I've had these bulbs and done this reset process more times than I can count. For <i>years</i> the software was some of the worst I've ever used.<p>It would constantly lose pairing with the bulbs. In order to re-pair with the bulbs, all the bulbs had to be reset individually using this process, and then all configuration had to be deleted from the app and every bulb needed to be re-added as a new bulb. Pairing was error-prone. Firmware updates would constantly fail.<p>Not only that, but initially the software didn't even support turning them on or changing the color on a schedule, despite the hardware being capable of it (they added the feature later). If basic things like schedules don't work what is even the point of smart bulbs?<p>Looking at this error message from the app [1] might give you an idea of how sloppy their SW was. This isn't from the first version either.<p>After they added schedules it was a bit better since you could just set one and not touch it. And after <i>years</i> they've fixed some of the major bugs.<p>I still think smart lights are useful. Setting the lights to turn on in the morning (as a substitute for an alarm clock) is very nice, as well as changing to a warmer color temperature in the evening. But switches are superior to phones for just turning the lights on and off IMO. I think an ideal smart light system would use switches to turn them on and set brightness/color temperature, and only use the phone for advanced things like scheduling.<p>[1] <a href="https://imgur.com/a/Uauynh6" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/a/Uauynh6</a>
Labeled Buttons >> Unlabeled Hieroglyphs >> Morse Code Button >> Morse Code Side Channel<p>Why do I so often find products where the designers have chosen a less usable option even though size constraints would have easily permitted a more usable option? Here it's debatable, but every time I find a desktop app / website that has replaced labeled buttons with hieroglyphs in a hamburger menu I die a little inside.<p>Also, while this light bulb is bad, I feel like bluetooth earbuds still take the cake for having the worst interfaces. They combine the undiscoverable and difficult-to-actuate morse code button with a slow, obtuse interactive voice menu and bluetooth's unreliability and incompatibility to create a modern interaction hell like no other.
I have some GE smart lightbulbs and i've never needed to reset them. People seem eager to mock this, but i don't see the problem. it's a (hopefully) rarely used procedure that you wouldn't want to be accidentally triggered, on an item that's very price sensitive. A physical reset button would significantly add to the cost of a part that sells for <$15.<p>If anything, be happy that GE has not only engineered a reset procedure, but they also publish it. The most likely alternative to this is not a button but rather no published reset at all, and just call the part disposable.
Stop buying smart bulbs. It’s an absolutely <i>horrible idea</i> from beginning to end. What people want is a way to switch a lamp on and off. For that you need a <i>smart switch</i>. For it to work you can’t have a dumb switch in your wall first - because when the dumb switch is in the “off” position, the smart lightbulb doesn’t work!<p>What do people that buy smart bulbs do, tape their light switches in the “on” position so you can no longer use the most convenient way to switch off? Or do they eventually get a smart switch <i>also</i> thereby removing the need for a smart bulb (yes I know there is things like dimming and rgb, but let’s face it the killer application of smartness is <i>switching</i>).<p>If someone had pitched the hue to me 20 years ago I would have laughed. But apparently I misjudged what people want - so why are they popular? Has anyone met everyone that said “I switched all my bulbs to smart ones with dumb switches and it’s great”? Sorry for the rant but I just feel that <i>this</i> isn’t what’s stupid about smart bulbs. The idea itself is fundamentally flawed or I completely missed the point.
Is this really the best way they could come up with? I do understand the problem though. And why did they change the pattern between firmware versions? Were they getting false hits, or was it just too hard to do?<p>This is a lightbulb! Who is the intended audience. The Internet of Things really isn't ready for the general public.
OT: I've noticed that my local Walmart has the GE bulbs. They are over in the lighting section, out on the shelves with the non-smart bulbs. If you want them, you just toss them in your cart and go pay for them at the regular checkout.<p>They also have smart bulbs by Philips, TP-Link/Kasa, and Merkury Innovations--and all of these are in a locked display over in the electronics section. If you want them, you have to find an employee in electronics to unlock the display and grab them for you, and then you have to pay for them at the checkout in electronics. They won't let you just toss them in your cart and pay at the regular checkout.<p>Finally, they also have some Monster smart light products, which are in the electronics section, but not in a locked display, so you can buy them without assistance.<p>I have not been able to figure out any good reason for the different smart bulbs to be in different sections like this, or for some to be locked up and some not.
For people who actually need to do this, there is an automated solution available: <a href="https://hackaday.io/project/166216-ge-smart-lightbulb-reseter" rel="nofollow">https://hackaday.io/project/166216-ge-smart-lightbulb-resete...</a><p>h/t @deshipu (the author) over at Mastodon.
Do people buy smart lightbulbs these days? Is there any innovation to drive sales?<p>In the olden days they would be part of your weekly shop, somewhere in the house a bulb would need replacing or you would be running low on them. Maybe 'weekly shop' is overstating it, but you wouldn't want to be without a spare bulb on hand.<p>All of those filament bulbs have been replaced. The lights you have are the lights you have. People that wanted the smart bulbs must have got them by now, old timers who don't care for such things are not going to get them. The old user interface of the switch on the wall is what most people want. The idea of having to get your phone out to turn on a light isn't of appeal to those okay with the existing arrangements. This is particularly so in the world of light pollution where it is never truly dark in built up areas.<p>I notice some people in the comments talk about replacing all the bulbs to smart bulbs. In America it is okay to just do this but in more frugal parts of the world there would be the aspect of waste to consider - never mind expense. Ad-hoc replacement of filament bulbs that blow with novelty smart bulbs is one thing but chucking out perfectly fit for purpose bulbs to get smart bulbs isn't how people do things outside America. Exceptions to this are when getting a new house but the housing market is kaput at the moment in most of Europe.<p>How is this smart bulb market going? Has it reached a plateau with everyone who wants them having them and the market declining? Or are these new bulbs that don't need a Hue base station making it happen?
> ...the software...<p>I thought it was already bad when our DVRs, TVs, cars and personal electronics take time to 'boot' because they're running OSes. Now were at the point where we'll put software into just about anything and deal with the fallout. The IoT age is about to be a very inconvenient one.
I don't see why this is so bad. You just have to follow along with the video for ~1 min. and depending on your lighting setup, it allows you to reset many lights at once without getting a ladder or stepstool and physically poking each one.