How to install Hive smart home products

Large hallway with black and white floor tiles, a radiator in the foreground wall with a Hive Radiator Valve attached, a green drawer unit in the background next to a Hive Thermostat on the wall and a bike propped up against the wall

Smart home installation; it can all sound a bit intimidating, can’t it? But fear not. If you’ve chosen Hive for your smart home set up then it’s really quick and easy to install. We’re going to look at setting up two of the most popular smart products out there: Hive smart lights and Hive smart heating.


How to install Hive

The first step to getting your smart devices installed is setting up a hub, and it only takes a moment or two. Let’s take a look at that first. We’re going to show you how to set up a Hive Hub as an example but other brands are very similar.

A Hive Hub connects all your smart devices and enables you to control them with your smartphone. It’s the first step to set up Hive and it’s where the smart stuff starts, basically.

With the Hive Hub there are three steps to getting started:

  1. Connect an Ethernet cable to the hub, then plug the power socket into the wall

  2. A green light on the hub will turn on and start flashing for a while

  3. Enter Hub ID and wait (potentially up to 15 minutes) until firmware update is complete. The hub should not be unplugged until the update is complete, otherwise it may be corrupted

  4. It’ll go green again and then a yellow light will appear and start flashing

Now you’re ready to start installing your Hive products.


How to install Hive’s smart light bulbs

One thing people often worry about with their smart light bulbs is whether they’ll fit with their existing wiring and wall switches. The short answer is yes. Hive’s lights come with standard fittings so it’s literally a case of unscrewing the old and screwing in the new. We advise not to install bulbs on metal lampshades or glass lamp stands.

But first:

  1. Log in to the Hive app on your smartphone or tablet

  2. Tap ‘Install devices’ and follow the simple on screen instructions

  3. Turn off the wall switch for the light

  4. Take out the old bulb, screw in the new one

  5. Switch the light back on

  6. The bulb will flash twice to indicate it’s ready to pair with the hub

  7. Your Hive Light will appear on the app screen

  8. Now label the bulb, or room it’s in to make it easy to identify – and press ‘Save’

Please note: If you’re installing a bulb that has been previously paired, it will need to be reset. Switch on and off 8 times until the bulb double flashes (This indicates that the bulb has been reset and is able to be paired). You may need to try resetting at a different pace to get the bulb to double-flash.


How to install a Hive Thermostat

We always recommend that a Hive Thermostat is installed by a professional. One of our expert partner engineers will come by and do it all for you, saving you time and giving you a little extra peace of mind.

If you consider yourself fairly DIY-savvy, learning how to install a Hive thermostat can be fairly straightforward. You’ll get detailed instructions in the box, but, you’ll need a screwdriver and a spare 90 minutes or so.

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