This post is also available in: Deutsch (German)
There are two ways of setting up a Siri shortcut for iConnectHue. With a membership or 2020 upgrade (latter is included for everyone who purchased it beginning with version 4/ After Nov 2019), you can create many actions directly from iConnectHue to control your Philips Hue lights! For that, tap the menu button (three dots) and select to add it to Siri.
This tutorial is only about the second way:
How to create a shortcut with the Siri Shortcuts app?
Siri Shortcuts are a way to allow apps to support certain actions to be made available to Siri. The way they work, they require your interaction. When you do something in iConnectHue, iOS will be notified about that action. Therefore, to be able to have a certain action available in Siri Shortcuts, you need to perform it first in iConnectHue and let Siri learn from it.
Now let’s get started!
- Do what you want the shortcut to do
- Setting up the Siri shortcut
- Advanced:
- Which actions are supported?
- What if my actions don’t appear in Siri Shortcuts?
Do what you’d like to use for a shortcut
In this example I chose to let Siri activate my “Cozy” scene if I say so. So I performed the action myself at first.
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- Do the action! Select the middle circle at the bottom to access your scenes.
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- Now select the scene(s) you want a shortcut for. Once activated, Siri Shortcuts knows that you might want to use this scene for a shortcut.
Setting up the Siri shortcut
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- 1. Select the + symbol top right
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- 2. Select “Add Action”
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- 3. Scroll down until you find actions with the iConnectHue logo. I’ve found my scene. You can’t find it? See: What if my actions don’t appear in Siri Shortcuts?
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- 4. If you want to add another action, select the blue plus symbol.
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- 5. Since vocal feedback is enough for me, I disabled “Show When Run” and selected “Next”.
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- 6. Enter here, what you want to say to Siri to activate the shortcut.
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- Now it’s done, go ahead and try it!
Advanced
Setting up actions across multiple rooms
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- Select the 3 dots top right to edit your shortcut.
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- Add more actions by selecting the + symbol in order to activate multiple scenes across various rooms at once.
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- Select the additional scene.
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- If you’re all set, select “Done”.
How to bring the shortcut on your Home Screen?
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- Select the 3 dots top right to edit your shortcut.
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- Select the 3 dots top right to access the details.
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- Select “Add to Home Screen” to do so. Tip: Select the icon to change its color or symbol.
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- Select the icon if you want to change it.
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- You can even use your own photos, that’s what I did.
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- Select “Add” to finish the process.
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- Now I have a nice little shortcut for instant evening hue on my home screen :).
Which actions are supported?
Currently these actions are supported:
- Scenes, Magic Scenes, group colors, Animations (only w/ Animation upgrade or membership)
- Group off (only off!) and light on/off
- Discotainment opening, starting and stopping (only w/ Discotainment addon or membership)
With Pro, additionally:
- Starting sleep timers and reminders
- Start/change Discotainment-Scenes
Please note that some of these actions, if you don’t have a membership, require you to have the appropriate module purchased. So e.g. without membership you need to have the animation upgrade purchased to control Animations with Siri, Discotainment actions require the Discotainment addon. Colors need to have a name in order to be listed; If they don’t appear, simply rename them and select them again. Animations are only supported to be started by Siri Shortcuts for at least v2 bridges (square shape).
All actions have to be done in iConnectHue or your Apple Watch. The widget nor any hardware switches do handle this at the moment!
In comparison to HomeKit, Siri Shortcuts have the advantage of not being restricted to the square bridge, and not to be limited to Philips certified 3rd party lights. They also handle the extra features you know from iConnectHue – animations are stopped, motion sensors are cancelled (if set up so).
What if my actions don’t appear in Siri Shortcuts?
If you’re actions don’t appear in Siri Shortcuts after you performed them, open your iPhone Settings, select iConnectHue and check if you allowed Siri to learn from iConnectHue:
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- Select iConnectHue in your iPhone settings, then select “Siri & Search”.
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- “Learn from this app” must be enabled – Did you know? The more actions you do in iConnectHue (not the widget or any hardware!), the more likely Siri will suggest you certain things at certain times and locations on your homescreen.
Also it might help to try a different approach by directly selecting the app you want a shortcut for:
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- 1. Select “Add Action”.
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- 2. Select “Apps”.
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- 3. Select iConnectHue
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- 4. Select the action you want a shortcut for.