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Features

Erik Baauw edited this page Dec 1, 2023 · 18 revisions

Homebridge Hue does not connect to any Zigbee device itself, it needs a Hue bridge or deCONZ gateway for that. Consequently, Homebridge Hue can only support devices that are supported by the Hue bridge and/or the deCONZ gateway, or more precisely, by their respective APIs.

Homebridge Hue should support any device this is supported by the Hue API or by the deCONZ REST API. Most devices work out of the box, but some (notably wireless switches) need special handling by Homebridge Hue. To request support for such a device, please open an issue in GitHub, listing the warning message Homebridge Hue issues for the unknown device.

The Hue API only supports a limited set of Zigbee devices. While it does support non-Hue ZLL and ZB3 lights, plugs, and wired switches, the Hue bridge won't expose these to HomeKit. The Hue API only supports (Friends-of-)Hue wireless switches, and Hue sensors. The Hue bridge exposes these to HomeKit, but not as extensively as Homebridge Hue. On the other hand, the native HomeKit function uses push notifications, whereas Homebridge Hue needs to poll the bridge, lacking push notification support by the (original) API. With the API v2, the Hue bridge supports push notifications through an event stream.

When pairing the Hue bridge over Matter to HomeKit, it does expose non-Hue lights, and Long Press on the Hue dimmer, Hue smart button and Hue tap dial switch. But no support for adaptive lighting. Note that Matter support is currently in developer beta.

The deCONZ REST API strives to support all ZB3, ZHA, ZLL, and ZGP devices. For a list of devices currently supported by deCONZ, see the deCONZ Wiki. That page also links to the instructions how to request deCONZ REST API support for another device.

The following table compares the features of:

  • The native HomeKit function of the gen-2 (square) Hue bridge;
  • The native Matter function of the gen-2 (square) Hue bridge;
  • Homebridge Hue connected to a gen-1 (round) or gen-2 (square) Hue bridge; and
  • Homebridge deCONZ connected to a deCONZ gateway.
Feature Hue bridge
native (1)
Hue bridge
Matter
Hue bridge
with Hb Hue
deCONZ
with Hb deCONZ
HomeKit Certified Y n/a - -
Adaptive lighting Y - Y Y
Configure what resources to expose - - Y Y
Configure how to expose resources - - Y Y
Push notifications Y Y (7) Y
Zigbee Device Support
Hue light Y Y Y Y
Other light - (2) (2) Y
Hue smart plug Y Y Y Y
Other smart plug
Wired switch
- - (2) Y
Smart plug (with power consumption)
Wired switch (with power consumption)
- - - Y
Hue dimmer switch (Single Press)
Hue smart button (Single Press)
Hue wall switch module (Single Press)
Hue tap dial switch (buttons, Single Press)
(3) (3) (3) (3)
Hue dimmer switch (Long Press)
Hue smart button (Long Press)
Hue wall switch module (Long Press)
Hue tap dial switch (buttons, Long Press)
- (3) (3) (3)
Hue tap dial switch (dial) - - (3) (3)
Hue tap (3) (3) (3) (3)
Friends-of-Hue wireless switch (Single Press) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Friends-of-Hue wireless switch (Long Press) - - - (3)
Other wireless switch - - - (3)
Hue motion sensor
Hue outdoor motion sensor
Y Y Y Y
Hue motion sensor (incl. Eve history)
Hue outdoor motion sensor (incl. Eve history)
- - Y Y
Other motion sensor
Other ambient light sensor
Other temperature sensor
- - - Y
Hue secure contact sensor Y - - Y
Hue secure contact sensor (incl. Eve history) - - - Y
Other contact sensor (incl. Eve history) - - - Y
Carbon Monoxide (CO) detector - - - Y
Leak sensor - - - Y
Smoke detector - - - Y
Thermostat (incl. Eve history) - - - Y
Vibration sensor - - - Y
Warning Device (siren) - - - Y
Weather sensor (incl. Eve history) - - - Y
Window Covering - - - Y
Other Resource Support
Hue bridge link button - - (4) -
Virtual Daylight sensor - - (5) Y
CLIP sensor (incl. Eve history) - - (6) Y
Zigbee group - - Y Y
Zigbee scene - - Y Y
Schedule - - Y Y
Rule - - Y Y

Notes

  1. Gen-2 (square) Hue bridge only.
  2. The Hue bridge only supports ZLL and ZB3 lights, plugs and wired switches. It does not support ZHA devices.
  3. Note that you need a home hub to use wireless switches in HomeKit.
  4. Gen-1 (round) Hue bridge and gen-2 (square) Hue bridge with api version before v1.31.0.
  5. Hue bridge only supports daylight, not sunrise, sunset and extended events.
  6. Hue bridge only supports CLIPPresence, CLIPLightLevel, CLIPTemperature, CLIPHumidity, CLIPOpenClose, CLIPGenericFlag, and CLIPGenericStatus.
  7. On gen-2 (square) Hue bridges with api version from v1.48.0, the Hue bridge provides push notifications through the API v2 event stream. Homebridge Hue uses these from version v1.13.31 onwards.