Smart lights are a great way to give your entertaining space ambiance and function at the same time. Replacing a basic bulb with a smart bulb allows you to control everything from your smartphone, including changing colors, adjusting brightness, and turning them on and off even when you’re not at home.
The Philips Hue Outdoor Sensor is a great way to give you peace of mind by turning your smart lights on when it detects motion outside. So, in this article, we'll explain how to set up and use your Philips Hue Outdoor Sensor.
What Is the Philips Hue Outdoor Sensor?
This weatherproof motion sensor is meant for the outdoors, and it works with any Philips Hue smart light via the Philips Hue Bridge. You can set the sensor to detect motion and customize the sensitivity of this setting as well.
When the sensor detects motion, it will turn on your light(s). The sensor is operated by a battery, so you don’t have to hardwire it to your home’s electrical system, making it a great option for those who aren't great at (or keen on) DIY.
However, that does mean you’ll have to monitor and change the battery when it dies. It also requires a Wi-Fi connection, so your home’s Wi-Fi needs to be strong enough to reach where you place the sensor.
The sensor is a small black device that weighs almost nothing, but the price may be steep for some. When compared to outdoor sensors from other manufacturers, this one could be considered pricey.
However, if you really like the Philips Hue suite of products, you’ll want to invest in this one, because the others aren’t compatible. And for the quality of the product, it’s worth the money because it’s easy to install and use.
How to Install a Philips Hue Outdoor Sensor
The Philips Hue Outdoor Sensor comes with everything you need to get it installed quickly. There are mounting brackets and instructions that make it easy, even for someone who hasn’t installed anything like this before.
The first thing you should do before installing the sensor is make sure it works. So, before you do anything else, download and install the Philips Hue app.
Download: Philips Hue for Android | iOS (Free)
Within the app settings, tap Accessory Setup. This is where you’ll see a long list of the Philips Hue devices available to you. Select the Hue outdoor sensor and the app will walk you through all of the steps to get everything connected.
As long as everything is working as it should, you can install the device. Pick the outdoor spot where you want to be able to detect motion. Make sure it’s within the reach of your home’s Wi-Fi network and that it has visibility to the entire area you want to monitor. You can put it on the front porch, the back patio, or overlooking the backyard.
Once you’ve connected the sensor, you can select the area where you want your lights to react. If you have an outdoor light that you’d like to turn on when the sensor detects motion, that will certainly illuminate what’s causing the issue.
However, you can also have lights on the inside of your home react, waking you up if there’s movement outside. Perhaps it detects a deer eating up your flower garden, or your teenager sneaking out. Either way, you might want to know about it sooner rather than later.
Using the app, you can even program your sensor to be activated at certain times. You can set it up to turn on when you leave home, only at night, or 24 hours a day.
How to Connect Your Sensor to the Philips App
Connecting the sensor to the app is a breeze. You simply select the device you want to connect from the list of accessories the app provides. It walks you through a series of easy steps to get it installed.
It will first ask you to access the setup button on the backside of the sensor. You may have to remove the wall mount to find it. Press the setup button and the sensor will start blinking as it connects. Tap the button to indicate whether your sensor is blinking or not. If it doesn’t blink, the app will guide you through troubleshooting to find out why.
Once the sensor is connected, select the area that contains the Philips Hue lights you want to react when the sensor detects motion. Tapping the lights will connect them with the sensor and program them to respond. You should get a success message on the screen.
How to Integrate Your Outdoor Sensor to Other Smart Home Systems
The Philips Hue smart home ecosystem is a robust network of connected devices, so you can set up your sensor to work with plenty of other Philips Hue products you might have already installed. Thus, building a sophisticated and useful smart home.
However, you can also connect it to other systems from other manufacturers. Which means that if Philips Hue doesn’t offer a product you like, you can still use a replacement, as long as they can communicate with each other over Wi-Fi.
Philips Hue plays nicely with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and AppleHomeKit. Which means that you can use your voice-activated assistant as a hub for all of your smart devices.
By connecting all of the smart devices in your home to your assistant, you can allow your assistant to control them. You can also set up rules for how they interact with each other.
Other connected devices and connection types that work well with Philips Hue are Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and ZigBee. You should haven’t any trouble getting these to speak to each other as long as you go through the Philips Hue Bridge to set them up.
Brighten Up Your Home With Philips Hue
The Philips Hue Outdoor Sensor is a great add-on to the Philips Hue smart lighting you already have installed. It can turn lights on and off, change lighting color, blink, or stay solid. It makes a great security feature and is easy to set up and customize.
It’s a bit on the pricey side, but if you already have Philips Hue lighting in your home, it’s the most logical option. It’s well-designed and has plenty of other integration options, allowing you to create a smart home that works for you.
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