Update link bulb firmware?

Kind of - for me its when I ask Alexa (Amazon Echo) to do it.

1 Like

You could see which firmware version they were on if you went into the device in the app, I’m sure we can find out the firmware version they are currently on through the IDE, move one bulb over to the Wink hub, see if it updates, move back…

I’m tempted, still have an old Wink hub, but I don’t think I’m that bothered, especially since I want to replace them all regardless, even if the firmware is fixed, too many light night power cuts and too many people switching them off, plus I want to start avoiding ZigBee like the plague.

Why are you trying to avoid zigbee?

Don’t care much for polluting 2.4GHz even more, Z-Wave works just fine.

2 Likes

Continuing the discussion from Update link bulb firmware?:

@Sticks18 Did you ever try to update the firmware on your GE link bulbs with another (non-ST) hub? I was also thinking of getting the starter pack, which comes with Link hub and two bulbs. $45 on Amazon. I mostly want to see if that hub will update the bulbs I already have, they drop off and back on the network semi-regularly. It’d be nice if an OTA zigbee update actually helps with that. Or maybe it’s just this never-ending degraded status of the platform…

@slagle Any chance we can expect the ST hub to perform OTA Zigbee updates anytime soon?

OTA updates are being worked on, but no eta at the moment

2 Likes

No, never bothered to get the GE gateway. My Links work pretty well and rarely fall off, so didn’t seem critical to me. Still can’t wait for OTA functionality in ST!

1 Like

OK thanks. I decided to go for it. That one-click, same-day-shipping from Amazon is dangerous.

1 Like

I’m curious, though, about how I’ll know whether the GE Link hub actually updates the firmware on the bulbs. @Benji you mentioned in the thread I linked to at the top that it should be possible to see what firmware version the bulbs are running by looking in the IDE. I’m not sure I see anything obvious when I look. Wondering if you know how to check that? Thanks.

1 Like

I am curious on this too.

1 Like

Looks like I was wrong, unfortunately you can’t see the firmware version in the IDE, at least not as far as I can find.

It’s possible @slagle might know a sneaky way or they have access to see it on the backend but there are still more pressing matters for them at the moment :slight_smile:

Well I unpaired my four GE Link bulbs from ST and paired each one to the Link hub. No idea if the firmware on any of the four bulbs got updated, the wink app doesn’t include any details about firmware version # either. I left each one connected to the Link hub for 10-15 minutes, figuring either the firmware update would happen right away or not. Now the bulbs are paired back up with ST, so I guess we’ll see whether they drop off the network less frequently with the (maybe) updated firmware.

Anyone want a very lightly used GE Link hub?

1 Like

As I understand it, with Wink hub anyway, as soon as you add the device is checks for firmware updates.

1 Like

Has anyone confirmed this? Just picked up the 2 bulb starter pack and 6 daylight bulbs for $50 on a HD closeout. Wondering if I should pair them to the GE Link hub first,

The GE link hub, which is the little white square that plugs into the wall like a wall wart, does not do any firmware updates. And apparently it is no longer being supported at all, as wink support has been telling people for about three weeks not to expect it to continue to be compatible with the new GE lightbulbs. It will come pre-– paired with two bulbs, but after that it is entirely possible that any new bulbs you buy of any GE link model will not work with it. See recent Amazon reviews for quotes from wink support on the link hub:

http://www.amazon.com/GE-Wireless-Connected-60-Watt-Equivalent/product-reviews/B00NOL16K0?pageNumber=2

The wink hub, in contrast, does do automatic device firmware updates for devices that are connected to it. But I have never heard of it doing a GE link bulb firmware update, I was not aware that there has been one made available as yet. I just checked today and didn’t see anything on either the wink or GE Link sites about available over the air firmware updates for the bulbs.

New “daylight” bulbs

Meanwhile, the new “daylight” models use a different firmware then the older link models. The boxes look almost the same, but the new models will not pair to the GE link hub at all, will only pair to SmartThings if you change the device handler after pairing, and I’m honestly not sure whether they pair to the Wink hub or not. Does the box say “wink compatible”?

1 Like

Allegedly, according to @Tyler GE had an update but I’ve yet to see anyone out with it in the wild and ST can’t do over-the-air (OTA) ZigBee updates (yet).

I really don’t want to plug my Wink hub back in to check, it’s not just because I hate Wink but because I actually hate GE Link bulbs more and I am in the process of switching them all out for GE 127xx Z-Wave switches.

No more ‘smart’ bulbs for me any more, chalk this one up to Home Automation lessons learned. People might not believe me about the power going out so often but it happened at 4am last night with all lights on.

I am with you about just smart bulbs and dumb switches. It’s just a pain for sure. Smart switches and color bulbs together is not so bad just the cost is quite high. Also there are less fortunate people out there with no choice because of their wiring configuration but definitely go with smart switch if you have a choice.

1 Like

Yeah I think the people who built my house have a switch fetish since there a LOT of single bulbs on separate switches which could have easily been put on another circuit grouped together.

Once you have two or more bulbs on a circuit though it becomes more cost effective to just by a smart switch instead of individual smart bulbs.

I took the plunge and bought a Wink hub to see if a firmware update would fix my bulbs. none of my bulbs updated past the revision that was already installed.
which should be the latest as of today since the Wink hub downloaded a bunch of firmware updates when i set it up.

So in theory if your Ge Link bulbs are reporting


That should be the latest and they dont/wont/shouldnt need an update. (which is sad considering the issues i am having)

On the Wink side of things the revision shows up as

2 Likes

So it seems like there never was an update to fix the firmware. My lights still drop off occasionally. I checked the firmware on my bulbs and they are all the same as yours. Most of my bulbs were bought back in 2014.