Do you connect your end devices through their own bridge (like the Philips Hue bridge) and then to Homey, or did you throw away these bridges and connect your end devices directly to Homey ? And why ..
Depends on your use case.
Ive thrown my ikea bridge out.
But i kept my philips hue bridge cause I sync lights with my TV. They also have some great scenes in the Hue app.
If you dont care about any of these connect to Homey directly
@Kyle_Michiels Just wondering: but can’t you make the sync (lights with tv) with a flow as well ?
Not saying you shouldn’t use the bridge, but just wondering wat the bridge does what cannot been done with a specific flow for this use case ?
I keep most devices on a bridge instead of directly on Homey. I have a Hue bridge, SwitchBot bridge, ThirdReality bridge and I’m also planning to move my Tuya ZigBee devices to a Tuya MultiMode gateway. The reason that I use the bridges:
- Hue bridge because the Hue app is so much better than Homey’s implementation for lighting.
- SwitchBot bridge because of Homey’s poor BLE range
- ThirdReality bridge for OTA updates
- Tuya bridge because motion sensor reports false positives when directly on Homey
The devices connected to these bridges are all connected to Homey so I can still use them in Homey like I normally would.
For comparison, in my experience, Aqara devices (without a bridge) work at a maximum distance of 10 meters from Homey. Some even struggle at just 5 meters. Simply put, Aqara’s end devices are nowhere near stable.
I am gradually migrating to other brands.On my plot (60x60 m), I’ve installed an irrigation system, a pond fountain, and yard lighting. Manual control is handled via a Philips Hue (with bridge) remote, while automation is managed by Philips Hue motion sensors. The distance from Homey isn’t even worth mentioning here—with Philips Hue, I’ve covered the entire plot and all the other buildings on it. The remote works from anywhere, in any weather conditions.In all my time using Philips Hue, I can’t recall a single instance of failure. I believe Philips Hue (with a bridge) is the perfect example of how a smart home should work
Still using the Hue Pro bridge. It was fully installed with all the wall switches and presence sensors and works flawlessly. No need to start all over. 47 lights, 19 switches and 5 sensors. Way too much work!
Yes, I totally agree. Hue is rock solid, I’ve so used their system for many years, it has not failed on me once.
It synchronizes with the colors shown on the TV. The lights glow in the same colors that are displayed on the screen.
You can’t do that with flows,
(It synchronizes the colors shown on the TV (via the Sync Box). The lights match the colors currently displayed on the screen)
Ah I see, yes that is indeed not possible. I thought it was like “dim the lights when movie starts” or something like that. But reacting to the lights of the tv is something totally different and not possible (at least not easily, if at all) with a flow or script. Thank you for explaining !
I try to avoid using additional bridges as much as possible.
For example, I use Philips Hue lights, bulbs, and sensors without a Philips Hue bridge. It works perfectly for my needs.
One of the advantages of using additional bridges is that firmware updates can be installed on the connected devices. Hopefully, this will soon be a thing of the past once Homey allows OTA updates for Z-Wave, Zigbee, and Matter devices.
Edit
Inspired by this post, I created a poll. My main goal is to hopefully get more votes, but not to start big discussions. I would appreciate it if you would all give your vote.
Philips Hue Motionaware requires the Hue Bridge Pro to work - this motion detection works really well in Philips’ Hue ecosystem, and is not supported without the Bridge (Pro).
Like most here, I use Hue, which is a fully mature system with big benefits that Homey just can’t match in functionality and upgrades, so yes, I have no plans to ditch my bridge though I did initially and switches back to using the bridge. That said, I’m VERY reticent to buy more bridges. Returned a front door lock because it required a bridge, returned another because Homey didn’t support enough on it. Though Aqara makes a lot of good devices not buying anything that requires their bridge to function. I MIGHT consider buying a bridge that would make my Tuya stuff localized but other than that, I prefer to invest in Homey which is why it’s super important to me that they continue to develop support. Right now I have a huge hole of support for mini-splits that hoping someone will solve soon 
