What to Know About the IKEA Trådfri Gateway Hub

Our modern world affords us many technological advances, and one of those is a smart home. Controlled by a smart hub, smart devices allow us to control lights, appliances, garage doors, locks, and even doorbells remotely using our voices. Many consumers compare the Echo Show with the Google Nest Hub, but now there is a newcomer on the block, the IKEA Trådfri Gateway Hub. How does it compare?

IKEA is a Swedish furniture company that has recently decided to enter the smart home arena with an entire lineup of smart home devices. Along with smart bulbs, the company also makes smart plugs, motion sensor devices, smart buttons, speakers, and blinds to round out the collection.

The name Trådfri refers to IKEA’s smart home ecosystem (much like the Amazon Alexa system). You can control everything from the smartphone app and now through the smart hub. Although the lights don’t change color, you can control the brightness, set up routines, and automate your entire house with cool or warm-toned lighting. Reviewers were impressed by the brilliance of the bulbs despite the low price.

The design of the entire system is clean and modern. The hub is circular and relatively simple to blend with any home decor easily. It comes with an internal Ethernet port, a reset button, and a micro-USB port. One nice thing is you can wrap the cords inside and hide them from view. The hub can also be easily mounted on a wall. The remote is circular with five buttons to dim lights, control volume, and perform other simple functions to control Trådfri devices.

Setup is fairly simple by downloading the app and pairing it with individual devices. You start by pairing the remote with the hub and then adding additional components from there. The app is well designed and easy to use to control any paired device. You can even set up preset modes to set the mood.

The only downside is you have to be on the same Wi-Fi network to control your devices. That means you cannot remotely control stuff when you are not home.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, the IKEA Trådfri Gateway Hub supports various smart home assistants, including Apple’s HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant. That functionality means you can use the same assistant you are familiar with and still control all your devices through the new Trådfri smart hub.

The main reason the Trådfri smart home devices are such a hit is because of the price. Comparatively, they are much cheaper than other ecosystems. For example, their smart bulbs start at $7.99, whereas Philips charges $50 per bulb. Plus, all the devices work well with other systems like Amazon and Google, so you can pretty inexpensively outfit your entire smart home.

To get started, you can buy the IKEA Trådfri Gateway kit for $69.99, which includes the hub, two light bulbs, and remote control. It’s the most expensive item in the lineup but well worth it. You can then easily add on a motion sensor, smart blinds, wireless dimmer switch, smart plugs, Zigbee repeaters, etc.

Before outfitting your entire house with an IKEA Trådfri Gateway system, you might want to check out the smart home warranty. It’s essential to know how well your electronic devices will be protected and for how long. Typically, manufacturers’ warranties last only a year and only cover you for inherent defects.

However, when you buy a smart home hub, you expect it to last more than a year. Therefore, you should consider a smart home warranty from Upsie. Upsie offers a range of smart home devices, including smart doorbells, thermostats, security cameras, and dozens of other devices. If something goes wrong with the battery, power, touch screen, camera, or other internal workings, you can contact Upsie 24/7. If the device cannot be fixed on the first claim, Upsie will replace it.

Even better, if you sell your device later, the Upsie warranty transfers with it. Upsie’s warranties cost up to 70% less than warranties sold elsewhere.

Don’t leave your smart home to chance; protect it with an Upsie warranty!