Before the end of this year, on 21.08.2021, Osram will discontinue the cloud-based server operation and support of Lightify. The system, with which OSRAM competed against its counterpart Hue from Philips, is getting on in years and technically outdated. There will be no more updates and the cloud-based use of the voice assistants Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa will no longer be possible from that point on. With the shutdown of the cloud, a large part of the functions will be lost and the control of the components via app will also no longer be possible from 21.08.2021.
Due to Osram’s withdrawal from the consumer business for general lighting in 2016, they decided not to make the necessary investments that would be required to catch up with the alternatives in the market again.
Alternatives to OSRAM Lightify
In order to be able to continue to use the smart OSRAM lamps, luminaires and plugs in a meaningful way even after the Lightify Cloud has been switched off, the components must be reset to the factory settings and simply integrated into another ZigBee®-compatible system.
Consequently, examples of bridges, gateways and hubs from various brands that are compatible with ZigBee® standard and can thus integrate products from the Lightify system are:
- homee ZigBee®Bundle – Braincube + ZigBee® module
- Woox R7070 ZigBee® Gateway
- Sonoff ZigBee® Bridge
- Phoscon ZigBee® Gateway
- Dresden Elektronik ZigBee®-Gateway RaspBee II
- Dresden Elektronik ConBee-Gateway
- essentials Smart Home
- Philips Hue Bridge
Previously made investments in Osram hardware therefore remain protected because the products can continue to be used. The ZigBee® standard is used by many well-known manufacturers and the products are compatible with each other.
