Smart light bulbs are a fantastic and new way to light up your home, office, garden, or anywhere you like. These bulbs give you remote control access of lighting, including special lighting effects, such as brightness, scheduling timers, and even colour displays. They are fantastic when they are set up, but are they as neat and easy when you need to change your router?
Why Reset Wi-Fi?
You may be reading this and asking, why would I need to change the bulbs’ Wi-Fi connection? The simple answer is that you won’t need to swap Wi-Fi for your bulbs unless you are getting rid of the old router, moving it out of range of the bulbs, or the bulbs out of range of the router. Your bulbs will need a new Wi-Fi connection before they are able to function like before. This problem is often encountered when moving house and/or when moving the bulbs to different locations in the house.
Wi-Fi Bulbs
The most popular bulb connection is direct to Wi-fi, which is used in the Wyze bulbs, Sengled bulbs, and Kasa bulbs. Wifi bulbs offer good integration options with other smart devices, such as Alexa and google assistant, as well as coming with a controller app, from which you can arrange the settings of your bulbs.
Wi-Fi Bulb Wi-Fi change
Unfortunately, when changing Wi-Fi settings on your Wi-Fi bulbs, such as Wyze, most often the only option is to factory reset your bulb, which will remove all settings from the bulb and app. For the Wyze bulb that is done by turning the bulb’s switch on and off 3 times.
The bulb will pulse slowly and that is when you know the bulb has been reset and you can set up your bulb with your new Wi-Fi. Assuming that the connection is 2.4 GHz, as this is a requirement for smart bulbs, you can connect in the same manner as your original installation and set-up, in line with the user manual. Connect your device to the new signal, which will then open your app within which you can connect, pair, and personalise your bulb and user experience to your wishes.
Hub Bulb
Alternatively, there is the hub connection, which is used by most of the Philips Hue bulbs. This type of connection usually has excellent integration options, connecting to loads of smart home devices. Like the Wi-Fi options, the hub options are controlled through an app. A perk of the hub option is that the app can function well outside of your Wi-Fi router’s range.
Hub Bulb Wi-Fi change
When changing a hub bulb, you are able to simply unplug your Ethernet cable from the previous router and plug it into the new one. You will not have to factory reset the hub prior to connecting it to your new router or tinker with any settings on your hub app. This is because the bulbs are connected to the hub, rather than directly to the Wi-Fi signal, so the signal can go out while you reconnect your system, without affecting the bulbs.
All you have to do is ensure that you’ve opened the app while connected to your new Wi-Fi setting. Your settings will be saved on the hub and you won’t lose them when you switch over the signal.
Every bulb system is different and this is not a universal fix. For some hub bulbs, you will be in a similar predicament to the Wi-Fi bulb, in which a factory reset and reinstallation will be necessary for each bulb. The general reinstallation method here is to plug your hub into the new router, select search in the app while connected to your new Wi-Fi on your app to find your bulbs. Connect to your bulbs and re-enter your old settings.
Bluetooth Bulbs
The last main connection type is the Bluetooth bulbs, such as the C by GE bulbs. These function offline, connect directly to a phone, laptop, or tablet, and can be operated through an app. Each of these bulbs has their pros and cons, but regarding your new Wi-Fi connection, it is mainly the hub and Wi-Fi options that will be of concern, as the Bluetooth bulbs will be unaffected.
Conclusion
The main takeaway that we find here is that there is still work to be done on this new form of technology, as the hardware and software is all very new. A factory reset of your bulbs and hub may be necessary when installing a new router and reconnecting the hub and bulbs, but do consult the manufacturer if you are not sure. Also, when buying smart bulbs remember to try to stick to one type of bulb, to simplify the connection process and minimise the work for yourself.
Also, too many hubs can get complicated when trying to keep track of the different apps, while also working through different types of connectivity of bulb and not to mention it is a waste of Ethernet ports and space.
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