FAQ

You need to update the emulated Software Version.

See Discourse for up to Date Info on how to!

https://diyhue.discourse.group/t/app-requires-update-of-hue-bridge-update-fails/233

In order to pair any App with Hue Emulator, you need to authorise the pairing request.

Go to your Hue Emulator Host Machine in your Browser.

http://[IpofEmulator]/hue/linkbutton

Login with default credentials “Hue:Hue” and press “Activate” Button.

Retry pairing while linkbutton is active.

Next step troubleshooting:

Try deleting cached app data. On android this can be done in Settings > Apps > Hue > Storage > Clear Storage. On iOS you must reinstall the app to clear data. 

Failing that delete the cert.pem file, restart diyHue, then delete the cached app data again.

After boot, the ESP8266 will broadcast a WiFi for the first 2 minutes with the SSID set in light_name variable (default Hue .....)

Connect to this network with you phone or computer and browse to http://192.168.4.1.

Modern computers/phones popup automatically the configuration window. From here you can choose the SSID of the network you would like the light to connect to and enter its password.

After the light is present on your network open the official Hue application and scan for new lights. In case no lights are found, check if the nmap package is installed. Note: The app will often say no lights found but the lights will then appear a few seconds after this notification. So be patient!

Disable your WiFi temporarly and restart ESP-8266. It will reopen the configuration Access Point.

The following devices are supported by default:

  • MiLight
  • Yeelight
  • LYT8266
  • Phillips Hue
  • Ikea Tradfri

The following can be controlled with an ESP8266 or ESP32:

  • WS2812B and SK6812 smart led strips
  • Pwm RGB-CCT LEDs
  • Pwm RGBW LEDs
  • Pwm RGB LEDs
  • Pwm CCT LEDs
  • Pwm Dimming (up to 6 lights for every esp8266)
  • On/Off plugs/lights (up to 6 lights for every esp8266)
  • On/Off 433Mhz devices (multiple devices for every esp8266)

More devices are always being added!

Currently these Devices are Supported:

  • Ikea Tradfri Dimmer
  • Ikea Tradfri Switch
  • Ikea Tradfri Motionsensor
  • Hue Dimmer Switch
  • Hue Motionsensor
  • Hue Tap
  • various Xiaomi Sensors
  • […]

Hue bulbs use the zigbee radios to communicate so you either need a genuine Phillips Hue Bridge or a Zigbee Transceiver module like a Conbee or any Stick that is supported my the zigbee2mqtt.io project

Follow the instructions for pairing. In addition it can help to disconnect your Internet for a short period to make sure the TV performs a local Network search instead of using remote API of Phillips.

IKEA Tradfri bulbs can be controlled when paired with an IKEA hub. If you wish to use IKEA switches then you must use the Raspbee module. This will enable you to control both the IKEA lights and switches without an IKEA hub.

Not all apps for Phillips Hue work out of the box with diyHue. If you are unable to pair the app with diyHue automatically, try looking for a manual pair option in the app. If that fails then open an issue here on GitHub. We will try our best to to get your app to work but due to the lack of support for the remote API with diyHue, some apps will never work.

Google Assistant uses the remote API to find your Hue bridge. The remote API is not supported by diyHue. At the moment it looks like it never will. However, don’t despair. There is an option to get it to work. Home Assistant is software used to provide a unified hub for all your smart devices. It has support for diyHue and Google Assistant, so you can import your diyHue lights into Home Assistant and use Google Assistant to control them via Home Assistant. There are plenty of instructions on the Home Assistant website however details on Phillips Hue can be found here and details on Google Assistant here. If you need more help, ask on our Slack chat or on the Home Assistant forums.

Hue asks to update your diyLight in order to use Entertainment Function.

Restart Hue Emulator service. Restart will update the configuration and software version of your own build Lights.

sudo systemctl restart hue-emulator.service

No! diyHue has its own ecosystem and does not work with other accounts. However you can import your Lights (no Sensors or Switches)  from your genuine Bridge and use it as a transceiver.

 

 

We work together with App developer of Hue Essentials App for android and Iphone.

It is disabled by default.

Once enabled, you can control and manage your Lights around the World.

https://www.hueessentials.com

If you forgot the changed Password, edit the linkbutton_auth Field in config.json to the default Hash SHVlOkh1ZQ==. This will reset the Password to Hue:Hue

Diyhue lights are auto discovered and should show up after a few minutes. If that does not help, try to ping the esp8266 from your pc while performing a search via app. Chances are that the esp8266 is in a low power state and does not respond while searching.

69 thoughts on “FAQ”

  1. So if I need to also have a physical hue bridge to use Hue lights what is the point in having a diyhue? I’m just curious. Not being rude.

    Reply

    1. You can use Original Bulbs in diyHue in combination with a Original Hue Bridge. However, you can simply connect any Zigbee Bulb (Ikea, Philips, etc.) with a additional Zigbee Dongle, skipping the Original Bridge. In addition the Dongle also makes it possible to connect Sensors and Switches to the diyHue ecosystem. diyHue Emulator can control diyLights AND Original Hue Bulb via Bridge or Zigbee Dongle. Hope that helped.

      Reply

      1. Could you please tell me how can I do this with a Zigbee dongle?
        Is that just buy one and plug it to the Raspberry Pi with diyHue installed and it will work?

        Reply

        1. I suggest you check the zigbee2mqtt.io project and get a dongle that is supported by them. Diyhue can talk to zigbee2mqtt and vice versa. So zigbee2mqtt handles the zigbee network stack.

          Reply

  2. I have porblems with the generic ON OFF device. I did everything tight. I can open the light with the ip in web Browser. BUT the hue app cnt find the light. what can i do now ? i tried it many times.

    Reply

    1. It does happen that it sometimes takes a bit to discover. You can start the emulator manual with sudo service hue-emulator start --debug true with additional debug output. Join our Slack channel for live and in depth support. Join Slack
      Hope that helped.

      Reply

  3. Next Question:
    I use “Müller Licht – Tint” lamps (7euro from supermarket). Raspbee module is hooked up. They work good with the hue app. the Problem is when i talk to alexa, the lamps only turn red or white. when i say “alexa lamps blue” they get red too. but the app(alexa) says they are blue. what can i do? and where is the problem? in the bridge? the lamp? the raspbee module? or in the alexa app? or communication error?

    Reply

  4. Hello,
    I have diyhue installed on a Synology nas, with docker.
    I can connect to the diyhue interface with my browser to address : 192.168.168.42:1000
    Also http://192.168.168.42:1000/hue/linkbutton is working.
    Hue app on a Iphone, in help i put the address : 192.168.168.42:1000 and the app software detect the hub.
    Then i press connect and press the activate on the Hue LinkButton page but its not connecting.
    I have removed the app install it again but no luck, also i have other versions installed in docker but this problem is stil there, do you have some other options?
    Thanks in advance.

    Reply

      1. Thank you for your answer, I already had the feeling that this would be it and was already working on free ports 80 and 443 on Synology NAS yesterday.
        It must be possible to modify 3 files, but despite that I keep getting the message that these ports are intended for the system, but I will try again today.

        Reply

        1. Right now there are changes made to the code to specify a different port. But since the official hue api is using these ports it would be easier to comply to those standards. Maybe running a “mini” Linux vm on your Nas could be a solution for you, leaving the Nas alone. Or using a dedicated machine like a raspberry pi.

          Reply

  5. Hi, i have an Orange Pi PC, it does not have wifi module/antenna. I don’t know/decide where i start the project. I read your wiki,i will buy “wemos d1 mini”, led stribe and wifi bulb. I am newbie for this device and just want to ask you for good start. 🙂 Could you give me device list, i want to buy at black friday at Aliexpress. Thank you.

    http://www.orangepi.org/orangepipc/

    Reply

    1. Hello and welcome! Your orange pi will run the hue emulator python script, emulating the bridge. Connected via ethernet to your network. The wemos + led strip, flashed with DiyHue firmware, connects to your emulated bridge via wifi. That’s all you need. Zigbee devices like original hue bulbs need the hardware dongle conbee. Minimal setup: computer (orange pi, raspberry pi etc.), 1x wemos + ws2812 led strip, power supply.

      Reply

  6. The Connection between the Hue App and the Bridge works finde, however If i Open the Hue Website to Connect the Bridge to my Hue account, ist won’t find th Bridge
    Amy ideas

    Reply

    1. The emulated bridge will not work with a hue account. You can use hue essentials app if you would like remote access to your diyhue instance.

      Reply

        1. I dont know exactly, as i dont have any Cloud Services running in my Setup. Some users have reported that they where able to pair.

          Reply

  7. Is there a device limit like the probably hue Bridge? I am looking for a way to have 140-150 hue bulbs, motion sensors and dimmer switches on one bridge instead of the three hue bridges in using now.

    My setup is only working thanks to hue Essentials, but it is still very limiting to have multiple bridges that can’t communicate.

    Reply

    1. There is no limit when it comes to bulbs etc. You can import all bulbs from original bridge Into diyhue and control them via original bridge, using it as a transceiver. Otherwise you can use a conbee dongle (zigbee gateway) to talk directly to the bulbs. With a conbee dongle you can also connect multiple sensors and switches to diyhue.

      Reply

  8. Hi Team !
    I wonder if I could use a ATSAMR21B18 module with a RaspberryPi (https://fr.farnell.com/microchip/atsamr21b18-mz210pa/transceiver-2-4ghz-zigbee-802/dp/2522821).
    I want to make some experiments with my Phillips Hue lights, and i don’t have a Hue bridge (only LivingColors and remote).
    Bying either the ConBee or RasBee will cost me the price of the official Hue Bridge. That’s why I’d like to use a less expensive module.
    Thanks by advance.
    Thomas

    Reply

    1. Welcome!

      The Hardware you mentioned is currently not supported, if it has some sort of API or Websocket endpoint where the data of connected devices is published it should be possible to implement.

      Kind regards

      Reply

  9. Hello, I will try to use a raspberry pi B and a ws2812b led strip, and have 2 questions, does this pi will handle it? And is it possible to connect the led strip directly to the pi? Without the esp8266, on the I/O ports maybe?

    Reply

    1. Hey! The raspberry pi B will handle it, no problem. Currently the Pi is only used for the python emulator. You need a controller like the esp8266 (wemos, nodemcu etc.) for the ws2812. Kind regards

      Reply

  10. First of all awesome project! Currenly im thinking of buying a pi 3B+ But i was wondering what kind of SD card is recommended?

    Reply

    1. Hey! Any size of 16GB or more is more than enough for your system. Diyhue won’t use much. Might have a look at the read and write speeds. But that is not essential for diyhue, more for general system speed etc. Class 10 is what I use in general.

      Reply

  11. Hi there, sorry I’m a newbie to all this. I recently bought a Yeelight LED Lightstrip and was hoping to use it as Philips Hue lights. Can I run this on my PC instead of a Raspberry Pi? I only want to control it when I have my PC on. Sorry for the basic question and thanks for your help!

    Reply

    1. You need to run the hue emulator python script whenever you want to control your light (or keep it running 24/7) yeelights are auto discovered and can be handled like hue bulbs. Steps to follow: setup Hue emulator on you PC (python or docker) bind hue app and link you yeelights. That’s it

      Reply

  12. Not sure if I’m stupid, but how can I pair a ESP8266 DIYHue flashed Light to DIYHue Bridge?

    Both Webfrontends are up and running in the same network, Hue & Hue Essential apps are linked to the DIY Bridge.

    But DIYHue Bridge does not find the light. Ca I enter the IP somewhere or do I need to activate discovering on the light (if yes then How) ?

    I did not find that instructions in the manuals

    Reply

    1. Hello Marius! Diyhue lights are auto discovered and should show up after a few minutes. If that does not help, try to ping the esp8266 from your pc while performing a search via app. Chances are that the esp8266 is in a low power state and does not respond while searching.

      Reply

  14. Hello,

    I have runing diyhue on a raspberry pi 3B+ bit the philips hue app want to update. But everytime i try to update, it fails. Now i don’t have full access to the philips hue app.
    How can i fix this?

    Thanks

    Reply

    1. Hey Mark!
      You need to update the swversion entry in config.json. This number is the emulated software version towards the app. You can also try and run the install script again to update diyhue. For now: use 1939070020 for swversion.

      Reply

  16. I have setup diyHue on a RaspberryPi2 and it works with multiple Yeelights. Great. But now I am trying to connect a hue dimmer switch paired with a genuine Philips Hue Bridge. If I try to import the switch into diyHue using {emulatorip}/hue/{bridgeip} it only tells me that there are no new lights. So is it even possible to import the dimmer switch using the original hue bridge, and if so, how?
    I hope someone can help me, because I can’t really find anything on this topic on google or in the wiki.
    Thanks.

    Reply

    1. Welcome Manuel! In short: Not possible with original Bridge. You can import the lights but no sensors or switches. If you want to use a zigbee switch like the original hue or Ikea you need a zigbee transceiver like the conbee 2 from Dresden Elektronik. You can find more on this in the documentation and getting started guide. Hope that helps

      Reply

  17. Hi
    First thanks alot for everything you have make for this project
    Dose the diyhue light work with the original hue bridge?
    And if yes how, because I tried but when I search for light in Philips hue bridge I couldn’t find it but when I search with diyhue i found the light

    Reply

    1. Hello and welcome! Diyhue lights (self build with esp8266) don’t work with original hue. Only with diyhue own Hue Bridge emulator. But you can import lights from your original bridge into diyhue and use the original bridge as a transceiver. This is limited to lights only and no sensor. If you want full access to original lights, sensors or other zigbee devices (Ikea sensors etc etc) you need a zigbee dongle like the conbee 2 from Dresden Elektronik.

      Reply

  18. Hello,

    is it also possible to use the entertainment functionality with non-philipps-hue bulbs?

    E.g. have a Philipps Ambient TV, but connect it via DiyHue to Xiaomi Bulbs?

    Reply

    1. Hello!
      Yes you can use milights with ambient TV. However delay and sync depend on multiple factors such as network delay, reception etc etc. For the best experience, as the name suggests, it does need some DIY.
      In general we suggest using esp8266 based bulbs with custom firmware.

      Reply

      1. so I found some really cheap e27 light bulb but it’s not compatible with hue entertainment. can be done something like update a custom firmware via diyhue? i can break one for reaching. Regards

        Reply

        1. Hey! What brand and type of light do you have? Most cheap China based wifi bulbs have touya software which can be converted / flashed with other software. If it is esp8266 based you could use diyhue firmware or esphome.

          Reply

          1. they are sold as prolight e27 ZigBee 3.0 ( no information on internet) they are compatible with hue bridge but not hue entertainment

          2. In general: zigbee lights other than original hue don’t work with entertainment as of now. Because the use a special propiatary protocol. You can use the original bridge as transceiver and import into diyhue. If they are supported by deconz or zigbee2mqtt they can get imported and emulated as hue bulb.

  19. Hi, I set up the DIY hue on my Raspberry pi 3B. I connected to it using the Hue essentials app, all good!

    However, I cannot seem to be able to find my light. No amount of unplugging and replugging did any good. It just doesn’t come up as an option. My lights are the Phillips Lights trip Plus.

    I thought I’d try to connect through the Phillips Hue app, but that asks me to update the bridge, and I can’t proceed without updating. However, when I do click update, it fails everytime.

    Any help you can provide would be so helpful!

    Reply

    1. The genuine Philips lights use zigbee technology for communication. In order to control zigbee devices (lights and sensors) you need a transceiver. You can use conbee 2 or any receiver supported by the zigbee2mqtt project. Another option is to use the original bridge and import your lights. In short: your pi does not speak zigbee thus no lights show up.

      Reply

  20. it is not zigbee it is the hue app that wants to update the bridge
    todo stop hue service and change 1939070020 to 1941132080 in updater (if there is one)and config.json
    start hue service again
    close hue app
    start hue app ,warning gone
    problem solved

    Reply

  21. so I bought the raspberry and a usb sniffer for ZigBee2mqtt and I see my light bulb and the switch as discovered devices in ZigBee2mqtt. I followed the configuration diyhue for ZigBee2mqtt but in the hue essentials app I can’t find any lights. what should I try

    Reply

    1. Hello!
      Make sure you have the right “discoveryPrefix” in the config and “homeassistant: true” in zigbee2mqtt. Also check the topics that the data is published too. Check in debug output if the mqtt broker connection is sucessfull upon start of diyhue. Enable debug in docker with -e debug=true Host Install: --debug true You can post a debug output on our Discourse Board for further and indepth analysis. Discourse

      Reply

  22. Hello there!
    I just installed hue bridge on a Rpi 3 and i am desperatly trying to get my Home Assistant server, running on the same Pi, to connect, in the tutorial there is a part of the emulator section that does not exist in my config file. I added it manually and configured everything like in the Tutorial, but no succes, there are no lights found. Do you have any idea?

    Reply

    1. In general you dont need to manually edit the config. What branche do you use? Docker? Are you running the HA plugin within HA itself or do you use diyhue with its HA protocol? For more indempth and live support we suggest using Slack.
      https://joinslack.diyhue.org

      Reply

  23. Is it possible to control a DiyHue Light by just entering the url (http://{light ip}/set?light=1)?
    I have a generic DiyHue RGB Led strip that is working in the gui but when I try to enter a url to control it it always gives me the following error:
    (File Not Found

    URI: /set
    Method: GET
    Arguments: 1
    light: 1)

    Help would be very much appreciated 😀

    Reply

    1. Hello!

      Yes thats totally possible in fact diyhue uses the http endpoint in general, to talk to the esp8266 device. If your Firmware in general is working, have a look at the Code HERE and check the server.on Method with the /state endpoint. Make sure to pass the correct arguments as in your example on=true

      Reply

  24. Hi,
    I get the message „Oops, there apperars to be no lighting here“, when I open /hue/linkbutton – so I´m not able to login or connect to a hue app.
    I appreciate any help. Thx!

    Reply

  25. Hi! I was wondering, if for some reason the raspberry pi is down, so the hue emulator is not working, wil the light still be working trough the internal web GUI?

    Reply

    1. No, in general original Hardware only works with their respektive products but you can build a diyhue gradient strip with diyhue firmware and bridge emulator. The problem is to get the data from hdmi. When you stream from a pc you can use sync app on PC and send data to your diyhue gradient strip.

      Reply

  27. I’m using a philips hue bridge and bulbs but also ledvance for some reason. Can I bring these together with diyhue? Ultimately I would want to have everything integrated in a DMX-environment via artnet.

    Reply

    1. Hey Carlos!
      Hue bulbs and ledvance use Zigbee (2.4Ghz) communication. Controlling Zigbee devices needs a special transceiver (Conbee 2 or any Stick that is compatible with zigbee2mqtt project.
      However: you can use the original bridge as a transceiver and import your bulbs into diyhue. but that does not help for DMX.
      Suggestion: Import all your zigbee lights into zigbee2mqtt and try to convert dmx to mqtt. This way you have zigbee2mqtt in the middle. DMX and diyhue can access them simultaniously. hope that helps

      Reply

  28. Hello everyone
    I also wanted to test diyhue with an ESP8266. Unfortunately, I always get the following error
    when I want to flash the ESP :
    Unable to fetch manifest: Unexpected token / in JSON at position 132
    What am I doing wrong?

    Reply

        1. What firmware did you try to install? We would like to invite you to our slack channel and have a chat to resolve this in real-time. Joinslack.diyhue.org

          Reply

      1. Hi.
        I have installed DiyHue on Raspberry Pi 4 with Phoscon together . And I see „DiyHue Bridge“ . What is the Password? I can’t get in .

        Reply

  29. I have flashed an esp8266 with hue gradient. It is shown in my network but the hue app doesn’t find it. Did I miss anything?

    Reply

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