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Posted (edited)

Unfortunately it doesn't look like HomeKit is coming to existing lifx bulbs. Lifx posted this recently:
 

 

 

--OFFICIAL LIFX RESPONSE--

Hi guys, I'll take this opportunity to answer this for you.

The current LIFX bulbs available are not HomeKit compatible. This isn't an us thing this is an Apple thing. We've been talking to Apple since they announced HomeKit. Trust we're all big Apple fans over here, all our computers are Apple, everyone on staff owns iPhones, some of us multiple.

Recent article that explains it better than I can:
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-home-smart-home-iphone-2016-6

That said we will be releasing a line of products that are HomeKit compatible in the future.

We encourage everyone to take advantage of the great services out there that do support voice control with LIFX at this time. Amazon Echo, Google Now, and Mircosoft Cortana.

On a side note, as an industry we're experiencing a split between different providers, we have deep partnerships with many of them. We have every desire to support all of them, but remember, this industry is still very young. HomeKit was announced 2 years ago, but Apple themselves took 2 years to provide an app to control them. Think about that one, before apple announced the app, and we were not told this before they launched it, no one knew if HomeKit was ever going to actually be a thing that made it mainstream.

I hope this gives you guys the answers that you were looking for. I'm happy to answer any other questions.

Email me at social@lifx.co



There is the option of using software called Homebridge that emulates HomeKit support for lifx, but it's a bit clunky to set up. https://www.npmjs.com/package/homebridge-lifx-lan

Edited by automated

  • 1 month later...
Posted

50% off is still 50% off no matter the currency :P

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  • Like 2
Posted

This is one of those Kickstarter events that I wish I hadnt of jumped into. I have 6 LIFX globes at home and 2 of them do their own thing. Resets, reboots and what not and they just dont work properly. On top of that LIFX just seem to make the backend harder then it needs to be (removing bulbs from accounts, master reset etc).

 

Probably should have just gone with Philips Hue instead. If LIFX was offering these at $10 I still wouldnt buy anymore.

 

The ONLY products that have issues on my network are these globes.

Posted

Wow. I don't anything about masters and having to remove them from accounts. I've had issues but never had to do that. I run 26 bulbs here in total. They must have been a very early generation?

Any trouble I have had has been resolved very quickly and their support has been fantastic.

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  • Like 1
Posted

Have you contacted support out of interest?

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Posted

I've been running 7xLIFX globes every day for, I dunno, about a year - and don't have any issues at all.  I love the product and would buy 10 more at $10 each  :D

Posted

Have you contacted support out of interest?

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I have, but you just get directed to their website and support on there, and then you see there's a lot of people with similar issues. To be fair, the other four I have haven't missed a beat.

Posted

I now have a new house full of LED downlights but none of the light manufacturers seem to make smart downlights. LIFX did for a while and Stack Lighting have said that they would but don't seem to be. I suppose I'll have to wait unless someone knows of some that I haven't discovered

Posted
On 01/09/2016 at 11:53 AM, proftournesol said:

I now have a new house full of LED downlights but none of the light manufacturers seem to make smart downlights. LIFX did for a while and Stack Lighting have said that they would but don't seem to be. I suppose I'll have to wait unless someone knows of some that I haven't discovered

I originally bought bayonet lifx globes and then found out I couldn't source in ceiling fittings for them. I was able to exchange and went to their offices in Cremorne. Whilst there I met 1 of the company directors and he told me they were working on a 2nd gen G10 globe... When they hit market is anybodies guess though.

Posted

I ran a whole of of different Belkin WeMo things in the old house but haven't got around to setting up any properly here since it took some time to get the NBN happening.

I had mixed success with them.

Some would work all the time while others were very hard to get connected and keep them that way.

Posted
1 hour ago, blybo said:

I originally bought bayonet lifx globes and then found out I couldn't source in ceiling fittings for them. I was able to exchange and went to their offices in Cremorne. Whilst there I met 1 of the company directors and he told me they were working on a 2nd gen G10 globe... When they hit market is anybodies guess though.

 

Supposed to be not far away.

  • Like 1

Posted

The GU10's are much smaller in diameter than their other bulbs, and as a result Gen1 are quite a lot taller than standard GU10 bulbs. I think this has presented problems with people finding downlight holders / fittings that fit them.

Posted
On 9/1/2016 at 11:53 AM, proftournesol said:

I now have a new house full of LED downlights but none of the light manufacturers seem to make smart downlights. LIFX did for a while and Stack Lighting have said that they would but don't seem to be. I suppose I'll have to wait unless someone knows of some that I haven't discovered

 

There's no market for smart downlights - put a smart driver in front almost any LED downlight, and you have control (there are, of course, exceptions). 

 

Quite a few lighting vendors are starting to include Zigbee radios in their LED drivers. The major market for it is commercial lighting, but a driver's a driver and it'll do what you ask so long as it's on/off and dimming. Have a look at Daintree Networks, Harvard Technologies, LG lighting, Magtech, etc.

 

It's not about a smart downlight - it's about a smart driver for downlights. This is also a much cheaper way of doing things, because no one really needs a sensor payload and radio on every light or full RGB capability on every fitting.

 

Colour is a bit of a different thing. Not explicitly supported, though I guess someone could make a custom Zigbee cluster or just run three channels for RGB (unwieldy). 

 

Personally would much prefer lighting over Ethernet. Some nice systems out there - though Zigbee drivers win on retrofit.

Posted

@proftournesol I'm looking at it for my own home upgrade, around six months away. Starting to 'put the feelers out'.

 

Focusing on finding a control solution that works right now. Let's keep each other updated. I'd love circadian lighting but I'll take what I get for now. 

Posted
2 hours ago, Marc said:

Without control of color, I have no interest.

 

Read above. Colour is possible.

 

I've personally zero interest in the full RGB palette, though for some home zones circadian lighting makes good sense.

Posted

I ran circadian cycles in my office daily. Cool concept, but after a few weeks I was a bit tired of it and felt no different, other than being annoyed at the lighting not being strong enough when needed. I dropped the cycles.

Posted

@Marc I'd be reluctant to run it in an office. More a bathrooms/bedrooms thing. 

 

'Not strong enough' isn't a function of colour/temperature. 

 

Used to have access to some pretty cool lighting design software - do you (does anywhere) know of anything freeware that does similar?

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