I'm trying out zigbee. I've got a couple of hue bulbs, a white and a color. I've managed to add the white twice and the color once. None of them work. If I try to access color, brightness, or anything it gives me a message not available. I had added via eisy.and via the app. Nothing. So, try to remove from the list to see about starting over but won't let me delete. How can I remove? Tried remove, delete, even reset zigbee. What am I missing?

2 hours ago, Papa C said:

What am I missing?

I've never tried adding a hue bulb via Zigbee, but I've had other devices that I have removed successfully.

If you right click on the device does it offer a Zigbee menu item with a > next to it? Click that and then choose "Remove from Zigbee Network". Then right click the device again and select "Delete". Then be sure you reset the bulb (turn it on/off 5 or 6 times - used to it was like on for 8 seconds, off for 2 seconds each time). The bulb should flash when reset is successful. Then I'd reboot the eisy (maybe just reload IoX admin console first, but a reboot should also clear things up).

I think somebody else had posted some information about how to control colors for directly connected bulbs. Again, since I haven't done that I haven't kept up with that information. I prefer to keep the Hue Hub running and use the plugin to bring the bulbs into the IoX world. I don't change colors of my lights so not something I fiddle with.

Believe I did that but will give another try to be sure. I've done this for both admin console and the app on the phone. On the phone they'll disappear until I synchronize then they're back.

I've done this with zwave without issue. This zigbee is just not cooperating. First I find that the zigbee is bad in my dongle, Michael took care of that but still going nowhere fast.

It's not so much changing colors, although turning red under certain conditions could be good, it's more about dimming and changing temperature. I do the dimming as it is, but I'm wanting to warm them throughout the evening and cool them during the day.

1 hour ago, Papa C said:

I've done this for both admin console and the app on the phone. On the phone they'll disappear until I synchronize then they're back.

@Papa C for this I would only focus on using admin console. It seems that it’s not working correctly so that’s why it returns when you sync on the app. It’s just downloading what’s in IoX. Be sure the devices are powered (and maybe on) when you try to remove them. Sometimes if they’re in lamps they are not reachable if the lamp is powered off or a switch is off to them.

How large is your Zigbee network? You might need to find a way to reset the Zigbee network then factory reset all the bulbs. I might suggest you open a support ticket to get more ideas for this. Doesn’t seem to be many doing this…at least not many posts about it here.

There is no zigbee network yet. I was testing, trying to add these two bulbs. Got them in a lamp plugged in near the eisy. I HAD tried the admin console before. Did it again but one of them came back. Did it again, rebooted eisy and it seems to have done it. Synced from admin, then checked mobile.and synced there. That all seem to be gone. What you said about being in iox might be part of it. Id say remove, delete, and reboot.

NOW if I can get it to actually fully add the hue bulbs we'll be rolling.... Better to do that from admin mobile? Somewhere I saw someone someplace say you need to add zigbee from mobile?

Have you factory reset the bulbs? That's usually by turning them on and off several times. They should blink a few times when that's successful. If the bulbs have ever been set up before, this really needs to happen first. Then, try adding them, usually from admin console.

If you do get them added, you'll probably find that the control you get will only be basic, such as on/off and dimming. To get the full feature set, Hue bulbs are much better set up with a Hue hub, and then controlled using the excellent Hue plugin.

11 hours ago, Papa C said:

I've managed to add the white twice and the color once. None of them work. If I try to access color, brightness, or anything it gives me a message not available.

I experimented with adding a hue bulb via zigbee. I remember that it "worked" (I could add the device and it showed up in the admin console) but that the options for control were more limited than when using the hue hub and PG3 plugin. I don't specifically recall what options were missing from the zigbee method, but think it was color and scenes and groups and things along those lines. I am of the same thoughts as @Guy Lavoie ... I prefer the hub/PG3 method and see no compelling reason to change, so I don't closely follow the hue-via-zigbee methods.

But I also keep in mind @Papa C 's original post, that he's just experimenting with zigbee, and might not be expecting to fully control a Hue bulb this way. Experimenting is also my way of learning, and I'll often use what I have on hand. Just getting the bulb to be recognized as a zigbee device is the first step. That's why I mentioned doing a factory reset on the bulb.

Having installed Insteon switches to control just about everything I can think of around the house, I have just recently decided to dive into Hue bulbs. I have quite a few bulbs now and using the Hue Hub (and app) and Home Assistant to control them.  Seems to be working well so far, as I try and get used to the different scenes and other options available to employ.  Lots of possibilities.  I do recommend using the Hue hub.  I don’t know what it would be like without it.

 My first project is to install Hue bulbs in the three fixtures on our front porch.  I have created scenes ready to use for Easter (pastel colors), St Patricks Day (green), July 4 and other patriotic days (red,white,blue), Halloween (orange), Christmas (red, green) and so on. Other evenings the porch will be just normal white.  I have not had a chance to try any of these out yet.  Looking forward to Memorial Day weekend to debut the red/white/blue scene.  Pointless I know but fun to implement things like this.

In your case, you should be quite pleased with the Hue plugin. I have Hue bulbs in lamps, that my wife controls with Alexa and are also part of scenes. They're more expensive, but worthwhile.

main reason playing with this is I want to control temp and brightness. I do step down brightness of many bulbs around the house in the evening and step them up in the mornings, but would like to also warm and cool. One reason for trying to add them as zigbee is that you can bond them with a zigbee switch for that "instant" on/off as if they were wired. I have an insteon motion sensor 2 in the utility room linked directly to the switch in that room. You can't even get your hand through the doorway but the light is on. Compare that to another that goes though isy and there is a granted small, but noticeable delay in the round trip. I have a zwave motion switch (multisensor 6) and it is a second or two from the time the led on the sensor flashes till lights come on.

I have the inovelli blue zigbee switch with the MMwave I am wanting to put in a bathroom to control the lights in there. Was wanting to put the hue bulbs in there to start. Then I could do away with some of the programming and sensors hopefully relying on the mmwave to determine occupancy.

I DO have the last generation of hue hub but my understanding from google is that to bond bulb and switch they need to be on same hub. If I can't get this to work I'll look in to the new pro hub but wanted to try this first. So far, not batting at all.

Still can't seem to get the bulbs to actually add. They say they're there but get errors about nodes if I try to adjust color, brightness.

Just tried to add the inovelli and similar results. It gets added to the list, but no info. Also, after the interview and number was added to device list, the switch flashed red then went back to blue. It should have flashed green so don't believe it was actually added.

I've just started trying out zigbee. First attempts revealed that my dongle was bad from the start. I had zwave but no zigbee. Michael did replace the bad board but still stuck trying to actually successfully add anything zigbee.

Ok, but first of all, did you manage to do an actual factory reset of the bulb? The bulb cannot belong to two hubs at the same time.