Philips Hue Bridge review The Philips Hue Bridge is the brain of the smart Philips Hue lighting system from the manufacturer Signify. As the control center, the lighting system receives updates and new functions. Communication between the gateway and the Philips Hue lamps takes place via the ZigBee radio standard. The advantage: the WLAN remains unloaded and hackers can use it to penetrate the health home network with difficulty. The Philips Hue products are a bit expensive overall, but the purchase is worthwhile in any case. Philips Hue convinces with quality and reliable functions. The Philips Hue Bridge allows users to control up to 50 Philips Hue lights, but lamps from other brands can also be operated. This is possible if they also use the ZigBee radio standard.
Philips Hue Bridge – the design of the control center
The Philips Hue Bridge only needs to be smart health connected to the router and the power
(Signify)
The Philips Hue Bridge has a chic rectangular design. What is striking is the modern central button, the edge of which is illuminated and which serves as a status indicator. Three small LEDs indicate whether there is an internet connection. Although the gateway is smart health connected to the router, it looks modern, so users don’t have to hide the box.
Philips Hue Bridge – special features and functions of the control unit
As a control unit, the Philips Hue Bridge has the special feature of being able to connect to other lights that also use the ZigBee radio standard. With products other than lights from other brands, the connection is not always easy. Nevertheless, it is a great possibility that the Philips Hue lighting system can also be expanded with other brands such as IKEA TRÅDFRI due to the capabilities of the Philips Hue Bridge.
Philips Hue Bridge version 1.0 and 2.0 / 2.1 compared
The Philips Hue Bridge is the brain of the Philips Hue lighting system
(Signify)
The Philips Hue Bridge exists in the second generation. The main difference to version 1 of the interface between lamps and smartphone compared to the current variant is the larger range of functions. Compatibility with a smart health home system in particular makes operation even easier and possible by voice.
The first generation of the Philips Hue Bridge is out of date. Manufacturer Signify will stop updating the first generation Philips Hue Bridge by April 30, 2020. A switch to the latest version is recommended at the latest then. From this point on, users of Philips Hue Bridge Version 1 no longer have any guarantee of safe use and compatibility with online services. Then there is only the option of local control for users of the 1st generation. There is an extra Philips Hue Bridge Version 1 app (Android | iOS). The table shows an overview of the biggest differences between Philips Hue Bridge 1 and 2.
| Optics and design | Functions | |
|---|---|---|
| Philips Hue Bridge Version 1.0 (since 2012) | Round case | Control of Philips Hue lights and other devices, ZigBee |
| Philips Hue Bridge Version 2.0 (since 2015) | Square case, button in the middle, the edge of which glows blue | Controllable with the Apple HomeKit using the Siri voice assistant, ZigBee |
| Philips Hue Bridge version 2.1 | Similarity to Philips Hue Bridge 2.0 | Lower energy consumption, otherwise the same firmware from Signify as with 2.0 |
What is compatible with the Philips Hue Bridge?
The Philips Hue Bridge is the intelligent control center of the Philips Hue lighting system. It serves as an interface between the smart health connected systems and devices and a smartphone.
Philips Hue Bridge is compatible with the following solutions:
Connect Philips Hue Bridge to the router
A prerequisite for setting up the Philips Hue Bridge is that the Philips Hue lights are already screwed in and switched on.
- Power Philips Hue Bridge and connect router
- As soon as the lamps are smart health connected, all three LEDs on the Philips Hue Bridge light up
- Download the Philips Hue app and search for the bridge in the menu
- Press the large round button on the Philips Hue Bridge to confirm the connection between the Philips Hue app and Philips Hue Bridge.
- The lights can then be assigned to the rooms and named using the app
Philips Hue Bridge– important tests and ratings
The Philips Hue Bridge makes it possible to control the lights via the app
The Philips Hue Bridge is the heart of the Philips Hue lighting system. Tests particularly praised the simple installation and operation. The high price is perceived as appropriate due to the high quality and reliability.
- The experts from All the best chose the Philips Hue light system as the winner in their Review. The experts rate the compatibility with other, cheaper alternatives to Philips Hue, which is due to the Philips Hue Bridge and the ZigBee radio standard as positive.
- The portal Tech days came to the conclusion in his Review that the installation and operation worked quickly and easily.
- The testers from Tech radar awarded 4 out of 5 stars and came to the conclusion in their Review that operation is quick and easy. There were deductions because of the high price.
- Amazon customers rated the Philips Hue Bridge with 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Prices and availability of the Philips Hue Bridge lighting control center
The manufacturer Signify sells the Philips Hue Bridge for £45.00 at AMAZON UK. and for €49,86 at Amazon France.For beginners in the smart lighting system from Philips Hue, we recommend a Philips Hue starter set. Compared to the Philips Hue Bridge in a single pack, users get several lights for the bridge and, depending on the starter set, an additional dimmer switch for just a little extra cost.
IKEA TRÅDFRI gateway as an alternative to the Philips Hue Bridge
The gateway to the IKEA TRÅDFRI lighting system is a cheap alternative to the Philips Hue Bridge. The purchase price is 30 euros and is almost half cheaper than the product discussed, but IKEA TRÅDFRI cannot yet keep up with the Philips Hue lighting system in terms of functionality.
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