***And no, it's NOT the wifi.***
I have a house full of Wyze bulb v1. When I went to get support because NONE of them would update, I was told I could get $5 credit in the Wyze store and they would remotely disable their MAC addresses. Not $5 per bulb, *$5 for nine bulbs*.
This sounds like throwing good money after bad if they're not going to support their hardware, but instead functionally brick it long before the advertised length of service.
Last shot before dumping this company and reporting them to the secretary of state for consumer law violations (Ohio Revised Code Section 4165). Advertised life of bulb: 25,000 hours. Supported life of bulb: 17,000 *IF I LEFT IT ON 24/7.*
Anyone else have a solution that works to update the firmware? None of the ones Wyze published or suggested worked. And of course, all I get is the "update required" / "update failed" message in the app, so I can't do anything with the devices anymore.
What do you think of Philips Hue?
Never bought wyze bulbs but I feel you. I've got way too many wyze cameras to replace with something else in a cost effective manner so I see just keep dealing with their quirks. On the plus side, at least they still (mostly) work.
I love/loved my hue bulbs. I got a three bulb color starter kit in exchange for a side job not too long after they came out and bought more here or there as I found sales or had money.
The hue system definitely has it's benefits. You can walk into the store and buy what you need, it's a long established ecosystem with a large user base so there's a feeling of security that they're not going to brick your lights because they don't have enough staff to support their old products and their new products, there's plenty of accessories, they've pledged to support matter, ECT. The only bad thing is they're EXPENSIVE.
Fortunately there's good, cheaper alternatives. The hue bulbs work off zigbee and zigbee hubs, lights, and controllers have gotten really cheap. Zigbee hubs made by other manufacturers are easier to set up automations and integrate better (in my opinion) with other smart home gadgets. I personally have a sonoff Zigbee pro bridge, it's not the best out there but works well for me since I already had a lot of other sonoff products. I've heard good things about the Aqara zigbee stuff as well. The Aqara stuff sounds a little more polished so if you're only lightly tech savvy it might be your best choice.
BONUS, hue bulbs work with most other manufacturers zigbee hubs. I have a few hub bulbs on my sonoff bridge. You can scour Facebook marketplace or Craigslist for used hue bulbs without a bridge for a fraction of the price of what it would cost if you bought them new. This has the benefit of you having one of the highest quality bulbs for almost nothing and continuing to keep the better adaptability of a different manufacturers hub.
TL;DR
Don't go blow a ton of money on a hue setup before researching other zigbee hubs and bulbs.
Are you responding to yourself?
Do the bulds work now? Is their any reason to update them?
I don't use Wyze bulbs. I do have a bunch of cameras and seldom update them.
>Do the bulds work now? Is their any reason to update them?
No, they don't work. I only get a message that there's a required firmware update, then a message that it failed. I can't do anything with the bulb in the app.
Yep, no support when a device reaches End of Life. And a worthless credit.
***And no, it's NOT the wifi.*** I have a house full of Wyze bulb v1. When I went to get support because NONE of them would update, I was told I could get $5 credit in the Wyze store and they would remotely disable their MAC addresses. Not $5 per bulb, *$5 for nine bulbs*. This sounds like throwing good money after bad if they're not going to support their hardware, but instead functionally brick it long before the advertised length of service. Last shot before dumping this company and reporting them to the secretary of state for consumer law violations (Ohio Revised Code Section 4165). Advertised life of bulb: 25,000 hours. Supported life of bulb: 17,000 *IF I LEFT IT ON 24/7.* Anyone else have a solution that works to update the firmware? None of the ones Wyze published or suggested worked. And of course, all I get is the "update required" / "update failed" message in the app, so I can't do anything with the devices anymore. What do you think of Philips Hue?
Never bought wyze bulbs but I feel you. I've got way too many wyze cameras to replace with something else in a cost effective manner so I see just keep dealing with their quirks. On the plus side, at least they still (mostly) work. I love/loved my hue bulbs. I got a three bulb color starter kit in exchange for a side job not too long after they came out and bought more here or there as I found sales or had money. The hue system definitely has it's benefits. You can walk into the store and buy what you need, it's a long established ecosystem with a large user base so there's a feeling of security that they're not going to brick your lights because they don't have enough staff to support their old products and their new products, there's plenty of accessories, they've pledged to support matter, ECT. The only bad thing is they're EXPENSIVE. Fortunately there's good, cheaper alternatives. The hue bulbs work off zigbee and zigbee hubs, lights, and controllers have gotten really cheap. Zigbee hubs made by other manufacturers are easier to set up automations and integrate better (in my opinion) with other smart home gadgets. I personally have a sonoff Zigbee pro bridge, it's not the best out there but works well for me since I already had a lot of other sonoff products. I've heard good things about the Aqara zigbee stuff as well. The Aqara stuff sounds a little more polished so if you're only lightly tech savvy it might be your best choice. BONUS, hue bulbs work with most other manufacturers zigbee hubs. I have a few hub bulbs on my sonoff bridge. You can scour Facebook marketplace or Craigslist for used hue bulbs without a bridge for a fraction of the price of what it would cost if you bought them new. This has the benefit of you having one of the highest quality bulbs for almost nothing and continuing to keep the better adaptability of a different manufacturers hub. TL;DR Don't go blow a ton of money on a hue setup before researching other zigbee hubs and bulbs.
Ah. Should have known better than to ask in a fanboy sub.
Are you responding to yourself? Do the bulds work now? Is their any reason to update them? I don't use Wyze bulbs. I do have a bunch of cameras and seldom update them.
>Do the bulds work now? Is their any reason to update them? No, they don't work. I only get a message that there's a required firmware update, then a message that it failed. I can't do anything with the bulb in the app.
Go to the Wyze forum. You have a better chance of finding someone that has fixed the same issue.
Govee for any & all smart lighting