I'm hoping to migrate from Wink. I have 3 Cree bulbs. (Actually, I have 13, but I started with 3) I have deleted them from Wink and reset thrm. Resetting was no problem.
I first tied to pair them with Hue bridge. I can't find them. I reset again and tried pairing direct to Hubitat. It can't find them either.
I have no idea what to do next? i'm not thilled about the prospect of replacing $150+ worth of bulbs (in addition to hue bridge, lutron bridge and 4 pico remotes @ $300 tota;l) and would probably stick with Wink if I can't make them work with Hubitat
I welcome any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.
I'd definitely recommend these on the Hue Bridge. Many people have reported problems if directly paired to Hubitat, though that's mostly an issue if you're mixing them with other kinds of Zigbee devices (plugs, sensors, etc.)
If I remember correctly, I had to use the "serial number" method to pair mine to Hue. Something like this: How to add your Cree Connected bulb to a Hue hub | Android Central (and I think it was really the same for all of my bulbs and may not have needed the whole string...been a while). Touch Link via a third party app may also work. I'd still probably reset them just to be sure. I didn't have any problems pairing mine to Hubitat that way (I briefly experimented with that), but again that's not a path I'd recommend.
You need a third-party app to make that work (the Hue app can't do it). I think Hue Essentials is one that can initiate this mode. No guarantees since I haven't tried this--just a guess. Another guess: if you have a Hue Dimmer or similar Zigbee remote, you can probably also reset the Cree bulb that way, just in case that's the problem (if it's not un-paired/reset, it won't pair).
Thanks.
Tried Hue Essentials. Only works with Phillips bulbs.
Then I tried pairing it with the Wink. Can't even do that. I guess that the Cree bulbs are cursed by bad design. I'm just glad the the other 10 are paired up and working with Wink. Guess I should leave well-enough alone.
This isn't true, so something else must be wrong. But as you note, one of those things could be the bulbs. Lots of people have bad luck with them here, but they should work fine on a Hue Bridge. Not sure why yours won't pair, but with Zigbee devices, the first thing I'd check is whether they're reset (I know you've tried; if you didn't see then blinking to indicate that it was successful, maybe keep trying?). It's odd that they won't re-pair to Wink either. I suppose you could also check that you're not using the same Zigbee channel on multiple hubs just to avoid interference, though Zigbee is supposed to accommodate that whenever it can (Hubitat and Hue both let you choose; I don't know about Wink, but you may want to try powering down that hub when attempting to pair these devices elsewhere just in case).
Long term, you might want to look into replacing them, but I have had several working fine on a Hue Bridge network for years. Not sure why yours aren't cooperating to get there, so maybe some of the above will help if you're still interested in trying.
I assume that's asking you to choose how to add a device and that you'd want to choose your Bridge, the first option (IP address) in that list. However, I un-paired my Bridge from the app recently to test Phoscon/DeCONZ instead and only have the free version where you can't pair multiple Bridges, so I don't have my Hue Bridge on there handy to test...but from the screenshot that seems likely to be the case. (But again, no guarantees that TouchLink will work. Just something that it can't hurt to try!)
I am not sure if it helps, but I migrated from Wink when they went to the sub-model and migrated several Cree bulbs directly to Hubitat. The Cree bulbs have been my most reliable bulbs for at least five years. Hubitat found them without a problem once I reset them all (the factory reset often fails, so you may have to try a few times).
Not sure why anyone would need to go to the Hue Hub for this.
Lots of people have had had problems with directly-paired Cree bulbs. The problem isn't specific to Cree, though they do seem to be extra problematic for some here (you can find many posts with a search, I'm sure). The general issue is that many Zigbee bulbs are bad repeaters and may cause hard-to-troubleshoot problems on your mesh, at least when mixed with other types of Zigbee devices (non-bulb devices, like motion or contact sensors or dimmers)--they drop messages that they're supposed to route to other devices. This is so widespread that Hubitat has a note about it in their docs: How to Build a Solid Zigbee Mesh - Hubitat Documentation
A Hue Bridge solves this problem by keeping the devices on a separate network. I'm not saying you will have problems pairing them directly to Hubitat; you could just be lucky that none of your devices are choosing them as routers or that if/when they do, they always work reliably for you. But if you've got a Hue Bridge already, I'd just avoid the potential in the first place.
To be honest, I have given up on Zigbee, and try to focus on Z-Wave. Maybe it's due to the super-crowded 2.4GHz band in my house but I just find Z-Wave to be more reliable-- though devices are hard to find in the US. Well, you can find them but they are expensive. I bought the C7 hub so I could switch to the Euro Z-Wave frequency but got scared of all the reports about the hub migrations. Z-Wave is super expensive in Europe, you could get two devices in the States for the price of one on the old continent.
I run all 3 of those hubs for the same reasons. Hubitat for overall control, Hue for shitty cree and phillips stuff (really just for stand alone table lamps) and Lutron for every dimmer/switch in my house because Lutron just farking works. Now I had a similar problem with my old cree bulbs and finally managed to properly reset them when I came from wink (make sure your wink hub is off during the pairing) Do not connect them to your Hubitat if you have other zigbee devices on it as those bulbs make bad repeaters and bad messengers (I'll bet you noticed a lot of the slow response on wink with them) and will eventually start dropping stuff off your mesh. If you can use switches where possible and bulbs when absolutely necessary. (Just my opinion). Again, it sounds like your bulbs didn't reset properly (also make sure your wink is off when resetting the bulb)
I went through all the agony of device reset when I set up the Wink. Now I have to have that wonderful experience again.
I have concluded that the entire "smart" device sector is in chaos. There should be a federal requirement that every smart device have a reset button. This business of on-off cycles and include-exclude procedures is totally nuts.
You should just push a button and be ready to pair your device.
This issue is not far fro the whole "right to repair" situation. Without a hardware reset there is sometimes no way to "repair" a device so that it will successfully pair.
Given hubitat's "open" philosophy, this should become part of the agenda.
When I was moving things from ST to HE, I started using the stopwatch feature on my phone to get the timing right on my Cree bulbs and Osram light strips. It made it easier for me to reset them.
Me too, though my stand alone table lamps have smart plugs instead of bulbs. I had all sorts of reliability problems with Cree bulbs when connected to my Hubitat directly. Moved them all off to a Hue hub (on a different zigbee channel) and issues went away. Zigbee bulbs are ZLL, other Zigbee devices are ZHA. When you get ZLL devices trying to repeat ZHA, it makes a mess. Getting all ZLL devices off onto their own network solves that problem. The exception appears to be Singled bulbs, which do not repeat but won't work with Hue either. I've only had one Cree issue since then and I solved it by chucking the Cree bulb into the trash. For $6 it isn't worth more than about 5 minutes of troubleshooting.
I ripped out every zwave switch in my house (not that many - maybe 5) and put in about 30 Lutron Caseta switches. Rock. Solid. Always. And they have several models that don't require a neutral, which is important in a house that was built with gas lighting (since decommissioned, no worries.) The Picos are cool too. Just remember you need the Lutron PRO hub, not the regular hub.
Thanks. I'd be interested in more details about the Singled bulbs since I was palnning to try a couple of them. I had assumed that there would be no problem with them, either direct to hbitat or via the hue bridge.
Another guess: if you have a Hue Dimmer or similar Zigbee remote, you can probably also reset the Cree bulb that way, just in case that's the problem (if it's not un-paired/reset, it won't pair).
Lots of people have bad luck with them here, but they should work fine on a Hue Bridge. Not sure why yours won't pair, but with Zigbee devices, the first thing I'd check is whether they're reset (I know you've tried; if you didn't see then blinking to indicate that it was successful, maybe keep trying?). It's odd that they won't re-pair to Wink either. I suppose you could also check that you're not using the same Zigbee channel on multiple hubs just to avoid interference, though Zigbee is supposed to accommodate that whenever it can (Hubitat and Hue both let you choose; I don't know about Wink, but you may want to try powering down that hub when attempting to pair these devices elsewhere just in case).
