Who wouldn’t love being able to control entertainment, lighting, and temperature from their home? If you know how to make your smart devices work together, your life will be easier and more convenient.
One way to build out a smart home is to buy a lot of components – smart bulbs, sensors, speakers, security cameras, and whatnot, you can connect them all to a hub such as Samsung SmartThings, Amazon’s Echo, and Apple Homekit, which helps them communicate with you and with each other.
ZigBee’s name illustrates the mesh networking concept as messages from the transmitter zigzag like bees, trying to find the best path to the receiver. Philips Hue and its components use ZigBee to connect, not Wi-Fi.
Bulbs from LIFX, Cree, and TP-Link, can communicate over Wi-Fi, and some others like the newest Philips Hue bulbs communicate over the Bluetooth radio in the smartphone.
Lots of smart lighting systems work nicely well without a central hub and will be still capable of interacting with other smart home elements. It will be also easy and useful to connect your smart lights to smart home hubs including the Echo 4th Gen. However sometimes you need to connect your Philips Hue accessories to smart home hubs.
If you purchase a Hue Dimmer Switch bundled with a Hue bulb, you can directly use the Dimmer Switch to control the Hue bulb after installing them as they are already linked with you to get them out of the box. Do you want to control your Hue Dimmer Switch with Alexa through the Amazon Echo?
If you want to use them together, you should know how they work.
Table of Contents
What Is The Philips Hue Dimmer Switch?
The Hue Smart Dimmer Switch with Remote is a modern, easy-to-install, and flexible analog “controller” for a range of Philips Hue lights and devices. The no-hole, no-wire installation allows for near-unlimited placement of the wall-plate, where the magnetic controller will effortlessly rest to avoid misplacement.
You also can program the “ON” button to create many scenes as you click ON through the HUE app. For example, in your bedroom, you have one at the door and one click turns lights to “all on – dimmed”.
This works great with Hue bulbs and Hue hub. When connected to your Hue hub, it allows you to control lots of bulbs in your home. The ON button will allow you to cycle through the 5 scenes. It also can control your other lights that are Zigbee compatible besides Hue lights by the Hue Bridge
If you want an easy way to deal with the lighting brightness without always needing the app. The Philips Hue does the job well.
Pros:
- Both a wall-mounted-looking switch and a controller are awesome.
- It can connect to any Philips Hue bulbs you set.
- Many clicks cycle your colors, themes, and such.
- It has a small led to indicate what’s happening.
- It is thin enough to match the look of a nice wall switch.
When you don’t have a Hue Bridge, you will want to know if your Hue Dimmer Switch and Amazon Echo device work together.
Can I Pair A Philips Hue Dimmer Switch to Alexa without a Hue Bridge?
Amazon’s family of Alexa-enabled devices always keeps growing. From the spherical Echo to the swiveling Echo Show 10, you can have Alexa into your home in many ways. There are different functions on different Amazon’s Echo, so if you want to add the Hue Dimmer Switch into Alexa, it totally depends on which version of Echo you are using.
If you use any stand-alone Echo device (non-Plus), you can use Alexa to perform some basic features on the Compatible smart devices. Because they use Wi-Fi but Philips Hue devices use ZigBee, so it is hard to pair them and make them work together.
Furthermore, some users have reported that the bulbs will be able to connect to a hub (Echo, Hue Bridge, or Hue Dimmer Switch) at a time.
Now you know that you can’t pair the Philips Hue Dimmer Switch and Amazon Echo through previous Echo Generations.
Echo Plus speakers and the 4th generation Echo have a built-in Zigbee hub to effortlessly set up and control your compatible smart devices. These Alexa-enabled can make your Zigbee devices paired very well, such as Amazon Echo and Philips Hue.
All you need to connect your Hue Dimmer Switch is to open the Alexa app. Choose a “Philips Hue” device and then you can connect the device by following the prompts.
You should hold the round “O” button of the Hue Dimmer Switch down for 10 seconds before doing something.
You can click “+” to add a device, and tap on “PHILIPS hue”. Then you can tap “DISCOVER DEVICES” to add the Hue Dimmer Switch into the Alexa app.
I am sure you want to configure your Dimmer Switch into the Alex app.
Can The Hue Dimmer Switch trigger Alexa routines?
You can add your Hue Dimmer Switch into the Alexa app through your newest versions of the Echo that is Zigbee compatible. You can’t find lots of features other than as a device in the Alexa app.
Alexa can control plugs, smart lights, and switches which means you can turn your home’s lights on and off by the Echo, but you can’t do it the other way around.
You can’t use light to control your hub, and you can’t use the Hue Dimmer Switch to trigger the Alexa routines.
If you have added some smart home devices such as a door sensor, a motion sensor, you can trigger Alexa Routines from those devices. But it is impossible to trigger Alexa routines when you click a button on the Hue Dimmer Switch.
Equally, you will not be able to re-configure what the button of Hue Dimmer Switch does within the Alexa app.
SO you can control the features for the Hue Dimmer Switch within Alexa without a Hue Bridge. However, you will not configure anything beyond this.
Other options to using the Hue Dimmer Switch within Alexa
You can use the above method to make your Philips Hue Dimmer Switch work with Alexa. But sometimes you happen to be having some problems such as You have trouble pairing them and you can’t pair them when you have an Amazon Echo without Zigbee.
Other solutions below you can try if you have these problems.
Option #1: With the Help of The Hue Bridge
Hue Bridge is great to operate your standard Philips Hue lights. You can connect the device to both the internet and lights. In this way, you can control the lights across different platforms from anywhere in the world.
Bridge-controlled Hue lights can control all the bulbs at the same time, or you can even set different lighting scenes for many rooms that you can trigger through the Hue app or with voice commands. You also can connect the Hue Dimmer Switch and Hue smart lights to Echo via the Hue Bridge, which eliminates many hassles when you try to connect them.
In addition, the Hue Bridge enables you to control up to 50 lamps and 10 accessories and integrating with your other smart devices you are using. It is also compatible with Apple HomeKit technology.
Features
- Control your lights with your voice
- Away-from-home smart light control
- Connect up to 50 smart lights
- Up-to-date at all times
- Add smart sensors, switches, and more
Option #2: Connecting The Hue Dimmer Switch to Hue Bulbs Directly
There are not many troublesome settings, It is maybe the easiest and convenient solution available if you don’t have too many smart lights to set up.
The Hue Dimmer Switch is designed for the Hue system, which is a handheld remote. It can control up to 10 smart lights simultaneously. To control your lights, you should hold down the ON button of your Hue Dimmer Switch for ten seconds.
There are still many options to customize your smart lights while it simplifies lots of your operations because you don’t need a Zigbee-enabled Echo device or Hue Bridge.
Option #3: Using an Alexa-compatible smart light switch
The best smart light switches can give you extensive control over your lighting, being capable of much more than just switching them on and off. Some smart light switches are compatible with Alexa on the market, which means you can operate them without needing a smart light bulb. Or you also can use bulbs and smart switches simultaneously.
Unless you are experienced with wiring techniques, installing your smart light switches may best be left to a qualified electrician. You also can choose a wireless one.
Because communication standards vary, so ensure the smart switches and your system are compatible with Zigbee for your Philips Hue lights. You can look for the compatibility logo on the box to see if it works with Alexa or Google.
Installing smart switches enables you to harness the power of the smart home and increase comfort, convenience, and even energy saving.
Option #4: Making Use of Voice Commands via Alexa
The Echo with a smart home hub can control compatible Zigbee smart home devices such as your Hue lights. Devices Alexa can control any Alexa-compatible lights, plugs, TVs, and so on. There are 3 methods you can use to control your smart-home device:
- Alexa app
- Voice commands
- Alexa device with a screen
Some following voice commands you can use:
- “Alexa, turn my Bedroom light on”.
- “Alexa, turn my Bedroom light off”.
- “Alexa, dim [Device name]”.
- “Alexa, brighten [device name]”.
- “Alexa, set [device name] brightness to [number] percent”.
You don’t need Hue Dimmer Switch if you opt for this option.
Option #5: Using smart buttons
The only available button that can trigger Amazon Alexa commands with just a push. So you can stick it near your light switch or you can place it wherever you want it. You can have smart home control for music, lights at the push of a button.
You can use Flic smart home buttons to trigger Alexa Routines, which means that you can add your Flic buttons as smart home devices within the Alexa app. So you can click it when you enter your bedroom, and some things happen:
- Set the ceiling smart lights to 50% brightness.
- Turn standard side lamps on while linking them via s smart plug.
- Have your smart light strips come on, and set their brightness for the atmosphere you want.
The Flic 2 smart button is unique in size, versatility, and speed. Except for Apple HomeKit, and Alexa, users can use it with Philips Hue, IFTTT, Sonos, Slack, Zapier, and dozens of other services and products.
Anyway, it is a great alternative to a Hue Dimmer Switch.
Conclusion
If you want to add the Hue Dimmer Switch into Alexa as a new device without a Hue Bridge, you should have an Echo Plus or the 4th generation Echo because they are Zigbee compatible. If you just use previous Echo generations that are not Zigbee compatible, you can’t add it to Alexa.
The Hue Switch can work well without a hub by pairing with the lights directly, but with a Hue bridge, you can do so much more than just with the Echo plus.
If you want to save money and just need some simple features, the Hue Dimmer Switch is your ideal option.