- LIFX is a smart light brand
that has a massive inventory of smart bulbs, light strips,
and just about anything that changes colors or lights up.
We've posted a few videos
about LIFX smart bulbs on this channel before.
And every one of them
seems to get a lot of negative attention.
Comments from viewers mentioned problems:
setting up the device,
connecting it to smart speakers like Alexa,
and issues with the app.
So I decided to try it for myself.
So I'm really excited to install this
and try to get it to connect with my two friends over here.
A lot of the comments I've been seeing
are issues with the app,
connectivity with the smart speakers,
and just general poor user-friendliness.
So I'm kind of excited to see
if you guys are onto something.
Let's lighten the mood and get started.
LIFX has a huge catalog of lights,
but the setup for any of their devices
should be about the same, right?
And honestly, they're really expensive for smart lights,
so I can kind of see why people get so heated
after spending all of that money and still having issues.
Here, I have a BR30 LIFX smart bulb.
Once it arrived, I was really excited to get it set up
and see just how challenging it could be.
I started setting it up
and then I encountered the same problems
that we saw in the comments.
Right off the bat, the LIFX app was confusing
and it seems to be designed more for looks than function.
But, from the get-go, the setup instructions
seemed to push Apple HomeKit connectivity
every time I went through the steps.
Even the Help menu asked about it.
And each time I went through the setup menu,
it asked for "accessories" without explaining what that meant.
So I tried to be slick and thought of a couple workarounds.
I downloaded the HomeKit app.
I tried connecting LIFX to Google and Amazon speakers.
I reset the light bulb and I even reset my router.
None of these worked
and I was starting to understand why so many people
had so much to say about this brand and on our videos.
That was until
the mysterious "accessory" the app had been asking about
was the light bulb itself!
The QR code I needed wasn't on the box,
or on the light bulb,
or on the Apple HomeKit I didn't have.
It was on the instructions.
So, word to the wise,
do not throw away the instructions.
Within the little booklet that comes with the LIFX bulb
is a HomeKit QR code, no HomeKit required.
This is what you'll scan during setup
to get your bulb to connect.
With the LIFX bulb up and running,
I connected them to my smart speakers next.
To connect LIFX to your Amazon device, open the app,
then add device with the little plus sign.
In my case, the smart speaker recognized the LIFX bulb,
it was new and started the setup automatically.
But I went ahead and took the long route.
I searched for LIFX in the devices, then next,
and enabled my smart speaker and LIFX to connect
by signing into my LIFX device.
This process is similar for connecting smart home devices.
Then, my smart speaker looked for the device
and found it successfully.
From there, I tried changing the light bulb color
with just my voice.
Katie: "Set living room light to candle light."
Alexa, "Okay."
From these quick tests,
I found that you have to be really specific
about what you want from Alexa.
Be sure to call your light bulb
the name it's labeled in the speaker's app
and stick to really basic commands.
Katie: "Set living room light to white light."
Alexa: "I don't know how to set living room to that setting."
Next, I connected it to my Google Home,
Adding the LIFX bulb to my Google Home
worked like many other smart devices
and I was able to do it in just a couple minutes.
In the Google Home app, add a new device
and select "Works with Google."
Search for LIFX, then "agree and link."
It took a moment for the light icon to appear in the app.
But, once it did, I was able to control the LIFX bulb
from the Google Home app and with my voice.
But, just like the Amazon speaker,
controlling the LIFX bulb with Google Home
and only your voice isn't really the best method.
You've got to be really specific about your commands
and make sure you're using the name
that the Google Home app knows the light by.
LIFX works with all three major smart home speakers:
Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Apple HomeKit.
But it also has a lot of cool stuff
within its own ecosystem.
While the LIFX app isn't the most intuitive,
I managed to find a couple really cool features
like scenes and schedules.
Schedules and rules are pretty standard
for smart bulbs like this one,
so I won't spend too much time on that.
The scenes feature is where all the wow-factor is at.
Within the scenes menu,
you can choose a bunch of different effects and moods
to set your LIFX bulb to.
A lot of these feel like they'd be really handy for parties,
or haunted houses, or even stage lighting.
Each of these scenes have custom settings
that let you adjust the timing
and speed of the color changes.
Here are a couple of the coolest ones, in my opinion.
Color cycle,
pastels,
random.
There's also a strobe light, flicker,
and a spooky setting perfect for Halloween.
But, my favorite has to be the visualizer
that syncs color changes to music.
The light bulb has a built-in microphone
that listens for your tunes and changes with it.
I can see this being a great secret ingredient
to any successful house party.
You can set your own scenes as well,
but that wasn't as easy as I'd hoped it would be.
We'll do a Short on that in the near future
to show you how it's done
After spending some time with this smart bulb,
I understand why LIFX gets so much heat.
I spent almost two hours yelling at a light bulb
because the process was just so unclear in the app.
After going through some extra measures
to try and make it work,
I found what I needed with me all along.
Speaking of the app, it is not easy to use.
From setting up the LIFX bulb to controlling the settings,
it took a lot of practice and time to learn the layout.
A lot of comments we saw
were related to connecting the smart speakers
to the LIFX bulb.
While I didn't have any trouble
with my Amazon or Google speaker,
I can see why people will have issues.
Neither speaker can do much with the smart light
beyond basic voice commands.
After some patience and a quick break,
I finally got the LIFX up and running.
The smart bulb itself
is super responsive to the app and really bright.
I love the extra scenes and features for parties and events,
but it's pretty high-maintenance
for an everyday smart light, at least for my preferences.
So does LIFX deserve all this hate?
I don't think so, at least not all of it.
We will be doing more videos
on smart lights like this one throughout the month,
so be sure to subscribe and catch future Shorts and videos
on LIFX and other smart bulbs out there.
And whatever you do, don't throw away the instructions.
Hey, if you're part of the 10% of people
who watched this far, or my parents, thanks for watching.
Don't stop there, though.
We have a ton of other resources on SafeWise.com
that you can check out
and if you like and subscribe,
you'll get new videos from us every week.
Thanks for watching and stay safe.
(upbeat electronic music)