Setting up the lights was easy, but it did take a few minutes longer than I thought it would. I am quite tech savvy, and assumed it would be quicker. So allow yourself a half an hour for full installation. The largest amount of time was spent figuring out which lamp had which numbered lightbulb in it, and then assigning them to their place in the house. You name rooms and the lights. Be careful naming the lights in the rooms. We only have one light in each room, which makes it more difficult when linking to Alexa and Google, because if the light and the room have the same name you have problems.
So name your room “master bedroom” and your light “master bedroom light.” This will make more sense once you go to set it up, but knowing this in advance can save you a little time. I had to go back and re-name the lights. Again this was due to Alexa not due to Phillips. But that is how we use the lights, so it is important.
I do like that both Alexa and Google can control the lights, because we use both. Syncing the lights with Google routines has been a lot of fun and more useful than I thought it would be. Our Google “good night” routine turns off the light, and our Google “good morning” routine turns it on.
You can also turn the lights on and off with your Hue app.
This is great if you are out of town and want to turn the lights on and off. You can also schedule the lights, just like you would with a timer.
Now that we have these I want to add more, and possibly color lights in our backyard. Once you buy the bridge in a starter kit like this, you can simply add more lightbulbs without buying another bridge, up to 50.