Luces Ikea Wireless en Google Home

Ikea now offers its own cheap smart lights and other smart devices from its Trådfri range, and the good news for those who have Google Assistant to control their home automation is that these devices can also be integrated.

The process of adding Ikea Trådfri devices to Google Home is not complicated, but we will guide you step by step here; No matter what Trådfri light combination you have, we'll have you up and running with a few simple steps.

Ikea Trådfri lighting setup

Before you can connect your Ikea Trådfri lights to Google Home and Google Assistant, you need to set up your Ikea Trådfri lights first.

The Trådfri range is a bit confusing: you can get combination lights with dimmers, motion sensors and physical remotes, and all of these packages work individually on their own. So if you buy a dimmer and a bulb in a box together, for example, they will work as advertised when you get them home.

However, to control the bulbs through your phone, group them, and do other advanced tricks, including Google Assistant control, you need to purchase a separate Ikea Trådfri gateway that connects directly to your router (like a Hue bridge the Philips).

Before proceeding with the steps below, you need to connect a Trådfri gateway to your router and make sure the Ikea Trådfri app for Android or iOS recognizes it. It is an additional expense, but it is not a complicated procedure.

If you've come across this guide, we assume you have at least one Google Home smart device already installed and enabled, but if not, you'll also need the Google Home app.

Connecting to Google Home

If you've gotten to the point where your Trådfri bulbs are visible in the Trådfri app on your phone, then you're ready to connect them within the Google Home app as well.

1. Open the Trådfri app.
2. Tap the three settings dots (top right).
3. Touch Integrations.
4. Touch Google Assistant.
5. Touch Enable, then Continue.
6. Choose your Google account from the list.

Next, launch the Google Home app, then select Add of the options at the top. Choose Configure device, then choose the second option: Do you already have something configured? A list of supported third-party platforms appears, so select Trådfri – smart lighting from Ikea.

The next screen asks you to confirm that you have already added Google Assistant integration to the Trådfri app, which we have, so check the box and tap Confirm. Again, you need to choose your Google account from the list.

Once this is done, you need to add the new bulb to a room: select the bulb first, then the Add to a room option. Once you've made a decision, you're done, so you can return to the main screen of the Google Home app.

Adding future bulbs is a little faster, because you've already done the initial two pairing steps in the Trådfri app and the Google Home app, but you still have to choose Add in the Google Home app and then search for your bulb if you get a new Trådfri light.

Control of Google Home and Google Assistant

Once you've added all the Ikea Trådfri bulbs you want to your Google Home ecosystem, you can control them like any other smart home device that's currently under Google Home control.

Open the Google Home app and you'll be able to access your Trådfri bulbs collectively (along with any other smart bulbs under Google Assistant control) via the on and off buttons at the top of the home screen.

Scroll down to the room where your Trådfri bulbs are to control them individually – you'll see on and off shortcuts you can use, or you can tap the bulb icon for more granular control if you need to change the brightness or color.

This being Google Home, you can of course also use voice commands if you're within range of a Google Home speaker or a phone with Google Assistant. Just say, “Hey Google, turn on the Trådfri light bulb” o, “Turn off the light bulb Trådfri” to do just that; “Set the Trådfri bulb to 50 percent brightness.” Also works.

You can also use the room name: “Hey Google, turn on the office lights” o, “Turn off the office lights.” will control your Trådfri bulb, if it's assigned to the office (as well as any other smart bulbs in the same room that Google Home knows about).

While the Trådfri app is perfectly suitable for controlling bulbs, the Google Home app is a little more intuitive and means you can use your Trådfri bulbs in combination with your other smart lights (as long as they work with Google Assistant).

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