Types of HIVE bulbs
Before getting to the heart of this article and seeing, in detail, how HIVE smart bulbs work, let me illustrate all the bulbs that are currently present in the catalog of the English company.
HIVE Active Light bulb with adjustable intensity
This is a light bulb from the warm white light (2700K) with adjustable intensity. It has a brightness of 806 lumens and consumes 9W. Its energy efficiency is classified as A +. It costs 25 euros and is also available in multipacks including three or five bulbs. More info here.
Hive Active Light bulb with adjustable intensity from cool white to warm white
The ideal solution for those looking for a white light bulb that allows switch from warm white to cool white with a temperature of 2700K-6500K and various levels of intensity. It has a brightness of 806 lumens, consumes 9W and enjoys the A + energy rating. It costs 35 euros and is also available in multipacks of three or five bulbs. More info here.
Hive Active Light bulb with color adjustment
The Hive Active Light with color adjustment is the most complete bulb currently in the HIVE catalog. It allows not only to switch from warm white to cool white, but also to change light color choosing from a palette of 16 million shades with adjustable intensity. It has a color temperature of 2700K-6500K, a brightness of 806 lumens and consumption of 9.5W with energy class A +. It costs 49 euros and is also available in multipacks of three and five bulbs. More info here.
Installation of HIVE bulbs
In order to function, the HIVE Smart bulbs must be connected to a common lighting device with a screw connection E27 and must be within range of thehub HIVE, the wireless device that connects all the HIVE Smart devices and allows them to be managed from a smartphone or PC (via Internet connection).
The first step you need to take, therefore, is to install the HIVE hub (which can be purchased for 99 euros) and configure it using the appropriate app available for Android and iOS devices: this is a very simple operation, however we see in detail all the steps to be taken.
Installing the HIVE hub
As just said, theHIVE hub installation it is one of the simplest operations in the world. The device, in fact, does not require special configurations and can be put into operation simply by connecting it to one energy source (the power outlet) and one of the Ethernet ports of the router (to have access to the Internet). The cables needed to connect the hub are already included in the device package.
For correct diffusion of the wireless signal and therefore correct communication with all HIVE Smart devices, the hub should be placed at half height (for example on the desk) in a "central" point of the house with respect to the Smart devices to be reached. The positioning of the hub on the floor must be absolutely avoided, as this would prevent correct propagation of the signal.
Initial setup of the HIVE hub
After connecting the HIVE hub to the power outlet and to the router, wait for it to complete its start-up phase (a green light must appear) and proceed to configure it via the app for portable devices.
If you have not yet installed the HIVE app on your smartphone or tablet, fix it immediately: open the store of your device (Play Store if you are using an Android device or App Store if you are using an iOS one), go to search field and type HIVE.
Once the search is complete, tap on the HIVE application icon (the orange circle with the white beehive inside) and proceed with the installation of the latter by pressing the button Installa / Ottieni. If you are using an iOS device, you may be asked to authenticate by entering your Apple ID, Touch ID, or Face ID password.
Once you have completed the installation of the HIVE app, start it, follow its initial presentation and proceed with the creation of theaccount that will allow you to manage all your Smart devices (bulbs in the first place). Then tap on the item Create an account, choose your country (ex. city) from the screen that opens and fill out the form that is proposed to you by entering yours in the appropriate text field Email address (to be repeated later in the field Confirm e-mail address).
So put a check mark next to the entry I agree to HIVE's Terms and Conditions and confirm that I have read the installation requirements and press pulsating Send to accept the terms of use of HIVE and proceed with the account setup.
Now you need to provide the rest of the information needed to create your HIVE account, that is your contact details (name, surname and telephone number) and yours residence address. Then specify yours preferences on advertising material (leave all boxes unchecked if you do not want to receive promotional communications), go forward and confirm your identity by clicking on the verification link that you will receive by email.
Once the verification link is open, fill in the new form that is proposed to you by typing in the fields New password e Confirm new password, the password you want to use to access your HIVE account and tap the button Activate account to permanently activate the account.
Now you can proceed to activate the HIVE hub. Then start the HIVE application on your smartphone or tablet, log in with the account data you created just now and select the icon Hub from the screen that opens (i.e. the menu Install the devices).
At this point, press on NEXT twice in a row, type the 6-character code found on the back of the hub and press Connect to complete the device activation procedure.
Please note: if you prefer, you can create a HIVE account and configure your devices also via PC, by connecting to the HIVEhome.com website, by clicking on thelittle man located at the top right and choosing the item Create an account from the page that opens.
Initial setup of HIVE bulbs
Once the HIVE hub is activated, you can proceed with the configuration of the light bulb within the app. To complete the procedure, the bulb must be connected to a lighting device with E27 screw connection and it must be on. Also, it must be not too far from the hub (which must be turned on and connected to the router, as explained above).
Once the light bulb is on, start the HIVE app on your smartphone or tablet, press the icon of thelittle man located at the top right, and tap on the item first Install the devices and then on the rumors Add another devices e vai to start device discovery.
As soon as you see the name of the light bulb appear (eg. Colored light o Colour Light) within the HIVE app, press the button NEXT for two consecutive times, choose if rename the device or whether to leave it with its default name and press on NEXT ee Done to complete the initial product setup procedure.
If the bulb was the first device you added to your HIVE account, after its initial setup, you will be shown a brief introduction of the app control panel, that is, the beehive screen in which all the devices added to your HIVE account are listed.
Please note: if you prefer, you can add new devices to your HIVE account also from a PC, by connecting to the HIVEhome.com website, logging in to the latter (just click on the icon of thelittle man located at the top right) and selecting the tab first Settings which is located at the top and then the voice Install devices.
How to use HIVE bulbs
To manage the HIVE Smart bulbs, program their switching on and off and / or adjust their degree of brightness and color, start the HIVE app on your smartphone or tablet and select the product name (eg. Colour Light 1) from the main control panel.
In the screen that opens, you can choose between three tabs: commands, to adjust the light and brightness of the bulb; Program, to program the ignition on the basis of the days and times of your preference e Actions, to automate its operation based on certain conditions (e.g. the detection of a movement by the HIVE motion sensor or the opening of a door, detected by a HIVE door / window sensor). Let's find out more in detail.
Adjustment of light, intensity and color
To turn on a light bulb, turn it off and / or adjust its color and intensity, select the tab commands of the HIVE app and choose one of the functions available in it: to turn the light on or off, then tap on thelight bulb icon placed in the center of the screen; to adjust its colore use thesemi-circular indicator also placed in the center of the screen (you have to move circular indicator on the color you prefer), while to adjust the degree of brightness tap on the item Intensity (bottom right) and use thesemi-circular indicator that appears on the screen.
If you have a light bulb Hive Active Light with color adjustment, you can switch between colored lights and those warm white / cool white by tapping on the item White located at the bottom left and then adjusting the desired white level with thesemi-circular indicator that appears on the screen. To adjust the level of light intensity, always press the button Intensity located at the bottom right. After switching from color mode to warm white / cool white, you can go back and choose again which colors to use for the light bulb, tap the button Color located at the bottom left.
Please note: if you have an iPhone and an Apple Watch paired with it, you can start the HIVE app on the watch and control the switching on and off of the bulbs from there as well. From a PC, on the other hand, you can take advantage of the HIVEhome.com site and manage the lights at home from the browser (by logging into your account as explained above).
Automatic switching on and off of lights
As already mentioned above, it is possible to turn on and off the HIVE bulbs also according to a schedule: this means that you can set the days of the week and the times in which to turn the lights off or on and choose the type of lighting to be use (color, intensity and so on).
To program the automatic switching on or off of your Smart bulb, select the tab Program from the HIVE app, where you will find predefined rules already created for the various days of the week: if you want to take advantage of these, move to ON their indicators, otherwise select them to modify them according to your needs.
To create a new rule, instead, select a day of the week, fai tap sul pulsating [+] which is located at the top right and, in the screen that opens, set the schedule of your preference. So choose whether to turn the bulb on or off using the appropriate Switch present at the top right, presses its buttons Home e end to set the start and end times of the rule (e.g. the time to turn on the light bulb and the time to turn it off) and use the indicators Color e Adjustable to set the color and intensity of the light.
To conclude, fai tap sul pulsating Save and the HIVE system will take care of turning off and / or turning on your bulbs according to the schedule you have set. Convenient, right?
Setting up custom actions
HIVE allows you to set custom actions, based on which the occurrence of an event triggers the execution of a command by one of the devices connected to the system. In the case of light bulbs, it is possible to have the light switched on or off when a sensor detects movement (in this case the HIVE motion sensor is required, which costs 35 euros) or the opening / closing of a door ( detectable via the HIVE door / window sensor, which also costs 35 euros).
If you have a motion sensor or a door / window sensor from HIVE, you can set custom actions by selecting your light bulb from the main menu of the HIVE app and going to the tab Actions. Alternatively, you can press the icon oflittle man located at the top right of the main menu of the application, choose the option Actions from the screen that opens and press the button Add action.
At this point, you choose if turn a light on or off when a motion sensor detects motion, turn a light on or off when a window or door is opened or turn a light on or off when a window or door is closed and, in the screen that opens, tap on the name of yours bulb to choose whether to turn the light on or off when the selected event occurs.
Then, if you want to program the action so that it repeats automatically according to the days and times of your choice, activate the lever for the option Schedule an action, tap on the item Change the scheduleselect il day of the week in which to repeat the action and press the button [+] to set the start and end times of the rule (as explained above for programming the switching on and / or switching off of the lights).
In case of problems or doubts
Can't get your light bulb recognized in the HIVE app? After initial setup, the HIVE app is no longer able to communicate properly with the bulb? Don't panic.
Try disconnecting the bulb from the lighting device it is connected to, wait a couple of minutes, plug it back in and try using the HIVE app again to manage it remotely. Then check that the HIVE hub is positioned correctly (not on the floor and in a place where the wireless signal can propagate to the bulb) and, if the hub is already positioned correctly, try to reset it by disconnecting it from the power supply for 10 minutes.
If none of the above solutions worked, try removing your bulb from the HIVE app and re-pairing it. To remove the light bulb from the HIVE app, press the icon of thelittle man located at the top right, go up Manage devices, select the bulb and tap the button Remove the device present in the screen that opens. To re-pair the product to your HIVE system, follow the procedure I explained earlier.
Article written in collaboration with HIVE.
HIVE bulbs: how they work
