have some bulbs from about 5-6 years ago that work great with my Smartthings hub and app. I am in need for more. I purchased two Philips Hue bulbs for my newly remodeled room. I paired them with the Hue app. Once again, I am being forced to have another username and password. The Smartthings app is telling me I need a Philips bridge to connect them. That is unacceptable. I go on Amazon. I am so perplexed by the new products. I do not want any color changing lights, I just need 2700-3000 color temperature.
Are there E26 bulbs that connect directly to my Smarttings hub or wifi? I am really lost.
What country are you in? The device selection does vary.
Also, what model is your SmartThings hub?
You should definitely be able to find some bulbs that will do what you like, but the details matter.
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Ok, that’s a v2 hub, it should still be fine. In fact in some ways it’s better than the newer hub. The only thing it’s missing is a thread border router so you probably won’t be looking at matter over thread, lightbulbs, but there aren’t many of those anyway.
PHILLIPS BULBS
It is possible to use Phillips hue bulbs with a SmartThings hub without a Hue bridge, but neither company recommends that and it can mess up your Zigbee network. See the community FAQ
FAQ: Do I need the Hue Bridge/Hub to Use a Hue Bulb with SmartThings?
OTHER ZIGBEE BULBS THAT CAN WORK DIRECTLY WITH A V2 HUB
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sengled (zigbee). Popular. The only thing to know is that these bulbs do not act as Zigbee repeaters, which is good and bad. They can’t mess up your Zigbee network, but you may need other Zigbee devices to get the signal around your home.
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Sylvania plus (Zigbee).
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ikea tradfri (Zigbee). These work well for most people, although a few have reported some issues. They are inexpensive when purchased directly from IKEA.
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Innr (Zigbee) are a little more expensive, but have color temperature controls and are somewhat brighter than IKEA or Sylvania. They work well with a SmartThings hub out of the box. (they will also work when connected to a Phillips Hue Bridge, but you won’t need one to make them work with SmartThings.) Amazon carries them.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHM7STMF?ref=emc_p_m_9_b&th=1
WIFI BULBS
If you like Tapo and kasa, they both have Wi-Fi bulbs that work with SmartThings. You can find the model numbers in the SmartThings app.
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Look at the WiZ bulbs, also sold as Philips Smart LED. If you get any recent model with Matter you’ll be able to use them in local automations with your hub. I would recommend models from year 2023, previous ones had a noise in standby, at least in Europe.
They have a huge variety of devices, white only, colour, downlights, etc. The whites are good, can go down to a cosy 2200K.
Mind that Tapo are CRI 80 in many countries and the white light has a green tint in 4000K and a yellow tint in other temperatures. Try to get a light with CRI 90.
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@JDRoberts and @mocelet Thank you so much! This was really helpful.
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