Difference between Flux Bluetooth and Flux WiFi Smart Bulbs March 6, 2016 15:51 13 Comments

We get a lot of questions asking whats the differences are between the Flux Bluetooth and Flux WiFi smart bulbs. While the two bulbs share a lot of similar features, there are some differences.

Connectivity

This is the obvious difference. The Flux Bluetooth smart bulb uses Bluetooth 4.0 or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology for connectivity. The Flux WiFi smart bulb on the other hand uses wifi technology for connectivity.

Device Compatibility

Bluetooth 4.0 is a relatively new technology and not all smart phones supports it. And because of this the Flux Bluetooth smart bulb requires some of the newer smartphone models (iPhone 4s and higher, Android 4.3 and above).

Wifi technology on the other hand is pretty standardized and been available in most devices for a long time. So the Flux WiFi smart bulb supports a wider range of iOS and Android devices.

Setup

The Flux Bluetooth smart bulb has a very simple setup process. Screw in and power on the bulb, download the free app, and connect to the bulb.

The Flux WiFi smart bulb has a two step setup process. First you connect your phone to the bulb's wifi endpoint. And then you open the app and follow the instructions to pair the bulb with your home wifi router. 

Connection Range & Remote Connection:

The Flux Bluetooth bulb require you to be within the Bluetooth range (30 feet unobstructed) to control the smart bulb. 

The Flux WiFi bulb's range is the range of your wifi network. If you can connect to your wifi network, you can control the bulb. And one of the really cool feature available with the WiFi bulb is the "Remote Connection". When this is enabled, you can connect and control the bulb from anywhere you have Internet access on your device. How cool is that?

Multi Device Control

One of the limitation of Bluetooth is that it's a 1 to 1 connectivity technology. So the bulb can be connected to only one phone at a time. So if you are in a household with multiple devices, only one of them can connect and control the bulbs at a time.

Since wifi does not have this limitation, the Flux WiFi bulbs allow multiple devices to be connected to the bulb at the same time and even control the bulb. Perfect for those lighting wars. 

So there it is. Both bulbs offer very similar functionalities, but the Flux WiFi bulb offers few extra nice to have features like remote connection, multi-device control etc. So if you are looking for a super simple setup and a robust smart bulb, the Flux Bluetooth is the one for you. But if you want additional bells and whistles like remote connection, and multi-device control, go with the Flux WiFi. 

But either way, you are not going to be disappointed. So go try them out and change the way you see light.

Bonus Question:

Some of you have asked if you can control the two bulbs together. That is currently not possible as they use different underlying technology and hence different apps.