I got unknown devices when I tried to cheat the process when adding new devices. When adding GE Link bulbs you’re supposed to turn them on individually as each one is detected in turn however, I went round and turned on three switches that turned on a total of 12 GE Link bulbs at EXACTLY the same time.
The hub picked up about 9 of them and the rest appeared as unknown devices, note that this IS NOT a fault with ST, you’re not supposed to do this but I was seeing how cheeky I could get. Anyway, if I then went back and started the ‘add new device’ process and turned on those bulbs again it would replace the ‘unknown devices’ with the bulbs that it ‘missed’ and the unknown devices would disappear.
I bought a couple GE bulbs. Both came up as ‘unknown’, even after multiple pairing attempts… I don’t need that kind of aggravation. I returned them and got Cree bulbs, which pair correctly on the first attempt.
My Devices
Click the name of the new GE Link bulb (the name you gave it).
Click “EDIT” in the bottom left.
Change the “Type” drop down to “GE Link Bulb”.
Click “Update” in the bottom left.
Now re-open the app in your smartphone. The bulb should show up as a bulb device.