Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsEasy(ish) set up, light and dimming are as promised, often unresponsive
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2018
I bought the eufy Lumos Smart Bulbs - White, Soft White, 60w equivalent when they appeared under "Today's Deals." It was an impulse buy, but I already use a number of Belkin's WeMo switches with my Alexa to voice control lights and to automate sequences with the IFTTT app (ex. when my alarm goes off, a light turns on and my dog's fan turns off so he'll get up) and I liked the idea of adding the dimming functionality to a few of my lamps.
My initial reactions after several days of use:
1. Set up - The process was no harder and no easier than what I've come to expect with Belkin's WeMo line of products. Basically, the same deal with a new app. My experience with both is that the process is never as seamless as the guide makes it sound, but with a few refreshes and app restarts things generally go as planned and are up and running within 5 minutes. Not a big deal.
2. Appearance/Light - The bulbs deliver on the promised range and the dimming function is great. No complaints and I really appreciate the added functionality to a pair of simple--and old--lamps.
3. Responsiveness - This is where the product loses stars. If I want to take advantage of the dimming function, I either need to use the Eufy Home app, the Alexa app, or Alexa. Control through the Eufy Home app, both in terms of the execution of simple on and off commands and selecting the light level, has been garbage. (It has also randomly renamed one of my bulbs.) At least half the time, and I'm being generous here, the command either doesn't work or it takes a while to process. The Alexa app has been noticeably more responsive, and the voice control, complete with precise dimmer commands, is great at times and shows the real possibility of this product. Unfortunately, I would say at least a third of the time Alexa lets me know that the bulbs either can't be found or are unresponsive. And this is less of a big deal to me, but even when the bulbs are working there is a noticeable lag in command execution over my WeMo products. Since they are unresponsive so much of the time this always gives me an opportunity to wonder if the command is going to work. I know Amazon and Alexa are into games, but this one isn't my favorite.
So, in short, both the bulbs and their build quality look good and they are an easy way to add a dimming function to existing lamps and light fixtures. I'm just not willing to call them smart in their current state and we'll see how much more of the unresponsiveness I'm willing to take. Fingers crossed for a firmware update that improves responsiveness -- if that happens, I'll gladly add more stars to this review.
*3/6/18 Edit - Since a Eufy app update about a week ago, my control both within the app and through Alexa has been much more responsive. If this had been my only experience, I'd consider 4 stars. As it is, I'm shifting from 2 to a solid 3.
