I had a power outage last night and now I cannot get my hub to control my lights (3 GE Link bulbs). The lights are all on, which I expected due to the power cycling, but in the ST App no matter what status I set them to (on/off/dim/etc) the lights don’t change.
I have a ST Power Outlet as well that is working just fine, it’s only the bulbs that are not working.
How do I fix this?
Short term answer:
The bulbs need to be re included with the Hub…same way that you set them up initially.
Long term answer:
Convert to smart switches.
…or add a z-wave switch as a back up, if your zigbee bulbs fail for any reason…
Well I was afraid of that answer. So I’ve removed them all and while trying to add them back to ST, only one of three will add back in. The other two won’t connect. It’s not a distance-to-hub thing either as one of them is 3’ from the hub.
Just removing them it won’t do it. You’re lucky one worked. You need to reset them. And by the way, next time, you don’t need to remove them. Just reset them (turn them 5 times on/off with 3 seconds between actions and then run “connect new device”)
So this shows up as a new device then? It won’t be recognized as the hold device, just reconnected?
The reason I ask is that if this is the case, the better method to do this would be to use the ‘replace’ device in the Mobile app vs. add new device. The big benefit here is SmartApps. If you “replace device” it will automatically:
1.) Add the new device in all the SmartApps where the old device was.
2.) Remove the old device from the SmartApps
3.) Remove the old device from the Hub.
Save a lot of cleanup work.
No, not a new device. That’s the advantage with zigbee bulbs, they reattach so you don’t need to go through the painful experience of removing them from apps…Once the bulb is reset, if you run the discovery, it puts it right back where it was - it will not give you any notifications, though
While I prefer SmartSwitches myself and generally advocate for them over smartbulbs, there are advantages to SmartBulbs that should be ignored.
First and foremost: No wiring! I’ve heard that in some areas you are actually REQUIRED to hire a certified electrician for any electrical work, even if it’s in your own home. This means a hefty labor cost even for something as simple as replacing an outlet or a switch. (Of course, this would be pretty hard to police but if you wanted to follow the law in these areas you shouldn’t do it yourself.) And even if it isn’t against the law, if wiring it not something you are comfortable messing with, replacing a bulb is a lot easier.
Second, cost: The cost of smart bulbs has really fallen a lot. SmartSwitches has reduced in price as well, but still not as much as bulbs have. Just replacing 1 or 2 bulbs is still probably cheaper than switches.
Third, complexity… okay, this is sort like #1, but in some situations you want power to the device always but still ability to turn on/off the light. For example: A ceiling fan/light that doesn’t have separate power for the lights and fan. Putting in smart bulbs lets you keep the wall switch on all the time to power the fan when you want to, but still control the lights automatically.
Probably a few other things I’m missing too.
Nice! That’s definitely a good advantage. Though I will say the “replace device” removes a lot of that pain if you HAVE to put in a new device or if you’re working with z-wave. I’ve had a few switches do that thing they do where they just stop communicating with the hub. Done the replace device procedure and it works like a charm.
Totally agree. I was fortunate enough that none of my z-wave things dropped from my mesh ever, so I didn’t use the replace. But it does sound to be working well for some people. I cannot say I’d be happy to test it. I’d rather not use this feature, if I can help it 
Thanks, got everything set back up now, really appreciate the help and the tips for future.
This is exactly why I have smart bulbs instead of outlets. One of them is in a recessed light above my fireplace. I could go with a smart switch instead, but even that wouldn’t be straightforward since it’s a 3-way that’s in the same box as other single switches.
As @JDRoberts is fond of saying (and correctly so!): “You’re use case is not my use case.” Each person has different motivations coming in.
(For me one of the big reasons to go with switches vs. bulbs: SAF! If things didn’t work automatically like they were supposed to I knew I needed a manual method for my wife to be able to use or her acceptance of my hobby would go out the window in no time.)
Pretty sure a high majority of us have smart bulbs either due to necessity or simplicity.
I am no exception.
In places where a dimable bulb is not needed, and there is not a switch in the circuit (think of a lamp plugged into an outlet) I will add z-wave outlets and regular led bulbs.
The only place I will use smart bulbs is where I need a dimable bulb in the aforementioned scenario…or…I cannot fit a smart switch in the box (necessity).
Oh man, thanks for making this clear…I had an issue with one of my bulbs and for the life of me could not get why it never “found” the bulb after resetting it.
Thank you so much for this. You aren’t kidding about the part about saving pain. I dreaded having to re-initialize a bulb because the smart app process is so tedious.
After a prolonged power outage I tried this technique and it saved my morning and didn’t dent my WAF. (Wife Acceptance Factor)
Can someone explain in detail how to reset the bulb? I’m having no luck.
You are responding to a thread which is three years old. A lot has changed in that time. 
What is the brand and model of the bulb that you were trying to reset?
If it’s a zigbee bulb connected directly to the smartthings hub, the following might help: