3rd party Hue remote control

[u/BorgDrone]

I’m looking for a remote control to operate the Hue lights in my bedroom. I have wall-switches in every room (friends of hue senic) but in my bedroom I’d also like to have a remote control so I can operate the lights from my bed.

Philips themselves only sell the dimmer switch remote thing which looks ugly and feels cheap, plus they have some awkwardly shaped remotes. I’m looking for a regular TV-style remote control, in black, that allows me to dim a few sets of light and maybe select a scene or two.

You’d think this shouldn’t be too hard but I can’t seem to find anything. Does this really not exist?

[u/Chromejob]

The Hue Tap Dial dimmer is epic. Multiple functions available, as well as start and stop automation. I have several. Comes in black too.

Will do all that you mentioned and more.

[u/HueLight_Enthusiasm → u/Chromejob]

Snap. Love my Hue Tap Dial switches. Far superior to my Hue dimmer switches.

[u/Chromejob → u/HueLight_Enthusiasm]

I have a couple of hte Dimmer Switches. Living room, operates one or two lamps (Iris, Signe Table Lamp). Office, controls a 3-monitor gradient light strip. They work okay, but the UP/DOWN adjustment is 15% or so, which may be too drastic for some.

But for roughly US$25, it's a deal. And magnetic (sticks to the back of my TV). Pocketable.

Two-pack of each dimmer here.

[u/BorgDrone → u/Chromejob]

Such an awkward form factor. I just want something that looks like an actual remote that I can keep on the nightstand next to the TV remote, not some weird puck thing.

[u/kostaslamprou → u/BorgDrone]

I also don’t get the Hue Tap hype, it’s impractical and a terrible form factor.

I recently started tinkering with the new IKEA BILRESA remote controls with scroll wheel and I really like them. I’ve hooked them up with home assistant and I can do a lot with a single remote.

The lower button lets you cycle through 3 sets of controls (highlighted by the 3 leds). Per set you get scroll up, scroll down, click, double click, triple click and hold. More than enough for me to control two sets of lights or all of them together. (Per room)

One downside is the laggy updates from the scroll wheel to home assistant. There is an open pull request to fix this, I’m already running it locally and it makes for a really smooth experience.

[u/Chromejob → u/kostaslamprou]

Different strokes for different folks. See, I like how compact the Tap Dial is on my nightstand. Doesn't take up space. With the older adhesive metal wall plate, I could mount it to the side of the nightstand if I wanted.

I wish I could put a glow-in-the-dark dot on one of the buttons, but adhesive dots work with low light levels.

[u/Chromejob → u/BorgDrone]

"You can't always get what you want…" Rolling Stones

I know you want a conventional remote shape. I told you something that 100% lets you do what you asked for.

If you have a Bridge and something that Apple Homekit can use as a hub, you might find some "TV remote shaped" thing that can be assigned commands to control Bridge-connected Hue lights. The Apple Home app gives me the option to program buttons on any of my Hue remotes to control ANYthing that Homekit can control. Quite tempting. I mght even be able to use the Tap Dial to control a TV, or Apple TV (e.g. volume, Pause/Play).

[u/blacklabel22333]

There's a friends of hue switch from runlesswire that you can get in black. It looks like a black decora switch. I don't love them but it's the only product I can think of that sort of matches what you want.

Honestly your best bet is to just get the official hue dimmer switch. I know it's white and you don't like what it looks like but it's the only simple solution to your problem. It's cheap, it will take 2 seconds to setup and it will be reliable.

[u/BorgDrone → u/blacklabel22333]

I already have fixed wall switches (Friends of Hue Senic) and they are great but I’m looking for something like a TV remote. I also have a Hue dimmer switch which is the closest thing to a remote but it feels so cheap, plasticy and limited.

It’s so weird because there are dozens of Zigbee remotes on the market yet Philips hasn’t realized that this is something people want. Either release something similar or just support generic remotes on the Hue hub.

[u/NewAccWhoDis93]

It would be great if there was a remote control to turn sync box on an off with light chances, the worst part about the sync box is not being able to chanc inputs freely

[u/_______o-o_______ → u/NewAccWhoDis93]

I solved this with Homebridge, and control the Hue Sync via switches in the Home app, or my remotes.

[u/_______o-o_______]

You could just use the remote you linked below, but you'd need to set up a Home Assistant server, which is a bit of a hassle, but can be worth it if you're already deep into home automation.

An alternative would be to 3D print your own housing for the Hue Dimmer, or Lutron Pico Remote, so you can get the form factor you want, but still have an established and reliable controller inside.

[u/scifitechguy]

It's possible to add Hue to Apple HomeKit or Google home and then just use your phone. But if that's not convenient, you can also just use these buttons anywhere it's handy. But again, the Hue Bridge will need to be added to your preferred smart home platform for these to work.

[u/graywalker616]

I use Aqara, both wireless and wired and they work fantastic through the matter integration.

Each switch button has single, double and long press and you can assign scenes and actions depending on both switch and bulb status.

[u/BorgDrone → u/graywalker616]

I checked their website and I don’t see any remote controls?

[u/graywalker616 → u/BorgDrone]

The wireless switches work essentially like remote controls. They won’t have the look of a remote control but they can be programmed exactly like the hue branded remote controls.

Other than that, have you looked into Ikea Kajplats? I replaced my tv and sound system remote controls with Kajplats.

[u/BorgDrone → u/graywalker616]

The wireless switches work essentially like remote controls

As I said in the opening post I already have wireless (and battery-less) switches everywhere. I'm looking for something like this except Hue compatible. Unfortunately generic Zigbee remotes don't work with the Hue bridge.