WiZ (legacy) Reviews

by RiRi9696.

I started integrating my home to the wiz light app. It was great- at first. Then I bought the strip lights to go around my living room. The extension light broke within 2 SECONDS of me trying to plug it to the original power strip. The metal prongs bent and broke off immediately. Then I couldn’t get the strip to connect to WiZlegacy . So it just stays on this obnoxious white light. I tried to ignore that I just spent $80 for the product not to work at all- because I still loved the light bulbs. UNTIL my house was STUCK on low lighting for the past 3 DAYS. WiZlegacy just kept crashing every time I tried to change the light’s color. I tried to report WiZlegacy get them to reboot it and there isn’t even an option to trouble shoot. EXTREMELY dissatisfied and going to be trying to return all 9 of my light bulbs and both lighting strips. Going to see if one of the other brands is actually credible.

by Jyv95

First, it took me 2 hours to create a home and add 3 light bulbs. The manual and automatic entries are barely working. 2 hours so WiZlegacy can finally find all 3 lightbulbs.
Second, I could not create an account upon first try with different logins. I finally managed to create one using my AppleID
Third, I could not add a guest from an iPhone 5. Worked with technical support, for hours until they dropped the ball and claimed they can’t help me and the owner, aka me, need to contact them from the registered ID community, without providing any link, a way to tell customers to drop dead!

It’s one of the most incompetent technical support. Reboot and retry.. if it’s not working, well.. good luck.. nice to meet you... they don’t even know how their app is working, asking me to click on some buttons that do not exist, even after sharing screenshots with them.

by Squiddaddy81

Anyone who’s ever developed for a mobile platform should know that side by side app migrations are inherently risky... that’s why most application developers do not bother with this methodology. If something were to happen with the old app data while it’s being moved, then lord help whomever this happens to... which is what happened to me. The first migration attempt failed, and now the stupid new app is unable to retrieve and use the old app data, which means I am stuck having to re-pair 60+ lighting devices the “manual” way because I’m using a newer network. Great way to screw over your existing consumers! I’m sure WiZlegacy is swell to whomever is new to the ecosystem and doesn’t have to migrate. For the amount I spent on WIZ bulbs this is unacceptable to me, and a complete waste of my time. I will probably be moving to a new lighting ecosystem.

by Hazel Iyse

I bought several Philips light bulbs which I should be able to control via WiZlegacy AFTER I WAS BURGLARIZED to make it look like I’m home at night. I was able to sync the first light bulb manually after a lot of difficulty. The other three light bulbs synced fine for whatever reason. I set up a schedule for the all but one of the lights to turn on/off and planned to turn the other light on/off randomly.

Several of the lights were showing as “unavailable” sporadically. Now ALL of them are unavailable and have been unavailable for several days. Being that I’m out of town, I need an app that reliably controls the lights without me having to trouble shoot the physical lights/my WiFi (which doesn’t go on/off) every few days. WiZlegacy is NOT for anyone who is looking to reliably deter burglars.

by V Guy H My Sc

I’ve had these bulbs for about 2 years and in the last 6 months, they have somehow made WiZlegacy so unusable it’s laughable. Past updates have just outright broken WiZlegacy where you couldn’t change the brightness, colors, etc. Now all of a sudden my lights are gone from WiZlegacy , and I’m unable to connect them again. Smart pairing can’t find them even if you have your phone right on the stupid things; manual pairing is even worse as your just stuck on a forever spinning circle in the middle of your screen, which you can’t back out of. Save yourself the time, headaches, and money and just get all the Philips Hue products and use their app, it’s cheaper to do that in the long run, then buying these bulbs and not being able to even have them do anything that you paid for them.

by Avenuenick

I had left Wiz for Nanoleaf after being sick and tired of constant network errors and being unable to control my lights. After only 6 weeks with Nanoleaf, I’m getting rid of all of those bulbs and bought even more Wiz bulbs than before because at least WiZlegacy works most of the time and setup is a lot easier and worlds faster.
That being said, would love to see an easier way to create scenes with multiple rooms together instead of individual rooms separately because that is a huge time sink trying to get an entire home to perform a mood change all at once.

by KHD21

The controls are great and everything works well once it has been set up. The issue is exactly that. Those lights will not set up on a regular dual band Wi-Fi network. You will have to either have a split network or disable your 5.0 network before setting this up. Then on a separate set up you need to install it with your voice devices (Alexa and Google). Not sure if it works with Siri.
Took me many days to figure out why I was not being able to set it up. Once you been through this ordeal, then everything is wonderful and the controls are just what you need. Easy to organize in groups and do very much anything you like. The installation however, either needs to improve or come with more comprehensive instructions.

by Capital Phantom

When we were forced to migrate to this new app, we were told that everything would migrate over. After several attempts I still kept getting an error that WiZlegacy would not migrate my data. The instructions were not very clear. Finally, my original app was accidentally erased and now I am faced with rebuilding my whole house.
Using the smart setup is worthless. It has not worked on any of my lights and I have had to manually set up each one. Several freestanding lamps will not connect at all
Then trying to get the new app connected to Alexa device - I find that Wiz is not listed in their directory
Very disappointed and quite frustrated

by Kjohnson0623

Using WiZlegacy only to integrate with Alexa and the required Skill. I’ve used one Wiz bulb for over a year now (others are Hue bulbs) and had no problems until a few weeks ago when it stopped responding to Alexa commands. I received a notification through the Alexa app stating basically that the account verification period had expired and needed to be renewed. The device would show “Server Unresponsive” as a result. I opened the Wiz app and instantly got a notification that there was a new app that Wiz switched to and that I must download and migrate my account over. Migration occurred automatically upon opening the new app. Followed the steps and got logged into the new app. Deleted the old app. Had to Re-integrate back to my account in the settings menu of the Wiz app and then re-installed the Wiz skill back into the Alexa app. Finally, the Wiz Skill kept prompting me to enter a six digit pin that was supposedly generated in the Wiz App settings under Integration, however no pin is presented as I’m assuming the new app no longer uses this method of verification. The light ends up working even without a PIN number so I’m now running smoothly again. I think the Wiz skill could be updated.

by U-Foc

I know just enough to compare Wiz to other IoT like apps (in terms of user interface and ease of turn on and begin using) and not in terms of more advanced program features Beyond simply linking and controlling to main platform.
Question: WHY is Phillips choosing to confuse customers with Both to the Wiz and Hue Applications (?)!
I begin my “smart home” with Philips (due to finally deciding on a platform and company that has been and will be around for a while), the other lighting companies are not well represented at the various stores I shop (I have to see the stuff).
Then after spending, a lot of money, too embarrassing to say, Philips decides to change their app.
Now I have Hue, Wiz, Luminary, and some others I forgot their passwords.
If you want two apps for your lighting, please allow both apps to work on all Phillips lighting products.
Finally, the Hue app is a very functional and simple application.
Thank you

by GALACTERD

i thought i would save a few bucks and picked up a couple these instead of the Phillips Hue bulbs i’d been using - the major difference i’ve noticed are lower color saturation and fewer color options in the Wiz bulbs (user can’t define a custom array of colors to cycle thru but a few cookie cutter options are available from the manufacturer ie halloween, christmas, pastels, party) as usual you get what you pay for and in this case is a stable smart bulb that works and gets the job done - and now i have to switch apps to control a couple of bulbs which is a huge, self-induced PITA.

by Bhersey

overall been really happy with these lights. started out with a couple to add some character to a room and wound up adding several more around the house. we like the ease of setup and the mostly straightforward app. one feature that I think would make this really killer is if “sunset” (and sunrise) were options in the scheduler. there are many api’s available to include this data in WiZlegacy from the web and would make more sense out of the scheduler as the timing for sunset is always drifting. aside from that been really happy!

by Greenbirrd

I, like many, was super frustrated about the migration over to the new app! After several failed attempts of following the old app’s migration instructions over the last few months, today I decided to try it one more time and it actually worked.

What I did that worked for me:

1. Downloaded the new app

2. In the new app, I chose to create a NEW home (do not do the migration!)

3. Create the rooms as desired. When adding each bulb, since I already had them connected under the old app, I turned it on and off **5 times** (vs 3 times as instructed by WiZlegacy ) until I saw the blue pulsing light

4. I then followed the pairing instructions on screen for the next steps, i.e. waiting for the light to flash purple, then connecting to the WiFi, and it FINALLY WORKED.

I could not for the life of me get the migration process to work no matter what I did. I also tried to set up a new home previously with the new app by following the instructions in WiZlegacy but my bulbs weren’t being recognized. I did some googling and found that to re-pair bulbs (that are already paired up!!) you need to turn it on and off FIVE times versus the 3 times (the 3 times only works when pairing brand new bulbs).

Hopefully this helps someone else out!!!

by Cats Cats Cats And More Cats

I honestly love the idea of changing your light bulb colors and it is actually really cool. The thing that bothers me is that when it gets late it gets darker. I'll be in my room with no intention of going to bed and my light will slowly get darker until it's on the night mode which is just a small light for when it's night. I turn the lights brighter then it does it again. I have to chang it to any other color and sometimes it still even does it. The other day I was in my room with my phone off and my lights start going to a pinkish to a light orange to a yellow over and over again and it wouldn't stop. It was so random and I wasn't touching my phone and no one in my house has WiZlegacy to control my lights. It was really weird and it happend twice that same day but not any other day. Other than that, having color changing light bulbs is awesome.

by Tech-B

Enjoy WiZlegacy . Thought I would throw this out there. It would be nice to have this option when you place single bulbs in WiZlegacy into a group. This is a great option which I enjoy. It would be nice if you could add this feature. When you long hold on a group of bulbs you created, it then brings that group to the forefront. Here would be nice to add an option to allow the manipulation of a single bulb in the group. So you could change color, brightness, etc. Instead, currently you would need to drag the bulb out of the group, wait for app and bulbs to refresh, then change color on that single bulb. When done, you then have to drag that bulb back into the group if you wish to control a group of bulbs at the same time (not an entire room).
This would be a great feature to add and I hope it comes under consideration.
I have enjoyed WiZlegacy since downloading almost 2 months ago and have lots of theses wiz & philips bulbs.

by A-drey

It sometimes works; sometimes the colors stay. But the main problem is when I want to use any of the timed lights or a rhythm. It will not stay. Also, whenever I want to turn off the lights by my phone or remote it will not stay on. Meaning that basically almost all the functions of my lights are useless except for maybe getting the kind of battalions lighting I want. Even that is faulty. I see other reviewers blame it on an update but honestly this is all I’ve known. If the problem isn’t fixed soon I’ll just have to return my lights and get normal light bulbs.
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Update: it is now 4 stars. The colors stay and I don’t need to reconnect the bulbs every 12 hours (they stay connected thank god). I still have an issue with the on/off feature.

IT WILL NOT STAY OFF. I can’t use my phone to turn it off.

It might stay off for a few minutes but it will just turn on again and as daylight mode. This means I can’t use the timed light modes which is really unfortunate. Other features I can use now though so a great improvement.

by Walker@kathy

Really enjoy with certain bought light bulbs that I can create a blue light in my darkened living room a relaxing effect on my SAD ( seasonal affective disorder) as my eyes get over stimulated with bright lights so I do not view hardly anything on blue light devices even though I have specifically made blue block glasses made for it from my Opthamologist that still will not block enough bright light which stimulates me with an Disorder Bipolar. As I have aged it has only increased. So I expect to be inside a lot and go outside at early evening for socializing or walking.
Kathy Harmon

by Afs2310

My experience with this Phillips bulb has been really good. I love everything about it especially that you could turn it off at your phone. You can also pick any color you want in the rainbow. Summer more vivid than the other but you always can get great colors. There’s also a lot of moods that is very convenient for different situations. The only thing I would love to have in this bulb is a black light. To make everything white glow like you were in a nightclub. Besides that everything else is perfect about the bulb. Easy set up an easy to used. I love having mine.

by Dragons Lover 2.4

This is honestly the most amazing lighting I have ever had. My brother got me two light bulbs for Christmas and I love them so much. There is an awesome lighting array and you can save the colors that you like the most.
I love that they have packets I guess of colors. I think my favorite group of colors is the ocean one. The lights can be super relaxing and the focus setting really helps me focus on my homework. Since I had two I set one up in a lantern in my room and set another one up in the bathroom to mess with my brother when he is showering😂. I don’t have any complaints about these lights and WiZlegacy . This is the best investment ever. They are easy to set up too!

by No-L-W8

Have enjoyed using the Wiz app and seeing the various options for color and schedules. Am still learning, but found WiZlegacy intuitive and fairly easy to use. Have installed five lights in different areas of the house to add color and mood options. Recently went on a business trip and so turned on the vacation mode for the random on/off lighting function. Am pleased with Wiz and would recommend as an inexpensive smart lighting option.

by Boodreax

I opened WiZlegacy to change my light color to something less warm and more bright. It prompted me to update WiZlegacy (which worked perfectly fine). So I did. I started the migration and boom! It opens a browser page that says “505 error, bad gateway”. I clicked help and it asks me to login. I login via Facebook (how I originally signed up) and a page opens that says I have previously logged in via Facebook, then when I proceed it opens a popup that says “login error”. So I can’t even access the help to figure out what is going on and how to fix it.

Did they even try this out before they released it?

by Jdkhshshshshsh

I’ve been using Wiz for at least 6 months now and WiZlegacy worked perfectly fine and had ZERO issues. I used to have a morning light alarm turn on to wake me up and now since WiZlegacy updated I can’t even login to an account or create a new home.... the migrate of old data didn’t even work when tried three times, WiZlegacy worked perfectly fine before but ever since it auto updated to this current one it made my app and lights useless because I can’t even control them..

by Twolfy019

I’ve been using Wiz light in my home for the past few months now. It has worked perfectly fine and I have never had any issues with it. When I tried to get into WiZlegacy today it told me to download the new app and Migrate my info to the new app. I followed the steps and WiZlegacy continuously keeps saying error every time I try to sign in or even create a new home. So the new app is having issues and the old app doesn’t let me use it anymore. I have read the reviews below and I’ve tried uninstalling and reinstalling WiZlegacy and I still get the same error results.

by Scottdv67

This latest update comes with three problems.
1. A random app migration completely out of the blue for everyone who just uses the lights and has no intention of buying other WiZ projects
2. Making WiZlegacy entirely useless for controlling the lights, which is the only reason many of us would ever install it
3. A bugged, untoggleable “schedule” turning lights on at 7:30 am that can’t be turned off through WiZlegacy

I for one am so thoroughly disappointed that this company is so willing to trip over itself and rush out a pathetic, untested, unnecessary, unhelpful and unwanted app just to market more WiZ devices to us that I will undoubtedly be returning my lights and using another company’s.
I’ve used the lights for a year. Up to this point I was satisfied with the lights, but the sheer amount of filthy corporate greed inherent in this entire forced app migration has made me seriously re-evaluate the value of owning any WiZ products at all.

I recommend whomever had this idea be assigned to a significantly lower rank within your company if not promoted to Customer.

by JillyBeanSN

Migration only tries to open a broken webpage in Safari. :’(

Old app is now unusable, new app has to be set up from scratch.

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Update

502 bad gateway resolved itself the following day.

However, though it claimed to be migrating all my data - it lost my custom saved colors 😒

Also, it seems to have reset my phones WiFi - my WiFi password was wiped and I had to log back in to my WiFi network. I haven’t tested it on other WiFi networks that I use regularly to see if it wiped all of them but I suspect it may have 😠

***********************

Aside from all these issues, I do love WiZlegacy and the lights. They are way more convenient and affordable than Phillips hue, which I had before these.

by Cellopod

Got the notice to migrate, got a successful message but nothing was migrated. Pretty much I had to start over pairing every single bulb again. The only plus side was it was less frustrating to do smart pairing with the new version (I was never successful in using smart pairing in the old version).

Other than signing-in with Apple, I don’t see any difference from the old one.

by Hypercium

I’ve been using Wiz for a few weeks so it was sort of inconvenient to change, and I had to try several times to get my second light to cooperate. I just deleted the old app and made an entirely new home since I only own two lights, but I’m sure people with 5 or more had a bit of a headache. If you have a switch that’s difficult to turn 3-5 times in a row (like my floor lamp, OUCH) then simply place the bulb in a new area and once it’s paired, return it to its original place.

by Some Random User!(:

UPDATE: after receiving response from the developer I was able to try again and get everything loaded over. However I will still be interested to see if any other new issues arise with the new app still.

Is unable to process any logins regardless of the FAQ trouble shooting. And keeps sending me back to the first step of accepting terms and conditions after accepting them several times already.

by SuperCrackerofTX

A quick note to the developer about the obvious issue with the new app and the whole transfer process got a instant reply with a solution. When the solution needed a little more support, the developer was quick to replay again with the final solution. Less than 5 minutes. If you don’t have 5 minutes, you’re too busy. App works just like before. A little hassle, but not the end of the world. They could have ignored it but they didn’t. Great communication, other than the transition, it’s a reliable app, operating a solid product.

by Hey There Folk$!

It takes a few tries to get WiZlegacy to migrate ur info but when it does work it happens very quickly and all your information from the old app is transferred into the new one. I gave it four stars because it took me time to get WiZlegacy to migrate the information from the old app. But overall it works pretty well.

by Bjshbb

I saw in the previous reviews that the migration to the new app on Tuesday June 16th did not go very well. I waited a few days to let them figure out the kinks and migrated on Thursday the 18th.

I didn’t have any problems transferring over my account. All lights stayed connected to the home and all my schedules transferred as well.

Would suggest doing some troubleshooting before pushing out an update, but it looks like they did go back to fix the issues.

by Jenizma

Some people have commented that they had problems with the update. I, too, had a challenge with the new updated application. I contacted WiZ support and they were very quick and supportive with the issues I encountered. I love my lights and appreciate that they work toward updating and improving the application and they haven’t left it alone and forgotten.

by CAPN_OBSIDIAN

I’m not sure why people are rating the new app so badly. Yes, it’s a bit inconvenient to have to switch over, but once everything is done I feel it is better and faster than the old app. Perhaps I just haven’t encountered the bugs that people are getting, but so far I like it better than the old one.

by Dazed2012

This is what customer service told me, and it worked for me. Delete the new app if you already downloaded it. Power off your phone. Wait for 2 mins. Restart the phone. Download the new app again. Open the new app, and go through the directions to migrate.

After doing what they suggested, I was up and running on new app in 3 mins.

Even though I do not appreciate the hassle of downloading a new app instead of an update for old app, 5 stars for customer service and quick resolution.

by PhantomLotus

A lot of people complaining about the change they made but honestly it probably has to do with the phones y’all each have WiZlegacy is working just fine for me. y’all should probably not just blame this company and WiZlegacy but look at the phones you use. If it isn’t the phone then yes it’s valid to complain lol. y’all giving 1 stars because the crap is messed up when this just came out WiZlegacy isn’t unfinished or bugged they just have to look at what’s causing the issue. give them time before complaining like children cause some of y’all sound like kids complaining.