Osram is now heralding the end of the smart part of its Liteify system. On August 31, the company will shut down the respective cloud servers. After that, the central control unit called the Lightify Gateway and associated ZigBee lamps can no longer be sparked outside the WLAN home network, which is operated by voice commands and networked with the cloud from third-party manufacturers. At the same time, Osram announced the end of support for the device firmware and control app.
However, you don’t need to be in the dark after the deadline if you want to continue using the lamp. They are not automatically electronic scrap, but they can still be used to a limited extent.
Which functions are affected and which are not
in everything except A Farewell Note to the Liteify System describes the manufacturer Overview of a functionHow components can be controlled even after the smart home server is turned off. Notably, Osram is cutting off contact with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, meaning voice commands will be a thing of the past from September 1. Elsewhere, the manufacturer announces the end of remote access, so that there is no radio when light sources are linked in any other way to third-party apps via unspecified cloud interfaces.
Local operating functions are not affected. So Liteify lamps can still be programmed to turn on and off, dim, color and light with scenes and timers individually or in groups using the app. Control accessories such as switches and sockets also remain accessible. According to the function overview, after reset there remains the option to install the gateway again and thus teach in new devices.
As per the listing, Osram is likely to be able to continue with firmware updates for gateway and switchable components in theory. This does not necessarily rule out the deactivation of the cloud servers responsible for smart home functions. To distribute the new software, the manufacturer only needs a connection to a maintenance server that is not linked to an individual user account. After September 1, it’s probably just theory. because again On Lightify’s developer page Osram writes: “From this point onwards, no further updates will appear.”
Why is Osram turning off the smart light?
The system certainly has no future under Osram. In 2016, the group said goodbye to the business with smart consumer products and handed it over to Ledvance Company.
Ledvance now sells lamps and switching components under the product brand “Smart+” that are similar to Lightify models and which also work with Zigbee. The company does not offer a suitable control center. Instead, it has created a classification with WLANs in parallel, which usually do not require switching on the router.
The LiteFi gateway did not advance either side, so that older technology could no longer keep pace with the development of ZigBee and today’s normal switching times. Now that the gateway is so outdated that the ability to connect to other smart home systems can only be maintained with an unreasonably high level of effort, Osram explains the end of server operations and support.
What Lightify Users Can Do
Osram advises anyone who wants to continue using the Liteify gateway to upload existing firmware until August 31. Control units with versions older than 1.1.3.53 will otherwise refuse to work after the cloud is turned off. It is also important to update the Controls app if a version older than 2.1.0 is installed.
In general, it is recommended to update the Controls app to the last published version 4.0.4 so that it remains compatible with Android and iOS for as long as possible. From 1 September, Osram will no longer be judged that the application will run on future generations of operating systems.
These statements underscore that users should not expect any manufacturer support after the deadline. But since Lightify is fundamentally based on the open ZigBee radio standard, they are not dependent on Osram’s gateway and software.
The lamps can also be connected to other ZigBee gateways. For example, they’ve been easy to connect with the Hue Bridge so far and respond to practically all of the controls app’s functions. However, there is no guarantee that compatibility will be maintained if Philips Hue develops its gateway further. Firmware updates for components from third-party manufacturers are not yet available.
(TIW)
