Homebridge-hue: Cannot connect to bridge

[gcappucc]

Hi. This is the first time I setup home bridge and home bridge-hue. I hope I am not making some gross mistake.

I am having problems with connecting to the hue bridge after starting homebridge.
I read the other related issues. I have tried to set the host IP manually but that didn't help.

This is the error message I get when starting home bridge:
192...42: bridge request 1: get /config
192...42: bridge communication error EHOSTUNREACH on 192...42
192...42: bridge request 2: get /config
192...42: bridge communication error EHOSTUNREACH on 192...42

This is my config.json:
{
"bridge":{
"name": "Homebridge",
"username": "CC:22:3D:E3:CE:30",
"port": 51826,
"pin": "031-45-154"
},
"description": "This is a test configuration file.",
"accessories": [ ],
"platforms": [
{
"platform": "Hue",
"host":"192.168.1.42",
"users": {
"ECB5FAFFFE090F53": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
},
"lights": true
}
]
}

Hue bridge seems to be discoverable. if I execute ph discover -v I get the following:
{
"deconz4": {},
"deconz6": {},
"meethue": {
"192.168.1.42": "ECB5FAFFFE090F53"
},
"upnp": {}
}

Not sure what to do.

[gcappucc]

homebridge.log

[ebaauw]

Looks like the bridge is powered off, or no longer connected to your network - it doesn’t respond to UPnP either. The entry in the meethue portal tends to remain for a couple of hours, after the bridge is turned off.

[gcappucc]

I am not sure if that the case.
The bridge is reachable via Philips app and I can control the lights.
Maybe I should factory reset the bridge and start over...

[gcappucc]

Is there a specific setting for upnp that I might have missed? (forgive me the silliness of the question)

[h0lz]

Maybe a connection via „cloud“?
Had a similar issue after my dhcp decided to change the IP of the hue bridge. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[ebaauw]

Connecting to the Hue bridge through the cloud is done through a different API and has severe limitations on the request rate and responsiveness. It doesn’t make sense for homebridge-hue do support that, also since both homebridge and the Hue bridge run in your home network.

You want the Hue bridge to have a static IP address. Configure your DHCP server to return a fixed address based on the bridge’s mac address.

[h0lz]

My suggestion wasn’t meant as an alternative connection method - I was only sharing my solution for a similar problem. :)

[ebaauw]

The bridge is reachable via Philips app and I can control the lights.
Maybe I should factory reset the bridge and start over...

What IP address does the Hue app report?

Is there a specific setting for upnp that I might have missed?

No, the Hue bridge should announce itself thru UPnP. Are you running homebridge on the same network as the Hue bridge? On what platform? Did you double-check that the bridge is reachable from the host running homebridge? Using a VM or a container might break the multicast traffic, unless they’re configured with bridged networking.

[gcappucc]

Issue seems to be that Homebridge (RPi) cannot reach bridge.
Mystery is that they are on same network physically attached to the same switch.
I can ping bridge and Homebridge from my laptop.
So they are up on the network
I will do some troubleshooting
Thank you for your help

[gcappucc]

It seems I ran into a nasty bug of my switch with custom firmware (it’s a router configured as a switch running dd wrt). I didn’t have a regular switch at hand to use.
There seem to be a bug that prevents clients wired to the switch ports to communicate to each other. How lucky!!!
The funny thing is that the devices could communicate normally with other devices not connected to the switch via wired ports.
So I could ssh normally to the RPi and use the Hue Bridge normally.

This can be fixed by adding some configuration to the di wrt. I will try tonight and report back if all working.
I will get a regular switch anyway.

[gcappucc]

Problem solved. Works like a charm.
Thank you for all the help.