Philips - hue Bridge 2nd Generation - White

but Phillips released an update that keeps this hub from working with third party bulbs like Cree and GE without any warning. The Cree connected bulbs are much better/brighter than Hue White bulbs so this is very dissapointing for someone who invested quite a bit in this system. Probably should have stuck with wink.

So, here is the deal..I purchased these items for my sports bar and my pool tables. I figured that we could lower our utility expense by controlling the amount of light automatically. Here is the issue - I did not see anywhere on the box or documentation regarding the bridge limit being 50 bulbs. Ehh..that is far more than most people will use..unless you have a larger size home with indoor and outdoor lighting. Point is..the system is ok but at times will not respond properly...other than that, its ok. I would get 3rd party software if you are going to control these from your phone. The software Phillips sends is ok but not as good as the 3rd party apps.

I had been wanting Hue lighting for a while and I finally got it and have no regrets. Instead of getting the starter kit I got one bulb and this hub since I only needed to automate my room. This hub looks nice and works great. I'm thinking of getting more Hue products for my room since they can all connect to one hub which create a better connected, more seamless Hue environment.

The new bridge does everything promised but it was no small task to get it there. After following the direction very closely, I was able to swap out the bridge and transfer the lights without an issue. The problems started went I tried activating Siri with the Bridge. Apparently the Apple HomeKit was already activated through one of the Apple updates and it needed to be cleared out for the bridge to be recognized. Additionally I had to delete and download again, the Hue app on my phone. But having got past all that, the bridge and the voice control work great.

Very easy to setup never ever had any issues with it

This is my second Hue bridge, I bought to expand my automation beyond 50 lights. It's as simple to setup, as downloading the app, plugging in the bridge and pairing the two.

The range is not what they advertise. Couldn't control the lights at the other end of my house. Had to move the unit to the middle of the house via cat5 internet cable. After that it works ok. The hue app is terrible. No timers to turn on and off. They need to improve the app greatly. You can download other smart apps which work better. Btw you can't add another bridge to extend the signal. Price of bulbs is a bit much. Not adding more than the 3 I have unless they improve.

The settings for the lights are very easy to program and very user friendly.