FAQ / Help

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Most important / most asked

My classic widget disappeared after the update to 5.5

Restart your device please. If this didn’t help by itself, swipe to the today view to the very left of your home screen, go to the bottom, select “Edit”, scroll to the bottom again and select “Customise”, there add iConnectHue to the widgets again.
This is a iOS bug which we cannot circumvent. Apps cannot add or remove widgets by themselves.

If this didn’t help, please contact us from within the app via “Help & More”->Contact. Thank you!

I have purchased the classic widget editor. Why do I have to pay for Home Widgets?

Home Widgets work very differently from the classic widgets. Adding support for Home Widgets took us months, also because of a quite long list of issues in iOS and XCode, and we wanted to give you every possible option – which almost was a miracle considerung how differently these widgets work to the older ones.
As it is with you, we can’t work for free, hence, as it is always the case with updates in a new year, these are available either via a Membership or via the 2024 upgrade.

One or more in app purchases are not available

Due to how Apple’s store system works, it may take up to a day for new purchases to be available. We cannot change this, unfortunately. Please try again later, also try to restart iConnectHue, if the list is not complete (if you don’t have any purchases at all, iConnectHue automatically retries with each app opening).

Which version of iConnectHue do I have installed?

You can see the current version under “Help & More” at the top.

How do I update my app?

If you didn’t get the update yet but want it now, pull down the list of updates in the app store app on your iPhone to see and install it manually.

Will iConnectHue work with an iOS beta?

We do not recommend to use iConnectHue with iOS beta versions and do not guarantee that it works there. If you see any issues, make sure to inform both us and Apple about these issues.
If there’s a major iOS update, we will make an update for it. But we recommend not to install any major iOS updates immediately, but to wait for our update that makes clear that it has been tested for this new iOS version.

Is iConnectHue compatible with the Hue app?

iConnectHue is fully compatible to the rooms and zones created in the Hue app, is capable of importing the scenes you created with the Hue app and in some cases also understands its switch scene cycle configuration (which Philips stores a bit differently). It can be used side by side with the Hue app, though it is recommended to edit things created in iConnectHue only in iConnectHue. If you edited switches or sensors with iConnectHue, keep editing them there.
The Hue scenes are imported and are kept in sync, but can’t be edited within iConnectHue, only copied. Timers are separate in both apps and can’t be seen nor used by the other app. Switches and Motion Sensors edited with the Hue app can be understood by iConnectHue, but usually not the other way around.
If you look for its light recipes, iConnectHue has got its own ones. Open the color picker, tap “Favorites” bottom right and look for “Included colors”.

My Philips scenes aren’t imported

iConnectHue only shows scenes that were created by yourself. Please make sure you enabled “Show Hue app user scenes” in Settings. Scenes that were delivered by the app are not shown. If you look for light recipes, please use those by iConnectHue. You can find them in the color picker under “Favorites” and there, “Included colors”.

How do I reset bridge HomeKit, so I can use it again? (“Bridge already paired by another user”)

Go to Devices->your bridge->Settings. There select to reset HomeKit. Now you should be able to register to your bridge again.
Please note: iConnectHue does not support HomeKit, but only the reset functionality.

Does iConnectHue support HomeKit / Siri?

HomeKit is not supported at the moment, but Siri Shortcuts are. Please see the Siri Shortcuts section to see how they work.
HomeKit support may come with a future update. Note that HomeKit won’t support any 3rd party lights added to the Hue bridge. This is caused by two sides: Apple, which requires devices to be certified and (possibly) contain a certain type of encryption (although it may be that this is only required for the bridge), and Philips, which needs to certify 3rd party lights (which it doesn’t do at the moment – there exists a program called “Friend of Hue”, but so far not any 3rd party light manufacturer has got a certified light).
Please also see that HomeKit is totally different to the Hue interface, and it’s not anything like to flip a switch. It will be more of a kind of addition. Unfortunately an addition that is not as versatile as the Hue API, and comes with multiple limitations – this is one of the reasons why we still don’t support it, as it’s a step back in multiple ways.

Basics

How does iConnectHue work?

iConnectHue does most things on the Hue bridge – timers, animations, scenes, switch configurations – all work on the bridge. It can be so powerful since it uses the Hue bridge API to an extent not many other apps can offer. This is the result of several years of work with its API. Only Discotainment requires the app to be active, by its nature – the audio signal must be processed from somewhere.

What are groups?

A quite common and recommended feature is to group your lights. This will not only lead to an easier access, but makes it possible to use Scenes, Magic Scenes, Animations… In a nutshell – to control muliple lights at once. The more lights and devices you have, the more important this feature will get. You can add up to 64 groups per bridge. At the moment you can choose from three different types of groups:

Zones
- This type of group is universal and usually the first choice. Zones can be used for a broader consolidation of lights, since the included lights can also be used in other Zones. They are accessible via the Hue app.
Rooms
- Rooms are less flexible than Zones, since they’re thought to represent physical rooms. They let you determine which lights belong to which physical room. Lights included in one room can’t be used another. Rooms are accessible via the Hue app.
Groups (not recommended)
- ”Groups” originated from before the time there were Zones and may become obsolete one day – therefore, if you don’t have a specific reason we don’t recommend their usage anymore. Lights in a “Group” can be used in other groups as well. Therefore Groups and Zones are quite similar in their function, but Groups don’t have symbols and are not accessible via the Hue app.

Please note: All group types can only group lights of the same bridge. All types are at the same level and can’t include each other.

How are colors handled in iConnectHue?

iConnectHue offers you multiple ways to work with colors:

Scenes
- Scenes save all light states, including color and lightness of each light in a group for a later recall. (How to create a scene ↓)
Magic Scenes
- Magic Scenes are created once and can be used freely in any group, and can be easily adjusted to fit your taste for each room. They help you to put your room into a certain mood within seconds! We have a tutorial highlighting this feature.
Favorites
- You find your favorites in the color control of each light and group at the bottom right of the color wheel. Favorites store your favourite colors (not their brightness though!). In the same list, you will also find light recipies that you might be used to from the Hue app.
Animations
- Animations can consist of at least two or more colors, scenes or Magic Scenes. Note that animations don’t use your scene’s brightnesses when “Brightness per step” is deactivated, but just their colors. This allows you to change the brightness while the animation is running. For further information visit our tutorial or the Animations section here.

How do I create a scene?

Open the group view and change the lights in your group the way you want them to be saved. Now select the scene list with the round dashed scene symbol at the bottom, select “+ Add as new scene”, enter the name and save it. You can recall it later in the same place.

How do I edit a scene?

Load the scene you’d like to edit via the circular dashed scene symbol at the bottom, then change the lights in the group view to the desired colors. After that, open the scene page again and select “Save” top right.

How can I pick a random color

Go to a color picker (tap the light or the group name), then shake your phone or iPad. This randomizes the color. Please note though that it creates in the group controller the same colors for all lights. For individual light colors you need to shake in each light color picker.

How do I copy and paste a color

Pro Members have the ability to copy and paste several colors from rooms, groups, individual lights, switches, widgets, the Magic Scene Editor and more.
This saves time and lets you use your favorite colors in your whole home set up.

All possible color options which can be set up in our app are supported.
Furthermore we support several additional formats, which you can paste from external sources via the clipboard.
To find more information about the set up process and accepted formats you can check out our dedicated tutorial.

Where do I find the Philips scenes?

They appear in your scene list – tap the scene icon (dotted circle) at the bottom to see it. If you don’t see them please activate “Show Hue app user scenes” in settings.
Please note that iConnectHue doesn’t show Philips’ delivered scenes, on purpose. You will find their equivalents in the color picker of every light or group, under “Favorites” -> “Included colors”.

What does the blue dot mean in the menu / hamburger symbol?

It means that there is something that needs your attention. Please open the menu and check if there’s something marked blue.

Timers / Routines

How do timers created by iConnectHue work?

Timers are stored on and handled by your bridge. In order for the timers to work, only the bridge has to be set up properly with a working internet connection, your iOS device can be turned off.
Note: In order for presence dependent timers to work, Home & Away has to be set up properly, and your presence status must be correct (for this, when you come or leave your home, your iOS device has to be turned on, and both bridge and iOS device need to have a proper network connection).

Where do I find the timers?

You will find the timers for groups via the clock symbol right below your group lights in your group overview. Timers for single lights can be found top left of the color controller of each single light.
If you are looking for instant timers / sleep timers, they can be started via the timer symbol on the left (a single-handed clock symbol which points at 10 o’clock). Please note that the timer symbols can also be deleted from the group widget (only with Pro membership). Use the edit pencil and the plus symbol in the widget to add them again.

How do I disable a timer?

Swipe right on the timer and select to disable it. You can enable it again via the same action. By swiping all the way to the right you can disable it immediately.

I’d like to create a random timer

Create a timer with a fixed time and when selecting the time, you will see a slider for a random offset. You can choose this offset to be max. +/- 60 minutes, so in total you have a random time of 120 minutes around your selected time.
Note: Random times are only available for NON-conditional, normal timers.

My sunrise/sunset timer doesn’t trigger at the correct time.

If it already didn’t work right from the beginning: Check and set your home location under “Automation”. Setting it again should be sufficient. Also check, if you have set the sunrise/sunset offset in a way that suits your needs. The setting is available in every sunrise/sunset scenario and allows you to change the time offset by 120 minutes.

If it worked before or the tip above didn’t work: Please restart your bridge.

My timer didn’t adjust to the local daylight saving times

Please restart your bridge. If that didn’t work, check if your timezone is correct. Open your bridge settings under Devices->Your bridge->Settings->Time zone. If it isn’t correct, please change it.

I would like to have a different sunrise/sunset offset for another timer

Due to how the Hue system works, you can only have one global offset.

Why do I need to activate Geolocationing in case I want to use sunrise/sunset actions?

Your local sunrise and sunset depend on your actual location, not timezone. In order to be able to calculate it correctly, your location is required. This location is stored on your bridge and your local device only. The bridge, when up to date, does not present your location to any other apps.

I can’t select any random times (normal timers)

Random times are only available for non-conditional timers.

My normal timer does not trigger at the right time.

The problem could be the internet connection of your bridge. If your bridge is not connected to the internet, it cannot synchronize the time, even after a reboot, and your timers do not trigger at the set time.
Check this and reconnect the bridge to the internet.

I’d like to turn off a sunrise/sunset triggered group

Create a normal timer and select to only turn it off at your desired time.

My conditional timer (presence of a person) doesn’t work as expected

These timers require, depending on your setting, the correct presence of you and the other persons in your household. Make sure the Home & Away is set up and working for everybody. See the Home & Away troubleshooting section how to check for any possible Home & Away problems.

How many timers can I create?

This can’t be said for sure, since it depends which kind of timer you create. For normal timers, you can create up to 100 (or the half, if you enable them to turn off) – though you will never reach that in reality, as other things like your switches and animations need timers, too. Since version 4.1 (and up-to-date bridge firmware) you can create more than one sunrise/sunset timer per group. Otherwise, only one sunrise/sunset timer is possible.
iConnectHue will inform you when you have hit the actual limit.

Animations

Stuck at the very beginning? We have a starter tutorial about how to create animations.

How do iConnectHue’s animations work?

Your animations are uploaded to the bridge and are run from it – contrary to ANY other available app, which usually run them on your device. This means your iOS device can be turned off in the meantime, and they can be run similarily to scenes from switches, motion sensor and timers.

How can I start an animation?

Open the group view of the group you want to start an animation in. Now select the animation symbol (right arrow) bottom right and the desired animation from the animation list to start it.

For switches/ sensors: Open the switch editor and add the action “Switch animation”->”Start animation”.

How can I stop an animation?

There are multiple ways to stop an animation:

Select the square stop button top right in the animation list
Select a color, scene or Magic Scene in iConnectHue or its widget
Turn off the group

Please note: For switches doing something else than turning off, you’ll need to add the action “Switch animation”->”Stop animation” in order to stop an animation. (When controlling a group within the app or its widget this happens automatically – switches need the additional command.)

How to create an animation?

Select the animation symbol (right arrow) bottom right in group view and select “Create new animation”. For detailed help check out our starter tutorial.

I would like to edit, duplicate or share animations

For editing custom animations select the edit pen->the 3 dots at the animation->”Edit”. If you have a membership you can also select to duplicate or share self-made animations in this menu! (See also this overview.)

It is not possible to edit, duplicate or share inclusive animations or animations from other packages.

With what are iConnectHue’s animations compatible?

They work with the app itself, timers, motion sensors, switches, coming/leaving actions and Siri shortcuts. They can’t be triggered from another app than iConnectHue or another device (except for those named).

Please note: Some of the above possiblities require a membership or the Animation Upgrade.

I started an animation, but it doesn’t stop

You will need to do another action with iConnectHue on the SAME group in order to stop an animation. If that doesn’t work, please turn off the group the animation runs on – turning off a group via ANY source (switch, any app, timer) will stop an animation as well.
If that also doesn’t work, select Devices->Your bridge->Settings. There, select “Remove animations”->”Remove all” to remove all animation resources that are currently on the bridge. This will remove everything there that has to do with animations.

If you can’t stop them with hardware switches, please make sure you added, as suggested by the app, a “Switch animation” action with an animation stop to your buttons (only available with a membership or the animation upgrade). This animation stop is not required when turning a group off, but required if you want to load e.g. a scene, Magic Scene or color.

If you run into other problems, check if you aren’t running too many animations. The old round bridge, which was only supported until September 2021, should be able to handle one or two animations, the new square bridge should be properly capable of running at least two animations (likely more). Make also sure you’re not doing anything that keeps the bridge busy, e.g. please try to close any apps running that use the bridge if you have problems.

If I purchase a christmas animation package, will it stay after christmas?

Yes, it only drops below the other animation packages in the list some time after christmas, since it probably isn’t used regularily until next christmas.

How can I hide/ expand an animation package?

Tap on the arrow on the right of the animation package header. This will reduce the list to its header. Tap it again to expand it.

I’d like to have the first animation step color immediately when I start a timer

You can currently do so by starting a timer one minute BEFORE the animation starts with the color you want. With self-made animations it can also be a solution to set a Magic Scene as first step.
This is a known limitation and will be addressed with an update at some point.

I’d like to import an animation from another app

There is no direct way to import animations, since there is no standard format for animations. What you could do is to set your lights to a certain animation step in that app, then save this step as a scene. Afterwards create a new animation that contains your newly created scenes. You can do this with colors as well.

Can I save an animation as a scene?

No. Animations are technically on a higher level than scenes. Animations can (and partially must) include scenes, hence it can’t be the other way around.

What does the switch “Allow brightness per step” do?

It allows you to to include a brightness in your animation for each step. This gives you more fine control about what your animation is doing at the expense of not being able to change the brightness while the animation is running.

If you turn it on, the brightness of your scenes will be included. For colors, tap on the color, and change the brightness value there.

If you turn it off, you need to define an initial brightness, which defaults to 70%. This is the brightness that is being used when the animation starts. You can change the brightness after the animation start though.

In the Animation overview you’ll see a sun symbol at the Animation if “Allow brightness per step” is used.

My scene brightness is not used in my animation / I can’t set a brightness for a color

This is intentional to allow you to change the brightness while the animation is running. If you want to include the brightness of your scene or want to change it for single colors, enable “Allow brightness per step”. On the next start, the brightness is included. For colors in the animation, you will need to tap on the color and change its brightness.
“Allow brightness per step” has the disadvantage though that you can’t change the brightness while the animation is running.

My animations start at 70% brightness

If you don’t like this, you can change it for your own animations. Tap the animation (not the play button) to open the animation editor. Change the value of “Initial brightness” to a value you want.

You can also change the brightness after starting your animation – just select the group and change the brightness.

How many animations can I upload to my switches?

That is hard to say and depends on your configuration. The absolute maximum may be about 40 animations. But since you have also switches, maybe a motion sensor and timers, the limit is usually a bit lower. You will get notified when you have hit the limit.

My animation starts with the color the light had when it was turned on

This is how the Hue system works in conjunction with the animations. If you are using them in timers, it is currently suggested to turn on your lights with a timer, e.g. a minute before the actual animation starts. Use a scene or color with this timer.
Another workaround is to use a Magic Scene as first animation step – which you can keep at one color if you want to.

I cannot add animations to new timers or switch configurations, despite having the feature

Please enter the devices’ menu, select the bridge which owns the group that should play the animation, and then settings.
Now select remove animations and then remove only the unused when asked.

Discotainment

We have a starter tutorial about how to use Discotainment.

How does Discotainment work?

Discotainment uses Hue Entertainment, which allows it to control your lights much faster than most other apps can do under normal conditions. This allows iConnectHue to do some great effects that wouldn’t be possible in this speed otherwise.
This comes with some caveats though: Since it requires a specialized firmware, currently only original Philips Hue and Friends of Hue lights with a recent firmware work. It also means, due to this specialized mode, “Hue Entertainment”, only a limited number of lights can be controlled at the same time (see How Hue Entertainment works).

As always, you get the latest technology with iConnectHue. Since it allows us to give you things others can’t do, we think the light limitations given are a fair tradeoff.

For audio, iConnectHue picks up any music using your microphone. This is the only “official” way Apple allows music to be captured by apps. There’s no universal way for an app to directly capture audio from an app playing on your device. For specific things like Spotify and Apple Music, APIs are available, but we wanted to give you a universal way that doesn’t stick you to one of these ways. Plus, Discotainment hence isn’t restricted to songs particular stream services offer.
Audio capturing works with quite low latency, beat detection is almost non-influenced by mid range frequency noise.

What are the requirements for Discotainment?

You’ll need a Hue 2.x bridge (square shape) with a recent firmware (note: If this isn’t the case, the menu point will not be visible)
Hue Entertainment (the mode which is being used to achieve this speed) requires coloured Philips Hue lights with an up-to date firmware to work (no 3rd party, only newer Living Colors)
We recommend an iPhone 6S and up, but usually every supported iOS device should be sufficient

My lights don’t appear in the list when I try to create an Entertainment group

Make sure the requirements mentioned above are met:

Are these lights Philips Hue lights of Friends of Hue lights?
Do your lights have the most recent firmware installed?

If you just purchased your lights or they are not connected to the Hue portal, they will not have the latest firmware. Make sure you connect your bridge to the Hue portal (iConnectHue informs you with a blue marked “Remote access” entry in its menu about this), and wait for the firmware to be transferred. Please note that this may take up to a day!
You can also see and if available update your light firmware at “Lights”. Use the 3 dots next to each individual light to do so.

If I play back audio from the same device, which audio outputs are supported?

Any speakers connected via an audio 3.5 mm jack
Bluetooth and Airplay devices
Your built in speaker

If you can’t get the audio playing on an external device and visualization running properly at the same time, try this: Open the iOS control center, tap the two waves on the top right of your audio playing, then select the device audio should run on.

If none of these fit, or you have problems playing audio while doing visualization on the same device, please play the audio to visualize from a different device than the one that is doing visualization, or try connecting your speaker device via cable.

How do my lights work best in Discotainment?

We recommend a 5 GHz WiFi network, or a situation with only a few neighbouring 2.4 GHz networks, also make sure you’re not too far away from your router / WiFi access point
Place your device’s microphone near the audio source, make sure no other audio sources are disturbing it too much
Make sure your router is a more recent model with a recent firmware
If you’d like to use Discotainment for more than half an hour on an iPhone, then please connect it to a charger
For beat detection (which changes colors), pop music and electronic music with clear beats work best, it should also work with some other genres – but in this case we recommend to use mainly the volume/lightness for visualization (select the Lightness tab)

Discotainment stops after every song

This seems to be an issue specific to playing back songs from Apple Music. It doesn’t appear for locally stored songs. What we could gather at the moment is that this seems to be an issue of iOS itself and/or the routines that handle playback for Apple Music. iOS still acts as if iConnectHue is recording, but it doesn’t send it any more data.
We currently have these tips to try out:

Start one or two locally stored songs in the music player, then go back to the Apple Music and try it again (worked here)
Restart your device
If that doesn’t help, play from other music sources than Apple Music

If you run into this problem and want to help us out, please contact us directly after the issue happened from within the app. Thank you!

Discotainment is running, but my lights don’t change

This may be the result that not all of your lights are reachable or physically connected. One light is the “master” light – if this one is not reachable, none of your lights will react. iConnectHue will notify you about this problem.
Either make sure all lights are reachable or remove any lights from your Entertainment group that are turned off or are not reachable.

How many lights can be added to an Entertainment group?

You can add up to 10 lights – this is a limitation set by the Hue bridge. It is technically not possible to control more than 10 lights at once in Hue Entertainment mode, since your lights work in a different mode to operate this fast – they are limited by their resources, which are available ZigBee channels. Unfortunately this can’t be changed at the moment – except by using a second bridge, and there another Entertainment group.
Based on your feedback, we have suggested to Philips that it would be great to have more than one Entertainment group being usable at once. While the 10 light limit per bridge is real, it could be made possible, by improving the bridge firmware, to have multiple lights working at the same color, and by this increasing the light count.

I want to create an Entertainment group but the app says I’m not at home

If you have Home & Away set up, go to Automation->Users->Your user, swipe right on it and select “Present” (in case of one bridge) or select “Presence” and select your home where you are (in case of multiple bridges). If this didn’t help or you don’t use Home & Away, please read further.

In case you have one bridge: Please go to Automation->Home location and set your home location again.
If you have multiple bridges: Go to Locations, then select your current location, then select to update its location. Close the page afterwards.
If this didn’t help, go to Settings and tap “Remote access foreign Wifi” once, then, when it switched, tap it again (so you have its old setting back). Do this preferably in front of a window, so there’s a good GPS signal. This should update your location.

If this didn’t help, please reinstall iConnectHue, as setting up your bridge again will set you to be at home.

Sometimes visualization is interrupted or stutters, or doesn’t work at all

That points to bad reception, either to your access point / router or to your lights. Since Hue Entertainment functions by sending many updates per second and these updates are allowed to be “lost” (opposed to the normal light control), any kind of disruption when sending the updates will be visible to you.

Please check these things:

Make sure you have a stable WiFi connection – either position yourself better to your access point / router or move your router in a better position
Make sure your WiFi is on a channel where not too many other users are on (take into account that Wifi channels overlap! 2.4 GHz Wifi usually needs distance of 5 channels to crowded channels)
Prefer 5 GHz WiFi if possible, since it is not as crowded and neighbourhood WiFi is damped by walls
If that didn’t help, it’s likely the connection to your lights – try to reposition your Hue bridge accordingly, so that it isn’t block by any obstacles, e.g. positioned a bit higher in your room

My lights turn red and nothing happens
Apparently there is a bug in iOS that prevents simultaneous audio recording while using an Airplay 2 device, while Airplay is not a problem.
You can work around this behavior by first launching Discotainment in the iConnectHue app and only then connecting to your Airplay 2 device. It is important that you have not yet established a connection to Airplay when you start Discotainment.

Why do you use the microphone for visualization?

This is due to a limitation set by Apple. Possibly to overcome possible copyright problems, apps can only record playing audio from the microphone, not from the device itself. There are a couple of different solutions to overcome this (Audiobus, Spotify API), but they are not supported by all apps, and are partially vendor specific. We wanted to give you a solution that works in most situations – this is what the microphone does. In most cases, microphone audio is sufficient for proper visualization.

Which lights can I add to a Hue Entertainment group?

Only color lights and only those made by Philips and labelled “Hue”. Also only those which have a recent firmware installed. This has technical reasons: To be able to control these lights in a fast way, they need to have been set up especially for Entertainment mode. Once they are in this mode, they won’t react to any other commands from apps, switches and timers.
It looks as if some Living Colors lights are also compatible – it is possible that those also sold in a “Hue” variant (Bloom, Iris) are in fact the same lights, just without the remote. So their Living Colors counterparts may receive a new firmware.

Also, make sure, when you set up an Entertainment group, that your lights used are not too far away from each other. When they are in Entertainment mode, they don’t act as repeaters any longer.

I get an error message when I try to create an Entertainment group

Please make sure you have the latest firmware for both bridge AND lights installed. Make sure you are connected to the Hue portal (see menu entry “Remote access”, it shouldn’t be marked blue). For lights, please leave them on standby for a couple of days if you have turned them off physically before.
You can find firmware updates under Devices->Your bridge->Firmware update.

My audio is interrupted when I start the visualization

Start the audio again while visualization is running, this should solve it. If not, please check if the supported audio devices mentioned above apply. If they are listed as compatible, please contact us via the app contact function, and explain which app you started the audio with and to which device it was sending the audio. Thanks!

I don’t want Discotainment to be distracted by other noises.

To achieve this, set the “Pass through” slider to zero in automatic effect mode, select any effect, or set the brightness variation under “Brightness” to equal minimum and maximum values.

How Hue Entertainment works

Normally, your lights are in a so-called “Mesh network” and transfer commands from any app through your bridge from one light to another until it reaches the correct light (imagine “chinese whispers” from your childhood as a comparison, one says something but not everybody nearby can hear it – so it needs to be repeated). This improves the range of your lights, and if there are any transmission errors, commands are repeated. This makes it reliable enough to work in the 2.4 GHz range albeit there are so many other devices using the same frequencies. But it also slows down everything.

Hue Entertainment needs to do this differently to catch up speed. It skips detection for transmission errors (since we send many commands per second, it doesn’t matter if one or two commands are skipped), and disables the capability of the mesh network, since it is important for normal light mode, but also slows down everything.
Now there’s only one master light (“Proxy”) that receives all commands from the bridge, and repeats those commands to all lights nearby, where each light listens on a different ZigBee channel. Since there are only 10 ZigBee channels available, the total number of lights that can be in one Entertainment group is limited to 10 (Again, compare that to your childhood: One teacher can only check a certain number of homeworks, because he only has limited time).

Hue Entertainment also requires lights to have this capability, so at the moment, only original Philips Hue color lights are supported – Philips has updated their firmware in order for them to be able to do this. If any other light manufacturer would want to support Hue Entertainment, it would need to do this as well – Philips says that they can do this, if they are part of the “Friends of Hue” program.

Groups, Rooms and Zones

See this FAQ post to read about the differences and which group type to use.

How do I change group lightness/color?

Tap the color picker symbol bottom left (round circle with a smaller circle in it – right to the group switch).

I see some of my groups doubled

You possibly have created those groups as rooms in the Hue app. iConnectHue shows rooms of the Hue app, but the Hue app doesn’t show iConnectHue’s groups. Delete or hide them as you need them (see topic in this chapter on how it works).

I see groups with a dollar sign prefix like $roomTR

Those groups get created when setting up a switch with the Hue app to control single lights and not rooms/zones. We recommend to only use iConnectHue for setting up your Hue system and to use the Hue app only for controlling purposes if you need to.

How do I rename a group?

Long press the group name. This works for everything else in the app – to rename it, just do a long press.

How do I delete or hide a group?

Enter Home view (bottom right tile button), select the edit pencil and tap the delete button (minus symbol “-“). In the next step, you are asked what you want to do. Either select to hide or to delete a group.

How do I change the group order?

Enter Home view (bottom right tile button), select the edit pencil, long press the group you want to move until it moves up and drag it where you want it.

Where can I change the lights included in a group?

Tap the edit pencil top right, then the newly appeared light icon bottom left. Now select the lights you’d like to have in your group.

Can I sort my lights somewhere?

In group view tap the edit pencil top right, long press the light you’d like to move and move it after it elevated to the desired position.

How do I change the group’s image or its type?

If you are looking for the type: If it’s a room or zone, when in group view, tap the edit pencil top right, tap the group center and select to edit the group type
Please note: This option is only available with the 2020-Upgrade (former Level 1 Upgrade), if you purchased the app with or after version 4 or if you have a membership.
The same editing steps go for the group image: Tap the edit pencil, select to change the image. Please note that changing the image is only available for Pro members.

Sometimes a random group named “hgdp” with some random number appears

This likely comes from your Logitech Harmony hardware. Either hide the group like described above, or disallow Harmony access to your Hue system and delete it afterwards.

Which data can be shared within the family?

If you install iConnectHue on multiple devices, but not the same iCloud account, these settings will be shared automatically when connecting to the bridge:

Scenes
Groups
Timers
Automation settings (except for your location)
Switch settings (Hue Dimmer, Tap, Motion sensor, Smart button, etc.)
Active animations (anybody can turn them off)

Please note: Only scenes created with iConnectHue are kept in sync when you change groups. These groups need to be changed within iConnectHue in order for your scene settings to be updated.

What is currently only shared via the same iCloud account: widget settings (these are considered as your personal setting), group orders, the last magic scene setting per group, favorite colors, custom magic scenes and animations (but you can still stop them).

With a membership you can also share single Magic Scenes, Animations and Widgets. To do so, select the 3 dots at the Animation/Magic Scene/Widget->”Share” and use the familiar iOS sharing menu.
After opening the file on the target device, select the share button bottom left and open the file with “iConnectHue”.

How does iConnectHue backup my data?

iConnectHue will store your data via iCloud. If you install it on a different device using the same iCloud account, your data will be transferred to that device. This especially affects

Scenes
Magic Scenes
Group order
Animations
Most settings and preferences
Your widget configurations
Favorite colors
In case of the same iCloud AND iTunes account, your in app purchases

Please note that your location, Home & Away user and your bridge authorization data will NOT be stored on iCloud, as they are considered as personal and private data for each device.

Additionally, this data is stored on your bridge:

Scenes
Group light orders
Timers
Switch settings (Hue Dimmer, Tap and Motion sensor, etc.)
Home & Away actions as well as Home & Away users (as they are a functional part of these actions)

My scenes / settings don’t sync via iCloud

Be sure that you have the same iCloud account on both devices, and you are in the same WiFi (sync happens there more often), and iCloud drive or documents and data is enabled for iConnectHue. Both devices should be powered on. In the same WiFi it usually only takes seconds to sync, but sometimes it may take much longer. You can check if iCloud sync is working:
Go into the settings of each iConnectHue, scroll to “Lights blink on selection” and change that setting in one app. The other iConnectHue should follow after a few seconds. Make sure to get rid of possible sync issues by restarting your devices. After that, give it some hours, especially if your devices aren’t in the same network.

If nothing happens, most likely your iCloud account has got a problem. Lately mostly iCloud drive users have had sync issues (it seems that iCloud drive in its functionality is unreliable and sometimes slower than the old iCloud). You can check the current iCloud status online, but beware: This information is not always correct. It sometimes claims the service is running although it has issues.

If iCloud states it is working, continue: Try to turn off iConnectHues iCloud access in your iPhone Settings->Apple ID (profile at the top)->iCloud. In case this didn’t help and you use iCloud drive, turn off and on the whole iCloud drive. It may take some time until all data is synced (iConnectHue may not be the only app with data on iCloud). Restart your devices if that didn’t help.

If this still didn’t help, sign out of your Apple ID (scroll down to “Sign Out”) on one device, then sign in again. Then do the same on the other device. Start iConnectHue on the first device, do the same again for the other device. If there is no sync even after about 30 minutes, we suggest to contact the Apple support, your iCloud account may be broken.

Note: Only scenes created with iConnectHue are fully synced and are kept in sync when you change a group. When you change a group, you need to do it in iConnectHue in order for your scene settings to be updated.

Can the whole bridge be backed up?

Technically this is possible, but not fully documented and hence cannot be used by iConnectHue. At the moment, we see it as Philips’ responsibility to offer backup methods for the current bridge.

App and user interface

I’d like to set a value very precisely with a slider

Most sliders in iConnectHue support scrubbing. That means, after you touch and hold a slider, the more you move away your finger from it vertically (up or down is unimportant), the more precisely you can change a value. It works like the Music player seek on your iPhone.

Where’s the master switch?

It’s on the Home view in the middle of the top, and looks almost the same as iConnectHue’s app icon.

My colors change after I have set them

When you set the color temperature for a light, you will first see the correct color in iConnectHue, but later the color will change towards cyan (if cold color) or orange (warm color). It also happens with some lights after you set a normal color. This happens due to the way the bridge is designed. It communicates the color to the lights. Several times a minute the light communicates its color back to the bridge, and iConnectHue always shows the current color told by the bridge. After receiving a color temperature, or sometimes a color, some lights suddenly “forget” the color they have had set and fall back to a different color mode. Since the color algorithms in iConnectHue show a bit different colors in the possible three color modes lights support, this is an obvious change to you. The real lamp color, however is not affected! This problem has been issued to Philips and doesn’t seem to appear with several newer light models.

Sometimes, after loading a scene or using a switch, the lights are still displayed as off in the app

This is a restriction by the bridge. When a scene is loaded, it actually activates a “scene” on the bridge, which is stored in the lights themselves! So when you select a scene, the bridge tells the lights to load their scene, but doesn’t know what happens – it has to wait for the light to inform about its present color state. Typically this doesn’t take more than 15 seconds for all lights, but can take up to 40 seconds.

The switches (in app) won’t work / The lights won’t work as expected

Please start the tour – it explains how the buttons and lights work. To do so select “Help & More”->Tour.

The app appears in German, but I’d like to use it in English (or vice versa)

iOS controls the language setting, and you can change it in the iOS settings: “Preferred Language Order” in Settings > General > Language & Region > Preferred Language Order. Tap “Edit” and either insert English before German, the other way around or remove a language completely.
The preferred language can also be chosen for every app itself. Please search for iConnectHue in your settings and adapt it there.

How do I copy scenes from another app to iConnectHue?

Open the other app, load the scene you’d like to import to iConnectHue. Go back to iConnectHue, wait until all lights show the color they actually have (takes up to 30 seconds), select the circular dashed scene icon on the bottom and select “+ Add as new scene” in your scenes list for the selected group.

My colors look a bit different after drag & drop and in the color picker

Hue lights of 1st and 2nd gen show different colors than Friends of Hue and Living Colors lights. This is a purely technical issue: To have a more faithful color representation, these Hue lights use Orange-Red, Lime Green and Royal blue. This mix allows them to have a better color representation than RGB lights (Friends of Hue, Living Colors). But this means that dragging a color from a Hue to an RGB light will not always produce exactly the same color. The color picker also takes this into account when you select a single light and shows you the actual spectrum of the lamps.

How do I add, rearrange or delete the actions of the widget?

iConnectHue has a “Widget editor” that is located in the “Settings” menu.
To add a widget item, press “+” top right or “+ Add widget item” at the bottom of the item list.
If you want to rearrange or delete an item, tap the pen top right. Holding and then dragging the items in the item list allows you to rearrange them, while the “-” symbol deletes the item.

How do I add an iConnectHue Home Widget?
Long press your home screen or today view, tap “+” on the top left, search for iConnectHue and select your desired size (Note: Large Widgets are only available with a Membership). Then long press the widget and select the widget you’ve set up in iConnectHue.
If you haven’t created a Widget yet, go to iConnectHue’s menu, select “Widgets”, and create a new Home Widget.

How do I add iConnectHue’s widget to the notification center?

When you’re on the first page of your home screen, swipe to the right. You should now see all your widgets like weather and so on. Swipe to the bottom, then select “Edit”.
Since iOS14: Scroll to the bottom again, then select “Customize”.

At the following screen, look into the “Additional widgets” section and search for iConnectHue. Tap the “+” button, and then move it to the position where you’d like your widget to appear in. Select “Done” top right and you’re done.

You can now add actions to the iConnectHue widget with the “Widget editor”. The Widget editor is located in the iConnectHue “Settings” menu.

I can’t place the Today Widget at the top

For technical reasons Today Widgets are always placed below Home widgets. You can make space, though: Put your Home widgets on the Homescreen, so they don’t use up all the space of your Today View. This way our widget goes up and you gain faster access. Alternatively use our Home Widgets.

My Today Widget is empty or shows “Unable to load”

Due to the way iOS works, the widget is sometimes not loaded. Please tap the widget up to 3 times to get it shown again.
If this happens more often, please reduce the number of items in your widget. Widgets can only use 1% of the memory of the iOS device – which is not enough for some circumstances. The widget has already been heavily optimized for reduced memory usage, there’s not more room to improve this.
Due to the complex nature of this, iConnectHue can’t warn you in such cases – since memory usage depends on your device, your widget content and the Hue devices you’re using.
We have a recommendation about how many bridges can be used with the widget in our Multi Bridge FAQ.
We have reported this memory limitation as a bug to Apple, and it currently looks as if Apple is handling this as an actual bug – which makes hope for future iOS versions.

My Today Widget is empty after an app update / My Home Widget doesn’t do anything

Please restart your device, this usually solves this. This is due to the way iOS handles signing an app. It sometimes doesn’t handle this signing correctly with an app update and expects the old widget in place. The restart corrects this.

The today widget shows group names under my scenes

The default naming since version 4 is a scene/room combination, which you can also change in the widget settings. For this, open the widget editor, tap the three dots top right and switch to the combination you’d like to have.

Widget name and headlines

Since version 4.1 you can also change the name of widget items to something completely independent. Open the widget editor, long press on a widget item, enter your preferred name and confirm it.
Below the old widget name will always be shown, and you can return to the initial name by merely deleting the assigned name.
This feature is available for everyone who has bought version 4, has the 2020 Upgrade (formerly known as Upgrade Level 1) or a membership.

The widget item “Line break / Headline” can thus be renamed easily and function as a headline for grouped widgets.

Purchases

I can’t make an in app purchase, since there is no price

This problem occurs sometimes when you have connectivity problems or the app store is not reachable at the point when you open iConnectHue. The first solution is: Please try it again later. Make sure you have a proper WiFi connection when you do.

If that didn’t help, please restart your device and try it again. This usually resolves it, if it isn’t an app store problem – for the latter, read on…

I can’t make an in app purchase

This seems to happen from time to time, which can be both an iTunes server or a connectivity problem. The usual error you’ll see then is that iConnectHue can’t connect to the iTunes store.
Please check your connection and try it again later the day. If that didn’t help, please restart your device and try it again. Apple also offers additional support on their pages.

I have purchased something, but was charged more

This is usually a misunderstanding in how Apple’s payments work. Apple merges multiple payments into one credit card/account debit. So if you purchased something for, let’s say 1.99, and something else for 0.99 and you are charged 2.98 this means Apple merged these into a single debit. This is also another point for you to see that it’s a merged debit – Apple usually prices things with a “9” as the last number in the price – 2.98 with its “8” obviously differs from this.
When such a thing happens, this is usually no mistake. Cross check your other purchases as well. From the way the app store works, we are NEVER able to charge you twice for the same thing or charge you for something else without you noticing.

Do you have a price list of the in app purchases?

You can see the price list in the browser or on your mobile device in the App Store. Below the headline “Information” you’ll find an expandable field named “In app purchases”. Expand the field to see the prices.
Note: This list is incomplete and sorts various in app purchases by popularity, not in a logical order. Also it might contain purchases that aren’t available anymore. Please see the app description for which in app purchases are there. See a detailed description of our most important additional features here: https://iconnecthue.com/features/#additional.

I made a purchase on the iPhone, but it doesn’t appear on the iPad (or vice versa)

Please first make sure that both devices use the same iTunes and iCloud account. Now select Settings->In app purchases->Restore in app purchases. If that still doesn’t make your purchase appear, then please go through the iCloud troubleshooting.

A family member purchased iConnectHue and I use family sharing, but I still have to pay for the app

Open the App Store, tap your profile picture at the top of the screen, then tap Purchased. Tap your family member’s name to see their content. To download iConnectHue, tap the download symbol next to it. See this link for more help: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201085

I purchased iConnectHue, use family sharing, but I still have to pay for in app purchases

In app purchases are not shared via family sharing. However, our Pro membership is available via family sharing (beginning with version 4.8). It contains ALL in app purchases PLUS additional functionality.

How to set up family sharing for the app and Pro membership

Go to iOS’ settings
Tap your name
Tap “Family Sharing”, then tap “Set Up Your Family”
Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your family and invite your family members

See Apple’s help for more information: https://support.apple.com/en-en/HT201088

Depending on your subscription share settings, you might also need to set up to share your Pro membership:

Go to iOS’ settings
Tap your name
Go to “Subscriptions”, select iConnectHue
Select to share your Pro membership with your family

See Apple’s help for more information: https://support.apple.com/en-en/guide/iphone/iph6e7917d3f/ios

After setting this up, your family members should select to restore their in app purchases in iConnectHue’s settings->In app purchases.

I purchased or updated the app, but the download doesn’t work

You purchased the app at the App Store and hence you are using Apple’s services to download and install the app. From time to time, downloading apps is interrupted by either these services or local connectivity problems.
In such a case, just open the app store and try to install the app again. Search for “iConnectHue”, then select the cloud symbol with an arrow to install the app. Make sure you have a good Wifi connection when you do this.

I purchased the app, but I need to pay again

Please verify you’re using the same Apple ID you were using when purchasing the app. If it is the same, try signing out and sign in again to the app store – for this, open the iOS settings, select the first entry (usually your name) and select “Sign Out” at the bottom.
If that didn’t work, please contact Apple, since there may be an issue with your account.

I made an in app purchase, but it is not there any longer

Please go to iConnectHue’s settings, there select “In app purchases”. Select to restore your purchases – this should resolve this issue.

The app isn’t shared via family sharing

iConnectHue has been allowed to be used for family sharing. If it doesn’t work, please contact the Apple support, as your family sharing doesn’t seem to be set up properly.

We use family sharing and see “This app is no longer shared”

This is an error of the iOS family sharing. Please contact the Apple support in case you see this to resolve it. There is also a longer thread in Apple’s forums on how to solve it.

Membership

What are memberships?

Memberships are meant as an alternative to in app purchases – we will continue to offer in app purchases – but they also offer additional functionality we wouldn’t be able to offer you with in app purchases. We have plans to extend those, and those plans mean regular costs we need to get covered. However, this is only scratching the surface. We have a more detailed explanation on our App costs page.

Where can I start a membership?

You can do so under each in app purchase, or under Settings->Start membership.

Do I lose my in app purchases if I opt for a membership?

You won’t lose any of them! While they are not shown any longer whilst your membership, if you decide to cancel your membership, your in app purchases will still be there.

My membership isn’t available on another device with the same iTunes account

Please go to iConnectHue’s settings->In app purchases. Then select to restore in app purchases.

How can I switch from a Basic to a Pro membership?

Simply by going to Settings->My membership->More information. There’s a button that lets you upgrade your membership. You should be redeemed for the rest of the running basic membership, unfortunately this only comes in a dialogue AFTER purchasing the Pro membership.
If this dialogue doesn’t appear, you don’t get an email about the remaining time being credited and it’s also not being compensated against other purchases within the next days, please contact Apple.

Alternatively, you may also upgrade your membership via the AppStore:
1. Open the AppStore
2. Select your profile on the top right
3. Then go to “Subscriptions”, and select your desired membership

My membership has been extended, but this is not reflected in iConnectHue

We are currently not sure what may be causing this, as only a few users seem to experience this problem.
Please try this one by one and check if a measure already helped before trying the next:

Restart your device
Go to iConnectHue’s settings->Purchases->Restore purchases
If this still didn’t help, please reinstall iConnectHue (note: Bridges and home location need to be re-setup with this step)

My membership is not shared

Please note: Sharing the membership is only possible if you have the Pro membership!
If you have multiple accounts, make sure you’re using the same account the sharing member invited you with to share when installing the app and using Family Sharing.

Apple Watch Watch Plus app

How does the Watch app work?

It consists of two apps, actually. The one on your Apple Watch, which mainly handles displaying everything, and the one on your iPhone, which hands over the data to the Watch app. The Watch app needs the host app in order to work.
The watchOS concept currently doesn’t allow full featured standalone apps. This may change when watchOS progresses in its development.

I made the watch plus purchase and nothing changed / My most recent settings don’t sync

This is usually a synchronization problem that can occur due to transmission problems, e.g. when the watch was not close enough to your phone. It also appears when switching between two watches – apparently the iOS app is notified about the old watch missing, but not about the new watch being attached, which may point to a problem within iOS. Both problems can usually be resolved.

First, make sure your watch is near your iPhone and try to simply restart the iPhone app and keep it open. After this, restart the Watch app: Open it, press the side button until the power screen appears. Now press the crown until the app closes. Open it again and wait up to 30 seconds to let it sync your settings.
If that didn’t help, please restart both iPhone and Apple Watch and try it again!

Please note: Although you can switch between two Apple Watches, generally iConnectHue only supports being actively used on one Apple Watch.

The app doesn’t appear on my Apple Watch (or the Watch app icon looks kind of white)

This seems to happen sometimes because the iOS app sync mechanism doesn’t seem to be very reliable.

Make sure your watch is near your phone. Open the Watch settings on your iPhone.

Scroll the available apps sections, there to iConnectHue. Select to install the watch app. If you don’t find it there, have a look in the section above and first DEselect to show it on the Apple Watch. After this, scoll down again and select to install it.

How can I improve the Watch app startup speed / How can I add the watch app to the Watch dock to start it faster?

Normally, watchOS does now care by having your last used apps always in background. You can switch to a favorites mode though.
Open your Watch settings on your iPhone, go to “Dock”. Select “Favorites”. If iConnectHue is not in your favorites list yet, select “edit” on top right and move iConnectHue up to the favorites list.

Where can I find the sleep timer?

Select a group in the list. When in the group, force touch to see the sleep timer time selection. Select your time or tap on the dark area behind the buttons to cancel. To cancel a running timer, force touch again and select to cancel.

Siri Shortcuts

Siri Shortcuts are a way to allow apps to support certain actions to be made available to Siri. The way they work, they require your interaction. When you do something in iConnectHue, iOS will be notified about that action. Therefore, to be able to have a certain action available as shortcut, you need to perform it first in iConnectHue!
Did you know? The more you do actions in iConnectHue (not the widget or any hardware!), the more likely Siri will suggest you certain things at certain times and locations on your homescreen.
We have a tutorial to help you with setting up new Shortcuts: Come, have a look!.

Currently these actions are supported:

Scenes, Magic Scenes, group colors, Animations (only w/ membership or Animation upgrade)
Group off (only off!) and light on/off
Discotainment opening, starting and stopping (only w/ membership or Discotainment addon)
Starting sleep timers and reminders (only w/ Pro membership)

Please note that some of these actions, if you don’t have a membership, require you to have the appropriate module purchased. So e.g. without Membership for Animations you need the animation upgrade to be purchased, Discotainment actions require the Discotainment addon. Colors need to have a name in order to be listed; If they don’t appear, simply rename them and select them again.
All actions have to be executed in iConnectHue or your Apple Watch. Neither the widget nor any hardware switches do handle this at the moment!

Siri Shortcuts have the additional advantage of not to being limited to Philips certified 3rd party lights. They also handle the extra features you know from iConnectHue – animations are stopped, motion sensors are cancelled (if set up so).

In iConnectHue 4 with a membership or 2020-Upgrade (formerly known as Level 1 upgrade), you can create these actions directly from iConnectHue! For that, tap the menu button (three dots) and select to add it to Siri.

How can I use Siri shortcuts?

See our tutorial: How to control iConnectHue with Siri Shortcuts

Switches and motion sensors

Which switches are supported?

Generally only Philips switches and sensors, as well as “Friends of Hue” switches are supported – but not other 3rd party switches! You can always find the latest list under supported devices

Where do I edit my switch or sensor?

Select “Devices” from your menu. There you will find a list of all your hardware switches and sensors. Select them to edit them, or tap “+ Find new device” to find new switches or sensors.

It is shown that no scenes have been found – but I have scenes in these groups/rooms in the app

Due to the way iConnectHue and the Hue app work differently, scenes made in the Hue app cannot be used within iConnectHue. Please create a scene that you’d like to use on a switch again in iConnectHue!
Note: This feature has been available before, but several users had problems with it – and there is no way to make it work reliably. Therefore we don’t offer it any longer. Hue app scenes in iConnectHue are solely thought to help you transition to iConnectHue. iConnectHue’s scene and color capabilities can do as much, if not more than the Hue app. Please use them!

How do I use a different alternation type than I currently have?

Please delete all alternations except the last one (which is the one you want to start over with). After doing that, you will see the option again to add an alternation at the very bottom of the list. Tap it and select the new alternation type you want. Depending on your device and where you are, you can alternate by multiple presses, (cycle between different actions with each press), by time, by day/night (split by sunrise and sunset) and by group on state.
We also have a tutorial on how to set up alternations.

I would like to combine multiple alternation types

This is possible in many cases! If you have a Hue Smart button, Hue Dimmer, Lutron Aurora or the Hue wall switch module you can combine the “Split for multiple presses”, “Split by day and night” or the “Split by time” alternation with the “Split by group on state” alternation. In order to do this, first add one of the three possible and then add the “Split by group on state” alternation. Visit our tutorial for a pictured guide.

Please note: This feature requires a membership, the 2021-Upgrade or purchase of the app after March 2021.

How does the Dimmer and Lutron Aurora “Hold” action work?

It is usually executed ADDITIONALLY to the initial press (except Hue Tap). So if you press a button, the dimmer light blinks once and the “Initial press” actions will be executed. So if you hold a button the short press actions are executed plus the “Hold” actions are executed. If you hold it even longer, the “Hold” actions will be repeated.

With a membership, the 2020-Upgrade or an app purchase after November 2019 you can activate “Long press exclusively”. In this case, ONLY the long press actions will be executed.

With Friends of Hue devices the short press is not executed additionally to long presses.

Where’s the scene “Last on state”?

Please use simply instead “Group on”. Tap to add another action, then select “Switch group”, then “Turn groups on”.

Due to a different concept, iConnectHue doesn’t need these scenes, and if you use those of the Hue app in iConnectHue, they may work improperly. The “Group on” is less resource hungry and does essentially the same.

My switch doesn’t cycle back to its first alternation

Please enable “Reset after 10 seconds” in the switch editor on the affected button. This option is only shown when multiple presses are set.

I’d like to add an alternation

Please add at least one action to your switch or sensor. After that, you will be able to split up your actions. Scroll at the very bottom of the list and select to add an alternation. Select the alternation type you like and add your actions.
Have a look at our tutorial on how to set up alternations for more details.

How do I set up additional time ranges?

Go to the very bottom of the list and select to add additional time. The time you select will split up an existing time range into two parts. So if you have a range from 8:00-12:00 and add 10:00, you will have 8:00-10:00 and 10:00-12:00 as a result.
If your device shouldn’t do anything in this range, just don’t add anything (for the off actions of the motion sensor: deselect any group if you have selected any).

My Dimmer switch is not reachable (is marked red)
This is a problem that happens from time to time without known reasons. There are two ways to solve this:

1. Force reconnect: Press all four buttons for about three seconds until it lights up green. The switch will then try to reconnect to the bridge, which can be seen by red and green light indication. If it was successful, the final light color should be green.

2. Reset the dimmer: Use a pencil or a modified paper clip to reset your switch via the reset button on the backside. Do not (!) delete the switch in the devices section. Press the reset button about one second (!), then it should blink orange. Start a device search. It should now blink green for some seconds after it has been found. Although iConnectHue says that no new devices were found, the green light shows that the bridge connection was re-established and it should work again.

My Osram Lightify lights don’t turn off with a group/light off or when loading a scene

This issue is located in the Osram firmware (which seems to have multiple issues in conjunction with the Hue bridge). You can either update their firmware by connecting them to Osram’s bridge or send them to Osram for repair.

Motion Sensor specific

If the switch editor help above didn’t contain a fitting topic for your motion sensor, try this section.

I would like to receive a notification when my motion sensor saw movement

Due to the way the Hue system and iOS work, this is not possible to be realised in a reliable way for an iOS app.

I would like to use the motion sensor lightness sensor to toggle lights

This may come with an update, if a proper solution on how to make it useful without being annoying (by e.g. overriding your settings) can be found.

The motion sensor turns off my lights though I manually changed the light in the meantime

This is normal behaviour. If the motion sensor doesn’t detect any motion, it will run your inactivity actions. Place it differently and/or increase the time period to turn the lights off after inactivity. If you want to interrupt the motion sensors, place a motion sensor cancel on each switch button (and its alternations) that should interrupt the motion sensor. You can also define that actions on groups should cancel your motion sensor. See this topic for more details.

How do I set up motion sensor cancelling on switches?

If you want to interrupt a motion sensor with a switch, you need to enable “only reacts if groups are off”. This way, the sensor will only run its activity actions if there’s no light, and it won’t start its activity actions again once it detects your motion.
Now add the motion sensor cancel to each of your buttons and its alternations that should cancel the sensor.

Where can I adapt the motion or brightness sensitivity?

You can find the sensor sensitivity settings by selecting the three dots at the top and selecting “Sensitivity”.
(This button has been moved with update 4.2 to make space for the new weekend alternation.)

How do I combine two motion sensors for one area?

To combine two motion sensors, add a “motion sensor cancel” to the activity actions of each sensor to cancel the other sensor. Make sure you do this for every time slot.
Here you need to have “Only reacts if groups are off” turned OFF – so that one motion sensor can take over actions of you are out of sight of the other one (note that this means that cancelling via switches or app will not work).
It can also remain turned on, but with the following constraint: if you have a sensor in the beginning of the hallway and one at the end (non-overlapping), the lights will turn on once you arrive in the hallway. If you move to the other end, however, the lamps will turn off for a second, as the second sensor will not prolong the activity phase, but only reacts repeatedly once the lights are off again and there is motion.
In every case, the inactivity actions of the currently active motion sensor are the ones that will happen. Also make sure that you have set your motion sensors to dim and then turn off. The state return is currently not supported for motion sensor combination.

Click here for a step by step tutorial.

What does the “Cancel motion sensor” action do?

It cancels the motion sensor inactivity actions. For example, if you are in a room and don’t move, but pressed a dimmer button or used the app, it essentially “overrides” the motion sensor, and you take control from now on.
Keep in mind though: It doesn’t disable the motion sensor. As soon as motion is detected, the activity actions kick in again. Hence, you should limit the motion sensor about when its activity actions can start. If it’s a single sensor and should be cancelled by app or switch, enable “Only react if groups are off”. If you want to combine two motion sensors, contrary is the case – here you will need to have “Only react if groups are off” DISabled. So note that in this case, cancelling via app or switches is not really working usefully. You can either combine two sensors OR cancel their actions via dimmers and app/widget.

How do I cancel my motion sensor with actions within the app and widget?

Select iConnectHue’s settings and there “Motion sensor cancelling”. Select, which sensors are interrupted by actions on which groups. Actions that interrupt the motion sensor are: Loading scenes, animations, switching groups on and off and group color changes (but NOT changes in individual lights of the group!). It’s recommended to have “Only reacts if groups are off” ENABLED here, since otherwise any new detected motions will start your activity actions for that group again.
Note that this cancelling only applies to any actions made within the app. For hardware devices, use the “cancel motion sensor” action, as described above.

With the Motion Sensor, I’d like to return to a certain scene after the inactivity period

This is currently not supported. You can return to the last scene before the motion sensor acted, if you want to. Simply delete the action to dim and turn off your lights and replace it with a state return. If you don’t want the motion sensor to do anything, simply keep the inactivity section empty, or delete all actions there until it is empty.

How do I set up my motion sensor physically in a room?

If you set up the motion sensor in your room, make sure it is in a corner of your room where it points into a direction covering most of your room (imagine that it can “see” almost up to its very left and right sides). If there’s a corridor visible when the door is open, make sure the sensor captures the door, but not the corridor (at least if you wish that it doesn’t act to every move in that corridor or other room).
If you can’t get a good viewing angle, consider to mount it to your ceiling! It captures 360 degrees when facing downwards.

My motion sensor doesn’t turn my lights off

Go to the affected motion sensor in iConnectHue’s devices under Devices->Your Motion sensor. Make sure that the inactivity section has got actions defined for the affected group in your time range. If that is the case: Was the light turned on before your entered the room?
If so, check if “Only reacts if groups are off” is enabled. If it is, your lights won’t turn off or change in case they were already on. If it is not enabled, select the 3 dots at the top and check “Sensitivity”. Is the current brightness in your room brighter than when it should switch? If so, move the slider to the right.

My motion sensor does not turn on lamps even though there is movement

Some lamps do not properly turn off or transmit their state belatedly. If this is the case in a group that the motion sensors activates it can happen that this group is not turned on by any movement until the problematic lamps are correctly turned off.
Third-party lamps or Osram plugs are usually responsible for this.

I want my motion sensor to not turn off my lights in a certain time range

Depending on what your case may be, you have two options: Either keep the inactivity actions for that time range clear (delete all actions there or create a new empty time range), or use the “state return” in the inactivity actions instead. It allows you to return your motion sensor to the state before it started its activity actions.

The motion sensor turns off my lights though I don’t have any activity actions defined for that time range

This is because it still reacts to your activity, and you have defined inactivity actions.
Please add the same time range to the inactivity actions, do NOT add any actions, so no actions at all get triggered at movement.

What does the switch “Only reacts if groups are off” in the motion sensor editor?

If you enable it, it stops the motion sensor reacting when ANY of the groups in the “on activity” section in the affected time range are on. This prevents the motion sensor to change your current light set up and turn your groups off if you had already activated something by yourself before.
NOTE: What this switch does NOT is, if you changed a group that was already turned on by the sensor, to interrupt the turn off by the sensor. Even with this switch to “on”, the group then will be turned off after the amount of time passed the sensor didn’t detect a motion.

I’d like to have shorter switch times for my motion sensor

For energy efficiency, the sensor updates its status only a few times per minute. Reducing the on time too much would mean you would possibly stay in the dark.

I’d like to see the temperature in in Celsius, but it’s in Fahrenheit (or vice versa)

You have set your device to a locality with a metric/non-metric system. You can change your locality in your iOS settings under General->Language & Region. Since version 4.1 it is also possible to only change the unit in the iOS settings.

I want my Motion Sensor to change to the active timeslots scene or colors at their time despite someone is moving

The Hue Motion Sensor normally will not change the scene or colors from a previous to a current timeslot, if there’s activity.
But you can change that. Here’s how:

Create a timer for the starting time of each timeslot
Select the color or scene you want to activate in that timeslot
Set the timer to only act when the group is on (otherwise the light would turn on despite nobody being present)

For further information on how to create timers in iConnectHue please see the FAQ section for Timers

Please keep in mind to also adjust your timers when you change the Motion Sensors timeslots.

Friends of Hue switch specific

My Friends of Hue cannot be found
If it is a 2 or 4 button switch, please make sure it has the rocker(s) oriented vertically and the right orientation. You can check the orientation on the back of the embedded EnOcean switch module – it has to be readable upwards. If you cannot reach the module, just try to rotate your switch by 180 degrees.

Lutron Aurora specific

My Lutron Aurora cannot be found
You may need to reset your Aurora to its factory state. You can do it like this:

Press quickly three times on the middle button, hold it on the 3rd time
Keep it holding until the light flashes
Release the button, press it quickly three times, until it’s flashing fast
Now you’re ready to search for it – follow the search instructions

You can find more information on Lutrons support pages.

Automation / Home & Away / remote access

We also offer a tutorial on how to set up Home & Away.

How does the Home & Away functionality work?

If you set up your home location, iConnectHue will be informed by iOS about entering or leaving this home location. When one of these movements happen, iConnectHue will notify your Hue bridge, which then will execute the actions you have set for the respective case.
For this to work, you’ll need to carry the device with you, on which iConnectHue will handle your location change in the background.

Please note that it is necessary to allow access to your precise location, otherwise complications and failures in automations may occur!

To do so, go to the iPhone settings > Privacy & Security, then select Location Services. Select iConnectHue and turn Precise Location on.

How does remote access work?

Your bridge connects to the Philips Hue portal. When you’re away from home, this portal keeps to be connected to your bridge, so when you do any actions in such a case, the portal will forward any actions to your bridge and all answers from your bridge are sent to iConnectHue by this portal.

How does Home & Away for multiple persons work?

Home & Away differs between two ways of arrival and leaving:

For all persons
You can access these settings under Automation->On arrival and leaving.
These actions are called when the first person arrived or the last person has left your household.

For individual persons
You can access these settings under Automation->Users
Every device that should trigger the presence of a certain person, must be registered here as a user. You should add a user ONLY on the device he/she is carrying on arrival and leaving.
All actions you add here for a certain person are executed whenever this person arrives or leaves. The actions are executed ADDITIONALLY to the actions for all persons.

I can’t add another user to Home & Away

The way Home & Away works, it requires each user, who takes part in Home & Away, to install iConnectHue on their personal device. Hence you will need to add each user on his personal device.

I would like to have Home & Away restricted to night time or a time frame

Add at least one action, then select “+ add time dependence”. Select if you want to split up by day and night or a specific time frame.

I can’t register to remote access, because I see a blank page or I can’t get back to iConnectHue

It may be possible that this was a temporary outage of the remote services. Please check if it works later. If not, please restart your iPhone and try again.

If that didn’t work either:
Do you have any ad blockers enabled? Maybe they scramble the content. Check this in iOS’ settings under Safari -> content blockers. Disable every single one. Also disable to “block all cookies” under “Safari”, and check under “advanced” that JavaScript is enabled.

My lights are being turned off and on again / I have a remote access although I am at home

iConnectHue relies on the geofencing feature of iOS, which tells iConnectHue that you either entered or left a specified location (not much more) – iOS does not allow apps to get a notification in background on WiFi changes. Geofencing relies on cell tower and WiFi information. It does coarse location detection based on cell towers and fine location detection via WiFi and since recently also via Bluetooth. If you turn off WiFi or bluetooth, this will make geofencing VERY imprecise, up to a point of several kilometres – so make sure WiFi and possibly also Bluetooth are turned on.
If that is already the case, try to increase your home location radius in “Automation” under the location arrow (in case of multi bridge purchase, please select your location first, then select to edit it). Increasing the radius sometimes can reduce the number of false positives.

If this didn’t help and you have these issues though you are at home: Have you moved recently or did someone move in in your neighbourhood? Have you or your neighbours changed your WiFi name? Did you just install a cell signal repeater? Then this is unfortunately “normal” behaviour. Please give it some time, your and other devices will soon update Apple’s WiFi and cell tower database and behave normal again. This can take some days, but may take up to a few weeks.

If you have a membership or purchased Home & Away:
You can temporarily refresh to your current location by turning “Remote access in foreign WiFi” off and on again in iConnectHue’s settings. If you want to keep track about what happens, enable to get notifications when you enter and leave home. Always react to connection errors by repeating the coming home action (either use notification to open the app or select to repeat it under the advanced notification actions – force touch or long press it, if your device doesn’t have force touch)
Turn off “Remote access in foreign WiFi” for the time the device needs for the update, if you are annoyed.

If you don’t have a membership or didn’t purchase Home & Away:
Go to automation->Your location. Update your location by making it your home location again. This should tell iConnectHue that you are home.

My coming home actions do something different than they should

Please check: Have you created additional actions for your own user? Select Automation->Users->Your user name to check it. Note that these actions are executed ADDITIONALLY to the coming home actions for all users. This allows you to create personal actions that do not apply to other users.
If this doesn’t apply: Please check if you still have some other app set up to handle your coming/leaving actions. For example, if you have such actions set up in the Hue app, you should disable them there – otherwise they still will be activated.

Also make sure you have disabled the geofencing functionality in the Hue app as well as in HomeKit (and other apps, if you’ve set this up there) Just enabling Home & Away in iConnectHue doesn’t disable such functionality in other places.

My remote access doesn’t work / It says my login details are wrong
If you have two or more bridges, make sure you’re using the correct account for that bridge. Each bridge needs a separate account!

If you only use one bridge or you’re sure it’s the correct account, read on:

iConnectHue uses Philips’ services to give you remote access to your bridge. In some cases, these may not work as expected, but there are solutions. The most simple one: Restart your bridge! It may have lost its connection to the remote server. Plug it out and then in again and see if this resolves your problem. If not, continue reading:

If you are a new user: For currently unknown reasons remote access doesn’t work for some people (the world icon appears, but actions are not submitted to the lights, or the icon is red). In most cases the solution is pretty simple. Please login with your credentials to the My Hue portal. After this action it should work:

https://account.meethue.com

One user said that searching for his bridge via the portal resolved his issue. Other users said that deleting the meet hue account and re-registering worked (in one case where a user tried to use the same account of his old bridge after migrating to a new one), or that simply by registering with the original hue app solved the problem. Sometimes also the Philips remote server is simply not responding in time.
Philips has been informed about the issue and we hope it gets resolved soon.

For existing users: If the bridge restart doesn’t help, it may be a server problem. iConnectHue communicates with Philips’ servers, which are, again, connecting to your bridge at home. If your home network is working without issues, it may be a temporary server outage. Wait for a day – if that didn’t help, please use the “Contact” method from iConnectHue’s menu and describe your problem!

I need to re-enter my login details

The Philips portal requires iConnectHue to renew your portal allowance about every two weeks. If you didn’t open the app for some time, the renewal allowance expires and you will need to log in again. Generally please avoid to force quit the app (swiping the app upwards in app view)!
If it happens repeatedly within 2 weeks, this might be a Philips remote server issue – it is the one which decides wether iConnectHue needs to ask you again. Please send an in app feedback directly if this happens for further analyzation!
Check against the Hue app: If it happens there, you can write directly to Philips and report that you have a remote access issue with your bridge. Philips has been informed about repeated login requests and is working on it.
In case there are no privacy/ security concerns you might also consider saving your password in the Safari browser for fast login.

I get the message that no actions could be taken, since no bridge is assigned to this location

Please go to Devices->Your bridge. Tap the location arrow at the top right and select your location. This should fix the issue.
If you have multiple bridges, you can also go to Automation->Locations->the affected location. Swipe the location right and select the bridges of this location.

Home & Away doesn’t work

iConnectHue’s Home & Away is very powerful, but it needs a proper setup and proper handling to do its magic. If you have any issues, please check this:

Make sure you have at least a non-throttled 3G connection. When you have a phone call, many networks will disable 3G, 4G/LTE, etc. and hence no data transmission is possible.
Do not connect to a car Wifi if you want to use Home & Away. This is currently not supported and will likely not work.
Make sure notifications are enabled for every user at least for errors. They are important and may inform you about issues. If you disable them, iConnectHue can’t properly inform you in such a case. Enable them both in your iPhone and iConnectHue settings.
Make sure everybody reacts when they get a connection error. This notification allows you to repeat your coming/leaving actions. If the problem persists, use this notification after you entered your local wifi again.
Can iConnectHue access your location in background? If not, Home & Away will not work. Change it in your iOS settings under “iConnectHue” and set it to “always”
If you repeatedly receive a connection error, make sure you didn’t turn off mobile data for iConnectHue, which is required. Check this in iOS’ settings: iConnectHue->Mobile Data (switch must be turned ON)
Don’t force close the app. This may result in improper function.
Change your home location radius. It’s possible that you have a bad network reachability in your current radius.
Make sure you don’t have your iPhone’s flight mode enabled when you leave or enter your home location
Sometimes it’s helping to simply set your home location again on the automation page
If you switched your iPhone, reinstalled the app or your user icon is not filled and user name is not bold: Delete the user and set it up again
If you have multiple devices and happen to get no notification: Delete your user and set it up again.
Please check if the guest is set as present. It prevents Home & Away from executing.

Home & Away limitations

Home & Away is made to work as best as possible within the app. In most cases, it should succeed, but there are also limitations. See the first paragraph of the previous topic for technical layout and its limitations.

Another source of influence is cellular network quality. If you are in a weak spot of your network, or your network is overloaded, and it doesn’t change fast enough, leaving or coming home actions may not get executed. You will get a notification which allows you to try it again later.

The last source of connection problems can be the Philips remote portal. Your bridge is connected to it. If there is a communication issue between your bridge and the portal, or the portal is overloaded (which seems to occur sometimes, for example when many people at a time are accessing it) coming/leaving actions may not get executed as well. The notification should inform you about this as well.
If you tend to get many timeouts, try to restart your bridge at home, this sometimes helps.

My user list shows the other person in a different state than it should be

Please note that this list is just there as a support, nothing more. The list is, under some circumstances, not in sync with the bridge. Still, whatever it states, all Home & Away actions happen on your bridge. As long as each user gets a success message on coming and leaving, everything is switched as expected. The list has nothing to do with the actual actions happening.

How do I update my location after I moved?

If you have a single bridge:
Please go to Automation->Location. Tap the location arrow on the lower right of the map to move it to your current location. After that, press “Use this location” to update your home location.

If you have multiple bridges:
Go to Automation->Locations->Your location. Select “Edit location”. Tap the location arrow on the lower right of the map to move it to your current location. After that, press “Use this location” to update your home location.

Does geofencing empty my battery?

The iOS geofencing used by iConnectHue doesn’t use GPS. The whole iOS geofencing system solely relies on cell towers and WiFi information – something that your device has all the time. Hence it really doesn’t use much energy – you still can use your phone the whole day! No, iOS does not support to remind iConnectHue that you entered your home WiFi – unfortunately. But then again, it may already be too late to switch on lights when you finally connected to your WiFi (with remote access, it can be turned on from 3G or better!).

Lights

Setting a transition/fade time for Hue Lux/Whites doesn’t work, or they don’t switch off

This seems to be a light firmware related issue, and there’s currently no known solution to this.
If the lights don’t switch off with a transition time, please don’t use it – that should make them switch off.

My lights turn on with a dim brightness

This is unfortunately a known issue of the bridge which occures under certain circumstances. If you edit the fade time of your off action to anything else than 0.4 seconds, the group brightness will not be preserved. Either opt to turn on the groups with a fixed brightness (select to add “brightness”) or delete your off actions for that group and set them up anew (this creates a state where the fade time will be set to its default).
Note: This does NOT apply to the motion sensor. Since the lights are dimmed before they are turned off, they do automatically not have their last brightness. Please use a fixed brightness, a color or a scene instead.

The issue can also occur when colors are used. iConnectHue uses colors where possible to save resources on the bridge. Sadly, under certain circumstances, the brightness info is lost in transmission. While Philips is aware of the issue, we have yet to see a fix. Since scenes do not suffer from this flaw, you can use them instead of colors.

My light turns on randomly

If this appears to always happen at the same time, please check if you have set any timers for this light. Try to cover every app you are using for timers.

If you didn’t find anything, or the issue is at a random time, and the light always turns on warm white, the issue might be the PSU of your light. If it isn’t running stable, or is stressed by any other power user in your power grid, it will restart – and the lights default to warm white. Also, if you use a dimmer between your bulb and the its power connection: Turn it to full power, better remove it – the bulbs are not laid out to be used with dimmers!
If there aren’t any dimmers: Try to detect any problematic power users in your grid. If you can’t find any, get the light replaced.

Note: This may also affect 110V bulbs being used in a 220V+ grid – these are not laid out for such high power. In such a case, this is not a device fault and replacing the light may not solve it. Use an appropriate device for your power grid instead.

I can’t use my round remote after connecting Living Colors/Whites lights via Touchlink search

Touchlink “steals” your lights from whatever controller they were working for and assigns them to your bridge. This means you can’t use the round remote control any longer. There’s a workaround by adding the remote to your system instead, though that doesn’t always seem to work. See our solution here.
Another method for newer Living Colors lights is to add them via their 6 digit serial number (if present).

Where do I find the serial number of my Hue lights?

For retro fit bulbs, it is usually printed or embossed on the bottom of the plastic body.

For Lightstrips(+), the number is on the back of the controller – unfortunately this is a bit bad when you actually sticked them on something.

For Hue Beyond lights, at least for the table lamp, the serial is at the bottom. My guess is that the serial will be on the back side of the other lamps, too.

For lights that come with their own housing (like Hue Being, Fair etc.), you will find the serial number on the controller – which requires you to open the housing. The controller is the big block inside the light.

Lights that have individual lights, like the Hue Runner or Pillar: These are retrofitted lights, too. So you’ll find the serial on each individual light bulb body.

Hue Play: The serial number is on the backside of the sticker at the end of the cable short before the PSU.

Hue Ensis: Numbers for up and down module are silver stickers on the manual.

Hue Signe: Silver sticker on the bottom.

Living Colors: If the light is officially Hue compatible, you’ll find the serial either on a sticker on the back of the light or sometimes also on a sticker attached to the power cord of your light.

I can’t find my Living Colors / Living Whites using touchlink search

iConnectHue just tells the bridge to search for these lights, and the bridge has to do the correct search. Please make sure that you have at least Gen 2 lights (you can recognize them by having a round remote control – only some of the ones with egg shaped controls work). If this is the case, make sure your light is connected (if possible, try to turn it on), try it with a restart of your bridge. Make sure you have the latest firmware installed. There are firmware versions having a bug, but it should be resolved with version 01031131. More details in this post on Reddit.
Note: An indication that your light is completely incompatible is, that it doesn’t blink when you start touchlink search. Even if it blinks, it doesn’t always mean it’s possible to connect it.

You may also contact Philips and let them figure out by your serial number, if your light is compatible.

This is the “official” solution by Philips:
1. Reset your LivingColors remote (this will remove all settings in your remote), by holding “0” (off) and brightness down together for 10 seconds.
2. Reset your Hue Bridge via the remote (this will remove all settings, scenes, schedules, rules, etc. from the Hue Bridge): By pressing the link button on top of the Hue Bridge, hold the remote on top of the Hue Bridge and then hold “0” (off) and Blue on colorwheel (-6h) until the Hue Bridge reboots.
3. Hold the remote on top of the LivingColors and hold the “I” (on) until the LivingColor stops blinking and turns green.
4. Hold the remote on top of the Hue Bridge, press the linkbutton on top of the Hue Bridge and hold down “I” (on) on the remote until the LED around the linkbutton stops blinking.
5. Start a normal light search

You may try to get around the bridge reset (step 2) in the first run, as this deletes everything on your bridge and requires you to search for your lights and set up iConnectHue from scratch again.

My lights show an exclamation mark (are not reachable), or do not always react, or my switches are marked red

These lights or switches are marked as not reachable by the bridge, iConnectHue displays this with the exclamation mark symbol. This means the bridge is not sure it can reach them. This can happen when you move the bridge to another location or some lights are too far away (Zigbee only allows for 10-20 metres in your home), or you turned off or moved lights that are usually in between those lights. Also WiFi interference may be a reason for this.

You can usually resolve this by moving the bridge to another position (higher is usually better, or if you have two floors, possibly the middle). Lights also function as repeater, so moving a light in between the bridge and the other light which is further away, is helpful. It’s also helpful to keep those lights physically turned on (in standby mode).

For Dimmer switches, this is a special case and there’s actually another solution to resolve it.

Sometimes this is also just a bridge problem – and can be resolved by simply restarting the bridge. If it re-appears, try another Zigbee channel.

If this didn’t help, consider changing your WiFi and ZigBee channels in a way they don’t overlap.

One user has reported that deleting the unreachable light from the bridge and reconnecting it helped after all other steps failed to fix the connectivity issues.

How do I reset a bulb if it can’t be found?

In case a light cannot be found at all, and you have a Hue Dimmer Switch, you can also use this to reset the light.

Please physically turn on only the bulb that is to be reset to avoid accidentally resetting other close by lights, too. Hold the Dimmer Switch very close to the light (about 10cm/ 4 inches), and push the first and fourth button simultaneously for about 10 seconds.
Once the light starts blinking you can stop pushing the buttons. After a while it will stop blinking, and the green LED of the Dimmer Switch should blink once.
Your light is now reset, and should be findable in iConnectHue again.

If this is not the case, please try resetting it again.

Which WiFi channels may interfere with Zigbee?
Actually it is not that simple. ALL 2.4 GHz Wifi channels (if we speak of channels 1-13) overlap with ZigBee channels. However, you can configure your WiFi and Zigbee channels in a way they don’t overlap. This page explains which channels overlap in each communication network. So make sure you configure your router and bridge in a way they don’t overlap, if you have any issues.

How do I change the Zigbee channel in case of connectivity issues?

To do that, open the Hue app, tap the setting symbol bottom right, go to “Bridge settings” and select “Zigbee channel”. Try another channel and see if that improves your situation.

Note: Osram lightify devices tend to run into a “non-reachable” state, but are still reachable anyway. If so, you can usually ignore this state for them.
If this still didn’t help but the light is responding, you can turn off this functionality in iConnectHue’s settings.

My light turns on by itself when I fade it down or turn it off

Make sure you don’t have any active timers in iConnectHue or any other app you are/were using. If this comes suddenly and directly after one of your actions, this is likely due to a hardware fault in the light’s power supply or the light being used in a power network out of its specs (e.g. a 110 Volts bulb in a 220+ Volts network). Please contact your seller or Philips for a replacement.

I want to connect my Living Colors lights to the bridge and keep using their remote

Please follow these steps:

1. Plug out all devices near the bridge that are capable to connect via Touchlink, because they might somehow connect with the remote. (Why plug out? See below.)
2. Reset your remote: Push the reset button behind the cover at the back with a paper clip or the like.
3. Place your remote right in front of your bridge.
4. Open Touchlink search, but don’t start it yet!
(Lights->Tap on plus symbol->Your bridge->Search with Touchlink – don’t start it yet!)
5. Now at first press “I” on your remote and then “Start search” in the app. The remote LED blinks smoothly for a bit and shines continuous when the connection was successful. You can release your finger, when the LED is turned off again.
If the remote LED blinks fast, the connection failed. This happens, please just try again. (First “I”, then “Start Search” – even if it’s still searching)
6. Connect your remote as usual with your Living Colors light(s).
(Place your remote in front of the light, press “I” and wait until it shines green)
7. Place your light(s) near the bridge, turn it on with your remote and connect it via Touchlink.

To connect more Living Colors lights later, please just repeat steps 6 & 7.

Why step 1?
Otherwise it might happen, that you suddenly are able to control lights or plugs with your remote, that you didn’t intend to. For the connection with Living Colors lights it’s also not recommended, due to its lack of reliability.

Light setting and starting behavior

What is necessary so that I can adjust the starting behavior of the lamps?

- - A rectangular v2 bridge and current bridge firmware (at least: 1810251352)
  - A Philips Hue or Friends of Hue lamp with current firmware (iConnectHue independently detects whether the lamp supports this)
  - This function must also have been enabled by Philips on your bridge (and apparently also individual lamps)! If the above are true and your lamp has a firmware installation date of December 2018, this is probably not yet the case. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine when it will be unlocked. Please be patient, Philips wanted to have all users taken care of by the end of 2018.

The light settings say that a firmware is being downloaded, but it takes a long time

It is normal that device firmware installations take a little longer, especially when many devices are renewed at the same time. If it takes longer than two days for a particular device, try a bridge restart by briefly disconnecting the bridge from power.

The starting behavior does not work

Please note that the settings must also be transferred to the lamps! If necessary, open the information page under “i” again and look at the very bottom to see whether the settings are still being transferred. Also, always wait 7 seconds after setting a new state before turning off the lamp, so that the lamp can save the state (documented here).

Is there a limit to the number of lamps used for startup behavior?

You can configure all your lamps as long as you don’t disconnect each lamp from the power on its own. Your lamps build a network to give you good accessibility. If you disconnect too many lamps from the power supply, this network will become unreliable. It may also be that if you turn off a particular lamp, other lamps will be unavailable for a while. In such a case, give your other lamps a few minutes to reconnect.

What startup behavior should I choose so that everything is not brightly lit in the event of a power failure?

To do this, select “Old state”. This will set your lamps to the state before the power failure, as soon as there is power again.

Bridge

My bridge can’t be found. What’s wrong?

Please make sure iConnectHue is allowed to access your local network.
You can do so by entering the iOS Settings app -> iConnectHue -> enable Local Network.
If there are multiple networks in the household, make sure that you are on a network from which access to the bridge is possible (consider guest WLAN). If you are using a VLAN, see the section: My bridge is a different network/VLAN.

If it’s the same bridge you are looking for:

Please always wait for the spinning wheel on the top left to disappear – the app is still searching while it appears.
The app relies on four different search methods. Sometimes one can fail due to a problem in the iOS network layer. For that one, restart your iOS device. If that doesn’t help, please check your bridge network connection and/or restart your bridge and your router. Also make sure you don’t have any energy saving settings or IP filters set on your bridge or devices.

Open iConnectHue, go to Devices->Unknown bridge (or your current bridge name). Enter the IP address or paste it (long press it, select “Paste”) and select “Done”.

You can also do a manual search: Go to Devices->Unknown bridge (or your current bridge name) and select to search for the bridge. Please wait until it finished (spinning wheel disappears).

If you use a special security router with a firewall for devices in your household, make sure to refer the manufacturer’s process of enabling access to your devices from other devices and enable the bridge(s) to be able to connect to the Internet.

If it’s a different bridge:

If you have a different bridge, and you didn’t migrate from it, and don’t have multi bridge support, it’s recommended to delete your widget content before. After that, go to Devices->Your bridge. Select “Find Hue bridge”.

Your new bridge should be found and suggested to be picked. You will get a warning about your data. This one is correct, you will lose your scene associations, any widget items pointing to your old bridge won’t function properly any longer. Agree if you are sure about to do this.

If you have a membership or purchased multi bridge support:

Select to add a new bridge and search for it. After adding it, you can delete the old one.

Note: If that didn’t help, please restart first your router, then your bridge. After waiting about two minutes, open iConnectHue again and see if it looks out for your bridge (spinner top left spinning). It should have found your bridge’s IP address in about 30-60 seconds.

My bridge is in a different network/VLAN

Please make sure SSDP/UPnP and/or mDNS/Bonjour communications are forwarded between the networks, to find the bridge automatically. Alternatively, you can enter the device’s IP if it cannot be found automatically.

Note: iConnectHue does not officially support such network configurations.

Should I enable “Auto firmware update”?

We recommend to have “Auto firmware update” disabled. While new firmware releases are usually backwards compatible, it can’t be guaranteed that iConnectHue will work with a new firmware. Manual updates are only shown after a compatibility check has been made, which isn’t possible for auto updates.

I see a firmware update. What can I expect?

Philips usually keeps their firmware release notes up to date, although it may sometimes take a week after a new firmware release. Have a look at their release notes.

I have issues connecting to my bridge after a power outage or due to an unstable network/router

Open the Hue app, go to its settings, select “Bridge settings”->”Network settings”, disable “DHCP” and select “Save”.
This will fix your bridge to its current IP address and hence searching for it is no longer required.

How can I migrate from my old bridge to the Hue bridge 2?

Philips used to have a great migration function in their Hue app. Unfortunately they don’t do so anymore. If by any chance you have an older Hue app (2.x or 3.x) you might still be able to use it for migration of the bridge. If not, please delete all your lights starting with the farthest from your bridge v1 working your way to the nearer ones. This will reset them and afterwards you can start the light search on your new bridge to have them all added. When some lights are missing, please start the search again. If they are not to be found, please move them physically closer to the bridge temporarily. If that still didn’t help, reset them via a Hue Dimmer if you have one or search by their serial number.

If you have any devices, please delete them, too and add them to your new bridge one by one using the device search.

To update iConnectHue for your new bridge:

Disconnect the old bridge (this is important!). Open iConnectHue. After a short time of searching, you should see an information about the new bridge and will be asked if you want to switch. Follow the steps. If you don’t or want to keep the old bridge in the network for some reason, read on…

If above step doesn’t work:

After migration, open iConnectHue. In case you use multi bridge support, add the new bridge. Otherwise go to the bridge settings of your old bridge, select to search for the bridge, and select the new bridge. You will be warned that you might lose some of your data if you switch (bridge id is marked red). Go ahead despite this warning!

After connecting to your new bridge you will be asked if you used iConnectHue with an old bridge before. Select “Yes”, iConnectHue will upgrade all your widget data and scenes for the new bridge. Wait some seconds and restart the app after that for the changes to take effect.

Multi bridge

How does multi bridge support work?

With iConnectHue, you can access each bridge at the same time – there’s no need to switch between them manually. The support within the app works seamlessly, and besides more groups, switches and lights, you won’t notice much of a difference.
Note, however, it doesn’t do so in hardware. You can’t use switches or sensors of one bridge to control lights or devices on the other one. You can’t mix lights of one bridge into groups or rooms of the other one.
If you use multiple bridges in one household, it is recommended to separate them by rooms or floors.

Note: In 2023, each Bridge still requires a separate Hue account.

I can’t add my second bridge to my Hue account

You will need to create an additional Hue account. Although it may look as if it is supported in some places, a Hue account only works with a single bridge. Each bridge requires an own MeetHue account to access the Hue portal.

How do I set up multibridge support?

You need to be where each bridge is located, you cannot add them remotely. Search for the new bridge and connect to it. iConnectHue will set the location of your bridge to your first home location. If the location is different, and you haven’t created a new location yet, you will need to go to the automation page and add a new location for your bridge – where you can assign the bridge to this new location.
If you already created the location, go to your bridge settings, tap the location arrow top right and select the new location for it.

After your bridge has got its location, please set it up for the remote access. It is really recommended to use remote access for multiple bridges in multiple locations. Otherwise your app experience will be reduced. For that, select remote access in the menu and select the new bridge. You will be prompted for the login credentials. Please note that you will need a separate account for each bridge.

If you didn’t do it yet, select to automatically connect remotely in foreign wifi in the settings. This will make sure you’re always connected to each of your bridges wherever you are.

Can I use devices registered to one bridge to control something on the other bridge?

No. The bridges are separate systems and are just unified in the app for your convenience.

How can I move lights from one bridge to the another one?

Delete the affected light from the first bridge (swipe left on the light in the light list and hit “delete”). As second step, search for new lights on the other bridge. By deleting the light from the first bridge it usually gets reset automatically and can be found easily. However, if you’re having trouble finding it again, reset the light manually or for Philips lights select to search by serial. Enter the serial number that is (usually) printed on the body of the bulb. See our section on where to find your light’s serial number for details.

I use two or more bridges in the same house. Should I adjust my Zigbee channel?

This is recommended. Give each bridge a different channel, if possible. To do that, open the Hue app, tap the setting symbol bottom right, go to “Bridge settings” and select “Zigbee channel”. Use a different channel for each bridge.

How many bridges can I use?

While there is no hard upper bridge limit, there are memory and speed constraints. The app may slow down if more than the number of recommended bridges is used, the widget may not start if you’re above the limit. The latter comes from an iOS constraint not allowing widgets to take more than about 1% of the main memory.
For an iPhone 6S with 2 GByte RAM, the recommended maximum is 6 bridges for the app and 2 bridges for the widget.
For an iPhone 7/8 plus, X and up with 3 GByte RAM, a max of 8 bridges for the app and 3 bridges for the widget is recommended.

How can I change the order of my bridges?

Please select Devices in your menu and then select the edit pencil top right. Now there are three lines next to your bridges to grade your bridges via drag’n’drop.

Command line

You can start iConnectHue via the URL scheme iconnecthue://action/ and perform several commands. The URL builds up like normal web server URLs. The first command is separated by the URL with a “?”, the following commands are separated by “&”.
If you’d like to load your scene “Video” and switch the kitchen off, use the URL iconnecthue://action/?preset=Video&switchgroup=kitchen,off.

preset=presetname1,presetname2
- One or more scene names, separated by commas without space
switchgroup=groupname,action – with action being:
- “on” – restore last known on state
- “allon” – force all lights to be on
- “off” – turn all lights off

Find non-Philips and non-Hue lights and devices

All devices tested and known to work, with a mini review and some additional information about their compatibility are listed on the Supported devices page.

A foreword: We will and can not guarantee the inclusion of the lights and/or manufacturers listed below. 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.

Living Colors

Always make sure you have the latest bridge 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, see our section on the serial numbers where to find it.
If you intend to keep using your Living Colors remote, please see our manual.

If you can’t find them, your model may be incompatible. Please check this section for further possibilities on how to find these lights, if they can’t be found immediately.

Cree
Turn the light on, wait 2 seconds, turn if off, wait again 2 seconds. Do this 4 times, with finally letting the light turned on. It should flash once to indicate the reset. If this doesn’t work, turn it off and on again until it blinks once as an alternative.

Dresden Elektronik

You should be able to find them by normal search or Touchlink search.

If that doesn’t work, reset them: Turn it on, then off, 4 times. Wait 2 seconds for each step. The 4th time leave it turned on. Now it should blink. Wait ten seconds, then turn it off and on again 2 times with the final state as turned on. Now it should have been reset.

Feibit (also 3A, Nue)

Light bulbs
- Turn the light off and then on again 5 times; Success is signalized by the light blinking
Strip/Light controllers
- Besides the 5 times on/off method, you can also press the reset button for 10 seconds
Concealed switch
- Hold the button(s) for 10 seconds until you hear a click
- Alternatively remove the plexiglass surface and press the revealed reset button for 10 seconds until a red light flashes
Plugs
- Press the standby button for 10 seconds until a red light blinks

Calex
Turn on and off the light five times while waiting one second for each step. The light should blink afterwards and can be found for 20 seconds.

ERIA / Trust

Turn on and off the light five times while waiting one second for each step. The light should blink afterwards and can be found.

Owsoo
To reset an Owsoo device, press the reset button for 5 seconds. Once the red light flashes the reset was successful.

GE Link

You should be able to find them via Touchlink search. If it doesn’t work, reset it.

To reset: Turn the light on, wait 3 seconds, turn if off, wait again 3 seconds. Do this about 5 times (GE itself says “about”!), with finally letting the light turned on. It should flash once, dim down and go back to full brightness.

Gledopto

Turn it on, then wait two seconds and turn it off. Now repeat this again 4 times, every time waiting one or two seconds. The connected strip or light should blink four times to indicate a successful reset. Now start the search.

Hommie

Turn the light on and off 10 times. The light will blink to signalize success.

Icasa

Turn the light on for 10 seconds. Then turn it off for 1 second and on for 2 seconds and repeat this for 5 times.

Ikea Tradfri

Start the search and AFTER this, turn on the light. It should blink once. If it doesn’t or isn’t found, it may need a reset.

To reset: You should be able to reset the Ikea bulbs by turning them off and on again for 6 times. They will indicate their reset with a blink and/or a return to the default color temperature. Turn them off again.

Then start the light scan process in iConnectHue’s lights list and AFTER this, turn on the Ikea TRÅDFRI bulb(s) you want to find.

Still not working? A user had success by starting the search while the light was still resetting – don’t give up too fast, sometimes they need multiple resets.

Iluminize

To reset your Iluminize controller press the “Prog.” button quickly for 5 times.

Immax

To reset the Immax bulbs turn the power off and on for 6 times. It should blink after a successful reset and shine brightly at its maximum level.

Innr

Start the search and AFTER this, turn on the light. It should blink once. If it doesn’t or isn’t found, it may need a reset.

To reset: Turn off and on the light 6 times in one second steps. After that, they blink once. Note: They can only be found directly after they blink once! If you missed that event and already started the search, just unplug them and plug them in again.

All plugs beginning with SP 120 and counting up can be reset by pressing the “on” button for 5 seconds. After that, the indicator light should blink 5 times in succession.
The older Innr Plug SP 110 is NOT Hue compatible and won’t be able to connect!

To reset Innr PL 115: Use a sharp object (e.g. paper clip) to push the button at the controller shortly for one time – the lights should blink twice.

iolloi
To find an iolloi in-wall device press the reset button quickly for 2 times. To reset it, press and hold it for 5 seconds.

Linkind

To reset a bulb: Turn them off and on for 7 times – if successful it should blink twice shortly

LIVARNO LUX / Lidl

To reset a Livarno light turn it on and off 3 times and turn it back on. If the reset was successfull it flashes slowly until it is connected again.
If that doesn’t work, try connecting them via Touchlink.

Müller Licht

Turn the light on and off 6 times. The light will blink or show a color strobe to signalize success.
The lights can only be found when being turned on AFTER the search started.

OEEONE

To reset the OEEONE bulbs turn the power off and on for seven times. It should blink after a successful reset.

Ledvance / Sylvania Smart+ (was Lightify) / Osram

Connect any Smart+ / Lightify light product by doing this 5 times: Turn them on for five seconds, then again off for five seconds. While testing it turned out to be more reliable to do each step for six seconds. The light will blink shortly after a few seconds after this procedure. After that, search for new lights. This must already be done when the lights were freshly purchased.

Note: If you can’t find them even though they blinked, try Touchlink search. Another option sometimes working is to turn off the light, start the search, and while searching, turning on the light again.

The plug has an additional option: Hold the on switch very long, until the plug makes a clicking noise. Now your plug has been reset and can be found again.

US customers: The Sylvania lights (not plugs!) 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.

Paulmann

To reset the Paulmann bulbs turn the power off and on again 5 times. It should blink after a successful reset.

Paul Neuhaus

Currently only info on the plug: Hold down the on/off button for about 10 seconds. Afterwards, the plug should click and the nightlight should turn on. Now start the search.

Samotech

To reset a Samotech Cord Dimmer, press the reset button for 5 seconds and wait 10 seconds till the red LED stops flashing. Now press the reset button quickly 2x if you want the dimmer to connect. Pairing mode is indicated by a blinking blue LED.

Shenzhen Homa / Amelech

We currently don’t have a reset procedure for these, but suspect it’s the very same: Turn it off and on 5 times while waiting two seconds between each step.

Shyne

To reset a Shyne bulb turn it on for at least 10 seconds and then turn it off and on for 5 times. It should blink after a successful reset.

Sonoff

To reset a Sonoff device, press the reset button for 5 seconds.

Compatibility

With which bridges does iConnectHue work?

iConnectHue supports the Philips Hue version 2 bridge.

Which light sources does iConnectHue support in combination with a Hue bridge?

You will find an overview on the supported devices page.

Does iConnectHue support any 3rd party switches?

Yes, but only those named “Friends of Hue”. All others are unfortunately incompatible.

Is Amazon Alexa / Echo supported?

Alexa support is currently limited due to the way Alexa works. You can currently access single lights and, if you install the Hue skill, rooms and zones (but not groups). You can create groups within the Alexa app as well, but these are not synced if you change its lights within iConnectHue. It is currently not clear if scenes can be supported. This is due to the way Hue skill works: It only makes scenes made by the Hue app public, although there are no technical limitations to show scenes of other apps as well.
No further support is available. If you have any issues with Alexa or the Echo, please contact the Amazon or Philips support.

Can iConnectHue control the Amazon Echo Plus?

Though the Echo Plus system supports ZigBee, it is completely different to the Hue bridge. In fact, it is so different that it is mainly only compatible to itself – Alexa. You can’t integrate any hardware switches nor do currently exist any apps which can connect to the Echo Plus and control your lights. You’re MUCH better of with a normal Echo and a separate Hue bridge – due to its maturity and much larger eco system. Note: You can also connect a Hue bridge to your Echo Plus and don’t need to use its integrated ZigBee hub.

Is Google Home supported?

Currently there is no direct support for Google Home by iConnectHue. However, it looks as if Google Home is capable of detecting groups and rooms with iConnectHue as well as capable of finding most scenes (it is unclear why it doesn’t detect all scenes at the moment). However, Google Home only seems to find such groups and rooms where you have created any scenes for.

Does iConnectHue work with IFTTT?

There’s no direct IFTTT support in iConnectHue, but IFTTT solved a problem that any 3rd party app storing a scene to the bridge made IFTTT not listing any scene of the bridge any longer. So you should at least be able to use it simultaneously.

Are or will Belkin products supported?

There are currently no plans to do that. Belkins Zigbee Lights are incompatible with the Hue bridge, their outlets use a totally different (and undocumented) protocol.

Are or will Kogeek products supported?

There are currently no plans to do that.

Will or does iConnectHue support WeMo products?

No, and currently there are no plans to do this. Have a look at the supported devices page to see compatible plugs and switches.

Note: The most answered questions are listed here. If you have a technical problem that isn’t answered here, please use the in app feedback from the menu and choose “I have a problem”. If any other question isn’t answered here, you can write on the contact page.

My product is not listed here

Then it is likely not compatible. We can’t list every non-compatible product here.

About

About iConnectHue

iConnectHue is handcrafted just for you! It’s an independent app and is in no way part of or associated with Philips or one of its subsidaries.