Why I’m Disappointed: How to Mitigate the Homogenization Issue in the Hue Bridge for Future Smart Home Integrations

The migration to Matter was enabled after a firmware update was pushed on the bridges. Upgrading is optional and only applies to any smart home integrations you use; it won’t change how your Hue lights work in the Hue app. However, Matter will soon be the default protocol for all its smart home platform integrations. Matter will soon be enabled for both Amazon and Google Home, to ensure that users can keep their existing set-up.

However, I ended up with duplicates of every Hue device, despite having thought I’d disconnected the Alexa cloud integration. (Pro tip: log in to your Hue account on the web, navigate to your bridge, and remove all the legacy cloud connections you find there before upgrading to Matter.)

Warning: I advise caution here. In my experience, adding the Hue Bridge to multiple platforms through Matter either didn’t work or caused stability issues, especially if you have a lot of devices. It is relatively easy to disengage from Matter if you run into these problems. Just delete the Hue Bridge from the first platform you paired it to with Matter, and it should remove it and all associated devices from all the platforms. Or, to just remove it from an additional platform, delete it from that app and it will stay on the other platforms.

Even if you have a motion sensor, you’ll need to separate it into four separate devices, with default names for the temperature, light level, and motion. Put these all in the same group. Some dimmer switches, buttons, and other remotes are not supported by Amazon’s voice assistant.

How to Upgrade a Hue Bridge to Matter to Be Compatible with Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Humanoids? An Empirical Study

Then, I tried to add them to Google Home. The bulbs were named Bulb at first. Two days later, the correct names appeared, but at no point have they been online or controllable through Google Home.

However, I can see how issues like this may affect legacy setups more than new ones. It’s hard to pin down a broken link in a large smart home setup. So, to test this, I tried setting up a brand-new Hue Bridge with just two bulbs and a motion sensor connected to it. That system was coupled with Apple Home through Matter and then to Amazon voice assistant with no issues. Yay.

My lights respond slowly to voice commands. They often don’t return calls from my smart home platforms. I can’t add any new bulbs to Apple Home. I’ve had to delete and re-add every single bulb and sensor six times while troubleshooting these issues. They can only work on two platforms at the same time.

The Hue Bridge is limited to around 50 devices. While it sounds like a lot, if you use motion sensors, remotes, and smart bulbs in a few rooms, and maybe some outdoor lights — not to mention the new contact sensors and cameras — it is easy to top out.

Previously, only Apple HomeKit allowed for multiple bridges; if you used other platforms, you were limited to the maximum amount allowed on one bridge. With Matter, you can connect multiple bridges to platforms such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home.

With Matter, those third-party bulbs are now exposed to the platforms you pair to, including Apple Home. However, with Matter, you now have more options for cheaper third-party bulbs that will work with every platform, so this benefit really only applies to existing setups.

Even though Apple’s adaptive lighting is supported in Matter, you lose that function when you upgrade. Hue has its own “natural lighting” feature that has a similar function of adapting the light based on the time of day. But that will only work with Hue bulbs; Apple’s version also works with a selection of (non-Matter) lights from Nanoleaf and Eve.

Source: I upgraded my Hue Bridge to Matter, so you don’t have to

A bridge through the cloud for me and my wife (Mamma) using an Amazon skill: Can I reconnected the bridge using the cloud?

I finally gave up and reconnected the bridge through the cloud using an Amazon skill, and it’s been working fine ever since.