Using IKEA Tradfri remote or dimmer with Hue

Submitted by Andy Jenkinson on Sat, 11/04/2017 - 19:17

There are a number of articles around the web about how to use the (cheaper) IKEA Tradfri bulbs with the Philips Hue hub after a firmware update. However, after doing this they will no longer be controllable by any Tradfri equipment. I have not come across anybody who has been able to use Tradfri remotes and dimmers with the Hue hub (or any lights paired with it). I have however discovered that it is possible to use an IKEA Tradfri remote or dimmer with the Hue system. This means you can use the cheap and well-designed Tradfri steering devices at the same time as the Hue app, motions sensors etc.

Step 1 - pair the Tradfri remote/dimmer with the Hue network

In this step, you must reset the remote, and then pair to the Hue hub via TouchLink. This joins the remote to the Hue's ZigBee network. There are a few different ways to do a a TouchLink search, which is not the same type of search that the Hue app uses. You can use the Hue Essentials iOS/Android app, Hue and Me Android app, LampFinder Mac/PC/Linux app, or Hue Developers' API (the method I used).

Here's what you need to do in this step:

  1. Reset the remote or dimmer by pressing the pair button 4 times quickly.
  2. Wait 10 seconds.
  3. Hold the remote directly next to the Hue hub (as close as possible).
  4. Hold the pair button.
  5. Immediately initiate a TouchLink search.

The light (on the front for Tradfri remote and next to the button for a Tradfri dimmer) will glow a steady red, then turn out after a couple of seconds when paired. If it doesn't go out repeat steps 4-5.

If you have trouble, check that the TouchLink is not finding other ZigBee devices further away (e.g. bulbs - they will flash). During my many attempts to get this working I found that the Hue hub always preferred to steal a lamp further away (even ones registered on the Tradfri gateway) than register my remotes, but am not sure if this is because I wasn't timing the button presses properly.

Step 2 - pair the Tradfri remote/dimmer with the lights

Note that this works with any lights that are already connected to the Hue hub - I have done it with both Hue bulbs and Tradfri bulbs.

  1. Turn on the bulb at the mains.
  2. Position the remote immediately next to the bulb.
  3. Hold the pair button on the remote. The red light will come on and the bulb will start flashing.
  4. Keep the remote next to the bulb until it stops flashing, then release the button.

Repeat this process for any more lights you want the remote to control.

Success!

Check that you can control the bulb using the Hue app, and with the dimmer/remote. By comparison, here are a couple of examples of how mine are set up:

  • Two warm white Hue bulbs in the hallway, controlled by the app, Hue schedules, Hue motion sensor and a Tradfri dimmer
  • White spectrum Tradfri bulb in the bedroom, controlled by the app and a Tradfri remote. The remote supports on/off, brighten/dim, and colour temperature cycling.

Caveats

It's important to understand that the IKEA remotes work differently from Hue remotes. Hue remotes send their commands to the hub, and the hub then instructs the bulbs to take certain actions. This means the remotes can be configured to take more complex actions, a feature that 3rd party apps make good use of to allow different scenes to be programmed for 1st, 2nd, 3rd button presses etc. By contrast, the Tradfri remotes communicate directly with one or more bulbs (albeit whilst remaining part of the Hue ZigBee network). This means:

  • The buttons are not configurable - they work exactly like they work in the Tradfri system.
  • The remotes are not visible in the Hue app or any 3rd party apps.
  • The remotes do not take up any space on the Hub.

Update 2017-11-05: Unfortunately it appears with Tradfri RGBW bulbs, the remote will only control on/off and brightness; the side buttons do not cycle colours. I have put mine (bulb firmware 1.3.002) back on the Tradfri gateway.

Lutron and Osram systems

I expect this also works with the Lutron Connected Bulb Remote (though I don't have one) and Osram Lightify/Smart+ switches. I have successfully paired the Lightify four-button switch, but it is not very useful because I have not foound a way to configure the buttons to do sensible things - pairing it to the hub makes the top-left and bottom-left buttons turn ALL lights on and off respectively. I have yet to try applying the logic above to this switch; it may work but if I remember correctly, the switch only goes into pairing mode after it is reset (which wouldn't work). I don't know about the other Lightify/Smart+ switches.

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Comments

Ronnie (not verified)

Mon, 08/12/2019 - 18:19

Hi. I have a question. I’ve successfully paired a Zigbee controller (ShenZhen_Homa) to use for a set of dumb LEDs with my Hue Bridge and it works fine. I can turn in/off, dim and add in routines in the Hue app. My question is as follows: Is is possible to pair the Zigbee controller with the IKEA dimmer (puck)???

Andy Jenkinson

Wed, 08/14/2019 - 08:54

I think it is unlikely, but you can try. It will depend on how well it has followed the ZigBee spec and implemented touchlink. I have a zigbee on/off relay that I use to control a LED ceiling light, which binds with Hue but I have not found a way to successfully touchlink with the IKEA dimmer.

Thomas Bo (not verified)

Sat, 09/28/2019 - 09:40

Hi

Just got a couple of new IKEA pucks and followed the reset guide i order to prepare them for my Hue setup (and yes - the reset has changed so the LED now turns back on for about 30 secs and then turns off again). 

It also seems like the pairing with the Hue Bridge goes like planned... Hold puck close to bridge, press and hold pair button on puck, start Touchlink (HUE lights says success starting), LED on puck turns on for 1-2 secs and then off. Then i release the pair button. That seemed to go well.

When i then pair the puck with a Hue GU10 bulb it also starts flashing and after a while i can control it with the puck.

But for some reason the puck doesnt seem to be on the same Zigbee network as my Hue Bridge - since the Hue bridge can no longer see the bulb.

Is it "normal" that the Puck/Bridge pairing seems to go as planned - but the puck still stays on its own network and therefor "steals" the bulbs from Hue afterwards?

\thomas

 

 

Andy Jenkinson

Sun, 10/06/2019 - 23:36

I would say no. If the touchlink stays on for a few seconds and then goes out by itself when still holding it, then this should indicate it has joined the zigbee network.

It's quite hard to tell sometimes though, especially as I find that the button is sometimes hard to keep depressed when holding it at a funny angle trying to see the LED, so sometimes I think it's worked but it hasn't. Trial and error I'm afraid!

JaFroUK (not verified)

Sun, 10/13/2019 - 18:13

Older round dimmer switches Has anyone had any luck with the older round dimmer switches? As far as I can tell the steps worked correctly and the link procedures to one of my Hue lights completed (it flashed for several seconds then went steady; and after all of this it was still working via Hue) - but I couldn’t actually control the light with the Ikea dimmer.

I also have a newer square one, looks like I messed up the reset/touch link procedure there as it works with the IKEA switch but looks to be no longer reachable by Hue. I’m sure that was just user error though!

Filippo (not verified)

Mon, 10/14/2019 - 19:24

Hi. I bought the new ikea dimmer( the square version) but, if I follow the tutorial (that I already use with success with the old sterling wheel version) I can’t pair the remote to the hue bridge. If i pair the remote with the light I lost light control in the hue app. Any suggestions?

Andy Jenkinson

Tue, 11/19/2019 - 01:31

I can't be sure but I think I have tried pairing the on/off button with the Hue bridge and then to the on/off plug (which is bound to my Hue hub), though I did have to update the firmware first (the plug only supported Hue after the zigbee 3.0 update, and I think the remote had an update at the same time).

John (not verified)

Sun, 11/17/2019 - 18:25

Hey,

I have an existing Hue system and today I've boughta Tradfri on/off switch with a bulb.I want to control the bulb with the Hue system + be able to turn it on/off with a switch.

I successfully paired the Tradfri bulb with the Hue bridge and can control it from the Hue app. 

Did the two steps described here. Step 2 completely overrides the bulb to be controled only with the on/off switch and is no longer available in the Hue app. Once paired back to the Hue system the switch no longer works - cannot get them to work together. 

Am I doing something wrong or is this expected?

 

Thanks, J.

Andy Jenkinson

Tue, 11/19/2019 - 01:29

It happens, it means step 1 didn't work correctly. What is happening is that when you bind the remote with the bulb, the remote is forcing the bulb to join the zigbee network that the remote is on, and to become part of the remote's "light group". If the remote has not been joined to the Hue hub's zigbee network first then the bulb will move from the Hue to the Tradfri network. Similarly, joining the bulb back to the Hue network will move it out of the Tradfri one.

So you need to make sure that the remote is definitely part of the Hue zigbee network, which isn't all that obvious since it will never show up in the app - all you have to go on is the behaviour of the light on the remote. The light does go off by itself after a while even if it hasn't paired with the hub, so it can be hard to tell the difference. I find that when it works it tends to turn off after only a few seconds.

Rob (not verified)

Fri, 12/20/2019 - 18:46

I would like to state that:

  • Tradfri Dimmer (new little square one) works fine with the Philips Hub and a Philips White bulb
  • By 'works fine' I mean the bulb is controlled by both the hub abd the dimmer at the same time
  • The instructions provided by Hue Essentials on YouTube are accurate (thank you Hue Essentials)
  • But you must follow the instructions absolutely, paying very careful attention to the light sequences and timing - if you do this, everything will 'work fine'
  • If you don't follow the instructions absolutely you will end up with the bulb only responding to either the hub or the dimmer (not both)
  • When you are done pairing everything (bulb to hub, dimmer to hub, dimmer to bulb - wait! This is important. At first my bulb did not respond to the hub (but it also did not say 'unavailable' as it had done on previous efforts). It seemed to take a few minutes before the everythign 'worked fine'.
  • I tried 20 times unsuccessfully, until I really paid attention careful attention to the light sequences and timings in the Hue Essentials video

Lastly, please don't ask me about firmware in the Tradfri Dimmer, I have no Tradfri hub, I have no clue, sorry. All I can say is that I bought the dimmers yesterday. I figured I had nothing to lose for 7euro each smiley.

My guess is that if like me, and others posting here, you cannot get the hub and the dimmer working at the same time, you did not follow the instructions properly and you did not manage pair your dimmer with your Hue hub.

Good luck, I hope these comments help.

Andy Jenkinson

Mon, 12/23/2019 - 00:47

Thank you Rob, this is reassuring

Mk (not verified)

Tue, 12/24/2019 - 01:28

I see Rob said it works if you follow the video by Hue Essentials. But they say in the end that you should press "Search for lights". I do not have an android. I've tried with Hue Lights (iOS) and Hue Light Finder. Every thing happens just like Andy writes and Hue Essentials show, but in the end the bulb has connected only to my Ikea button.

I use Ikea flip button, Ikea E27 buld and Hue Bridge

Please help

Andy Jenkinson

Tue, 12/24/2019 - 13:19

I've not seen the video but not sure why Android is relevant? You do have to do a touchlink search for the remote, if you're not doing this then it will not work. I checked the video, it is the same process but doing the bulb after the remote. What is happening in the video is:

1. The remote is reset

2. Holding the button on the remote tells it to enter touchlink mode

3. Pressing the 'touchlink' button in the Hue essentials app tells the bridge to initiate a touchlink pair with the closest device

4. The remote will joing the same zigbee network as the bridge

5. Holding the button near the bulb enters touchlink again

6. The bulb joins the same zigbee network as the bridge and remote and is added to the remote's zigbee control group

7. Pressing 'search for lights' in either the Hue Essentials or official app will make the newly added bulb show up in the app

I am pretty sure you can do it in the reverse order (i.e. bulb already paired, then add remote) but possibly where people are going wrong is the final 'search for lights' step? Maybe this is necessary again after the bulb paired with the remote.

Anonymous (not verified)

Wed, 12/25/2019 - 02:51

The Android is relevant because the app with the "Search for lights" button is only on Android. Do you know another method to "seach for lights"? I only got iOS. I do the touchlink process with the button and the hub, just like you said and the video said. But when I connect the button to the bulb after connecting it to the hub, it just connects to the bulb.

Andy Jenkinson

Tue, 01/07/2020 - 00:35

"Search for lights" is in any Hue app, including the official one... which app are you using to do a touchlink? This functionality is not available in the official app.

Christian (not verified)

Thu, 12/26/2019 - 07:28

Hi, I'm also unable to use the bulb from the app after it has been paired to the switch. Let me know if anyone finds a way through. /Christian

Rob (not verified)

Sun, 12/29/2019 - 20:18

@MK

Perhaps I could have been more specific. You need to follow the Hue Essentials video steps very carefully to pair the Tradfri dimmer to the Hue hub. I am sure this is where your problem starts. If the dimmer is not paired with your hub it will not be possible to have the dimmer and hub control the bulb togerther - only the device (hub or dimmer) which paired with the bulb most recently will control it!

I agree with Andy in that I don't think the step at the end of the Hue essentials video 'search for lights' is necessary if your bulb is aleady paired to the hub. I think it would only be necessary if you had not previously added the bulb (to the hub).

As Andy says make sure you make a touchlink pairing between the Hue hub and your dimmer. I used the Hue Essentials app on Android, but Hue Lights on iOS should do the same job. BTW, I see that Hue Essentials is due for release on iOS in January 2020.

Vincent (not verified)

Sat, 05/02/2020 - 10:23

My contribution here : it works perfectly with the android app Hue Essentials if you follow the video tutorial from Youtube, but it doesn't works with the iOS app Hue Lights...

I've been testing with the iOS app Hue Lights for 2 days now, with no success (I followed the exact same process) there was always an error in the pairing of the remote with the Hue bridge.

I just tried this morning with the Android app Hue Essentials, same process and it works perfectly at the first time !

My guess is that the Hue Lights app doesn't use the same Touchlink process that the Hue Essentials app. I can't test with the iOS app Hue Essentials because you have to pay in order to use the touchlink functionality...

Andy Jenkinson

Mon, 05/04/2020 - 15:54

Thanks, I will remove reference to the Hue Lights app. I know that Hue's own app does not do a touch link but I was told that the Hue Lights app (the one I linked to) does allow you to trigger a touchlink. Personally I used the API, that doesnt require you to pay anything and is useful for other purposes, but is for the more technically inclined.

I think you can also trigger a touchlink join using a Hue dimmer switch (holidng on and of together next to the device) but have never tried it.

Duc Su (not verified)

Sat, 06/13/2020 - 15:03

Can you give a run down on how to pair the Ikea remote to the hue bridge using the api. The reference link to the hue developer page is broken. 
In reference to the Hue Light app, I have tried it about 3 months ago and it does work. However, you have to be very precise. I had to do it a few times and when I thought I got the sequence lighting correct and proceed to pair the lights. The hue bridge will not respond to the ikea lights anymore. I had to start over a few times.

I would love to try the ios hue essential, but its not free. Maybe the developer method is better?

Andy Jenkinson

Tue, 07/14/2020 - 14:20

You have to register for the Hue developer API first, then the call is documented on this page:

https://developers.meethue.com/develop/hue-api/7-configuration-api/

You have to first create a user on the bridge (see the docs, it involves pushing the button on the bridge), then just have to do a PUT on /api/<username>/config with the JSON body content:
{"touchlink": true}

e.g. with linux cURL:

curl --location --request PUT 'http://192.168.1.24:80/api/RDm6.../config' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{"touchlink": true}'
 
The advantage of the API would be that you can precisely control when the touchlink happens, but honestly I'd have expected the 3rd party apps to be working in exactly the same way. Think it's just that the timing has to be right and it's hard to explain what that timing is, given there's no direct feedback when you get it right.

Anonymous (not verified)

Sun, 07/05/2020 - 05:34

Yep, I tried with the Hue Lights app for ages (assuming the Touchlink in it would work) and finally got it working using the API directly first try. Don't use the Hue Lights iOS app, people!

Magnus Hederstad (not verified)

Fri, 08/28/2020 - 09:01

Thanks Andy! Worked lika a charm! Used the API and curl...

Martin Larsen (not verified)

Mon, 09/21/2020 - 13:38

Thanks for this guide. Pairing one remote or PIR sensor to a bulb works fine, but it seems impossible to pair two controllers with the same light.

I have an outdoor bulb controlled by an IKEA sensor. This activates the lamp when someone comes. I can also control the lamp with the Hue app. But when guests leave, I would like to be able to turn on the light for them without grabbing my phone. So I have tried to pair an IKEA remote with the outdoor bulb as well.

I can control the bulb with either the remote or the PIR sensor. But it seems as if the last controller outrules the first one, because after pairing the second controller I can no longer control the lamp with the first one.

I do it like this. Reset the remote, pair it with the hub, then pair it with the bulb. I check that I can still control the lamp from the app. Then I reset the sensor, and repeat the process. I have also tried the other way round.

Is there a trick to let me control one bulb with two or more controllers, or is it a limitation with IKEA's system?

Thanks.

Jasper (not verified)

Tue, 11/03/2020 - 19:50

Thanks for the guide. I haven't succeeded yet, lamps are easy but I can either control them via hue or via the tradfri smart remote. Never both.

I follow this thread as well from the 1st app you mention. Has something changed that breaks this process as more people seem to struggle https://community.hueessentials.com/t/how-to-connect-ikea-tradfri-smart-controls-to-a-philips-hue-bridge/69/31

Guess part of the challenge is how tradfri remotes link to tradfri lamps, and you have to go by blinking lights rather than seeing the smart controls in your app.

Francesco (not verified)

Sat, 11/07/2020 - 22:15

Dammit. I’ve been using Hue Lights for a while for other stuff and when I read the OP and watched the video, I didn’t bother to read both pages of comments! I just (wrongly) assumed that Touchlink is Touchlink but apparently not. So now I’ve buggered my Trådfri cabinet light driver off the Hue hub (and SmartThings, and Alexa, and Hubitat) as a result. The problem is that it’s quite solidly and permanently installed behind the cabinets. I can get to it without demolition, but the Ansluta mains wire is attached with staples along its whole length; try as I might, I can’t get the controller reset and back on the Hue hub. I’m guessing at this point I either do all the work to uninstall and get it close to the hub, or make a 15 m Ethernet cable and bring the hub to the kitchen, or go buy another Ansluta power cable and just remove the driver (then return the Ansluta). Dammit.

Anonymous (not verified)

Sun, 11/08/2020 - 12:21

Someone suggested latest firmware kills this which may explain me struggling with recently purchased remote and bulbs.

https://amp.reddit.com/r/tradfri/comments/efwao2/how_to_downgrade_ikea_remotecontrol_from_23014_to/

Anonymous (not verified)

Fri, 11/20/2020 - 15:37

Hello,

Simple and flowless tutorial, worked flowless. My simple question is: How do you remove a ikea remote from you hue bridge if does not appear in the app? I know you can reset it again with the 4 sec button press, but I am curios if there is extra steps need it to ensure that the remote will not remain in hue config as a ghost /disconnected device.

Thanks

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 12/28/2020 - 00:06

I don't know if something has changed in the firmwares or its my setup using homebridge or whatever but I could not get this to work. No matter what the Tradfri remote (round one with 5 buttons) won't pair with the Hue bridge (v2 squarish one) even though it appears to work - i.e. the red light flashes a few times then goes out as described here. When paring with the bulbs (tried both Tradfri white e27 1000lm and a Tradfri coloured one) it works to control them but steals them from Hue so they remain uncontacable there. Pair the bulbs back to Hue and the remote no longer works.

I've tried again and again over a period of hours using all steps listed here and have initiated touchlink on an iphone using Hue Lights, iConnectHue, and manually via the developer API, but nothing works.

So if you have a similar setup to mine you might want to give the Ikea remotes a miss. Hopefully this might save someone a trip to Ikea and back!

pia (not verified)

Sun, 01/03/2021 - 18:44

I paired with ikea Trådfri switch. Shouldn't have done! First I had in my room two Hue dimmer switches, controlling 4 Hue lights and one IKEA Trådfri bulb in one room. Then I paired the ikea switch with the Hue box, then with each light bulp by turn. After that the Hue dimmer switches could not control the bulps anymore. The light bulbs was unreachable from Hue app and from Google home. I had t delete both the bulps and the dimmer switches and start all over!

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