purchased two of these last night to fit them into sconces for my front door, and side door lights. this makes my 40th lifx bulb purchased. yep, 40. i did have a tiny bit of trouble setting these up as opposed to the BR30 and A19 variants, but i love these bulbs too much to dock a star.
i was an early adopter and tried out the hue bulbs when they first came out, and though i read that the issue has now been resolved for the most part, the early generation philips hue bulbs were ATROCIOUS at color reproduction. because of their choice of going with unconventional color combinations to achieve a brighter white light, they abandoned the traditional RGB (red/green/blue) and went with a more CMY approach, (actually magenta/violet/lime in hue's case), they could not reproduce any sort of true green, blue or any of the spectrum in between (cyan/aqua/teal etc were all out of the question).
so i remembered that i backed LIFX bulbs on kickstarter before, and they seemed really promising. full disclosure: i pulled out of my backing for that project because near the end the project creator started answering questions less and less, used computer renderings of bulbs as "prototypes" etc and basically to me, seemed to be kinda shady so i lost faith in it. thought LIFX was another overblown kickstarter vaporware.
SO WRONG.
i bought 4 LIFX bulbs as a test a few years ago and immediately fell in love, and having purchased my own home more than a year ago i instantly replaced all of my living room, kitchen and sitting room (common areas) lights with LIFX BR30 bulbs (replacing the dull recess cans, it's pretty easy to find trims here on amazon that fit them perfectly). i loved it so much i also ended up buying more of their A19 bulbs to outfit my bedroom light, and random floating/floor fixtures. the two minis that i bought last night were the last LIFX purchases i made but definitely not the final ones.
they've worked consistently, respond to google assistant and android app control flawlessly. i see people reviewing that the bulbs aren't operating consistently, or syncing correctly etc. might want to check out your network. i had spotty performance too before i swapped my router out for google wifi. with 180mbps+ speed throughout my entire house, lifx has been smooth as silk. some samples of how i use them:
- with IFTTT, i set my outdoor lights to automatically fade on at 6PM and off at 8AM to keep my exterior lit.
- with IFTTT i fade my decor fixtures on as i get within 100yd of my home and off once i'm 100yd away.
- with google home i just say "hey google, set living room lights to 80% brightness (or desired %) and i instantly create the right atmosphere.
- with google home i just say "hey google, set bedroom lights to warm/incandescent/cool white or sky blue depending on my mood.
- with abode (home security) i set the bulb directly over my bed to blink at max brightness if someone opens my front door when i'm sleeping.
- there are a lot more things that i really don't have the time to list. but LIFX bulbs are now an integral part of my life.
my boyfriend was at first hesitant and found smart devices annoying and complicated to learn. now neither of us ever touch a light switch, or even really use the app...voice control is that much better (and easier)
My wife and I got a couple of these bulbs as a gift for Christmas along with an Amazon Dot from the children who are trying to drag us into the technology age. They set up the first two bulbs do work with the Amazon Dot, and my Samsung phone, and a Harmony remote. It took almost two hours for them to set it all up to communicate and work together.
The bulbs are just a bit smaller than an old style light bulb. I liked the bulbs, particularly the ability to change the color of the white light and to dim the lights either together or independently. The ability to choose any color is kinda cool as well. However we were running two torch style floor lamps with 100W equivalent single color LED white bulbs and as these were only 60W equivalent they did not give us the same brightness in our living room when both on full power. Apparently 60W is the highest these type of bulbs go at this time. Since I liked the concept and wanted to use the gift I purchased a triple lamp to replace on of our old ones and purchased more bulbs so I could get more light using more bulbs.
I had a basic understanding of how the original bulbs were set up for me so when the new ones arrived I was ready to try to set them up using my Samsung Galaxy phone. Initially it went well with the LIFX software seeing the new lights and updating the firmware. I did run into a problem after that with both bulbs after that. The software would just go into a search loop when trying to locate the new bulbs on the network. It took some time but I found a solution on the LIFX forums. Apparently the software has a few kinks and one of them has to do with Android based devices. I found users with the same problem and eventually found a post I could understand about a possible fix. The fix was to go the the phone settings and turn off the mobile data function. Apparently this interferes with the device discovery of the bulbs. I can't explain it much better than that, but it worked like a charm. I clicked the mobile data off on my phone, reset the new bulbs by cycling them on and off 5 times. You then have to set them up again by finding them on the LIFX software. This time it found them on the network right away and they were added to my software control. Once you have setup all your lights go back in your phone settings and turn the mobile data back on. It does not affect your ability to operate the light once it is setup and other functions on your phone need this on to work I believe.
I ended up liking these a lot more on the triple lamp as setting the bulbs to 3 different colors really creates a cool looking effect. I have included a few pics with the bulbs set on different colors. Overall this is a cool, although expensive light bulb, The price is largely due to the fact that they direct transmit to your wireless network without additional adapters or routers. I took one star away due to the networking issues with my Android phone as that added about 2 hours to my setup trying to figure it out. I'm lucky I found the post and answer that I did and hopefully this review helps someone else who runs into the same issue.
I should start by disclosing I already owned 2 LIFX Color 1000 bulbs prior to purchasing this.
I was a little concerned that 800 lumens wouldn't be very bright, especially in a "fogged" acrylic lamp, but the reality was it performs beautifully. This light connected faster than the LIFX Color 1000s I own and was on my network in less than 5 minutes (plus firmware updates). First time buyers may have a longer setup time since you need to install the app and create an account, etc.
Since this is a full color, dimmable bulb, parents out there probably recognize that light hurts when you have to get up 4+ times in the night to comfort/feed your newborn. My wife and I have this set to a deep red at about 20-25% brightness and it makes it easy to see at night while moving around the room without destroying our eyes. This requires a smartphone to change the light on the fly, otherwise you could toggle it on a light switch after setting it and it will remember what it was set to last (so you don't have to burn your eyes looking at your smartphone!).
If you want to toggle from your phone, I highly recommend snagging the Twilight (Android specific?) app. It's a blue light filter for your smartphone and it takes a lot of inspiration from f.lux (desktop blue light filter).
I purchased an Echo Dot a month ago and wanted to try out it's smart home capabilities by having some of our street view rooms light up when we are not home and our hallway lamp turn into a night light in the evening. I purchased the LIFX lights not having much of a clue as to what I was doing. The instructions were easy to follow, I downloaded the LIFX app and connected that to my Amazon Alexa app. Then I created a routine for each of the lights. I love the dimmer and the range of cool to warm white light options! I plan on purchasing more LIFX lights for the rest of the house because it's just too easy to say "Alexa, turn on hallway lamp 75%" and have it be daylight white or warm white or cool white.
Using in wire cages for a clash of industrial and modern. Great mood lighting at low light levels. No problems with WiFi. Grouped five together in a chandelier. When you group multiple lights you can use the app to have the bulbs work together in various light shows. I like the "Pastels" with the intensity turned into the 70's. I went with LIFX because of the reviews of the intensity of colors and the use of your router instead of a proprietary hub like some competitors. We have a total of ten smart LIFX bulbs in our home and a Netgear Nighthawk router and have not had many issues in the last six months. The lights have the ability to do firmware updates over WiFi. This adds a piece of mind to my decision to go with LIFX for our smart home as I feel while not future proof, its a step in the right direction. It is pretty cool getting into the tub and telling Alexa to dim the spa lighting to twenty percent and play Jimmy Buffet.
Feature Product
- Works with Alexa (Alexa device sold separately), Apple HomeKit and the Google Assistant for voice control
- Easy set up. LIFX screws in like any traditional light bulb. Simply download the app, connect to Wi-Fi and you're ready to go. No hub needed
- Built in Wi-Fi & LIFX cloud. Offers full Lighting control via Wi-Fi with our LIFX iOS, Android and windows 10 apps. Access your bulbs anywhere, anytime via the cloud
- Adjustable and dimmable. Connected Lighting for your space, time of day, and mood. Choose from a range of warm to cool whites with flexibility to select your brightness
- Intuitive control. Control lights individually or as Groups, set timers, pick from beautiful themes or create your own custom scenes
- Bright & efficient. LIFX Mini day has an output of 800 lumens, the equivalent of a 60W traditional incandescent bulb with the benefit of only 9W energy use. Designed for energy Star
Description
LIFX mini day & dusk is the perfect “everywhere” Wi-Fi enabled LED light for your morning, day and evening hub required. LIFX mini day & dusk works with leading voice and smart home platforms and is energy star Compliant.
I have 3 LIFX mini and 3 LIFX A19, I’ve been very happy with them for the past year. I’ve been pleased to see the many updates and improvements that have continued over this time. The stability has greatly improved, its extremely rare now to have any sort of connectivity problems, they are very reliable.
I love that they work with all the major voice assistants and most everything else out there. I use mine with Siri on the HomePod, my sister uses hers with Alexa, and my dad will be using the ones I’m buying him with google home.
In my experience so far with smart lighting, LIFX wins on brightness and intensity of colors. I have 3 (3rd generation) Philips Hue A19 bulbs that don’t get as bright as the LIFX minis let alone the regular A19 LIFX bulbs. The blue on the LIFX bulbs are much more intense and saturated than the Philips Hue (it’s hard to tell from the picture, but in person it’s a very big difference). The deep blues and purples have almost a black light effect on whites (the silver lighting on a Thor poster looks really neat).
The app is very easy to use and set up the bulbs, and it connects directly to your WiFi so you won’t need a hub. There’s some fun effects, scenes and a music visualizer. Setting schedules is simple and reliable. There’s also other third party apps you can use with these bulbs as well.
I bought my sister one of these bulbs for her birthday, she’s already talking about getting a couple more. My dad kept asking me questions about my lights and how to set them up last time he was over, next month is his birthday and I already got him a google home mini and plan on getting him a couple of these bulbs to set up when he’s at work.
Side note, you can use the lighting to get creative with photography.
Honestly a great buy. Love the app with the different colors it provides. The ability to sync it with alexa/google, with the fast response is sweet.
I did have some trouble connecting it to alexa, as I initially had the light far from my router. If you are using alexa you must enable 2 smart skills so you don't have to use "alexa ask lifx to ..." but thats on Amazon and their software. Sync with google was fast and easy.
Bulb is great. It works as advertised. However I bought this bulb through Amazon Warehouse deals, and had a really hard time to set it up to work with HomeKit. Included HomeKit code was invalid.I am guessing they got the manual out of some other packaging. Finally I got right code which is printed on the bulb under the serial number and everything works just fine.
I had to buy this because the TP-Link bulb I bought was way too large to fit in one of my ceiling fans. I'm glad I bought it as it is easier to set up and MUCH more reliable than the TP-Link bulbs. The app is also a much better experience. I recently had a power outage and once the power came back on the LIFX bulb was back on line and ready to use within a couple of minutes, no issues at all. None of my TP-Link bulbs would respond to voice commands or the app. They all had to be set back up and of course the app had trouble finding them, it took over an hour to get 4 of the TP-Link bulbs set back up. If you're trying to decide which brand to go with I would recommend the LIFX.
Felt like I would leave a review since my experience with these LIFX Mini bulbs has been so painless (rare for me in the home automation space).
Setup for each bulb is a breeze on iOS:
1) Power on bulb
2) iOS->Settings->W-iFi (make sure you are on 2.4GHz)
3) Select bulb in "Add new device"
4) In LIFX app (Almost done section) and click on your bulb
5) Setting icon in top right and click on "Upgrade firmware" (sometimes the app may beat you to this)
6) Go back to settings an pair with HomeKit using the printed HomeKit code
Can set up several bulbs in just a few minutes.
This is markedly simpler than some of the other LIFX bulbs which have older firmware from the factory which doesn't place as nicely with automatic network configuration and/or HomeKit out of the box.
Beware though (tiny complaint): I've now bought 6 of the 4x packs, and not once have the bulbs been placed in the box in the correct order specified on the HomeKit code card. Easy enough to check the MAC address of the bulb (it appears in the Wifi settings during setup and in the LIFX app) against the HomeKit code card (it's also on the base of the bulb).
These bulbs do great with network connectivity (even over AiMesh) and are the most sensibly behaved of all my home automation devices in that area. Finally the LIFX app is great.
0 comments:
Post a Comment