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Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

defcon.social

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Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#131

Post by karaterobot »

I'm surprised they didn't already require this, but I think it's probably safe to say it was a likely and foreseeable outcome in any case. That, combined with a dearth of use cases that made sense (for my life) is what's kept me from using these products.

About the only reason I could think of to buy smart lightbulbs would be to suddenly turn all the lights in the house red, and yell "torpedoes in the water, brace for impact!" and that doesn't seem like a strong enough argument. I'd probably only do this 2-3 times a month anyway.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#132

Post by rchaud »

neilv wrote: post #113

"What's the worst that could happen, if we let MBA-types take over engineering?" "Even your home's light bulbs will require an Internet-connected computer account that spies on you."

Nice try, but this is the IoT wet dream pioneered by Nest Labs and a ton of other grizzled ex-SV hardware engineers.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#133

Post by Nullabillity »

noamchomsky1 wrote: post #129
grumblez wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fortunately all of their lights work over a standard Zigbee connection. No need for a Hue Hub or App at all. I was already transitioning my lights from using the Hue Hub/App to directly connecting via Zigbee/HomeAssistant before this was announced.

you still need a hub for zigbee connectivity right?

You need a ZigBee hub, but it doesn't have to be a Hue one.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#135

Post by rchaud »

karaterobot wrote: post #131

I'm surprised they didn't already require this, but I think it's probably safe to say it was a likely and foreseeable outcome in any case. That, combined with a dearth of use cases that made sense (for my life) is what's kept me from using these products. About the only reason I could think of to buy smart lightbulbs would be to suddenly turn all the lights in the house red, and yell "torpedoes in the water, brace fo…

These products are mostly targeted at the the Youtuber/streamer market that need to add variety to their backdrops.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#136

Post by ender341341 »

noamchomsky1 wrote: post #129
grumblez wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fortunately all of their lights work over a standard Zigbee connection. No need for a Hue Hub or App at all. I was already transitioning my lights from using the Hue Hub/App to directly connecting via Zigbee/HomeAssistant before this was announced.

you still need a hub for zigbee connectivity right?

yes, I use home assistant cause I don't need any cloud based stuff for it to work, though I did have to buy a raspi and a zigbee stick to run it on (or if you have some extra hardware laying about, I just like having it separated from my other stuff). I have a few cloud based things attached to it, but I'm selective and don't buy things where essential functionality requires it, but it's a extra & optional feature on something I was going to buy anyways (and that I don't care if data is shared on, like my automatic litter box dump box being full).

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#137

Post by danielbln »

rchaud wrote: post #135
karaterobot wrote: post #131

I'm surprised they didn't already require this, but I think it's probably safe to say it was a likely and foreseeable outcome in any case. That, combined with a dearth of use cases that made sense (for my life) is what's kept me from using these products. About the only reason I could think of to buy smart lightbulbs would be to suddenly turn all the lights in the house red, and yell "torpedoes in the water, brace fo…

These products are mostly targeted at the the Youtuber/streamer market that need to add variety to their backdrops.

No they're not.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#138

Post by coldtea »

rchaud wrote: post #132
neilv wrote: post #113

"What's the worst that could happen, if we let MBA-types take over engineering?" "Even your home's light bulbs will require an Internet-connected computer account that spies on you."

Nice try, but this is the IoT wet dream pioneered by Nest Labs and a ton of other grizzled ex-SV hardware engineers.

Those engineers have been MBA-types in developer clothing for over 2 decades now.

The engineer as hacker hasn't been anywhere close to leadership roles for quite a while. Perhaps ever since the 90s. I don't see a passion for computing and hacking with such people, just for making money and VCs. That's why the end product doesn't even matter to them.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#139

Post by ender341341 »

guitarlimeo wrote: post #62

This is frustrating. I have invested a lot in the Hue ecosystem and have also recommended it to my friends based on the facts that you don't need an account to control it, it integrates easily with HA, and you can block it from the internet. Now after one announcement it's something I want to get rid of fast and am ashamed of recommending it to my friends. I already block my Hue Bridge from accessing the internet, so…

you basically need to recreate the scenes in home assistant and use the hue bridge as as dumb of a bridge as you can. There should be little to no things that home assistant scenes can't do that hue scenes can.

I'll still probably recommend hue light bulbs with the caveat that I don't recommend their bridge/app, compared to the other bulbs I've used they are much more reliable and handle color changes much more smoothly & consistently.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#140

Post by psyclobe »

grumblez wrote: post #120
krisoft wrote: post #9

I have noticed the announcement of the change too. This materially changes the product for me. I was a happy user so far, and was thinking about buying more bulbs in fact, but not anymore. Is there a way to force the company to return the money I have paid for my bulbs and hub so far? Even if it is arduous and cost me more money than I'm able to gain back I would be inclined to do it to signal my displeasure with thi…

Fortunately all of their lights work over a standard Zigbee connection. No need for a Hue Hub or App at all. I was already transitioning my lights from using the Hue Hub/App to directly connecting via Zigbee/HomeAssistant before this was announced.

All except their new wifi connected ones... called Wiz.. watch out for those, much more affordable but really crappy app/setup situation.
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