A typical Philips Hue personal wireless LED lighting setup consists of a Philips Hue bridge and one or more Philips Hue bulbs. The devices connect to each other via the ZigBee communication protocol and therefore should be backwards compatible.
Over the years there have been 3 generations of Philips Hue released:
Over the years there have been 3 generations of Philips Hue released:
- Generation 1 (2012)
- Generation 2 (2015)
- Generation 3 (2016)
. To check if you have the latest version of the Hue app, go to Settings to see if “Hue Entertainment” is listed. If it is not, update your app. The Hue Sync app is compatible with Windows 10 and MacOS Sierra/High Sierra and up. This application cannot be used on a mobile device. The Hue Disco app is one of the many apps that is capable of getting the lights and the music in sync, which is going to allow people to have an even more energetic party. This app is simular to Ambify, but it is a little more convenient. The Houseparty is available to download for free from both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. To log out of the app on a mobile phone, head to the top left-hand side of the screen and click on the pink settings cog. This opens up the ‘settings’ menu, then simply scroll down to ‘log out’.
There are 2 variants of the Hue Bridge. The new version has a number of improvements such as support for Apple HomeKit.
![Mac Mac](https://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/img_1835_1024-577x1024.jpg)
If you own(ed) an original Hue Bridge and wish to install a new Hue Bridge you will likely wish to continue to use the older bulbs possibly with some additional new bulbs if you avail of one of the starter kits.
The old bulbs and new Hue Bridge are compatible however you may experience some issues when using standard methods to try to find the old bulbs from the new Hue Bridge.
Read on for more information on the standard methods then alternative method to detect and connect to the old bulbs.
The old bulbs and new Hue Bridge are compatible however you may experience some issues when using standard methods to try to find the old bulbs from the new Hue Bridge.
Read on for more information on the standard methods then alternative method to detect and connect to the old bulbs.
Standard Methods
Hue Party App Mac Os
Using the Philips Hue app, navigate to the Light Setup > Add Lights screen and start a search
Searching For Lamp
To assist, you can specify the serial number of the bulb you wish to connect to. You find the serial number written on the bulb.
From experience, this seems to only have the effect of filtering out unwanted bulbs and not making the search more likely to find a bulb. However it is worth a try.
Alternative Method
The alternative method involves a third party software application “Hue Lamp Finder”, for MAC, Windows, and Linux found here : https://huetips.com/lamp-finder/
Note, Hue Lamp Finder requires Java to be installed so if you don’t have Java or the JAR file won’t open, you will need to install it from : https://www.java.com/en/download/mac_download.jsp
Steps to Connect:
![Hue Party App Mac Hue Party App Mac](https://www.iclarified.com/images/news/50660/50660/50660-640.jpg)
- Install Hue Lamp Finder on your computer
- Run Hue Lamp Finder
- Tick “I Have Read This”, then Click Start
- You may receive a waring form you OS that this application require access to your local network. In this case you should allow access.Allow Access
- The application will start searching for your Hue Bridge. Note the machine where you run the application and Hue Bridge must be on the same network for this to work.
- When prompted Press the Connect Button on your Hue Bridge
- Click Find Light.Tips:
- Make sure the light is on (has power)
- Try to get your light as close to the Hue Bridge as you can
- Switch off any other Hue lights or devices
- Find one light at a time if you aim to reconnect to multiple Hue lights.
- If a bulb cannot be found, switch off any power, wait 5 seconds then turn it on.
- If a bulb cannot be found, get it very close to the Hue Bridge, even if this means a temporary setup of moving the bridge to the bulb just to get it connected.
- Once a bulb is found it will flash and then possibly remain switched on with a random colour. This is fine and a good sign than the bulb has been found.
Found a Lamp - Repeat step 7 as many times as required.
- That’s it; you can close the Hue Lamp Finder application. All Hue lights that have been found will be recognised and remembered by the Hue Bridge therefore will be listed in your Hue app with a default lamp name.
Mac Apps Download
References
Hue Party App Mac Desktop
- http://www2.meethue.com/en-gb/products/ – Philips Hue Website
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZigBee – About ZigBee
- https://huetips.com/lamp-finder/ – Hue Lamp Finder