TL;DR
- The Philips Hue app has launched multi-bridge assist, permitting customers to hyperlink a number of Hue Bridges right into a single residence system.
- This implies you possibly can handle all of your Hue lights, no matter which Bridge they’re related to, from a single “House” throughout the app.
- Beforehand, customers needed to handle every Bridge individually, making it cumbersome for houses with a number of hubs.
Philips Hue, a number one title in sensible lighting recognized for its vast compatibility with varied smart home platforms, has simply made a major improve to its system. Whereas many Hue merchandise provide Bluetooth connectivity for standalone use, they shine brightest when paired with the Philips Hue Good Hub (generally known as the Hue Bridge). For these with in depth Hue setups spanning bigger areas or a number of flooring, counting on two or extra Hue Bridges has been a standard resolution.
Nonetheless, managing these separate bridges typically meant juggling between completely different “Properties” throughout the Philips Hue app. That’s all altering with the newest replace to the Philips Hue app. As of model 5.31, customers can now hyperlink a number of Hue Bridges inside a single residence setup within the app, enabling unified management over all related lights. (h/t: Hue Blog)
The multi-bridge performance wasn’t closely marketed. As an alternative, it quietly rolled out with the app replace, with no particular point out within the App Retailer launch notes. To make the most of this new performance, begin by updating your Philips Hue app to model 5.31 or later. Right here’s a step-by-step information:
- Navigate to the settings menu within the Hue app.
- Beneath the “Dwelling areas” part, you’ll see a message studying: “Do a number of Properties really type a single House? Now you can place the Bridges collectively in a single House, which makes management a lot simpler.” Faucet on this immediate to start the setup.
- The app will information you thru an automatic migration course of. Choose the Bridge you wish to add to your most important “House.”
The migration will depart the secondary Bridge operational however take away its earlier “House” designation, consolidating every part below one unified residence system. As soon as that is carried out, you possibly can then organize the rooms and zones from each Bridges to fit your preferences.
It’s price noting that if the Bridge you’re migrating is linked to a Hue Safe system, you’ll must quickly disconnect the Safe cameras and re-add them later.
Whereas the multi-bridge assist is a major step ahead, it does have some limitations as of now. Full integration with Amazon Alexa for houses with a number of bridges will not be but accessible, and controlling lights on one Bridge utilizing switches and sensors from one other bridge can also be not at the moment supported.
However, the report mentions that some superior options already work seamlessly with this multi-Bridge assist. For example, triggering a light-weight alarm through the Hue app or a Safe accent can activate lights throughout all related Bridges, making certain house-wide protection for safety alerts.
We will count on Philips to deal with the present limitations in future updates, additional enhancing the multi-Bridge expertise. For now, customers with in depth Hue setups can rejoice within the newfound comfort of controlling all their lights extra seamlessly.
