Philips Hue finally integrates all the bridges into a single smart home system
By ForGeeks Philips Hue has released an update that greatly simplifies smart home management. Users can now link multiple Hue Bridges in a single Philips Hue app. This means that all lamps and smart home devices connected to different bridges can now be controlled from one app.
Philips Hue has released an update that makes it much easier to control multiple bridges.
What’s new in the update
The feature comes in version 5.31 of the Philips Hue app. While the App Store description of the update doesn’t mention it, Philips has detailed the innovation on its blog. For users with a large number of Hue devices, this is a welcome improvement.
How to configure support for multiple bridges
The configuration process is fairly simple:
- Make sure you have more than one Hue bridge.
- Open the Philips Hue app and go to Settings.
- Find “Living areas”.
- Click on the notification asking “Should I combine several houses into one?”
- The app will launch a customization wizard to help you select bridges to merge.
- Important: make sure the bridges are not connected to security systems, otherwise they will need to be disconnected. You may also need to temporarily remove the cameras attached to the bridge and reconnect them.
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After the setup is complete, you can organize rooms and zones via the app’s home page. Everything is quite intuitive.
Limitations of the new feature
Despite all the benefits, the new feature is still not without limitations:
- Not yet fully integrated with Amazon Alexa.
- It is not possible to control lamps on one bridge with switches or sensors connected to another bridge.
- Some features, such as activating lights on multiple bridges simultaneously, already work.
Philips says Alexa integration and cross-bridge features are in development. Once added, Philips Hue could become one of the most convenient and versatile smart home platforms available.
Philips says Alexa integration and cross-bridge features are in development.
