Philips Hue: Supported lights and devices (Hue compatible)

This post is also available in: Deutsch (German)

Works with Philips Hue: This is possibly the most complete and always up to date (updated 2024) list of supported lights and supported devices that work with your Philips Hue system (produced by Signify, former Philips Lighting), especially in conjunction with iConnectHue, but also in general. We try to review devices where possible and give configuration hints, as well as some purchase links and comparisons.

Looking for fixtures or accessories that work great with your Hue lights? Then check out Light fixtures for Philips Hue.

The Philips Hue bridge uses the Zigbee Light Link standard, which makes it, according to Philips, compatible to all such light bulbs and devices. Of course all Philips lights should be compatible – but there are some interesting alternatives on the market!
iConnectHue can work with every light source that connects to the Philips Hue bridge, as long as it behaves compatible. Its type (color, color temperature, brightness or on/off only) is detected and you’ll get the fitting controls. However, it totally depends how well the device implements the Zigbee LL standard – hence there are lights and devices which can be recommended to be used with the Hue bridge and some which cannot – or even won’t work at all. Products using the ZigBee HA standard are, by current knowledge, not compatible with the Hue bridge.

How does a light come to the compatible list? See how we test.

This page is always kept up to date. If a link doesn’t seem to work, stay on it, until the flags appear and select an appropriate country. If there are reasons to believe certain lights or devices do not work at all or work not properly, this information is added as soon as it is available.

Note: This is a guideline, but no guarantee that these devices will work with your Hue Bridge or iConnectHue. Compatibility is depending on the firmware of the Hue bridge and the device – see our disclaimer. See our FAQ links under each brand for reset instructions if you can’t connect them. If nothing works out, please return them to your dealer.

Affiliate links

To keep this list up to date and finance purchases of new tested devices, this page works with so-called “Affiliate links”.
Our affiliate links’ clearly show their targets and network partners. They are named, e.g., „Amazon US/CA: Philips Hue Motion Sensor“, which means they lead to Amazon US/CA. When you click on an affiliate link their respective webserver stores a cookie on your device. More information in our Privacy policy. Also see our Disclaimer.

Quick jump

• Switches and Sensors
  • Hue Motion Sensor
  • Hue Outdoor Motion Sensor
  • Hue Dimmer v2
  • Hue Tap Dial Switch
  • Hue Smart Button
  • Hue Wall Switch Module
  • Hue Contact Sensor
  • Hue Dimmer
  • Hue Tap
  • Friends of Hue switches
    • Busch-Jaeger
    • Feller
    • Light Solutions
    • Lutron Aurora
    • Niko
    • NodOn / EnOcean
    • RunLessWire Click
    • Senic & Gira
    • Sunricher/Lightbee
    • Hidden socket / Die Versteckdose
    • Vimar
• Lights, controller and plugs
  • Philips Hue lights (Signify)
    • Philips Hue E14 / E12 (Candelabra)
    • Philips Hue E27 / A19
    • Philips Hue white and color 1100
    • Philips Hue white and color 1600
    • Philips Hue White 1600
    • Philips Hue BR30
    • Philips Hue GU10 / Par16
    • Philips Hue MR16
    • Hue Filament White
    • Hue Filament White ambiance
    • Philips Hue PAR38 outdoor
    • Hue Lightstrip / Outdoor lightstrip
    • Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip for TV
    • Hue Play Gradient light tube
    • Hue Gradient Lightstrip
    • Hue Festavia
    • Hue Perifo system
    • Hue Infuse/Xamento
    • Hue Ensis
    • Hue Play Lightbar
    • Hue Smart Plug
    • Hue Beyond
    • Hue Being
    • Hue Fair
    • Hue Go
    • Hue Go Portable Lamp
    • Hue Bloom
    • Hue Gradient Signe Table
    • Hue Gradient Signe Floor
  • Philips Living Colors
  • Philips Living Whites
  • Philips Living Ambiance
  • Friends of Hue lights
    • Modular
  • 3rd party lights, controllers and plugs
    • Innr
    • Dresden Elektronik / Phoscon
    • Calex
    • Cree (US/CA)
    • ERIA / Trust
    • Feibit
    • GE Link (US/CA)
    • Gledopto
    • Icasa
    • Ikea TRÅDFRI
    • Iluminize
    • Immax
    • iolloi
    • Linkind
    • Livarno Lux
    • Müller Licht
    • OEEONE
    • Ledvance / Sylvania / Osram
    • Owsoo
    • Paulmann
    • Paul Neuhaus (Germany)
    • Samotech
    • Shenzhen Homa / Amelech (Europe)
    • Shyne
    • Sonoff
• Bridges / Starter Kits
• PSUs & amplifier for LED controller
• Incompatible devices (Nanoleaf, Belkin, Elgato, Wiz, Switches)
• Why we don’t recommend dimmable only lights
• How we test
  • Hue API conformity
• Disclaimer

Switches and sensors

The full power of iConnectHue will be unleashed when you use switches and sensors. iConnectHue is the only iOS app capable of teaching these switches multiple commands and a wide selection of alternations per button (see Features). Only Philips switch devices are supported here – also due to the fact that the Hue bridge does not fully integrate 3rd party switches. 3rd party switches are integrated into the Hue zigbee network, but not all are exposed to apps – only those named “Friends of Hue”.

All Philips and Friends of Hue sensors and switches also work with all Philips and 3rd party bulbs and plugs.

Hue Motion Sensor

The motion sensor handles motion very reliably. This is also important to understand: It is a MOTION sensor, not a presence sensor. It works by detecting changes in the infrared range, hence uses your body temperature plus temporal and directional changes (you need to move in a certain amount of time). So it is currently preferable for situations where you move or where you can live with the fact that a motion triggered light is being turned on for a bit longer (to compensate for times when you don’t move). In summary, it is a pretty well made device for a very reasonable price.
iConnectHue allows you to do more with the motion sensor than the stock app: You are able to use it with multiple groups, set up to 5 different time ranges (or for day/night) for on and off actions, and you can even limit the motion sensor to not act if the affected groups are already on. If you don’t want to turn your lights off, iConnectHue can make the sensor return to the state before motion has been detected. It also includes a temperature sensor, and its temperature can be shown in iConnectHue’s widget. More details on the features page.
The FAQ have a motion sensor setup guide.

Amazon: Philips Hue Motion Sensor

Batteries used: Amazon: 2x AAA

Get two sensors at a discount:
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Motion Sensor

Hue Outdoor Motion Sensor

Beginning with version 3.5, iConnectHue supports the Hue Outdoor Motion sensor. It is much larger than the indoor one – one for the larger AA batteries that need to survive outdoor conditions, for the other for a different motion sensor array, which is likely larger to handle greater distances in the outdoor area. To our delight, it also contains a temperature sensor – which you can display in iConnectHue’s widget, like with the indoor one.

iConnectHue allows you to do more with the motion sensor than the stock app: You are able to use it with multiple groups, set up to 5 different time ranges (or for day/night) for on and off actions, and you can even limit the motion sensor to not act if the affected groups are already on. If you don’t want to turn your lights off, iConnectHue can make the sensor return to the state before motion has been detected. More details on the features page.
The FAQ have a motion sensor setup guide.

Amazon: Philips Hue Outdoor Motion Sensor

Batteries used: Amazon: 2x AA

If your Hue Outdoor motion sensor doesn’t measure lightness, try to delete it, press the reset button on the back and search for it again.

Hue Dimmer v2

“What a beauty!” – The first thing came to our minds when we saw and felt version 2 of the beloved Hue Dimmer. Now not only the shape is much more comfortable and natural, also the button layout makes a lot more sense, since it’s a waste to use two buttons for simple on/off actions like before. The plastic feels soft and comes in a chic matte tone. Some people might be bothered by the “hue” logo at the lower button, but we weren’t, since it fits with the other symbols and actually just says: “Press this button to change the hue/coloring” – which might be helpful for guests for instance.

It’s nice that the magnets are now in the back of the actual remote, you can easily put it on the fridge or wherever without the case. If you want to use the case, though, its bigger size lets it finally cover a common switch housing and also the screw holes fit perfectly now. Another improvement is that you don’t need a screwdriver for changing the battery (CR 2032) anymore, a simple coin does this seldom to be done deed.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon: Philips Hue Dimmer v2

Battery used: Amazon: CR2023

Hue Tap Dial Switch

This neat little thing is the latest addition in 2022 by Philips/Signify and is the successor of the Hue Tap. Contrary to it, it gets its energy from a CR2032 cell, which, according to Philips, will last for about two years. It’s a little smaller and comes with a nifty feature called “dial”, which is a ring around the switches’ 4 buttons and lets you… “dial”… your brightness.

The switch is holding itself magnetically on a base and is easily detached from it. It’s quite heavy and has a rubber back, so you can put it on your table or something else and still use that dial. Its magnets can also hold it on other metal surfaces, like your refrigerator.

Quality-wise it feels well-made. We’re not so sure we like the clickyness of the wheel and would have preferred the smoothness of the Lutron Aurora, then again, this might just be us. We also would probably have preferred a longer-lasting battery (size). The original Hue Dimmer we have with its larger cells worked for almost 7 years now (albeit being short before empty), and we imagine swapping out batteries every two years on multiple devices and also creating regular waste with this is not so cool – especially given that the same batteries should last 5 years in the wall switch module.

As always, you can can configure these switches freely in iConnectHue and use it to its fullest – why not change the brightness with the wheel of the whole room, and with 2 and 4 create an up/down dimmer for your one zone that you want to control individually? You can still use button 1 for multiple room scenes and button 3 for multiple scenes on that zone.
Really, this IS the most versatile switch Signify has released so far, and should be well worth the price. It’s less than its predecessor, and while you might get two Hue Dimmers for it, they won’t come in black – which fits surprisingly well in our tech-environment, but also likely in any modern household. We want more black devices. Thanks!

Amazon: Philips Hue Tap Dial Switch (black)
Amazon: Philips Hue Tap Dial Switch (white)

Battery used: Amazon: CR2023

Hue Smart Button

The Smart button is Philips’ latest switch we support, at the end of 2019.
It contains a magnet on its back side, so you can easily attach it to metallic surfaces. It’s technically a Hue Dimmer reduced to a single button, with a better build quality. Philips calls it “Smart” as they attached multiple actions to this button. We decided that we wanted to handle it as a normal button at the moment, with a short and a long press. However, we are open to suggestions on how you would like to use it. The Hue Smart button is supported since iConnectHue 4.0.

It’s available on Amazon:
Amazon: Philips Hue Smart Button

Battery used: Amazon: CR2023

Hue Wall Switch Module

We were lucky enough to get our hands on the amazing new Hue product: The Hue Wall Switch Module allows your common switches to become smart!
Since Philips was able to build them extra small (38x43x10 mm), they fit and hide easily behind your wall switch. This way you are able to keep your present switches and don’t have to adapt your appartement design. Also it keeps visitors from accidentally cutting the power of your smart devices 😉 It comes with two cables and a connection clamp to power up the light(s) permanently your switch controlled before and runs on a CR2450 battery, which should last about 5 years. This might be bothersome, but that’s the price for keeping the device so small and therefore fitting behind even older switches. And switching a battery every 5 years is actually not that big of a deal.

Alright, let’s talk about functionality:
Most importantly, the module has inputs for not only one but two switches, so it can easily be used for dual switches as well. With iConnectHue you have various possibilities for how to set it up. The switch editor allows you to combine multiple actions and alternations. For example your switch can react depending on a group state in combination with the multiple presses or time alternation plus act differently on weekends.
When connecting it, you can either select it to act as a push or as a rocker switch. If you set up a push-button, your wall switch can act like a Hue Smart Button. If you attach the module to a rocker switch and set it up accordingly (iConnectHue will ask you which switch type you attached it to) you also have the possibility to decide whether every turn toggles between scenes or every 2nd turn switches off.

Conclusion: We are very happy with the design and the specifications of this product. The variety of options we could draw from the module is extensive. Even the price seems quite fair, since there’s no similar device on the market, yet. We recommend it!

Amazon: Philips Hue Wall Switch Module

Save money and get a 2 pack:
Amazon: 2x Philips Hue Wall Switch Module

Battery used: Amazon: CR2450

Hue Contact Sensor

iConnectHue supports the contact sensor since version 5.1, albeit with some caveats: Due to the way Philips/Signify offer their support, you are unfortunately very limited with its options – you can use scenes, magic scenes and on/off actions, nothing more. If you feel that this is problem for you, we recommend you to contact Philips’ customer support and let them know you want more possibilities in iConnectHue for it.

Functionality-wise it is capable of reacting when the contact is opened, and then, based on your preference, fall back to the closed-mode either after a certain time and/or when you actually close that sensor.

Amazon EU: Philips Hue Contact Sensor Black

Also available as dual pack, save some money:
Amazon Europe: 2x Philips Hue Contact Sensor Black
Amazon Europe: 2x Philips Hue Contact Sensor White

Battery used: Amazon: CR2

Hue Dimmer

The best switch you can get for your Hue system is the Hue Dimmer switch – it supports short and long presses, works with a battery, can be detached from its base and is quite affordable. The battery should last pretty long. The oldest Dimmer here with age of 9 months still shows 100% battery life.
iConnectHue supports its configuration and allows to put multiple commands on it (see Features).

Battery used: Amazon: CR2450

If you live in the US or Canada, there are magnetic switch covers available that can cover your old switches, so you don’t confuse them with the Dimmer:
Amazon US/CA: YBM Home Magnetic Switch

There’s also a type that only makes using the switch a bit harder, which may do its work as well:

Amazon US/CA: Bates- Light Switch Guard Cover
Amazon US/CA: Dual Option Wall Switch Guard

Hue Tap

This is Philips’ first generation of switches with a twist (you can detach them from the wall with a twist), and they are fully configurable with multiple actions per button (see Features). They are more expensive than the Dimmer switches, only support one action per Press, but have an interesting feature: They work without batteries, like a lighter! Their layout also doesn’t more or less tie you to on/off and dim. With some work, they integrate into other european swith systems made by Eltako and also by Gira (German video, but pictures tell enough).
Amazon: Phillips Hue Tap

Here are the possible switches mentioned in the video the Hue Tap electronic should integrate with (the Eltako is confirmed to work, the Gira one should be the mentioned one of the video):
Amazon DE: Gira Funk-Wandsend. batterielos
Amazon Europe: Eltako FT55-RW

There’s a model available in the US and Canada that should allow the same swap. Though it’s a bit more pricey:
Amazon US/CA: Leviton WSS0S-E2W

Friends of Hue switches

The Hue system supports “Friends of Hue” labelled 3rd party switches. Such switches are technically all the same – they use the same module licensed from Philips and produced by EnOcean to be used in such switches.
These modules work without any batteries like the Hue tap, and use energy produced only by your press.
Contrary to the Hue Tap, they also send a signal when they are being released. This allows iConnectHue to do more with those switches – like as adding long press actions.

Busch-Jaeger

The Busch-Jaeger switch is one of the more thicker switches. They fit perfectly on the wall without any distance to their base plate. They are easy to actuate, their click feedback is good, and the switches can be actuated from almost any point. It feels quite sturdy, the only thing we would mention is that the rockers have a slight play on top and bottom, but that is usual to almost all Friends of Hue switches except the Feller one.

The switch is based on the “future linear” design line and it should be possible to change its color by ordering different face plates. Current colors are e.g. gray, anthracite, aluminium silver, matte white, black and ivory white. The switch doesn’t come with any screws, but a double sided tape is included.

Its price is a bit higher than e.g. the Vimar one, but contrary to it, quality is better, and the switches are easy to use. It’s one of the easier available switches, which are not limited to certain countries or are only available via switch programmes.

Verdict: Recommended

It is available here:
Amazon Europe: Busch-Jaeger

Feller Smart Light Control

Feller from Switzerland sent us a sample of their Friends of Hue switch. We are pleased by its build quality – nothing is rattling, everything fits precisely. It is slightly quiter than the other Friends of Hue switches we had – presumably because of how it fits together.
It comes with screws (w/o dowel) and with strips. If you prefer to screw it on the wall, the housing has a metallic inset just for those screws, which should make it quite rigid, even when you screw it a bit tighter.
All in all, this is one of the best Friends of Hue switches in terms of quality. It’s available in multiple colors, so depending on your home and taste, you’re quite free in your choices.
These switches are mainly sold in Switzerland, but you should be able to order them, if you live in Europe, as well.

Verdict: Recommended

Brack.ch: Feller EDIZIOdue Smart Light Control for Philips Hue
Galaxus.ch: Feller EDIZIOdue Smart Light Control for Philips Hue

Light Solutions Lightbee Switch

The Lightbee Smart Switch is a comfortable, small, battery powered switch. It was designed in Denmark and we experienced a nice smooth handling. There are two screw holes for mounting, but not in the frame but the switch itself and the frame is a bit shakily attached to the switch. Since we just got this switch we can’t say anything about power usage and battery life – should we recognize anything negative here we will update this post. What we can say, is that it is very easy to reach and change the battery.
It worked perfectly as a Friends of Hue switch – however, we have to give a warning: To our knowledge, this switch wasn’t licensed by Philips and might stop working at some point.

Verdict: Recommended (with reservation, see above)

Amazon Europe: Light Solutions Lightbee Switch

Battery used: Amazon: CR2430

Get an adapter-frame for EURO standard:
1-module frame
2-module frame

 

Lutron Aurora

You know the usual issue you have when you upgrade your existing home with smart bulbs: Someone always flips the switch instead of using the smart switch!
As long as you have a US style toggle switch, this thing is a genious inventation: It mounts onto the switch, which, at the same time, is locked in the “on” position. So it not only solves the switch problem, it also makes your switch a smart dimmer!
The Aurora functions as a basic dimmer (left/right rotation) and a click device (center can be pressed). With iConnectHue 3.7, you can configure it as free as you want. You’re not restricted to a single group as well.

The price is reasonable for such a clever device, it’s easy to use and to install. We wish such a thing would also be available for Europe!
The Lutron Aurora is supported since iConnectHue 3.7.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon US/CA: Lutron Aurora

Battery used: Amazon: CR2032, should last for 3 years

Niko

We like the Niko switches for their elegant design, which is available both in white and anthracite. They are easy to switch and do their work. It can be surface mounted and will look like a normal switch box integrated switch. It can also be joined with other Niko designs and other Friends of Hue Niko switches as well – something not possible with most other designs!
Due to the way the module is fastened into the housing, it is sometimes a bit “rattly”. We could imagine this can be easily fixed with some drops of glue or tape on the back.

The switches are a bit harder to get, if you live outside Belgium or the Netherlands. Nonetheless we recommend to get them except you have a choice for your own switch system.
Verdict: Recommended

Zelektro.be: Niko Friends of Hue (delivers to Europe, but you might want to use Google Translate, it’s in Dutch)
Lightgallery BE/NL: Niko Friends of Hue (only delivers to Belgium, Netherlands)

Similar, but not the same model is available on Amazon Europe:
Amazon Europe: Niko Friends of Hue white

NodOn / EnOcean

The NodOn Friends of Hue switch is well to handle and with its rounded corners and larger buttons it stands out from most of the other FoH switches. You might want to check if its design fits in with your other switches.
Otherwise it’s a sturdy product and comes with stickers to mount it. But due to the constant force it’s exposed it might be wise to screw it on anyway.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU (except UK): NodOn Friends of Hue switch

RunLessWire Click

This model cleverly integrates the European switch model into a US style switch package – and we like it! It can either be put into a mount switch box or surface mounted with the delivered plate.
It is available in multiple color options, such as black, white, brown, gray and even more! It also comes with a rocker that is wider and presses both buttons at the same time – which you can only program with iConnectHue! It is a little louder than a Hue Tap, which may be attributed to its surface mount box. We could imagine it may be less loud when integrated into a switch box.
Verdict: Recommended

Amazon US/CA: RunLessWire Click

Senic & Gira

Senic & Gira – Friends of Hue Smart Switch

This model of September 2019 is one of the latest additions to the Friends of Hue list – and it’s a well-made one. Its 1 mm less deep than the one by Busch Jaeger, and feels equally sturdy. It comes in a nice matte black box, which encloses with magnets, which feels almost a bit overkill for such a product.
It can be wall-attached with screws, or with a delivered dual sided sticking tape.

The black finish of our model already starts to lose its matte finish and gets shiny in some places. A customer reported it was the same with the white glossy model, maybe it’s best to go with the matte white version here.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: Senic and Gira matte white
Amazon EU: Senic and Gira glossy white
Amazon EU: Senic and Gira matte black
Amazon EU: Senic and Gira anthracite

Senic & Gira – Friends of Hue Outdoor Switch

The outdoor switch from Senic & Gira seems to be the first of its kind, at least the first we know of. It was sent to us by the manufacturer and comes with a plastic wall mount tile on which it can be easily de- and attached. There’s a rubber hull wrapped around and glued on the duroplastic rocker switch housing, which makes it impenetrable for splash water such as rain. We didn’t test its outdoor performance, but the rubber is thick and seems absolutely water-proof, the housing thought-out. The switch is rated as IP44, which means it is protected against water splashing from any angle and against objects bigger than 1mm. As a Friends of Hue product the switch is fully compatible with the Hue system. At present the Senic & Gira outdoor switch is the only option for controlling your hue lights in the yard, garden and other outdoor situations.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: Senic and Gira Outdoor Switch

Sunricher/Lightbee FoH Green Power Smart Switch

The Sunricher Smart Switch left a very good impression on us. It connects with the bridge immediately and is configurable as any other Friends of Hue switch. Housing and switches feel nice and smooth but also slightly grippy, all in all a comfortable material.
Special about it is the usage of a battery in combination with the Green Power Zigbee technology. Due to this, the switches can be triggered softly with a simple touch. That’s the very advantage of it, especially if you don’t like the forceful push needed by most of the other FoH switches of this kind.
The manufacturer claims that the battery shall last up to 8 years, but the first model’s battery we only lasted for about a year – which isn’t really good considering that you have to open your switches in order to replace them.

Warning: To our knowledge, this switch wasn’t licensed by Philips and might stop working at some point.

Verdict: Recommended (with reservation, see above)

Amazon EU (except UK): Lightbee FoH Green Power Smart Switch

There’s also the module available to retrofit into the old Hue Tap or Friends of Hue switches. It’s quieter, and in our case, we were able to cover a spot where there were repeated transmission problems with original non-battery FoH modules.


Amazon EU (except UK): FoH ZigBee module

Battery used: Amazon: CR2430

Hidden Socket / Die Versteckdose

We’ve received a testing device by TCS AG called “Die Versteckdose” or “Hidden Socket”. It’s a clever idea: It combines a single plug flush-mounted socket with a Friends of Hue switch that covers the socket in its default position. A single press from the top with your finger, and it reveals the socket.
Installation is done within about 10 minutes. The device can be used in both hidden and revealed state. Mechanics are good, but we wish the switch had some kind of spacers when in revealed position, because the switch requires a good amount of pressure, and the switch bounces back a little when pressed.
The design is really nice, but you should be aware that the switch is a little larger than a usual European switch/plug cover, hence it will not mix well in conjunction with other switches and plugs. You would usually use it with only one socket.

The plug has IP 20 certification, so it can be used in normal rooms, but is not protected against water. This can probably be rectified by adding a water protective layer (which is available for other plugs), but be aware that this is no official nor tested solution!
The socket is made by Jung, and is available for Socket types F, J, E and G, which should cover all usual European plug types.

Planned models also include USB A socket support for loading your phone and other devices, including a rest. All in all, this is probably the Friends of Hue switch with the cleverest ideas so far!
Verdict: Recommended

Amazon Europe: Hidden Socket / Die Versteckdose (only switch, not the plug hide type)
EU: Purchase Hidden Socket / Die Versteckdose

Vimar

Vimar 0K03906.02…04

The Vimar switch is one of the few easily available switches on the market. They are available via Amazon.
We’ve tested them and find that they have some issues: Our first model came with an improperly molded plastic, so it couldn’t be fit together. This was fortunately solved with the replacement.
Still, we are not completely happy with it: The plastic frame around the inner switch makes it cumbersome to press the buttons. Not really nice is that the plastic frame is very thick – so when you screw the module on the wall (which you may need to do – no stickers come with it), it stands out for about 3 mm, only then does the front housing begin.

You might want to purchase this switch if you have a Vimar switch system, or to just use its module for another switch – you could even put it in a Hue Tap, if you prefer it. Otherwise there are other alternatives on the market.
Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon Europe: Vimar FoH switch 0K03906.04

Vimar 0K03906.05…08

This is the next generation of Friends of Hue switches of Vimar and you can see and feel the difference right away. Now they managed to even the module- and the front frame so there is no gap between wall and housing anymore. Also the buttons jut out more and therefore are easier to push. Yet, as it’s the matter with many FoH switches, the small size of the buttons leads to a low prying effect and it takes some force to push them.
Unfortunately the module seems a bit shaky within its frame. As before, no stickers come with it, but due to the constant force it’s exposed you might want to screw it on anyway.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon Europe: Vimar FoH switch 0K03906.05
Amazon Europe: Vimar FoH switch 0K03906.06
Amazon Europe: Vimar FoH switch 0K03906.07
Amazon Europe: Vimar FoH switch 0K03906.08

Lights, controller and plugs

Philips Hue lights (Signify)

While iConnectHue and the Philips Hue bridge support all available Hue lights, we really recommend to purchase color or color temperature lights. You might not yet be aware of this, but the color temperature over the day is an important part of your wellbeing. For example, daylight-similar color temperature gives you energy, e.g. to work, while the usual light bulb temperature (which also the temperature only lights have) will calm you down.
NOTE: All Philips Hue lights are compatible with the bridge, but we do not list all of them. We will extend this list over the time with small reviews.

How to reset and find Hue lights again?
There are two ways to find these lights again once they have been connected to a bridge:
1. Search for them by serial number
2. Reset them with your dimmer switch: Hold the dimmer switch near your light (about 20 cm) and press “on” and “off” for about 10 seconds – until the light flashes. Afterwards you should be able to find it again.

Philips Hue E14 / E12 (Candelabra)

Philips finally developed Hue E14 / Candelabra bulbs. Both bulb types (color and temperature lights) have a maximum light output of 470 lumens, a bit more than a 40 Watt equivalent traditional bulb, at 4000 Kelvin. Their prices are about the same as the brighter E27/A19 bulbs. Available are color as well as color temperature only lights. The color lights produce the same color range as the 3rd generation E27/A19 bulbs. See the full review for more information.

Amazon: Philips Hue E14/E12 White Ambiance and Color

Amazon: Philips Hue E14/E12 White Ambiance

You can save some money with dual packs, usually around 20%:
Amazon Europe: 2x Philips Hue E14 White Ambiance and Color
Amazon Europe: 2x Philips Hue E14 White Ambiance

 

Philips Hue E27 / A19

Left is the first Hue light, middle the gen2 Hue White and Color Ambiance, right the gen3 Hue White and Color Ambiance. The first two lights use lime green, orange and royal blue LEDs (instead of RGB) to improve their color rendition – this also means their color output is limited, compared to Living colors, Hue Go and light strips.

Where you CAN see a difference are the brand new Hue White and Color 3rd generation lights. These lights have a much better green and cyan/blue output than the older lights have (comparable to Hue Go and Lightstrip Plus), have a very dim minimum brightness, and their broader color output is supported by iConnectHue. You can distinguish them by the white housing with golden text (also on the packaging) and a plastic cap (the old ones have a silver housing and a glass cap). Note: There are lights sold as 4th gen. These are almost spec-identical to the 3rd generation lights, but have a silver text and use 0.5 Watts less.
Amazon: Hue White and Color E27/A19
Amazon Europe: 2x Hue White and Color E27
Amazon Europe: 4x Hue White and Color Ambiance E27 (save some money with a quad pack)

If you don’t want colors, you should prefer the White Ambiance lights over Hue Whites – they are a bit more expensive, but let you control the color temperature. This means you still can apply light recipies to get energized or to relax:
Amazon: Hue White Ambiance E27/A19

Save some money with multi-packs:
Amazon: 2x Hue White Ambiance E27/A19
Amazon Europe: 4x Hue White Ambiance E27 (save some money with the quad pack)

Is one of your light diffusors broken? There’s a way to replace them with Ikea Ledare diffusors. I tried it too, and it works!

Amazon DE/FR/UK: Ikea Ledare

Differences between the generations: The 1st and 2nd generation can’t produce real green and cyan. Furthermore, the 1st gen only has 600 Lumens light output, while 2nd gen+ has 806 Lumens. The 3rd gen adds full color support. There’s also a “4th” gen out there, but it it only has a slightly lower power usage and probably saves Philips some production costs due to some small changes. The difference between 3rd and 4th gen is so minimal that you probably shouldn’t care.

Philips Hue white and color 1100

Although Philips came up with a whole series of new products like their gradient strips and lights, they didn’t neglect the development of the good old E27 color bulb. Since colors, controllers, diffusers and weight have improved to a very satisfying state over the years, they thought of enhancing the one thing left: Luminosity! And as usual, they did a good job. When off, only the 1100 written on the bulb lets us be sure we are dealing with a new bulb, since weight and size are exactly the same as its predecessors. Of course the white of the new 1100 version is brighter and this comes with a little higher standby and peak power usage. Our fear, that they might have compromised their lifespan was fortunately misplaced. It should last 25.000h as well. One thing we weren’t so happy about is the brightness for colors: Here only green is a little brighter, blue is almost the same and red is even slightly dim with the new bulb. All in all it is to be expected, that the 1100 slowly relieves the 800 version, since the prices are almost the same and 800ers seem to become rare on Amazon.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon: Philips Hue White and Color 1100 E27/A19
Amazon: 2x Philips Hue White and Color 1100 E27/A19

 

Philips Hue E27 white and color ambiance 1600

The brightest is also the darkest! Philips finally achieved to develop a smart bulb with all its colors and advantages now at some states even as bright as a 100W bulb! It’s a big development – also in matters of size and weight: The bulb is about 100g heavier and remarkably greater than its predecessors, likely due to get a hold of the heat this powerful bulb produces.
We were interested if this light really keeps its promise of higher luminosity and compared it with a 806 lumens hue bulb. The result was partly very satisfying and partly disappointing. Using color temperature the Hue color 1600 definitely deserves its name. We measured about twice the luminosity – as it is pledged. At the opposite side a nice gimmick for very dim moods: It appears to be also half as bright at lowest brightness. Dimming to this point you might experience a little stuttering, though. But we think that’s neglectable and probably hard to avoid giving the broad brightness range.
Using colors we got the rather disappointing results. At blue the two lights produced nearly the same lightness, at green the bigger bulb was noticeably brighter, whereas at red it provided a lower brightness than the Hue color 806! That’s quite unfortunate and it has to be said: If you’re looking for brighter colors, you won’t get them. Still, this bulb is substantially more powerful and in spite of that Philips managed to preserve the same durability of 25.000h.
If you want a very bright work and living light and don’t care about extra bright colors so much, the Hue color 1600 is the right product for you. Just keep in mind that it’s about 20mm higher than its predecessor when thinking about a fitting spot for your home.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon: Philips Hue E27 white and color ambiance 1600

As ambiance only:
Amazon: Philips Hue E27 white ambiance 1600

 

Philips Hue White 1600

The Philips Hue White 1600 is as powerful as simple. As the name implies, it is able to fill your room with 1600 lumens and of course is dimmable. The color temperature is fixed at 2700 K – we’d love to see that adjustable in the future. The lamp is slightly bigger than common Philips Hue lights, probably due to its in-built cooling system, which is definitely required when pushing LED’s to this amount of luminosity. If you need a bargain, reliable and strong light, you’re good to go with this one. Since this is the only original Hue light capable of such brightness, we decided to not advise you against it. Usually we don’t recommend white-only lights.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon: Philips Hue White 1600 E27/A21

 

Philips Hue BR30

These nice lights are only available in the US and Canada. They produce directed light, and the gen 3 Color and White Ambiance variant does this at the same brightness (800 Lumens) as its A19 counterpart. But be careful about the BR30 White and Ambiance color temperature light – it only produces 680 Lumens. Probably to match or even outperform the gen 1 color predecessor. But now, as the gen 3 color lights are out, you may want to invest a few dollars more to get color AND more brightness.

Amazon US/CA: Hue BR30 White and Color

Amazon US: 2x Hue BR30 White and Ambiance

 

Philips Hue GU10 color

We’re happy to see Philips update its Hue GU10 color lights in 2019 finally to have a smaller form factor (about 5.5 centimetres without to the frame, without counting the outstanding reflector) and full color range support in August 2019. While the old, longer GU10s had limited greens and no cyan, the new Hue GU10 color models cover the same color range as all other newer Hue models. And not only this, but they also are the brightest Philips GU 10 lights with stated 350 lumens! This is about a 30 Watts halogen equivalent.

To the left you see the new and old GU10 bulb compared. Philips had to go for a different approach mixing colors with the new one – to reduce the depth, the diffusor is much shorter, extrudes a bit, and the actual mixing now happens on the lightened surface instead of within the lamp. This is not per se worse, it only sometimes means for e.g. orange a slight greenish to one side of the spot side, a slight reddish on the other side. Nothing you will usually notice without looking for it. The plus side is, this new diffusor makes a more evenly lighted surface than the old one, where the brightness tends to go down from middle to the sides. Compared to other color ZigBee Hue lights, Philips has got one of the best diffusors here!

Are they brighter? Yes, they are, but only for less saturated colors and color temperatures. For very saturated colors, they appear to be even a little darker. That’s a phenomenon we observed also for gen 3 E27/E26 lights and is down to the concept of these lights: 1st gen lights created color temperatures with a triplet of royal blue/red-orange/lime-green LEDs, which had to be brighter to reach the full 250 lumens, and colors benefited from it as a side effect. Now colors have separate LEDs, while color temperatures and less saturated colors also make use of color-temperature-only LEDs, which are brighter to reach those new 350 lumens.
The lowest brightness is quite lower than of the old GU 10 lights, which is a clear progress!

You can purchase them in a dual-pack, which instantly gives you a price advantage of around 20%.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon: Philips Hue GU 10 Color
Amazon Europe: 2x Philips Hue GU 10 color
Amazon Europe: 3x Philips Hue GU 10 color

You might get the previous version for a better price here:
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue GU 10 color
Amazon Europe: 2x Philips Hue GU 10 color

 

Philips Hue GU10 White Ambiance

The White Ambiance models have a standard GU10 light size, have with 250 lumens or 20 Watt Halogen equivalent a lower light output than their newer color counterparts. Bought in a pair, they are considerably cheaper, about the half, than the color GU10 lights. You may want them if you need HomeKit compatible GU10 lights, lights that fit in a standard GU10 fixture, only want to change the color temperature and/or don’t want to spend so much money on them. If you don’t need HomeKit (Hue Entertainment is not supported by them anyway), you may want to look after alternative models, e.g. those by Innr, which are brighter and cost even less.

Amazon Europe: 2x Philips Hue White and Ambiance GU10
Amazon: 2x Philips Hue White and Ambiance GU10

They are also available as Par20 with an E26 socket in Canada:
Amazon CA: Philips Hue Par20

Old Philips Hue GU10/Par16

The old color GU10 lights may not give you the best bang for the buck (similar price to larger Hues, less light output – about 20 Watt Halogen equivalent, non-standard length may not allow you to use them in your fixtures), but nevertheless they are worth to be mentioned. They have the same limited color output as the larger Hue lights before the Light and Color Ambiance version 3 (no full green, no cyan, orange red), but their spot like nature allows you to light specific areas or just to fit them into existing fixtures. Their diffusors are pretty good compared to other color LED lights.

This model is sold out.

Philips Hue MR16

The MR16 models have been introduced late 2023, and fit as a spot into existing fixtures. They work via 12 Volts and can replace halogen-type or LED-type lights. With 400 Lumens, they are quite a bit brighter than the GU10 models, which are rated as 350 lumens. We especially liked the new diffusors compared to the GU10 types. The GU10 ones had color fringing, while the MR16 ones created evenly distributed colors.

Amazon: 2x Philips Hue MR16 white and color
Amazon Europe: 2x Philips Hue MR16 white ambiance

Hue Filament White

Hue Filament White E27/A19

These bulbs have been presented by Philips/Signify in September 2019. They add to the Hue system by being lights that imitate the looks of vintage filament bulbs. In reality, the filament consists of a lot of serialized LEDs, which you can see with your naked eye at the lowest dim level. Nevertheless, they are probably the nicest filament bulbs you can find for the Hue bridge.

They come in different sizes: One regular bulb size, one in Edison bulb style, and one in a globe style.

However, don’t expect to fully light up your room with them. They are quite dim at 550 Lumens, and they have a quite warm color temperature of only 2100 Kelvins! That makes them a beautiful ambiance light, but not a full light source. You’ll need multiple of them, and you need to keep in mind that this warmish color temperature may not mix well with daylight or other light sources. However, a Hue color light can match this color temperature (just drag & drop this light to another Hue light, and iConnectHue will do the temperature matching for you).

We are happy to see that Philips adds these lights to their system, however we find the low color temperature too limiting for many uses. And they don’t offer any filament light with higher temperature. It would have been great if these lights could change color temperature as well, so you could adjust them to what you currently need. Rumour says Philips tried this out, but found that people rarely used it – but we disagree and see much potential for a color temperature adjustable filament light.
If you want an E27 filament bulb with 2700 Kelvins, and don’t mind missing HomeKit support, have a look at Innrs offerings

Verdict: May suit your needs

Amazon: E27/E26 Philips Hue Filament Classic Bulb
Amazon: E27/E26 Philips Hue Filament Globe Bulb
Amazon: E27/E26 Philips Hue Filament Edison Bulb

Hue Filament White E14

This is the first E14 filament bulb by Philips. It is one of the white series, so no color temperature adjustment is possible, but with 2100K it provides a nice warm light. Quality-wise it is a fine bulb, yet there is nothing special about it. Except maybe the price, which is extraordinarily high at the moment. As you may know, we usually don’t recommend only-whites, but since this is almost the only E14 filament for the Hue bridge, you might want to go for it. If you’re not in a rush, you could also wait for a color temperature version – for the filament E27 ambiance version came out about one year after the only-white and it could be the same here.

Verdict: May suit your needs

Amazon EU: Philips Hue White 300 filament E14
Save money with a duo pack:
Amazon EU: 2x Philips Hue White 300 filament E14

Note: The E12 version only provides 270 lumens.
Amazon US: Philips Hue White 270 filament E12

Hue Filament White ambiance

Philips Hue White ambiance 550 filament E27

Various 3rd party manufacturers already provided this before and now finally Philips met the demand of a filament color temperature light. The bulb itself is very lightweight and has a cozy vintage finish. Unlike other manufacturers, Philips didn’t hide the controller in the socket, so there is a rather big black rim between socket and bulb.
The cold and warm light is very satisfying and transitions are smooth. Also dimming is delightfully smooth – even at the lower end. There is a rather small color temperature range of 2200-4500K which is probably due to ensure an optimal CRI, since there are no color LEDs to balance that. If you don’t care much about a little stuttering or Homekit compatibility and want a filament bulb reaching extreme warm temperatures looking like a common bulb, you might want to look at the offers from Icasa.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon: Philips Hue White Ambiance Filament Standard E27/E26

Amazon EU: Philips Hue White ambiance filament E14 – Standard

There are more variations available:
Amazon: 2x Philips Hue White Ambiance Filament Edison ST64 E27/E26

Amazon: Philips Hue White Ambiance Filament Giant Edison E27/E26

Amazon: Philips Hue White Ambiance Filament Globe E27/E26

Amazon: Philips Hue White Ambiance Filament Giant Globe E27/E26

Philips Single PAR38 outdoor

The Philips Single PAR38 outdoor could be the perfect addition for your garden or driveway illumination. Also it might also be useful for a bathroom since its outdoor properties protect it from damp and wetness. With 1300 lumens the Philips PAR38 is able to provide a very bright flood light but with a nice rather warm color of 3000 K at a peak power consumption of 14,2 W.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon US/CA: Philips Single PAR38 outdoor
Amazon US/CA: 2x Philips Single PAR38 outdoor

They are also available for indoor use:
Amazon US/CA: Philips Single PAR38
Amazon US/CA: 2x Philips Single PAR38

New is the color variant:
Amazon US/CA: Philips Single PAR38
Amazon US/CA: 2x Philips Single PAR38

 

Lightstrip Plus

Philips heard its customers and developed a new solution after the very dim and expensive original lightstrip. Its successor is much brighter in white colors, with up to 1600 Lumens – though colors are still a bit dim.
For this, they had to get a bit off-standard. They use a 6 pin connector and due to a silicon shell, they won’t fit into most existing LED stripe housings. The shell makes it about 14 mm wide (and about 15 mm at connection points). You can find fitting channels on the Light fixtures page. Opposed to their predecessor, you are able to control their color temperature, and the less saturated/the more white they get, the brighter they are. They support the full color spectrum and full color temperature as the Hue Go.

Amazon: Philips Hue Lightstrip Plus 2m

They can also be extended. Keep in mind though that the delivered PSU only delivers 24 Watts. When using the lightstrip plus with less saturated (more white) colors, they are bright and already use almost the maximum power. When extending them, the controller dims them down. You can use 3rd party PSUs to get them brighter in such a case.

Amazon: Philips Hue Lightstrip Plus 1m extension

The light fixtures page has recommendations for fitting channels, extensions and adapters.

Do you want to extend them, bend them around corners or get them into places where the delivered cable doesn’t help? Litcessory has got some cables, plugs, splitters and even RJ 45 extensions for your Lightstrip Plus!
Amazon: Litcessory

In case you’d like to do the opposite, and split them, there’s a great tutorial on how to do this. Most important fact: Do NOT cut them at the scissor marks! Try it with desoldering.

Hue Outdoor Lightstrip

The outdoor lightstrip has been released in Oct. 2018 and is a welcome addition to the Hue programme. It has the same color rendition as the indoor lightstrip. It has about half the brightness of their indoor counterpart (780 lumens at 2 metres), but has much closer LEDs, which gives the strip a more continuous appearance.
It comes with a 24 Volts power supply, a controller and with clips and wood screws to attach it to a balcony or an eaves. The power supply is compatible with Hue Lily and Hue Calla, and as long as you don’t go over the rated output, you can attach the outdoor lightstrip to such a power chain. Unfortunately you can’t shorten or lengthen the strip itself – it’s either 2 or 5 metres. This is likely to keep them water proof more easily in production.

The strip itself is IP67 rated, which means it is resistant against dust and short immersion. So you don’t need to worry about having it outdoors under any weather condition.
It comes in flavors of 2 and 5 metres, while 5 metres have already seen quite good offers.

Amazon: Philips Hue Outdoor Lightstrip 2m/7ft
Amazon: Philips Hue Outdoor Lightstrip 5m/16ft

An additional note: Some users seem to have issues with the 5 metre strip missing a little part at its end. This has technical reasons, and Philips provided us some tips on how to solve it:
“In case more than 5cm of the strip does not light up, it can be easily rectified by bending the light strip to the right when installing. Make sure the cord is facing you when bending to the right, and light is emitting upwards. So you are on the side of the power supply with the light strip away from you.
The light strip has been designed to ensure it remains flexible when you install it, allowing you to bend around small corners. Twisting the total light strip to the left can cause the inner lights to become shorter, and not light up the full light strip. This can be easily rectified by bending the light strip to the right. Make sure the cord is facing you when bending to the right, and light is emitting upwards.”

Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip for TV

The Philips Play Gradient Lightstrip is a great example of how technology can progress – if someone would have thought multi-segmented lights in the Zigbee world are not possible, he/she would now have been proven wrong! This strip integrates 7 zones over its length – used to light up left and right (2), as well as top of a TV, so the bottom is missing.

The Play Gradient Lighstrip is made especially to be used with TVs in mind, but could also be mounted to any edge due to its rectangular edge shape. Mounted to a TV, its different versions cover 55″ over 65″ up to 75″. It’s possible to mount a smaller version to a slightly larger TV by just mounting it a bit smaller on the TV’s back. Larger versions on smaller TV are not recommended, even if you want to cover all 4 sides: You don’t get more mounting parts, and the 7 zones are currently technically fixed to left/right/top, you can’t change this on the Sync Box software side.
Philips claims that most TV sets are not open to the bottom anyway, but ignores e.g. sets by LG with transparent stands, or Sony, with their easels, or wall mounting, which is not too uncommon by now. We would have wished to have versions for such situations as well, or to be able to use a longer strip in such cases for smaller TVs.

The strip itself comes with 2 edge and 3 side holders that must be sticked to your TV’s back. Mounting is easy, once you’ve measured or tried out distances and attached them – it’s held by friction. It’s also easy to dismount it, in case you want to use it in conjunction with Discotainment on your party – iConnectHue is the first app to support this strip natively and can control each of its individual segments in Discotainment mode!

Depending on the evenness of your TV’s back, it might be useful to create distancing brackets (e.g. LG OLED). You should also make sure the strip has a certain wall distance (at least 10-15 cm) to make its effect work properly.

The Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip is currently hard to come by as of Oct 2020. We’re not sure if it’s demand or delivery, or both. It’s also not cheap at all. From what we could gather, its build quality is top notch, the LEDs are MUCH closer than with the Lightstrip Plus, so you won’t have the same problem when it comes to light distribution. It’s also very bright – 1100 Lumens for all versions, and we have the impression that saturated colors are also brighter than with the Lightstrip Plus. So it might also be an alternative for other lighting situations – given you are willing to pay the premium.

Our criticism are mainly the fixed 7 zones limited to 3 edges. Philips’ Amblight TV’s have a lot more zones. You can rectify the missing bottom zones with 1 to 3 Hue Play bars, but in the end that’s a solution that shouldn’t have been, especially given the high price tag.

Verdict: Recommended (if you can live with the named limitations)

Amazon: Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip 55 inch
Amazon: Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip 65-70 inch
Amazon: Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip 75 inch

Hue Play Gradient Light Tube

This tube is something that is somewhat proposed by Philips to be used under the TV (because the Play lightstrip doesn’t light up the TV’s bottom for unknown reasons), but is so much more.
The great thing about it is that you can turn it – for direct and indirect light. And it can be either put on a surface, or attached to the wall, where it also could act as a night light or reading light, for example, or light your wall at the top of your furniture.
All this comes with gradient capabilities, so you can have a nice gradient over its length.

The compact variant is thought to be used for TVs with 40 to 55 inches, while the large one for TVs with 60 inches and above.

Amazon: Philips Hue Play Gradient Light tube compact 75 cm
Amazon: Philips Hue Play Gradient Light tube large 125 cm

Hue Gradient Lightstrip

After launching the Play gradient strip it was the right and logic step to provide us with a common strip with multiple segments – and we love the result! In comparison with the Lightstrip Plus the upgrade is enormous. Not only color gradients are now possible, but also the number of LEDs has increased a lot, a diffuser creates a nice ambient lighting and the strip can be split in much smaller parts. But let’s check it out step by step.

White/ Warm White
The color temperature range stays with 2000-6500K the same, but sliding from cold to warm or vice versa is now much smoother. Happily we detected a higher luminosity at 2000K than with the Lightstrip Plus and a more equal luminosity from 4000K to 6500K. We like this development, since the brightness peak at 4000K of the Lightstrip Plus can be somewhat blinding at times. Philips claims that the new lightstrip reaches a higher luminosity at 4000K but we couldn’t ascertain that.

Colors
The colors of course look great as always. We compared the colors red, green, blue to those of the Lightstrip Plus and detected the gradient strip can provide a higher luminosity, except with blue, where it was slightly less.

Color gradients
Thanks to the diffuser and the increased amount of LEDs (almost thrice as much) the color gradients look just marvelous. The silicone diffuser blurrs the light of the single LEDs in a great way, so it’s rather impossible to make out single spots at a reflecting surface and an amazing smooth color transition is the result.

Splitting/ Extending
Even with its gradient segments the lightstrip can be split – and in even smaller pieces that the Lightstrip Plus! Philips provides you with little markers every 25cm to divide your strip. But actually it can be done every 12,5cm! For that carefully remove the diffuser and look out for the scissor marks. But won’t that mess with the gradient segments? No, Philips thought of that: Every time the strip gets plugged in, the controller checks how many LEDs are available and adapts the segments accordingly. The same goes for extending your lightstrip. When adding or removing an extension, the controller has to be plugged out and in again for the gradient segments to get aligned.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon: Philips Hue Ambiance Gradient Lightstrip 2m
Amazon: Philips Hue Ambiance Gradient Lightstrip Extension 1m

Hue Festavia

This is your christmas gradient lightstrip, if you want so, but due to its outdoor capabilities, it’s also great for use with parties and other occasions.
It comes with several built-in effects like opal, glisten, spectrum, but the best part is that iConnectHue’s animations work on them – and iConnectHue automatically chooses the right color mode for Magic Scenes and animations. While it can’t rival other products like Twinkly at the moment, these possibilities allow these lights really to shine!

One note though: While the strip claims to be able to handle color temperatures, these are only mixed via the light’s individual RGB components, there’s no real white in them at all. So color temperatures may look a little odd to look at.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon: Philips Hue Festavia 20m / 250 lights
Amazon: Philips Hue Festavia 40m / 500 lights

Hue Gradient Signe Table

The Signe lamps are now also available in a gradient version, black or white! We checked out the new Gradient Signe Table for you. When unpacking the first thing we noticed is its much smaller foot, which looks much better and makes more sense for the table version – Outsourcing the power supply made that possible. The lamp is still very solid and with its metal housing heavy enough to ensure a safe stand.

Due to the smaller size compared to the gradient light strip or Signe Floor there are of course less gradient segments (4 segments), but it’s still able to create very nice ambient color gradients on your walls and funky effects for your Discotainment. The Signe Table has a color temperature range of 2000-6500K and is a nice addition for every Hue household.

Verdict: Recommended
Amazon: Philips Hue Signe Table black
Amazon: Philips Hue Signe Table white
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Signe Table oak

Hue Gradient Signe floor

The gradient version of the Signe floor is a little bit different regarding looks and weight compared to its predecessor. It is 3 cm smaller and slightly lighter, also the foot is round now and it is available in black or white. Color-wise we really like its especially bright gradients and also the deep lowness the light provides. The housing seems solid in general, but it is a bit irritating that the light bar is somehow loose-fitting in the foot – maybe there’s a reason for that. Also we recognized that the light strip inside does not reach the top like before, which seems to be an unjustified economy measure considering the rather high price.
Regarding power usage you have to expect slightly higher values, since the standby power is about 0.45W@225V and the peak usage reaches up to 33W@225V.
All in all we totally enjoy the quality of the light and the gradients – The Hue Signe Gradient floor lamp is a great extension to the gradient family!

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon: Philips Hue Signe Gradient floor black
Amazon: Philips Hue Signe Gradient floor white
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Signe Gradient floor oak

Hue Perifo system

Perifo is not one light, but a rail system with several lights to choose from. There are spots, light bars, gradient light bars, and small pendant lights.

We’ve been able to test such a system in the form of 3 spots and a light bar. The spots are quite bright with 510 Lumens @ 4000K (490 @ 2700K), which exceeds the GU10 spots by quite a margin (350 Lumens @ 4000K), the light bar has 2050 Lumens @ 4000K (1700 Lumens @ 2700K).
The diffusor of the spots is the variant also used in the latest MR16 spots, which doesn’t have color fringing as the GU10 spots have, so the light is perfect without diffently-colored shadows. The light bar’s output is enough, but it doesn’t rival the Ensis’ output.

The design is nice, especially of the spots, we didn’t like the light bar’s design as much, as it’s basically a block with a light slot, which is even unsymmetric due to one end having all the electronics in them. Given the depth of this block, we assume there should be headroom on the top to move the electronics there instead.

Installation was quite easy compared to the Ensis – which was a pain. You basically fix the base plate to your ceiling, then add the rails to the left and right, then click on the transformer and then click in the lights.
Be aware: The installation has an orientation. So if something doesn’t fully click in (PSU to rails, spots), or is too loose (light bar), you’ve done it in the wrong direction.

You have different options: There are systems that can also attach to the wall, you can add more lights/spots later, you have the option of a rectangular kink between two rails, and there are systems available with pre-selected rail/light combos, but you can also purchase certain parts separately to make up a whole system. All lights can be placed individually, spots can be rotated 360° and turned 90°.

Price is high, but then again, the price of other comparable rail systems is the same or even higher, and you have a color-capable smart lighting system, which not all competitors offer.
Lights cannot be replaced, unfortunately. But the system offers a running time of 25000 hours.

Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo Black, 3 spots, 1 light bar, 3 metres
Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo White, 3 spots, 1 light bar, 3 metres

Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo Black, 3 pendants, 3 metres
Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo White, 3 pendants, 3 metres

Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo Black, 3 spots
Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo White, 3 spots

Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo Black, 4 spots, 3 metres
Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo White, 4 spots, 3 metres

Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo white, 2 spots, 1 gradient light bar
Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo white, 2 spots, 1 gradient light bar

Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo Black spot, single
Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo White spot, single

Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo Black pendant, single
Amazon Europe: Hue Perifo White pendant, single

Hue Infuse/Xamento

The Hue Infuse, and its water proof variant Xamento, are all the Hue Being isn’t. It can do colors, and it is actually bright! The latter in two ways: There are two versions available, M and L, and sport 2350 (M) and 3450 Lumens (L). While the Hue Being is claimed to have 2500 Lumens, already the Infuse M is perceivably brighter than the Being!
Speaking of brightness, the Infuse also has a really low brightness compared to the Being. Considering this, it will be able to act as a night light in your household, either by being controlled by a sensor, or as being on the whole time.

For living environments, you probably want the Infuse, available in white and black:
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Infuse M
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Infuse L

For humid environments, you might prefer the water proof Xamento, available in white and black:
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Xamento M
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Xamento L

Hue Ensis

This is the currently brightest Hue light you can get. It’s available in black or white. With 6000 lumens at 4000 Kelvin (Moonlight) it will light up everything below and above it! It is a split light, which distributes its light to the bottom and to the top, which will usually be your ceiling. Both parts can be controlled separately, which allows it to create some stunning lighting effects!
Its build quality is high, though some users complain about the rope jams breaking apart. From our experience, you just need to be a bit careful. Do not try to stress the screws. Only screw as far as it needs for proper holding.

Two things we would criticize though: It’s really a pain to get this light onto the ceiling! It needs quite some patience and nerves to get this done. Another thing is that the transformers tend to whistle at certain settings, e.g. at the brightest 4000 Kelvins. Since it’s at the ceiling and there’s a housing around it, it’s barely audible. But for a light for this price, this is not really acceptable.

If you can live with these things though, this is really a bright light! While it’s advertised for the use above dining tables, it also makes the perfect light for your office!

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Ensis pendant lamp white
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Ensis pendant lamp black

 

Hue Play Lightbar

The Hue Play should make your life easier when it comes to light up the surroundings of your TV or monitor. Hue play is essentially a light bar measuring around 25×4.5 centimetres. It has a high light output of 530 Lumens – which is a bit less than the E27 lights and about the double of the Hue Go or LivingColors – it’s certainly enough to support even bright pictures!

They are easy to set up – they have a rubber backside in a triangle shape, which allows you to put them on a surface pointing towards your wall. They include a stand, you you can also stand them vertically, and with a an adhesive dual side sticker, which allows you to attach them directly on your monitor or TV, either pointing sideways or directly towards your wall.

You can either have a single light, or two of them – both come with one power supply, which supports up to 3 bars. Hence you can also purchase an extension light without PSU.

As a nice extra, you also have the choice of a black or white light housing, so you can fit them to your surroundings.

Amazon: 2x Philips Hue Play Lightbar incl. PSU
Amazon: 1x Philips Hue Play Lightbar incl. PSU
Amazon: 1x Philips Hue Play Lightbar extension (no PSU)

 

Hue Smart Plug

This plug from September 2019 finally accomplishes a thing many users were missing for the Hue system: A plug that can be controlled from an app, with Hue integration. There are other offerings by Innr, Osram and Feibit, but such a one that could be controlled via HomeKit, wasn’t available, if you count out the quite rare LivingWhites plug.

This plug solves what the LivingWhites one was missing: It handles much higher currents, and integrates a button that lets you turn on and off any connected device directly. It doesn’t dim, however. But it is also possible that this doesn’t make sense any longer in these times: Filament bulbs were easy to dim, LED bulbs not any more. Before they even got into dirty water, they just skipped dimability. Good so!

What’s not so good is that, while this plug is smaller than Osram’s offering, it extrudes to the bottom (which is hard to see on the photo, but is that way), and makes it even larger where it should be small. Forget to be able to put two of these side by side in a power strip. This won’t happen.

What’s good though is that this model starts worldwide, and especially the US and UK market will likely be thankful to have an easy to get and to integratre model by their hands – which has been long overdue. Standby power is below 0.2 Watts, engaged it will take 0.9 watts, which is quite high (Innrs plug is still below 0.2 Watts).

If you don’t need HomeKit (remember, you can switch plugs via Siri shortcuts in iConnectHue!), and want a smaller footprint, don’t miss to have a look at Innrs plug.

NOTE: The Hue plug is technically considered a light, therefore searching for it means you’ll need to open iConnectHue’s light list and search it from there. We could add the search in the device list, like the Hue app, but if you look there, searching for it as a device still adds it to the light list. We find that irritating.

Verdict: Recommended
Amazon: Hue Smart Plug

Save some money by buying more:
Amazon: 2x Hue Smart Plug

 

Hue Beyond

These are possibly the most beautiful lights Philips has yet created for the Hue system. They have separated top and bottom parts, so they can light in two different colors for some really nice effects. Build quality is high, but it could be a tad higher for the price – then again, there’s nothing available that compares to them. iConnectHue presents top and bottom light modules separately, so you have direct access to them.
Note that all Beyond lamps only support limited colors of Gen 1 & Gen 2 lamps. So only lime green and no cyan colors, no deep red.

They are also available as pendant and ceiling lights. Please note that each down light of these lights consists of three light modules. The way these lights and iConnectHue work, you can access each light individually (but also need to).
Amazon: Philips Hue Beyond Pendant Lamp

Amazon US/CA: Philips Hue Beyond ceiling lamp
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Beyond ceiling lamp

Hue Being

These lights are capable of producing a color temperature of 2200 to 6500 Kelvin, which are perfect for day and night usage. You may prefer to use them in the kitchen, your bath or the corridor. The EU version also comes with a dimming switch included! (not sure about the US version). It is very bright with up to 2400 Lumens, but still has the capability to have a very low brightness (lower than standard Hue E27 / A19 lights)
That said, the highest brightness doesn’t look as full 2400 Lumens, possibly because some light is blocked by the diffusor. The build quality is not up on par with other Hue products. You may find it hard to install it (you have to care about an inner diffusor, the outer shell and the metal plate you need to screw in in the middle, as well as the thin plastic band around it), and it feels a bit more like another product being transitioned into a Hue light (which it really is). If you know this, this light may still make you happy, as its electronics work as well as all other Hue lights.
Amazon: Philips Hue Being Silver

There are also other shell materials available in the EU:
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Being in white
Amazon Europe: Philips Hue Being in black

Hue Fair

The Philips Hue Fair shares some similarities with the Hue Being, especially when it comes to its innards: They are as well capable of producing a color temperature of 2200 to 6500 Kelvin, which are perfect for day and night usage. You may prefer to use them in the kitchen, your bath or the corridor. In the EU, it also comes with a dimming switch included!
It is even brighter than the Being with up to 3000 Lumens, but still has the capability to have a very low brightness (lower than standard Hue E27 / A19 lights)
That said, it shares the criticism of the Being: The highest brightness doesn’t look as full 3000 Lumens, possibly because some light is blocked by the diffusor.
Amazon EU: Philips Hue Fair in white
Amazon EU: Philips Hue Fair in black

Amazon US/CA: Philips Hue Fair in silver (flushmount, semi-flushmount, pendant)

There are also Fair pendant lights available. Due to the strong criticism on their build quality, they are currently not recommended though.

Philips Hue Go

This is a quite versatile light, which can be used stationary as well as on the “Go”, for example in your household or for garden parties. Its batteries are okay if you want to use it for a short period of time at high brightness, up to 1-2 hours, but not much more, unfortunately. It will last a lot longer when only used as dim light. It supports the full color spectrum (as opposed to the older Hue gen 1 & 2 lights) and full color temperature:

The new version has a longer lasting battery (up to 18 hours vs. up to 3 of the old version) and is is with 520 lumens brighter than the old version with 300 lumens. Except when you really want to save some bucks we recommend to opt for the newer version.

Amazon: Philips Hue Go 2

Batteries used: Amazon: 2x LS 14500

Philips Hue Go Portable Lamp

We couldn’t test the Hue Go portable lamp yet, but we can tell you what we’ve gathered.
The light only lights up downwards, the lampshade is purely for the illusion of a lampshade light. It can be controlled locally via its button on the top, similar to the Hue Go. It has a removable grip for you to carry around. Speaking of which: it has IP54 protection, which allows you to also take it out into the rain.
The light is powered by batteries, and can be charged via its proprietary cable. It should be able to light up to 48 hours, depending on its selected brightness level – which can be up to 370 Lumens – less than then 530 of the Hue Go 2.
There are some users who have had problems with this light, and they could resolve it by resetting it: Put it on the charging station, press the top switch for at least 40 seconds, until it quickly changes through some colors.

Given the higher price, and the comparably dim brightness, this light isn’t for everyone. But if you often sit outside and/or have parties, one or more of them would surely be good to have.

Verdict: May suit your needs

Amazon: Hue Go Portable Lamp (black)
Amazon: Hue Go Portable Lamp (white)

Hue Bloom

The new Philips Hue Bloom provides a great bandwidth of colors, which now derive from the color output of the broader range of Hue lights – which also adds color temperatures! It is a perfect solution for diffused light and with 500 Lumens strong enough to deliver a high brightness when demanded – For comparison: Its predecessor could only do 120 Lumens! The fixture itself is quite light weighted, though its body is partly made of solid metal.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon: Hue Bloom

Very similar to the Hue Bloom is the Hue Iris (2nd gen. with color temperature):
Amazon: Hue Iris
Amazon Europe: 2x Hue Iris

 

Philips Living Colors

You can connect all newer Living Colors (and Whites) lights to your Hue bridge, by using the Touchlink search in iConnectHue. One advantage is, that you can use the remote with your Hue lights, too! Please note that, if your device has got an egg shaped remote, it may not work. It must be at least the 2nd generation, and for egg shaped remotes: Some will work and some won’t. They are compatible with HomeKit, but older ones may not be compatible with Hue Entertainment.
Amazon US: Philips Living Colors Iris
Amazon Europe: Living Colors Iris
Amazon UK: Philips Living Colors Iris

You may also like some older models not available any longer. You can find several of them on Ebay. Make sure they have a remote and are Gen 2. Models delivered with a round remote are surely of this generation. Gen 2 models with an oval remote may work, but this is not always sure.
Search Ebay DE: Philips Living Colors
Search Ebay US: Philips Living Colors
Search Ebay UK: Philips Living Colors

US customers please note: The light is stated as not compatible with the Hue system. Normally, you should be able to integrate it with the Touchlink search (which the Hue app doesn’t offer). If you are unsure, there is also a “Friends of Hue” model available, but it costs quite a bit more and doesn’t come with the remote:
Amazon US: Friends of Hue Iris

Almost the same information goes for the Living Colors Bloom.

Amazon EU: Living Colors Bloom (white)
Amazon EU: Living Colors Bloom (black)
Amazon EU: Living Colors Hue Bloom
Amazon US: Living Colors Hue Bloom
Amazon CA: Living Colors Hue Bloom

The Living Colors Aura does also work with your Hue system (again, the US page states it is not compatible with Hue, but it should be):
Amazon: Living Colors Aura

How to find and add them?
Make always sure you have the latest firmware installed. You should be able to find most Living Colors lights via Touchlink search. Note that older gen2 models, especially many of those with an oval remote, may not integrate into the system even if they blink. If you purchased a brand new Philips Living Colors light however, you may even be able to integrate them by their 6 digit serial number. Check our FAQ for more info & help how to add Living Colors lights.

Philips Living Whites

Of the several whites products available, the Living Whites plugs work perfectly and integrate via Touchlink search. They can dim or switch devices with up to 300 Watt (selectable via switch on the bottom). They also appear as HomeKit device, opposed to the Osram Lightify plugs. They were only sold in Europe, and you may still have luck on Ebay or Amazon to get them. They are compatible with HomeKit, but aren’t with Hue Entertainment.
Search for Living Whites Plug on Ebay
Amazon DE: Philips Living Whites plug

Also available are CFL bulbs. They had issues with older bridge firmware versions in conjunction with scenes, but this has been fixed by bridge firmware 01031131.

Philips Living Ambiance

According to a user, the Living Ambiance lights can be included, too. They appear as two lights (the white only part as well as the color part). The inclusion into the Hue system works the same as with the Living Colors lights.

Friends of Hue lights

Lights labelled “Friends of Hue” are a special breed. Essentially they also count as “3rd party light”, but with a significant difference: They are certified by Philips, hence they show up in HomeKit and they allow to be used as Hue Entertainment light (under the same restrictions as Philips’ lights – meaning they need to be a color light).
This is done by Philips providing firmware and usually controller.

Modular (Friends of Hue)

The Modular White Module works perfectly with the Hue bridge, as it comes as a part of the Friends of Hue program. Its biggest advantage is, as same as the company is named, its modularity, allowing non Hue lighting fixtures such as downlights, track spots and LED strips to be controlled by Hue.

The testing setup we received contained three parts: The Modular White Controller, a 1-10v LED driver and a Modular LED downlight. – the LED driver and Hue White Controller are each 12×2,5cm. The LED downlight is a high quality piece, what you can see and feel.

In this case, is just part of this testing setup, the controller can be easily combined with other 1-10V setups. Due to this flexibility you can make it a fixed part when building a new smart home, or you can easily combine it with an already existing 1-10V light infrastructure.

This is a really bright LED downlight! You won’t need many of them to light up your home – surely brighter than what you can get from Hue GU10 spots. If you are a friend of ambient lighting though, this particular light might not be your first choice because of its relatively high brightness at the lowest dimming state.

There is a slight high frequently buzzing when dimming below 15%, but as the driver meant to be installed behind a wall, you probably won’t hear it.

We normally wouldn’t recommend fixed temperature lights, but if you want to make an existing non-temperature 1-10 Volt light system smart, or want a really high brightness spot, or any of Modular’s other 1-10 Volt offerings, this could be your solution. In general, modular has quite an extensive selection of Hue compatible / Friends of Hue lights.

Verdict: Recommended for built-in light infastructure

More information on Modular’s web pages.

Note: The lights have been sent to us for testing by Modular. If you have any questions, Modular is happy to answer, so don’t hesitate to contact them.

 

3rd party lights, controllers and plugs

There are several alternative lights and devices of other manufacturers that can connect to the Philips Hue bridge. They are useful to cover certain usage scenarios where no Hue solution is available. They can usually be found via a normal light search and/or touchlink search with the exception of Lightify products. If we have a device not listed here, keep an eye open for “ZigBee 3.0”, which usually points to a compatible device (but also devices not mentioning it can be compatible – but it’s a little less likely).
Keep one thing in mind: Using 3rd party lights means they are not available to HomeKit (and hence not Siri, but they work with Siri shortcuts), and not available for Hue Entertainment, if they are not part of the “Friends of Hue” program by Philips. This does not apply to the voice commands of the iConnectHue Apple Watch app and Siri Shortcuts though – it also supports lights by other manufacturers. Also, these lights can be used with switches and sensors by Philips.
From what it looks like, Philips doesn’t add such HomeKit compatibility to 3rd party lights at the moment. This can be both to support their own lights and a restriction set by Apple, which requires all HomeKit compatible devices to be certified. There’s a possible workaround, a project named Homebridge. Using this, you can make multiple devices HomeKit compatible. You could, for example, install it on a Raspberry Pi. Also, there are “Friends of Hue” lights expected, and these should be HomeKit and Hue Entertainment compatible, since they employ firmware made and tested by Philips.
3rd party bulbs cannot update their firmware via the Hue bridge. You will need the bridge of the respective device producer.
It’s important to note that animations with 3rd party bulbs are allowed but dynamic scenes not.

Innr

Innr offers lights that seem offer a high compatibility with the Hue system. They actually produce their own bridges, but you can connect their lights to your Hue system, too. They also advertise this – considering they have been founded by former Philips employees, this may come as no surprise.
Why would you purchase them? If you can trade in missing HomeKit compatibility for a lower price tag, they may be for you. The color lights are around the price of Philips’ color temperature only lights. Also, Innr offers a wider range of lights – in some form factors Philips simply doesn’t have – and are worth a look.
Innr’s products are now available worldwide.

To connect any of these lights, you have to be already in search mode. After being in that mode, connect the light to a power source (or unplug and plug them again).

Innr E27 / B22

Their build quality is about on par with Hue lights, as is the color accuracy. Color transitions work quite well with only one exception: If you transition from orange to pink or vice versa, they will shortly cycle through the whole color spectrum (iConnectHue has a workaround for this, so you may never see it). iConnectHue’s animations seem to work well with them. Their white brightness has got a different peak than the Hue 2nd and 3rd generation lights, at around 2700 Kelvin of a traditional light bulb. You may prefer this – that’s a point where the Hues are quite less bright.
There are some users who described those lights as emitting noise. From what we have heard, Innr replaces such lights without any discussion.

Verdict: Highly recommended (due to price, performance and compatibility)

Amazon Europe: Innr E27 RGBW light
Amazon Europe: 2x Innr E27 RGBW light
Amazon UK: Innr B22 RGBW light
Amazon UK: 2x Innr E27 RGBW light

The color temperature lights have been updated to support a range of 2200 to 5000 Kelvin – which is now enough to simulate near-daylight (around 5300-5900 Kelvin, the Hue lights can go up to 6500 Kelvin). They have not been tested yet, but considering the results with other lights of this producer, they will likely work without any problems.

Verdict: Recommended – bargain

Amazon Europe: 2x Innr E27 color temperature light
Amazon UK: Innr B22 color temperature light

There are also fixed white lights (not yet tested):
Amazon Europe: 3x Innr E27 fixed white light
Amazon UK: 2x Innr B22 fixed white light

Innr E14

A fairly new member of the Innr family is the Innr E14 candle.
The color temperature light has a range of 2200-5000 Kelvin or has a fixed color temperature of 2700 Kelvin, both types are dimmable. With a size of 11 cm and a diameter of 3.8 cm, it’s about 1 mm thinner and 7 mm shorter than Philips’ offerings. It seems to work and integrate well into the Hue system, and the price is reasonable.
The newest member as of 2019 is the Innr E14 color. It keeps the smaller size, adds a wider color temperature range of 1800-6500 Kelvin and also seems to work pretty well in color mode, without any hiccups when it comes to transitions or animations.

The white only light can be an interesting bulb if you are in need for a slightly smaller E14 bulb or just need a dimmable bulb. It’s not recommended for places you often are – for this purpose, consider at least color temperature adjustable bulbs.
The color light is still quite cheap, hence is a good alternative for Hue lights when you don’t need HomeKit or Hue Entertainment capabilites.

All lights are also available in dual-packs, which reduce the price again by around 20%.
Amazon Europe: 1x Innr E14 extended color light
Amazon Europe: 2x Innr E14 extended color light

Amazon Europe: 2x Innr E14 color temperature light (2200-5000 K)
Amazon Europe: 2x Innr E14 fixed white light

Verdict: Recommended – bargain

Innr GU10 color

The Innr GU10 Extended color light is remarkable for its temperature range of 1800-6500K. It displays all colours, though colour transitions are partially stuttering.
Compared to the original by Philips the Innr version is with 6,4 cm a bit longer, but still rather small. Regarding durability, the Innr wins with 25000h (Philips GU10 only lasts 15000h). If you like very ambient light you will be satisfied with the Innr as it provides a low-ish brightness.
The Innr GU10 seems to be not as bright as the Philips version. And also the colour mix appears not as sophisticated due you can sometimes see spots of single mix-regarding LEDs when illuminating an object or wall.
For almost half the price than the Philips the Innr GU10 Color is a good alternative depending on your needs, if you mostly want to use white light and colours are secondary.

Verdict: Bargain

Amazon Europe: 2x Innr GU10 color

Innr GU10

The GU10 lights either offer a color temperature setting of 2200-5000 Kelvin or a fixed 2700 Kelvin temperature (conventional light bulb temperature). You will get a decent quality GU10 dimmable light, which is actually brighter than Philips’ offerings (Innr: 350 Lumens vs. Philips with 250 – for both temperature and color GU10 lights), and this for quite a nice amount less money per light.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon Europe: 2x Innr GU10 color temperature light (2200-5000K)
Amazon Europe: 4x Innr GU10 color temperature light (2200-5000K)

Amazon Europe: 2x Innr GU10 2700 K dimmable light
Amazon Europe: 4x Innr GU10 2700 K dimmable light

Innr plug SP 120 (Euro plug) / SP 222 (UK plug) / SP 224 (US plug)

The Innr SP 120 is probably a dream come true: It’s very small, just a bit larger than an Euro plug, it comes with an on/off switch and indication light (on: blue, off: red), and it integrates flawlessly into the Hue system. It also has a nice price tag. It can’t, however, dim devices.

Generally Innr devices have shown to be pretty compatible with the Hue system, while the Osram plug surely has some small flaws. Its power usage is outstanding: It’s below the 0.1 Watt threshold of the measuring device – independent if it’s on or off.

From the current standpoint, the plug integrates without issues into a Hue system and turns on and off as expected, and quite fast. It is reachable all the time, meaning it doesn’t exhibit the reachability issues Osram plugs show up.
It is capable of pushing through 10 amps (or 13, in the UK version), which should be more than enough for most tasks.

One weird thing we have seen just once yet in about half a year of usage is that they once didn’t switch, and when the on/off button was pressed, they turned on and right after release off again. Solution: Unplug it and plug it in again, or turn it on via the app or any Hue switch.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon Europe: Innr plug SP 120

For Europe there are newer models available (not yet tested):
Amazon Europe: Innr plug SP 220
Amazon Europe: 2x Innr plug SP 220

Amazon UK: Innr SP 222
Amazon US/CA: Innr plug SP 224

Innr Filament bulbs

Innr brought these bulbs to market in July 2019, they imitate the looks of a traditional light bulb by putting together a lot of LEDs behind each other in a stripe that looks similar to a filament. Such bulbs have been available before, but none yet which also integrate ZigBee electronics in the socket! The electronics have been fit in an enlarged socket, which measures a little less than 2 cm.
The bulbs are available in two variations: A vintage one that glows at 2200 Kelvins with up to 350 lumens, and a normal one with 2700 Kelvins and up to 806 lumes.

Both bulbs look beautiful, and they both serve different use cases. Contrary to traditional bulbs, when you dim an LED bulb, its color temperature will stay the same. Traditional bulbs get warmer the less bright they are, but the 2700 Kelvin of a lowly dimmed LED bulb may look a bit unpleasant. This is why Innr has two bulbs available: In case you usually want bright light, the normal one should do it for you. If you want ambient lighting, the vintage one is the better solution! It more faithfully represents a dimmed bulb, despite its vintage look (the glass has been colorized).

We normally wouldn’t recommend fixed temperature lights, but if you want filament bulbs, there is no other solution than this, and with two available bulbs for different use cases, Innr solves the color temperature issues for many situations. Their price is affordable and even lower when purchased in a two-pack.
Verdict: Recommended

Amazon Europe: 2x Innr E27 vintage filament bulb RF 263 (2200 Kelvin)
Amazon UK: 2x Innr B22 vintage filament bulb RF 263-2 (2200 Kelvin)
Amazon Europe: Innr E27 filament bulb RF 265 (2700 Kelvin)
Amazon UK: 2x Innr B22 vintage filament bulb RF 265-2 (2700 Kelvin)

The vintage version is also available as Globe and Edison:
Amazon Europe: 2x Innr E27 vintage filament globe RF 263 (2200 Kelvin)
Amazon Europe: 2x Innr E27 vintage filament edison RF 263 (2200 Kelvin)

Note: The shots have been taken at their lowest possible brightness to show you the filament, which is hard to capture at higher luminosity levels. The lights have been sent to us for testing by Innr.

Innr Lightstrip FL 130 C

The 4 metre long flexible color LED strip works perfect with the hue bridge. With 30 bright and white LEDs per meter, the Innr Flex Light provides a good illumination.

The individual LEDs are every 3.33 centimetres within the stripe, which is more dense than the Philips Hue Lightstrip +, and hence will look a bit better when being used with a diffusor.

The maximum brightness of 1000 lumens is slightly lower than the LightStrip Plus from Philips which has a maximum of 1600 lumens – that said, if length is what you’re all about, then the FL 130 C will serve you well: It’s 4 metres long and can be cut every 10 centimetres – which is much better than the Hue Lightstrips’ 33 centimetres.

There are two 2 metre cables to connect each piece with the controller and a 4 metre cable to connect the power adapter.

iConnectHue’s animations seem to work well with them.

The power adapter of the Innr Flex Strip is working noiseless, which may be a delight for some Lightstrip+ users as well.
Verdict: Recommended

Amazon Europe: Innr lightstrip FL 130 C

Innr Lightstrip FL 140 C

The successor to the FL 130 C comes with twice as much LEDs per meter (60/m) and offers a higher brightness. In comparison to the Hue Lightstrip+ we still measured less than half the brightness at 2700K.
It works perfectly with the bridge and all our functions such as scenes, animations, timers, etc. The FL 140 C is well manufactured and its colors look nicely intense. Since it offers no color temperature LEDs, color temperature gets translated which leads to less brightness and an inadequacy of the CRI. Probably to the density of the LEDs it can now be split only every 16,6 cm, which is still better Hue Lightstrips’ 33 cm.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon Europe: Innr lightstrip FL 140 C

Innr PL 115

With the PL 115 Innr offers a fine and well working controller plus downlights package. The handy controller manages scenes and transition times perfectly. Its standby power consumption is low (0,2W @ 233 V) and we couldn’t perceive any noise, no matter the brightness.
The pucks (as Innr calles them) produce a warm light and can be set to a very low brightness. Each of the three lights must be connected directly to the controller, which is arguable in terms of necessity and practicality and up to 5 lights can be connected in total. We really liked, that the shell of these downlights is made of metal and therefore very solid.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: Innr PL 115

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Dresden Elektronik / Phoscon

Besides the Hue lights, iConnectHue also supports Dresden Elektronik ballasts. They have a pretty high software quality and integrate perfectly in the Hue system. Compared to other ballast offerings, they get constant firmware updates, which can be updated with their bridge.

Dresden Elektronik FLS-PP RGBW ballast

Due to the high power support (up to 24V, 6A – 144 Watts! – power supply is up to you), you can connect this controller to very bright and long strips. Since there are several RGB(W) type LED lights available, you are not limited to light strips but can essentially use every kind of RGB(W) LED light that fits into its power envelope. Their firmware can be updated by the manufacturer and also by their bridge.

Verdict: Highly recommended (due to compatibility, performance and regular updates /w separate bridge)

Do you want to use RGB or RGBW stripes? Here’s what you’ll need:
Amazon EU: Dresden Elektronik FLS-PP lp

We can recommend this RGBW light strip in combination. It has a silicon top (you can also choose your top) can be expanded, is easy to connect to the controller and has very dense packed LEDs (the white LED is integrated with the RGB led):
Amazon EU: BTF-LIGHTING 5M 5050 RGBW strip

PSU for the 12v strip recommended above (24 Volts and other wattages selectable on page):
Amazon: Meanwell 12 Volts 100 Watts LED PSU

If you want everything in a set, there are, depending on where you are, up to two solutions available:
Amazon EU: Dresden Elektronik RGB 5 metres stripe set
Amazon EU: Dresden Elektronik CT 5 metres stripe set

You are not limited to stripes. You can control many RGB(W) capable lights, as long as they have electronics to limit their initial start power usage. These have been proven to work:
Amazon DE: Synergy 21 ARGOS outdoor floor spot (you can actually add up to 100 to one FLS-PP!)
These should work, too:
Amazon DE: Set of 6 floor spots

Dresden Elektronik FLS-CT White/Temperature ballast

The FLS-CT is for white and color temperature stripes. They appear as color temperature lights in iConnectHue.

Verdict: Highly recommended (due to compatibility, performance and regular updates /w separate bridge)

Here’s the device:
Amazon: Dresden Elektronik Phoscon FLS-CT

The best choice is a color temperature strip. This one uses 24 Volts and is extremely bright – it can replace neon lights, e.g. for workspaces:
Amazon: LTRGBW/LEDENET Super Bright 2800K-7000K DC 24V 600 LEDs 5 Metre

Fitting PSU for the 24 Volt strips above (12V and other wattage versions selectable on the same page):
Amazon: Meanwell 24 Volts 100 Watts/60 Watts LED PSU

Ever thought you could control UV / black lights with Hue? Well, just combine it with a black light strip! Both recommended strips are more powerful than average UV strips. From our experience, only these are bright enough to be comparable to UV CFL bulbs:
Amazon: 5 Metre UV/Black Light Strip (with PSU for US/CA)

The light fixtures page has recommendations for fitting channels.

If you don’t need color temperature, try these inexpensive white strips:
Amazon Europe: 5 metre white strip including PSU
Amazon US/CA: 5 metre white strip including PSU

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Calex

Calex GU10 Spot RGB + WW (2700 K)

The Dutch manufacturer Calex produced a solid GU10 RGB Spot, which connects and works well with the bridge. It succeeded to manage Scenes and Animations perfectly and to handle even the shortest transition times.
Unfortunately we couldn’t help but recognize some bumpy color transitions at single transition spots, but if you’re a friend of single colors the Calex GU10 Spot can be a good bargain for you.
A special property of this lamp is its color temperature. Though it is fixed at 2700 K, the spot provides a comfortable warm light.

Verdict: May fit your needs

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

 

Cree

These lights connect without issues to the Hue bridge.
They come with a 2700 (traditional light bulb) or 5000 (daylight) Kelvin color temperature. Keep in mind though that you may not like these lights dimmed. Incadescent bulbs get warmer (lower color temperature) the more you dim them, and iConnectHue Pro can replicate this behaviour. These will not be able to do this.
That said, they have a quite fantastic price, and may be a good choice for areas where you don’t need much more but want a connected light. In a 6-pack, they get even cheaper per bulb.

Amazon US: Cree connected A19 bulb 2700 Kelvin
Amazon US: Cree connected A19 bulb 5000 Kelvin

Amazon CA: Cree connected A19 bulb 2700 Kelvin

Verdict: Super cheap – may fit your usecase

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

 

ERIA / Trust

It seems that ERIA and Trust distribute the same products, just by a different name. Trust is relatively new to Zigbee Lights with starting in 2017. Nonetheless they have several lights that are compatible to the Hue bridge and can be added.

Trust Smart Home GU10 LED Spot

We have tested the GU 10 light, which looks suspiciously similar to Philips’ old GU 10 color offering – going so far as it even is only capable of the limited color range of Philips’ old GU 10 lights – which is a shame. It seems to behave well on the system when using manual color controls. The light does not remember its startup color, but the startup color is warm with a slightly pink tint – which you may not like.
They are only a little bit cheaper than Philips’ offerings, and the price alone may not justify losing HomeKit compatibility. It looks as Trust is currently mainly interested in building up around its own bridge.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon Europe: Trust Smart Home GU10 LED Spot

ERIA A19 Color Temperatur Light/ ERIA Extended Color Light

The ERIA Color Temperatur Light as well as the Extended Color Light work fine with the bridge.
As they come as a very affordable alternative they work quite fine for the most purposes. Testing a more sophisticated usage though, we saw them struggling with the same issue. To be specific: If receiving a signal including both a color temperature and a brightness change, they couldn’t process both changes at once when turned off before. Only after a second press we got the demanded result. This is a common problem with 3rd party lights which could be annoying at some point, especially if you like to use candescent light mode by default.
Checking out the ERIA Color Temperature Light more accurately we detected some more issues. There is an initial stuttering when making a change in a low color temperature range. Also, if you are a friend of ambient light, you might not be satisfied with this one due to the quite bright appearance at the lowest brightness.
Looking into the ERIA Extended Color Light’s properties we recognized the same issues as are coming with its color temperature equivalent, but also some stuttering during color transitions.
Both lamps showed with 0,5W at 116V a relatively high standby power.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon: ERIA E27/A19 Color Temperature Light
Amazon US: ERIA A19 Extended Color Light

See the FAQ on how to reset to find them again

 

Feibit

This Chinese company is relatively new to ZigBee hardware, but has been producing quite a lot of ZigBee devices already. You can see the constant change in different firmware revisions having different company identifiers like “Feibit”, “FeiBit”, “Feibit Inc. co” and even “FeeBit”.
Apart from this, the products seem to be reasonably robust and are marketed under different companies and product names like “3A”, “Nue” (even with a color gradient), “Hommie”, and even a product of the Netherland company “Calex” seem to have used Feibit software, since the specific firmware version “1000-0001” is also to be found in several Feibit related products.

Feibit plug

This plug is quite new to the market, and it’s the first plug system to support the UK plug as well! It seems to be working well and does that at a reasonable price.
The only thing we would criticize is that it identifies itself as “On/Off light” to apps, while it should, in fact, identify as “On/Off plug”, which it actually is.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon UK: Feibit UK plug

Additional note: We’ve received a free sample of the UK plug by Ajaxonline, which we have tested here. We assume their models on Amazon’s shop to perform as well.

Ajax Online LED Strip / Controller (Feibit firmware) (UK only)

We received a strip by Ajax Online Ltd. for testing, which is looks to be a promising 3rd party controller. For once, it combines RGB with warmwhite+coldwhite instead being just fixed to one white tone. On the other hand, LEDs have a spacing of about 34mm instead of the Lightstrip+ 56mm – this is not as dense as other strips, but will reduce the impression of a non-continuous lighting when compared to Philips’ model.
It is not quite as bright as the Lightstrip+, probably 2/3rds – the producer doesn’t deliver actual numbers. What is the same with all Feibit controlled products is that colors do not use the white LEDs to mix less saturated tones. This means less saturated colors are less bright than with a Hue strip, but saturated colors have about the same brightness.
We’ve measured color temperatures and found a range of about 2200-6400 Kelvins, the packaging advertises 2200-6500 Kelvins, the API tells that it’s 2700-6500 Kelvins. The strip seems to be quite accurate at 4000 Kelvin and above, while being less accurate at the setting of 2700 Kelvins, where it already reached as low as 2200 Kelvins – this might be because the firmware thinks it has 2700 K WW LEDs, so it only powers on the warmwhite LEDs. Animations are smooth.

Standby power is quite high with 1.7 Watts, while the PSU itself already taking about 0.8 Watts. So efficiency could be improved slightly by using a different PSU.

Especially for the longer version with 5.2 metres, this a product with a compelling price point. It can be extended with the same PSU to up to 10 metres.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon UK: Ajax Online LED strip 5.2 metres
Amazon UK: Ajax Online LED strip controller, PSU only

Ajax Extended Color Light E26/E27

The Ajax Extended Color Light connects easily with the bridge and works the way it’s supposed to. Color transitions come smoothly, Animations work fine as long as the fade time is higher than 2 seconds and the colors look nice.
The bulb itself appears not to be manufactured in particularly high quality, which we could tell by the illuminated thick glue drops between glass and housing, but this seems neglectable.
If you are sensitive regarding high audio frequencies, you might be bothered by the rather loud whining the controller makes especially at standby – but if not and you don’t need color temperature below 2700K this is a real bargain.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: Ajax Extended Color Light

Hommie E27 (Feibit firmware)

This is an alternative to the other Hue compatible lights, which acts quite well in terms of compatibility. It handles color transitions perfectly, animations, however, sometimes stutter.
While it is highly recommended by several users, we have something to really complain about: We’ve measured a color temperature range from 3800 to 8150 Kelvins (measured with a Spyder 5) instead of the advertised 2200 to 6500 Kelvins. This light is FAR off and will never have the same color temperature of any other light in the room that behaves API conform. It will also never give you the warm color temperatures of an incandescent light, which is at about 2700 Kelvins. You probably don’t want to use this light for places where you often are.
At 700 lumens, it is also a bit less bright than lights of most other manufacturers (806 lumens usually). Colors though are vivid and bright. One other thing we need to criticize is that the light we had had no stable brightness. It always flickers slightly, which can be annoying.

All in all, this might be a cheap alternative to Hue lights (less than a Hue Ambiance light), but we are not so impressed. Its firmware is one of the better ones, but the hardware is lacking.

Verdict: Not recommended

Amazon EU: Hommie E27

3A/Nue downlight (Feibit firmware)

An interesting combination comes in form of this down light. It combines a PSU and LED driver in one package, and adds a powerful downlight to it. It can be used e.g. in the kitchen, work places or for apartments with recessed downlight cutouts.

Animations, color transitions and reactions to switches are perfect. Colors are, compared to many other lights, really bright!

The only thing we can complain about is a slight whining coming from the PSU. It gets less the more white and brighter the light gets.
Also it doesn’t handle color temperatures well. We measured an actual color temperature range of around 2250-6280 Kelvin, which tends to get more off the lower the temperature gets.
When it’s at low brightness, where it tends to lose its accuracy (color temperatures are even more off below 30% lightness) and stability (slight flickering @ 6500 Kelvin and brightness below 5%). Expect these lights to mostly not match color temperatures of properly behaving devices.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon EU: 3A RGBW downlight

3A Smart Light Switch – 2 Gang

The 3A 2-Gang Switch made a good impression optically as well as functionally. It was easy to connect and controlled our non-smart bulb flawlessly. When touching a button you can hear a click sound and the light goes on immediately. Also the blue button led turns red, which makes sense on one hand because the bulb is “lit”, on the other hand it might be confusing, due to the common use of a red led to signal a standby state.
However, the switch does what it’s supposed to and can be controlled by scenes, so we gladly give it a “recommended”.

Verdict: Recommended

3A/Nue On/Off Controller (HGZB-01A)

The Nue HGZB-01A works fine with the Hue system. It does what it’s supposed to do, connects quickly with the bridge and can be controlled by scenes. There is a well perceptible clicking noise when the controller switches its state. We recognized a latency of about one second when turning it off, which can be irritating. The device itself is relatively small and is well equipped with a state LED and an easy to reach toggle button.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: Nue/ 3A HGZB-01A On/Off Controller

3A RGB Strip Light Controller

The 3A RGB Controller comes in a very handy size and its standby power is in comparison to other similar controllers very low (0,5 W @ 227 V). It works well with the bridge and with Scenes and turns your light strip on and off smoothly. Also it is able to process smooth color transitions and Animations, though sometimes single colors got the wrong speed.
Since it has no ability to control color temperature, it translates these commands to RGB. We recognized some color instability when changing the brightness.

Verdict: May fit your needs.

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

 

GE Link (US/CA)

The GE link bulbs are only available in the US, integrate via normal search into the system and appear as dimmable light. The dimming works flawless. They are also found via Touchlink search (in case you moved them to another bridge). Light distribution is a bit uneven to the sides, so you may prefer to use them in lamps with shades.

Verdict: Recommended – bargain

Get them here:
Amazon US: GE Link Wireless A19 Bulb (60 Watt eq.)
Amazon US: GE Link Wireless BR30 Bulb (65 Watt eq.)
Amazon US: GE Link Wireless PAR38 Bulb (90 Wat eq.)

Amazon CA: GE Link Wireless A19 Bulb (60 Watt eq.)
Amazon CA: GE Link Wireless PAR38 Bulb (90 Watt eq.)

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

 

Gledopto

This Chinese manufacturer comes up with more and more cheap lights and small controllers that are compatible with the Hue system.
Their controllers have a nice trick upon their sleeves: They plug into a normal low voltage PSU with round power plug – of course you can still wire them, if you want to.

Gledopto 5 channel RGB+CCT lightstrip controller

This is possibly the only 3rd party controller available that can handle color temperature AND RGB channels at once. Color transitions, both with animations as well as with normal color changes work well, BUT: The controller is not able to manage brightness fade durations such as used in Animations or (sleep-) timers, it just fades immediately with always the same duration.
We also found an issue with the “Lights blink when selected” function. When selecting the light and it is off, it stays on for no reason. So if you want to use these controllers, we recommend to disable the “blink” function in the general settings.
You may experience a slight whining noises depending on color and brightness, as it is common with most led controllers. When turning it off, it does a very smooth fade down. It will work, but not as well as other controllers may work.

As with the Dresden Elektronik RGBW controller, this controller presents the color temperature part and RGB part of the strip as two separate lights!

NOTE: We have heard that some of these controllers have issues with scenes that turn them off or with turning on/off the devices directly. Probably this is due to a firmware issue and hence you should make sure you’ll get a controller with the newest firmware version. If you already have one, please contact your supplier for an update. (We tested with firmware version 2.0.0)

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon Europe: 5 channel RGB CCT lightstrip controller

 

Gledopto RGB+CCT LED Controller PRO

Gledopto PRO, a new product to fix software issues? Not just, there is a little more to it:
The biggest change is obviously the switch from ZLL to Zigbee 3.0. Also improvements in matters of Zigbee range and mesh were made along with speeding up power-on after power loss. Besides the standby power consumption with the Pro version is down to 1,1 W, well done! Though, the most important fix is probably the handling of transition times. The controller is now fit to be used for instant timers and Animations. It has trouble with transitions below 2 seconds, but that is actually a good result for a 3rd party device.
Furthermore the Gledopto Pro can be run with up to 54 V PSUs which increases the variety of lights it is able to control, such as kitchen downlights etc.
All in all I was almost down to a recommendation, when I noticed a big bummer. The Gledopto LED Controller Pro didn’t use the last color it had before switch-off (not power-off). It seemed to set it for a second but switched instantly to a standard color. When you only use Scenes, Magic Scenes or Animations for switch-on that might not bother you, but still, why? So the Gledopto Pro is rather not this professional, but it’s much better than its non-pro version, also bargain and may fit your needs.

Verdict: Bargain, may fit your needs

Amazon: Gledopto RGB CCT LED Controller PRO

Gledopto 4 channel RGBW lightstrip controller

The Gledopto RGBW LED Controller was found quickly when turning it on and search for it immediately. In comparison with the other Gledopto controllers we tested, it turned out to be the best in matters of functionality. It works well with Scenes, Magic Scenes and even Animations.
We also found an issue with the “Lights blink when selected” function. When selecting the light and it is off, it stays on for no reason. So if you want to use these controllers, we recommend to disable the “blink” function in the general settings.
Other chinks we recognised was the high power consumption at full white brightness with 23,3 W. Besides when sliding the brightness slider to “Off”, the lightstrip flares up one time before fading all the way down. Also you might hear some slight whining noises at some settings, as it is common with most LED controllers.

NOTE: We have heard that some of these controllers have issues with scenes that turn them off or with turning on/off the devices directly. Probably this is due to a firmware issue and hence you should make sure you’ll get a controller with the newest firmware version. If you already have one, please contact your supplier for an update. (We tested with firmware version 2.0.0)

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon: Gledopto 4 Channel RGBW Lightstrip Controller

 

Gledopto 2 channel WW/CW color temperature lightstrip controller

It integrates well and works, except that it exhibits slight whining noises at some settings. Color temperature and brightness transitions are perfect, BUT: The controller is not able to manage brightness fade durations such as used in Animations or (sleep-) timers, it just fades immediately with always the same duration.
We also found an issue with the “Lights blink when selected” function. When selecting the light and it is off, it stays on for no reason. So if you want to use these controllers, we recommend to disable the “blink” function in the general settings.

NOTE: We have heard that some of these controllers have issues with scenes that turn them off or with turning on/off the devices directly. Probably this is due to a firmware issue and hence you should make sure you’ll get a controller with the newest firmware version. If you already have one, please contact your supplier for an update. (We tested with firmware version 1.0.7)

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon: Gledopto 2 Channel Color Temperature Lightstrip Controller

 

Gledopto dimmer lightstrip controller

The Gledopto dimmer LED Controller integrates well and might fit your needs, if you just want your white lightstrips to be dimmed sometimes. Turning it on, the lightstrip quickly fades in, turning it off, it fades out very smoothly. This is though the only fading time the controller seems to be able to process. Using it for an Animations or for (sleep-) timers doesn’t work the way it should, it just fades immediately with always the same duration. Fading it manually works fine and you can create a nice faint light at the lowest brightness.
We also found an issue with the “Lights blink when selected” function. When selecting the light and it is off, it stays on for no reason. So if you want to use these controllers, we recommend to disable the “blink” function in the general settings.
At some dimming points you might hear slight whining noises, as it is common with most LED controllers.

NOTE: We have heard that some of these controllers have issues with scenes that turn them off or with turning on/off the devices directly. Probably this is due to a firmware issue and hence you should make sure you’ll get a controller with the newest firmware version. If you already have one, please contact your supplier for an update. (We tested with firmware version 1.0.8)

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon: Gledopto Dimmer Lightstrip Controller

 

Gledopto E26 / 27 12 Watts

These heavy and slightly bulky lights bring quite some power to you: They are rated at around 1000 Lumens, which is what a 75-100 Watts light bulb can put out. Actually it’s not too much more than a Hue E27, which is rated at 806 lumens peak.

What we found is that less saturated colors are not as bright as with Hue bulbs, as the white LEDs are not used to add to the whiter shades in color mode. For such a high rated bulbs, we think that colors are actually too dim compared to its color temperature whites.
Its min-brightness is quite bright. Color transitions are partially stuttering, it has problems with setting color and brightness at once, so you might need to press switches twice for them (the same as with the Ikea lights). Animations run smooth though, but it gets the speed of color-only animations wrong.
It has an implementation issue with color temperatures, which seems to apply to all Gledopto lights, where those have a wrong scale: When set a temperature of 2000 Kelvin, the lowest Hue color light setting, they actually use their lowest setting – 2700 Kelvin. But when set to actual 2700 Kelvin, the lights are well over 3300 Kelvin (measured with datacolor Spyder 5). That means when you set a color temperature, this light will almost always have a different color temperature than any other correct working light in your room!

Standby power is at 1.2 Watts @ 227 Volts, which is quite high!
All in all it’s a compromise as all Gledopto lights. It is quite cheap for its output, but you probably want to use it preferably for color temperatures, not for colors.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon: Gledopto E27 12 Watts

Gledopto GU 10

This GU 10 light operates at 100-240 Volts an
d hence works worldwide. It has a rated peak brightness of 300-350 lumens, about the same as the Hue HU 10 lights. The color temperature range is limited with 2700-6500 Kelvin. What’s good about it is the almost “standard” GU 10 size (it’s a bit longer), which should make it fit into most existing housings.
What we found is that less saturated colors are not as bright as with Hue bulbs, as the white LEDs are not used to add to the whiter shades in color mode. Contrary to Hue gen 1/2 GU 10 lights though, green tones are fully saturated.
Its min-brightness is lowish, but not low. Color transitions are partially stuttering, it has problems with setting color and brightness at once, so you might need to press switches twice for them (the same as with the Ikea lights). Animations run smooth though, but it gets the speed of color-only animations wrong.
It has an implementation issue with color temperatures, where those have a wrong scale: When set a temperature of 2000 Kelvin, the lowest Hue color light setting, they actually use their lowest setting – 2700 Kelvin. But when set to actual 2700 Kelvin, the lights are well over 3300 Kelvin (measured with datacolor Spyder 5). That means when you set a color temperature, this light will almost always have a different color temperature than any other correct working light in your room!

Standby power is at 0.7 Watts @ 227 Volts, which is a bit more than Hue lights (usually 0.3 Watts).
All in all it’s a compromise. You might want to use them if Hue color GU 10 lights are too large or too expensive.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon Europe: Gledopto GU 10

Gledopto GU5.3 Spot RGB CCT MR16

The Gledopto GU5.3 spot connects well with the bridge and is able to follow almost all the commands given by iConnectHue, eventually. There is a latency of about 1 second in comparison to a Hue light regarding scene and switch actions. When using fast running Animations (transition times <4sec) the Gledopto spot had trouble to keep up and skipped some steps. We also noticed the light can’t blink – when selected or given a blink command, it just turns on or off indefinitely.
What we really like about it, is its rather low color temperature and brightness ability, which makes it a good choice for ambient light. Its colors on the other hand seem more like a gimmick. There are only two leds responsible for colored light. The reflectors can’t work properly and you end up with an unbalanced light shadowed by unused reflector dots.
With 3.8 Watts at peak power consumption it is below the 4 W it says on the packing – however, 0.7 W standby power consumption is quite high.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon: Gledopto GU5.3 Spot RGB CCT MR16

Gledopto E14 / E12

Gledopto released color E14 lights that actually smaller than Hue E14 lights. While the producer rates them at 2000 Lumens, we measured them to be almost as bright at 2700 Kelvin (which you have to set this light for to 2000 Kelvins) as Hue E14 lights (which are rated at 470 Lumens at 4000 K, where they are the brightest, and about 30% brighter there than the Gledopto one.

What we found is that less saturated colors are not as bright as with Hue bulbs, as the white LEDs are not used to add to the whiter shades in color mode.
Its min-brightness is quite bright. Color transitions are partially stuttering, it has problems with setting color and brightness at once, so you might need to press switches twice for them (the same as with the Ikea lights). Animations run smooth though, but it gets the speed of color-only animations wrong.
It has an implementation issue with color temperatures, which seems to apply to all Gledopto lights, where those have a wrong scale: When set a temperature of 2000 Kelvin, the lowest Hue color light setting, they actually use their lowest setting – 2700 Kelvin. But when set to actual 2700 Kelvin, the lights are well over 3300 Kelvin (measured with datacolor Spyder 5). That means when you set a color temperature, this light will almost always have a different color temperature than any other correct working light in your room!

Standby power is less than 0.3 Watts @ 227 Volts, which is quite good.
All in all it’s a compromise as all Gledopto lights. They are about a centimeter smaller and less thick than Hue E14 lights, but you buy this with a lot of issues. They may fit if Hue E14 lights, well, do not fit.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon Europe: Gledopto E14

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Icasa

Icasa E27 Filament CT Light

The Icasa filament bulb is easy to connect and works perfectly with the bridge. It responds well and in time to all tasks such as Scenes, Animations, switch actions and Timers. We couldn’t detect any issues with transition times or color transitions and the hidden controller is a nice gimmick.
The lowest color temperature possible (2200K) is ok for a filament bulb, but we would have wished for a lower brightness. Also we recognized that the light is slightly flickering, which might be irritating if you’re eyes are sensitive in that matter.
When comparing, there is a similarity to the filament bulbs of Oeeone, Shyne and Paulmann. In fact, they seem identical in construction, but the Icasa is the cheapest at the moment and unlike the others provides iConnectHue with a model ID for correct identification.

Verdict: Bargain, may fit your needs

Amazon EU: Icasa E27 Filament CT Light

Icasa Spiral Filament E27

We really looked forward to testing this vintage looking bulb, since it’s one of a few that offers a color temperature of 1800 Kelvin. The connection of the Icasa Filament was no problem and it passed all functionality tests.
For a comfortable lighting the warmth of the LEDs along with the bulbs vintage finish appears to be quite satisfying. When dimming the light we experienced some slight stuttering at the lower end of brightness, but at 1% the brightness was sufficiently low for our taste.
We got reminded of a common old 40W light bulb, since shape and lumens fit in comparison and its controller is hidden. The power consumption is of course much lower, but still quite high with 6,9 W at peak and 0,4 W at standby power.
The Icasa Spiral Filament, unlike its predecessor, has no trouble with flickering. Therefore we gladly recommend this bargain.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: 2x Icasa Spiral Filament E27

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Ikea TRÅDFRI

Ikea TRÅDFRI’s latest lights are compatible with Philips Hue bridges, while some very old lights might require a firmware update.
Please note that, in order to connect a light to the Ikea bridge and update its firmware, you will need at least one remote. You can’t connect lights to it without a remote! Starter packs usually have the best price/performance ratio for this.

Saying this, it still seems to be a problem for users to include Ikea lights to the Hue system – some of them seem to need multiple searches to find a light. This is not all that may prevent you from using them: Color and color temperature lights don’t seem to be able to change color and lightness at once, which makes them problematic with the use of timers and animations, and also the Pro filament mode, where they may not come up with the proper brightness or may not be able to change their brightness.
So we really recommend to be cautios with Ikea lights – the best idea might be to try one of them before making bigger purchase decisions.

Color lights

The Ikea color lights are specified as “Color light”, not “Extended color light”, which means they can’t set color temperatures, as opposed to all Hue, Osram and Innr color bulbs. You also won’t be able to set a color and a brightness at the same time, which results that these lights may not properly come up with the correct light/color in timers, on switches and you also may not be able to change their brightness while an animation is running. These may be firmware flaws and may be resolved later.
With 600 lumens max, they are are on par with the old 1st gen Hue lights, and are quite less bright than Philips’ current and Innr’s offerings (both at around 800 Lumens).
From the current point, the color lights are NOT recommended. If you look for affordable and fully compatible color lights, please have a look at the Innr lights instead; They have a similar price tag, but are brighter and support color temperature as well.

Verdict: Not recommended

Color temperature lights

From a basic test, a color temperature light behaves well on the Hue bridge. Color temperature and brightness transitions work well. Though you won’t be able to set a color temperature and a brightness at the same time, which results that these lights may not properly come up with the correct light/temperature in timers, on switches and you also may not be able to change their brightness while an animation is running. Apart from that, they work ok with animations, but only if the fade time between steps is higher than 3 seconds.

What makes the color temperature lights interesting is that they are brighter than their Hue pendants (950-980 lumens vs. 806 Lumens for E26/E27 and 400 vs. 250 Lumens for GU10). The sometimes complex integration process, which may require a firmware update, makes them a difficult choice at the moment, though. It looks as if all newly delivered lights seem to have the newer firmware by now, but you may be out of luck and get an older charge somewhere. The possibly most secure way is to purchase them directly in an Ikea store.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Note: Apparantly Ikea stopped producing smart color temperature lights, hence we can’t offer you any links anymore.

They are also available as color temperature light panels – something no other Hue compatible product listed here has to offer. Note that these haven’t been tested yet, but I assume that Ikea has done the same firmware update treatment to them as well:
Amazon DE: Ikea TRÅDFRI Floalt light panel 30×30 cm (670 Lumens)
Amazon DE: Ikea TRÅDFRI Floalt light panel 30×90 cm (2200 Lumens)
Amazon DE: Ikea TRÅDFRI Floalt light panel 60×60 cm (2800 Lumens)

To get their firmware up to date, make sure to have an Ikea gateway as well as at least one remote or Dimmer:
Amazon US: Ikea TRÅDFRI gateway
Amazon: Ikea TRÅDFRI Remote Control

Ikea TRÅDFRI E27 filament

Ikea produced with its TRÅDFRI E27 filament a solid retro-looking dimmable light. Though we had some problems connecting it at first and had to reset the bulb multiple times to establish the link, eventually it worked fine with the bridge. The filament provides a comfortable warm light and you can use the bulb trouble-free in your animations, as long as you don’t use fade duration times below 2 seconds.
We give props to Ikea for the low power consumption of its filament light. In standby it consumes almost zero watt and at its peak only 2,7 W.
However, if you’re looking for a cozy glimmering light, this might not be your first choice due to its relatively high brightness at the lowest setting, but if you just want a warm smart bulb, you’re good to go with this one.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: Ikea TRÅDFRI E27 filament

Ikea plug (Europe)

A pretty new member of the Hue compatible devices is the Ikea plug. It seems to do its work properly, switching up to 16 Amps (3840 Watts) at 220-240 Volts. It takes almost no energy when it’s turned off, while taking around 0.8 Watts when switched on.

What is a bit complicated is its support: You will need to have a firmware of at least 2.0.022 to have it Hue compatible – if you purchase it at the moment (June of 2019), you have to expect it to have an older firmware. The firmware can be updated with an Ikea bridge, and in order to be able to connect the plug to it, you’ll need to have some kind of Ikea remote. So it’s a bit of a struggle to get there.
It doesn’t end there: You’ll have to use Touchlink to search it, and it is possible that you will need to try it multiple times until it connects.

Why would you want to purchase it? It is the cheapest plug available, and at the same time, it switches the highest amperage of all available plugs. If you want or need this, and are okay with a little update/connect drama, then this plug is for you!

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon: Ikea TRÅDFRI Plug

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Iluminize

Iluminize Dimmer ZG9101SAC-HP (Controller)

The Iluminize Dimmer works perfectly with the bridge and is capable of controlling every function it is supposed to. It turns your lights on and off smoothly and processes even the shortest transition times. It passed to react on scenes and enables you to coax the lowest brightness out of your common bulbs.
A small con we found is the relatively high standby power consumption with 1,0W @ 228V. Also it seemed that this controller produces a little more intense whining than others.
You can place the Iluminize Dimmer anywhere in the circuit between your fixture and your common power switch or simply replace that switch with it. There is an option to physically connect a switch to the device, but unfortunately you probably can’t simply use your old one, because it requires a push button switch.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: Iluminize Dimmer ZG9101SAC-HP

Iluminize CCT Lightning Controller

The Iluminize CCT controller was found immediately and does a good job interacting with the bridge. Color transitions are smooth and the controller can be controlled by Scenes and Animations. It manages even the shortest transition times, but when fading out slowly, our light strip started to stutter at the lower end.
The device itself is with 170x54x28 mm quite big compared to other LED Controllers. Also we recognized a rather high standby power consumption (1,1W). Regardless, the Iluminize CCT Controller is one of the best 3rd party CCT LED strip controllers we tested so far and therefore recommended.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: Iluminize CCT Lightning Controller

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

 

Immax

IMMAX Neo SMART LED filament E27

The IMMAX filament E27 made a good impression in our test. It looks well manufactured and works perfectly with the bridge. The bulb provides a nice warm ambient light, though it is quite bright at its lowest brightness. We measured with almost zero at standby and 6,1W/227V at peak brightness a good average power consumption.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: IMMAX Neo SMART LED filament E27

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

iolloi

iolloi Dimmer Switch (in-wall)

This is the 2nd in-wall dimmer of this kind we tested and we liked the results. It connects well with the bridge and manages to process Scenes and Animations flawlessly. Unfortunately it didn’t respond to Magic Scenes, but since this is just a dimmable light, you probably won’t need it anyway. It also failed to handle any blink commands.
We definitely like the manually adjustable minimum brightness on the device itself. Since it totally depends on the lumens of the bulb how the dimmer reacts, this is actually necessary. Also the device has an indicator led, which shows you what is activated. The reset button is accessible without any tools and since the dimmer is meant to be in the wall, we find it to be reasonable.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: iolloi Dimmer Switch (in-wall)

iolloi In-Wall LED Rotary Dimmer Switch

There’s not much of a difference to the former iolloi device we tested but of course the obvious: It comes with a push-rotary button! So the same test results as above can be found here: Quick connection – perfect response to Scenes, Animations and timers – Problems with Magic Scenes and blink commands. Also, this dimmer uses leading edge instead of trailing edge for dimming.
The device fits into a common European switch housing (86 x 86 mm) and can easily be mounted. It should not be used in bathrooms or kitchens, since it only has a IP20 protection.
We would have wished for a more precise dimming by using the rotary button, since it changes the brightness in steps of about 3%. Also the button itself is slippery and could have more grip for a more controlled usage. But, all in all the iolloi in-wall switch seems to be well manufactured and can be recommended.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: iolloi In-Wall LED Rotary Dimmer Switch

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Linkind

Linkind Filament E27

The Linkind Filament E27 works with the bridge flawlessly and produces a nice warm light. It can be used within Scenes and Animations and has no trouble processing even the shortest transition times. There is (as common with dimmable lights) a slight whining when you dim in the middle range. We would’ve wished for it to provide a lower brightness and a hidden controller, but if these things don’t matter to you, this is a fully functional bargain.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon DE: Linkind Filament E27

Linkind Smart Plug + 1-Key Remote Control

The Linkind Smart Plug was easily connected and works perfectly with the bridge. It was able to perform all its duties like reacting to scenes, switch actions and all sorts of timers.
The plug is quite similar to the Hue plug in size, maximum currency and power consumption. However, this one consumes with 1,2 W (@ 230V) at standby ON a bit more, which is actually the highest value compared to all other smart plugs we tested so far.

With this plug you get a little special – a small remote button working with all Linkind devices – as long as you don’t connect it to any other but the Linkind bridge. That’s the bummer, once connected to the Hue bridge, the button becomes useless – unless: You also have a Phoscon gateway or sell it to someone who owns one respectively a Linkind bridge. We hear these buttons are quite popular in the deCONZ scene, since they seem to be working like a Hue Smart Button.

At the moment this review is written, the Linkind Plug costs about as much as the Innr Plug, which would be preferable in terms of power consumption. However, you might be gaining something from the button or from selling it separately.

Verdict: Recommended

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Livarno Lux (LIDL)

Livarno Lux GU10 (Extended Color Light)

The Livarno Lux GU10 spot, mainly distributed by LIDL, was found immediately and reacted fine to basic commands. It was able to process scenes and magic scenes and can be controlled by timers and switches. We were impressed by its low power consumption – at standby below 0,2 W (0,0 shown).
Unfortunately, the light is not capable of managing any different fade times. Its reaction is always the same: a smooth fade down or up to either 0% or 100%. Of course this affects also how animations and blink commands are handled. Animation fade times can’t be processed and blink commands if short or long always result in a short single blink.
When we purchased these lights, they were less than half the price of a similar Hue light – a real bargain, but it seems they also only provide half the functionality.

Verdict: Bargain, may fit your needs

Lidl DE: Livarno Lux RGB

Livarno Lux E27

The Livarno Lux E27 bulbs were found immediately. Processing Scenes, Magic Scenes, timers and switch commands was no problem. A common issue with 3rd party lights is the non-ability to change brightness and color temperature simultaneously, but the Livarno Lux lights mastered this perfectly. We were astonished about their low power consumption at standby (<0,2 W – 0,0 shown).
Similar to the Livarno Lux GU10 they couldn’t handle long blink commands and we recognized some issues with fade times. Also here, they are only capable of one fade time and therefore can’t orderly process Animations and instant timers. They react at the right moment but suddenly and not by the given transition time.
When we tried to reset them as written in the manual nothing happened. We could only connect them again to another bridge via Touchlink.

Livarno Lux E27 Extended Color Light

The colors appear to be rather dark, almost half the brightness of a Hue light. When using cold or warm white on the other hand, the Livarno Lux E27 ECL produces a higher brightness over the entire temperature range in comparison to a similar hue light. There was a rather loud buzzing sound when we used the bulbs white at full brightness, but maybe we just happened to have a deficient product.

Verdict: Bargain, may fit your needs

Lidl DE: Livarno Lux RGB

Livarno Lux E27 Color Temperature Light

The Livarno E27 CT Light does a good job and even produces a higher brightness over the entire temperature range in comparison to a similar hue light. The bulb made no noticeable noise. If you don’t need to use automatic fades, you’re good to go with this one:

Verdict: Bargain, may fit your needs

Lidl DE: Livarno Lux CT

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Müller Licht Tint

This German manufacturer just brought a bunch of lights to German market via Aldi, but they are available across Europe. They are compatible with the latest iConnectHue, but there are certain reasons why we wouldn’t recommend them at the moment, for example that they don’t react to all available color modes. What we find more distracting is, that their lights don’t seem to be distinguishable for apps. The E14 model looks the same as the E27 model to apps. We usually add icons representing the specific light, but we can’t do it for these lights.
Müller Licht lights are okay-ish software wise, but they tend to stutter on ANY kind of color changes.

Müller Licht E27 (Extended Color Light)

This light poses a cheaper alternative to Philips’ E27 lights. They are built well in terms of hardware, but in terms of software, they have some issues. They don’t have issues with colors and brightness at the same time, but mostly it is the stuttering of color transitions tends to be annoying. This happens when you change the current color, but also comes into play with animations. If you don’t use these things or don’t mind stuttering color transitions, then this light might be for you.

We’ve measured a color temperature range from about 2400-7100 Kelvin, so these lights usually have a higher color temperature than set. It’s not too far off, but you might want to keep this in mind when using color temperatures with it. Its peak brightness is at 2700 Kelvin instead of Hue’s 4000 Kelvin. So if you need bright incandescent light, this is an alternative to Innr’s offering, which also peak at this color temperature.

This is one of the very few 3rd party lights we have that return their color gamut. Unfortunately the color temperature it returns starts at 1800 Kelvin, but the product is advertised at starting at 2200 Kelvin on its package, so this makes it still fail the Hue API test.

Amazon EU: Müller Licht E27 ECL
Verdict: May fit your needs

Müller Licht E27 filament CT Retro

The Müller Licht E27 filament CT Retro light makes quite an impression. The first thing we noticed was it’s light-weight and that the controller is hidden in the socket, as it becomes more and more common nowadays.
The bulb works perfectly with the bridge and is capable of processing even the shortest brightness transition times. It provides a very nice and low ambient light as well as a very bright activating one.
In matters of power consumption, the MLI filament uses about 5,1W at it’s peak and 0,2W in standby, which is better average.
You might experience a short stuttering when turning it on, but this seems neglectable.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: Müller Licht E27 Edison filament CT Retro
Amazon EU: Müller Licht E27 Globe filament CT Retro

Müller Licht tint Globe E27 1520lm (Extended Color Light)

Sometimes you just need a little more brightness. The new MLI Globe EC Light is capable of providing not only a brightness near to a common 100W lamp but also 16 million colors. To manage the heat produced by this kind of power, Müller Licht built a bigger bulb hosting the LEDs.
So far so good, sounds like a jack of all things and in total the lamp does what it’s supposed to: It connects well with the bridge and reacts to all given commands.
Unfortunately this reaction is not always in time and there seems to be a general delay of about 0.5 seconds. Also we recognized stuttering when turning the lamp on and while changing colors. All together this affects the animation and switching colors experience. Nevertheless, if you’re fine with some delay and don’t want to use it for especially fast running animations (problems occur below 3sec fade time), the MLI Globe 1520lm might fit your needs. We like its low standby power consumption and its brightness range – from low and comfy to clear and forceful.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon EU: Müller Licht tint Globe E27 1520lm ECL

Müller Licht E14

These lights are interesting for several reasons: They are smaller than Philips’ E14 lights while still providing color. The color lights support a very wide color temperature range of 1800-6500 Kelvin (down to candle-like temperatures!). At the same time, they are cheaper – but not by much.

We measured that the color temperatures are mostly accurate, but a bit off at the lower end, where they are a bit higher than expected. We couldn’t reach the advertised 1800 Kelvin – when we set the light to this setting, it still had around 2100 Kelvins – which is actually above their Hue counterparts!

When it comes to setting the color or running animations, these lights unfortunately stutter heavily! It’s not nice to look at, and this is also our main criticizm. Besides this, the E14 lights are indistinguishable from their E27 counterparts, which is a shame! Apps can adapt their UI to the light types being used, but this is unfortunately impossible here.

We would say these lights do have some upsides, but also several downsides – and since the price difference is so small to original Hue lights, it doesn’t justify the compromise made.

Verdict: Not recommended

Edit: The version we tested here is not available any longer, but MLI has a new version (not tested):
Amazon EU: Müller Licht E27 CT (not tested)

Müller Licht GU10 Spot (Color Temperature Light)

The GU10 color temperature spot of Müller Licht left a good impression on us. It works perfectly with the bridge and processes Scenes and Animations flawlessly. Unfortunately the firmware doesn’t provide us with a model identifier which causes trouble showing the light with the correct GU10 icon.
The spot is actually a bit more efficient and brighter than Philips offering, but in matters of color temperature the Müller Licht spot could be better, as it starts at 2700K. Also at its lowest brightness point it is still quite bright, so you might not want to use it in your living room.
However, the Müller Licht GU10 CT spot fully qualifies for a use in an office or a kitchen for instance.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon EU: Müller Licht GU10 Spot CT

Müller Licht Tint GU10 Spot (Extended Color Light)

The Müller Licht GU10 color spot was found immediately and works fine with the bridge. It comes on and off smoothly and can be controlled by Scenes and Animations. The spot manages transition times perfectly, but we recognized a slight stuttering at color transitions and an intense one at quick color temperature changes. We liked it’s capability of providing low temperature light (1800 K) and low brightness, which gives you the opportunity to use it as a nice ambient light.
In matters of power consumption the MLI GU10 color spot is quite economical, going from <0,2 W to 5,5 W. It might not be the right choice for those with sensitive ears, who might notice its whining, especially at standby.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon EU: MLI GU10 Spot (ECL)

Müller Licht Smart Switch (Controller)

The Müller Licht Smart Switch is a simple On/ Off controller with almost zero power consumption. You can place it anywhere in the circuit between your fixture and your common power switch or simply replace that switch with it. There is an option to physically connect a switch to the device, but unfortunately you probably can’t simply use your old one, because it requires a push button switch.
When turning it on or off you’ll hear a loud clicking sound. The MLI Smart Switch worked ok with the bridge, but wasn’t able to be controlled by scenes, so our verdict can only be “may fit your needs”.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon EU: Müller Licht Smart Switch

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

OEEONE

OEEONE LED filament E27 clear/ white glass

Is that a smart bulb? You might ask at first sight. Its looks and weight give the impression of a usual bulb, because OEEONE managed to hide the controller completely in the socket and made it as light as a common bulb.
But not only the aesthetic properties were pleasing, also the test results were quite good. The OEEONE LED filament E27 connects immediately and works perfectly with the bridge. It is able to process the shortest transition times and provides with 2200K even more warmth than written on the box. On the other hand the lowest brightness could be lower. Also we recognized that the light is slightly flickering, which might be irritating if you’re eyes are sensitive in that matter.
The power consumption is low and it turns on and off smoothly, though we experienced a small stuttering when turning it on.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon EU: OEEONE LED filament E27 clear glass
Amazon EU: 2x OEEONE LED filament E27 clear glass

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Ledvance / Sylvania Smart+ (was Lightify) / Osram

What about Osram Smart+ / Lightify? From what tests show, they currently suffer from issues in conjuction with the Hue bridge, though most color temperature lights seem to be at least usable. Those may sometimes not follow the selected color temperature (and may stutter on temperature transition), and usually don’t fade as smooth as Philips lights, but are otherwise okay. Some older lights (seems like GU10 ones are mostly affected) don’t turn off in most cases, which is a firmware issue – their firmware can be updated by the manufacturer and the Lightify bridge.

Attention: Be aware, that we don’t recommend older models of the Osram color lights, so be careful with b-stock or second hand. They seem to have a number of serious issues in conjunction with the Hue bridge (not shutting down depending on their firmware version, not following the submitted color, starting up in red color, BAD color transition – especially visible with animations).

US customers: The Sylvania lights are not compatible with the Hue system at all, since they use ZigBee HA (Home Automation) instead of ZigBee LL (LightLink). In the past, it seems to have been possible to change their firmware to an LL compatible one, but it looks like this isn’t supported any longer.

OSRAM Smart+ Classic E27 Multicolor

The Osram E27 extended color light is definitely an upgrade to their former smart bulbs. The connection and workability with the bridge was fine and we liked the low color temperature it was able to process (1900K). Nevertheless, we found some issues the giant wasn’t able to eliminate yet. We recognised a partial stuttering during color transitions and problems with transition times below 4 seconds, which may lead to inability to process some animations.
The power consumption is almost zero at standby, but with 10,3W @ 228V at it’s peak quite high.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon EU: OSRAM Smart Classic E27 Multicolor

Ledvance Candle E14 CT Light

The Ledvance Tunable White Candle does a good job working with the bridge. It is able to process Scenes, color transitions and Timers perfectly. Transition times on the other hand still aren’t the strong suit of Ledvance or former Osram. Here we detected issues with transitions below 4 seconds.
The bulb turns on and off suddenly. In matters of power consumption the Ledvance E14 Candle acts like its Philips opponent with below 0,2 W at standby (0,0 W shown). So, if you don’t want to use the candle for fast moving Animations and like immediate on & off switching, this will be a bargain for you.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon EU: Ledvance Candle E14 CT Light

Osram Smart+ GU5.3 Tunable White MR16

The Osram GU5.3 Tunable White spot is one of a few GU5.3 Zigbee lights. It was found quickly by the bridge and responds to Scenes, Magic Scenes and Animations. Its housing seems manufactured properly and leaves a good impression.
Unfortunately we detected a rather high latency regarding switch and scene actions of about 1 second. This can cause the light to stay on when you switch it quickly on and off. Then, after a while the bridge recognizes that the light is still on and sets your group to a group on state, though you wanted it to be off. Also it affects the spots ability to manage Animation transition times <2 seconds.
Furthermore we found the light stuttering at low brightness temperature transitions.
It’s lowest brightness is quite bright, 2700K as lowest color temperature is the bare minimum for a CT light, power consumption is ordinary – As much as we like to find at least one good thing about a smart light, we are having a hard time doing it for this one, but its appearance and its rare GU5.3 pins. For a light that usually disappears in its fixture that’s not much and since it’s not even bargain, we can’t recommend it.

Verdict: Not recommended

Amazon EU (except DE): Osram Smart GU5.3 Tunable White MR16

Smart+ plug / Lightify plug

The Lightify plug is quite cheap – which is probably its only advantage. You can use it to let iConnectHue turn off and on devices when you leave and arrive home. Opposed to the Living Whites plug it cannot fade your lights, but it can switch much higher wattages (LW: 300 Watts, Lightify: 2680 Watts / 16 Amps).
However, these plugs tend to be unreliable: This means that sometimes they are not reachable (solve it by powering all your lights and bridge down, wait some time, then turn them on again, AFTER that plug the plugs again), also sometimes they seem to react strange or not at all when being used e.g. with an instant timer or color timers (use scenes instead!), or react when switched within the app, but not via switches. This makes the plug an unreliable solution with the Hue system, and we recommend to look into Philips’ or Innr’s offerings instead.

Sylvania:
The OLD US version of it, named Sylvania Lightify plug, was working, according to the Amazon feedback and one user! This user said that he was able to search for it by starting a lights search, then plugging in the plug WHILE holding its on/off button. After 6 seconds, it made a click sound and has been found.
This, however seems to have changed by now. We’ve heard from our users that the version called “Smart+” (not Lightify) doesn’t seem to connect any longer to the Hue bridge. The european version by Osram doesn’t seem to be affected.

Verdict: Not recommended

Amazon DE/FR/IT: Osram Smart Plug

Ledvance Smart+ Outdoor Plug

The Ledvance Outdoor plug was easily found after hitting the reset button for 10 seconds. It passed all tests, could be controlled by timers as well as by switches and reacted immediately. The device itself is a solid piece of plastic (measures: 120x144x98 mm) and from plug to socket IP44 proved, meaning splash water proof from any angle. The big housing can host any plug and even smaller transformers. In standby the plugs power consumption was below 0,2W (0,0W shown) and when turned on it adds another 1W to the total power consumption. We were really amazed by its capability to handle up to 3680 Watts. Though we didn’t test that, we trust Ledvance with this number.
On the other hand we don’t trust the Zigbee controller inside the device so much, since its Osram indoor equivalent showed unreliability in terms of reachability and status updates. During our test though the plug worked fine and we hope it stays that way. If you decide to purchase the Ledvance Outdoor plug, we’d thankfully take on your experience with it.

Verdict: Recommended (with reservation, see above)

Amazon EU: Ledvance Smart Outdoor Plug‎

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Owsoo

Owsoo On/Off Controller

The On/Off Controller by Owsoo was easy to connect and responded fast to switch commands. It reacted perfectly to transition times, so it’s safe to use it with sleep timers. There’s an audible click when turning it on or off that you might like – or not. It is easy to reset given the reset button and the indicator LED.
The device itself is rather big, but since you might want to put it above the ceiling, this shouldn’t be a problem. It even has screw holes for mounting.
The setup can be done very quickly, if you have hard wires to connect. If not, there are end splices included in the package for you to crimp before wiring.
One thing, we weren’t happy with, is its inability to handle a turn-off by scenes. That’s why we can’t fully recommend it.

Verdict: Bargain, may fit your needs

Amazon EU: Owsoo On/Off Controller

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Paulmann

Paulmann is a German light producer and offers ZigBee 3.0 compatible lights. This means your bridge has to have at least version 1801260942 (V2 square bridge) or version 01041302 (V1 round bridge, only supported until the end of September 2021) to be compatible with them. We tested with bridge version 1802201122 (square bridge).

We tested several of their offerings with mixed results. The Paulmann bulbs can be connected to the Hue Bridge using the normal light search. All of their devices we tested exhibited noise in some way – usually when being dimmed. It is loud enough to be annoying. Their lights are not as bright as Philips’ offerings – only 650 Lumens compared to Philips’ 806 Lumens. One thing these lights stand out with is that they can remember their last color setting when being turned on again via a normal switch.

Paulmann E27 RGBW

This light has a similar color range compared to Philips’ v3 bulbs and manages those quite well in terms of transitions. What it can’t handle well in conjunction with the Hue bridge is color temperatures. It wildly jumps between different temperatures when setting one, which makes one believe that it can’t interpret color temperature commands from the Hue bridge properly (Hue bridge V2 version: 1802201122).
What unfortunately was really annoying with the was the sound this light produced under EVERY condition. Whether when turned on, turned off or dimmed – the pitch changes, but it always emits mid or high pitched noise.

The only thing they are better compared to other lights is the price – that’s about it. But we recommend to invest a little more – for example have a look at the Innr lights. Similar price, better light and noise performance.

Verdict: Not recommended

Amazon Europe: Paulmann E27 RGBW bulb

Paulmann E27 tunable white

A similar result comes with the tunable white bulbs. They seem to have the same color temperature “jump” issue, they also emit noise, and also are not as bright as Philips’ or Innr’s offerings. They can also store the last state when being turned on again.

Verdict: Not recommended

Amazon Europe: Paulmann E27 tunable white bulb

Paulmann TunableWhite Filament E27

The Paulmann Filament E27 color temperature light makes the appearance of a common bulb, but has a well working and hidden chip in it. Scenes, Animations and Timers were perfectly processed in our test. When turning the bulb on, there happens to be a small stutter, but it turns off smoothly. Its lowest brightness is still quite bright – we expected better from a filament bulb.
Also we recognized that the light is slightly flickering, which might be irritating if you’re eyes are sensitive in that matter.
Unfortunately the firmware didn’t give us any identifiers or bulb name and since we found the same properties missing and perceived the almost identical looks as the filament bulbs of OEEONE and Shyne, we suppose they are made by the same manufacturer.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon EU: Paulmann TunableWhite Filament E27

Paulmann Dim Controller

This controller can dim devices with up to 400 Watts resistive loads and up to 150 Watts conductive loads (contrary to what you read on Amazon – where there’s a value of 1000 Watts). It is incredibly bulky for what it does (more than 4 times the volume of e.g. Dresden Elektronik’s offerings). Interesting is the separate ZigBee antenna – so in case you store it behind some blendings, you can still put the antenna in a proper place for the device to work.
It integrates to the Hue bridge without problems, but as with the other Paulmann devices, it emits noise. This one at around 50 Hz und multiples of it, also quite audible – similar to old fashioned manual dimmers. This may not be of an issue if it’s hidden behind some kind of wall or blending. Using it directly in a room may annoy you.

If your device has up to 100 Watts, have a look at the Shenzhen Homa / Amelech offerings, which are noiseless and have an adjustable lowest brightness point.

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon DE/IT/FR: Paulmann Dim controller

There’s also an on/off device, which may not hum (we couldn’t test it, but based on a user feedback it does not – simply makes a click noise when switched):

Amazon DE/IT/FR: Paulmann Switch controller

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Paul Neuhaus

Paul Neuhaus is a German light producer and also started offering Zigbee compatible lights. We could currently only test the Paul Neuhaus Q plug so far.

Paul Neuhaus Q plug

This plug integrates perfectly into the Hue system. Compared to other offerings, it includes a white night light, which can be turned on on the plug and offers three dimming steps. The plug itself is a simple on/off device and does not allow for any kind of dimming. It is rated for 10 Ampere, opposed to the 16 Ampere the Osram plug offered. Nonetheless, it may be a bit more compatible than the Osram offer, which sometimes shows off strange behaviour. We will update with a long term test.
It currently only seems to be available in Germany.

Verdict: Recommended

Amazon DE: Paul Neuhaus Q Plug

See the FAQ on how to reset to find them again

Samotech

Samotech SM315/ SM317 Cord Dimmer

The Samotech Cord Dimmers are good and solid looking devices to make your common floor lamp or night light smart and manually dimmable. At the back you can find a reset button with an indicator LED and next to that a screw for manually adjusting the minimum brightness, which is great, given the diversity of bulbs you can use it with. Also we very much like their stepless push-rotary buttons and the low power consumption.
The Samotech dimmers were easy enough to connect to the bridge, but it was not so easy to wire them before. At first we had to remove the rubber nubs hiding the screws. Once we got rid of the screws and opened the casing, for whatever reason the tiny plastic piece for triggering the reset button gets loose – why? It’s easy to misplace it and hardly stays where it belongs when closing the case, so careful here.
After all was set, the basic commands like On/Off and dimming went smoothly and also controlling them by Scenes worked fine. However, for more advanced functions they are simply not fit: Magic Scenes, Animations and even blink commands led to no reactions or false ones. A big disappointment was when also sleep timers weren’t able to work on them. We’re having a hard time to even announce it, but let’s make it a “May fit your needs”, because they might, there are no comparable devices on the market and they are bargain.

Verdict: Bargain, may fit your needs

Amazon EU: Samotech SM315 Cord Dimmer
Amazon EU: Samotech SM317 Cord Dimmer

See the FAQ on how to reset to find them again

Shenzhen Homa / Amelech (Europe)

These Chinese controllers are relatively bulky, but they are working quite well with the Hue system. They are easy to integrate and didn’t exhibit any compatibility issues.

Mains dimmer

This is one of the most interesting products, because it allows you to control existing lights and dim them. This is especially handy if you have certain ceiling or wall lights that can’t be converted to Hue by adding a bulb.
They can have up to 1 Ampere. The device is capable of 100 to 277 Volts, so you should be able to use it worldwide. An interesting feature is the ability to modify the lowest brightness point – depending on how your incadescent lights dim. We experienced a slight delay when performing brightness changes, but that may because of the nature of incadescent lights.

Verdict: Recommended

 

4 channel RGBW controller

This lightstrip dimmer seems to work flawlessly. Color transitions are perfect, with some stuttering appearing with some animations. However, there may be a catch: The model that has been tested here exhibited, depending on color and lightness, slight and sometimes louder whining noises, which are definitely audible. You may have more luck, but be prepared to get a replacement or better: Choose other companies, like Dresden Elektronik, which are also smaller and don’t exhibit such a behaviour.

-> a Shenzhen Homa controller compared to a Dresden Elektronik controller

Verdict: May fit your needs

Amazon UK: 4 channel lightstrip dimmer

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Shyne

Shyne Filament E27 CT Light

The Shyne Filament color temperature light connects and works perfectly with the bridge. It processes Scenes, Timers and Animations well and manages even the shortest transition times, but we saw the light stuttering at fading operations in the lower color temperature spectrum.
We like, that the bulb provides a very low color temperature (1800 K), but we would have wished for an equally low brightness, too.
Also we recognized that the light is slightly flickering, which might be irritating if you’re eyes are sensitive in that matter.
Unfortunately the firmware didn’t give us any identifiers or bulb name and since we found the same properties missing and perceived the almost identical looks as the filament bulbs of OEEONE and Paulmann, we suppose they are made by the same manufacturer.

Verdict: May fit your needs

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Sonoff

Sonoff ZBMini On/Off Controller

The Sonoff ZBMini was set up easily, connected well to the bridge and worked perfectly with timers and switches. Its power consumption is close to zero and the ability to handle up to 2400W is quite impressive. Product and package are nicely designed plus the handy device seems solidly built.
Unfortunately it wasn’t able to get turned off by scenes. But if you don’t want to do that, we say: go for it! Because otherwise it’s a high quality product for a very small price.

Verdict: Recommended (with reservations, see above)

Amazon EU/US/CA: Sonoff ZBMini On/Off Controller

See the FAQ on how to reset them to find them again

Hue Bridge

Starter Kit

If you don’t have a Hue system yet, the starting point to use iConnectHue is the Hue bridge. iConnectHue supports the newer quadratic version 2. The old round bridge is outdated and not supported any longer by Philips or iConnectHue.
Purchase the bridge with color lights, otherwise you will miss the possibilities of iConnectHue and the Hue system.

The 4 bulb kit may be the better deal if you live in the US or Canada:
Amazon US/CA: Philips Hue E27 Starter Kit with 4 Hue Color and Ambiance lights
Amazon: Philips Hue E27 Starter Kit with 3 Hue Color and Ambiance Lights and 1 Hue Smart Button
Amazon: Philips Hue E27 Starter Kit with 2 Hue Color and Ambiance Lights (and 1 Hue Dimmer for US/CA)

UK: Some of the above links do not apply, and the UK also has B22 light type options:
Amazon UK: Philips Hue B22 Starter Kit with 3 Hue Color and Ambiance lights and Hue Dimmer
Amazon UK: Philips Hue E14 Starter Kit with 2 Hue Color and Ambiance lights

Bridge v 2.0/2.1

Another bridge makes sense in case of an upgrade of the old bridge, if you own 50+ bulbs, in a household with bad connectivity due to many walls (iConnectHue supports multiple bridges with the multi bridge in app purchase!), or in case you already have Living Colors lights or a Hue White dimmer set without bridge:
Amazon: Philips Hue Bridge

If you don’t have a bridge yet, but lights, or need another bridge (e.g. if you have more than 50 lights to work with), you will get new bridges on Ebay pretty cheap. They usually come from bundles where the owner already has a bridge:
Ebay DE: Philips Hue Bridge
Ebay US: Philips Hue Bridge
Ebay UK: Philips Hue Bridge

What’s the main difference between a v2 an a v2.1 bridge? The latter seems to have a Wifi module – but this isn’t enabled/supported by Philips yet. You will still have to use Ethernet to connect the bridge. It also doesn’t look as if this would change.

PSUs & amplifier for LED controller

KFD 4x Power supply for Play Light Bar, Iris, Bloom, etc. (24V):
Amazon Europe: KFD 4x PSU for Play Light Bar, Iris, Bloom, etc. (24V)

For 12 Volt strips (100 W):
Amazon: Meanwell 12 Volts 100 Watts LED PSU

For 24 Volt strips (100 W):
Amazon: Meanwell 24 Volts 100 Watts/60 Watts LED PSU

Boost your Lightstrip plus

If you want your lightstrip to be longer than 5m and keep up the lumens:
Amplified Hue Lightstrip+ Controller

If you have the Lightstrip+ controller already:
5 Channel high frequency amplifier

Incompatible devices

Of course we cannot list all incompatible devices. But this list shows some of the most questioned devices that are incompatible for sure. For everything else, please refer the list above!

Incompatible: ALL 3rd party switches and sensors that are not named “Friends of Hue”

3rd party switches can usually be added, like the ones made by Lutron, Busch Jaeger or Dresden Elektronik and Ikea, but those not named “Friends of Hue” are not exposed to apps as such, and hence can’t be configured by apps. They usually only communicate on Zigbee level (the wireless protocol the Hue lights use) and transmit their commands directly to the bulbs instead of using the bridge.

Incompatible: Deconz

As we already state, iConnectHue requires a Hue bridge. When we do something, we want to do it properly. Supporting something that is somehow compatible to the Hue bridge means that we would need to do adjustments for it, and test everything for it again. We do not have the resources for this, unfortunately.

Incompatible: Philips Wiz

While they already contain a different branding than “hue”, and have been a different brand, we still get questions about their compatibility. They are not compatible with Hue at all.

Incompatible: Nanoleaf Ivy

The Ivy light sources use a different ZigBee version (likely ZigBee HA) and hence can’t connect to the Hue bridge. This information is directly from Nanoleaf.

Incompatible: Belkin Wemo bulbs

It was not possible for me to connect Wemo bulbs to the bridge with Firmware 01016441 (API 1.4). Neither were they found by normal nor by Touchlink search. One of the two bulbs tested (from a Wemo light kit) were yet not connected to any bridge.
Additionally, at this point, there is no Wemo SDK available and Belkin doesn’t seem to be too interested in making its API public. These lights are currently no good choice if you want to choose your application to control it with.

Incompatible: Elgato Eve plug

The Elgato Eve plug doesn’t communicate via Zigbee (which the Hue bridge uses) but uses Bluetooth and on top of that HomeKit. Hence it isn’t compatible with iConnectHue nor the Hue bridge. This probably won’t change.

Incompatible: Kogeek

Kogeek products are incompatible as well. Please do not ask us about their compatibility or if we will add support for them. Thanks!

This list is possibly not complete, but already covers a lot of devices. If you think something is missing outside the Hue ecosystem, or have a wicked hardware hack or a suggestion, please use the contact page!

Why we don’t recommend dimmable lights

iConnectHue is all about controlling colors and color temperature. It makes specific use of them in many cases and for several reasons. Using dimmable lights would degrade the app experience – but that is only one part.
When you dim old fashion incandescent lights, they tend to get warmer the lower you dim them, so when they are usually specified at 2700 Kelvin color temperature, this temperature will go lower. If you dim them down to the brightness of a candle, their color temperature will also tend to have candle like color temperature. iConnectHue Pro can replicate this behaviour.
Dimmable LED lightbulbs have a fixed color temperature. When they are specified at 2700 Kelvin, they will stay there. Once you’ve seen the effect of a dimmed fixed-Kelvin LED light bulb, you will usually experience this as unnatural or unpleasant, and it is because of their fixed color temperature. If you take at least white temperature capable bulbs, you can remove this effect by also lowering the color temperature (usually down to 2200 Kelvins are supported, color bulbs, due to added red LEDs, are even usually capable of 2000 Kelvin).
If it’s just your porch or garage light, don’t mind. But don’t get tricked into saving money by only taking dimmable bulbs for your living area. You might regret this – and this is why we don’t recommend such bulbs.

How we test

A light, controller or switch is usually connected to a Hue bridge and tested for its compatibility. This includes: On/Off, brightness, color and color temperature changes. Additionally, these lights are included into a scene and it is checked how they work with it. They have also been tested with iConnectHue’s animations, if possible.
Where this wasn’t possible due to availability or other reasons, the lights have been included if a user gave some information about compatibility, or if it is expected to be compatible. This information is usually added in such a case.

Hue API conformity
For 3rd party lights and devices, we perform a Hue API confomity test. While you can expect Hue lights to always fulfill these tests, as Philips does them, 3rd party lights may fail more often than not.
If it fails, it doesn’t mean this light won’t work with the bridge, but it means it may not work as expected in several specific situations and might not give you a proper experience.

We deem a light as Hue API conform if it fulfills these tests:

• Color gamut and color temperature range is returned and correct
• The light type can be determined
• The color temperature shown is the color temperature that is set
• The light can handle brightness and color at the same time without issues

We deem a controller as conform if it fulfills these tests:

• Its type can be determined and is correct
• The light can handle brightness and color (if supported) at the same time without issues

Color and Brightness
When a switch is pressed, or a standard color is selected, the bridge usually sends two commands to a light: A color and brightness. Many 3rd party lights cannot handle these signals coming in conjunction. They then usually only act to one command. If the same command is then sent again, they also react to the second part.

Disclaimer
All content on this page is copyrighted! You may not use any part of it without our consent!

All information presented here is offered to give you an orientation. It was gathered in our own tests in an environment that may not be identical to yours, so your results may differ.
We will and can not guarantee the inclusion of the lights and/or manufacturers listed here to your bridge. Compatibility and inclusion are topics that have to be solved by the manufacturer and the bridge firmware. If you purchase iConnectHue or hardware of any of these manufacturers solely because of this list, be aware that you do this at your own risk.

All of products that are being linked to work via affiliate links, which means we get a share of a purchase, if you do one. There is no disadvantage for you by purchasing the products via them. All information represents the current best knowledge about these products at the point of its writing with the main intent of informing you about their compatibility and functionality. Your purchases help to keep this page up to date. Selecting a product link on this page may lead you on a 3rd party page, which may deliver a cookie to your device.

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