Scenes

A scene is a routine you start yourself: when you tap it, it runs its steps in order. It turns a handful of things you would otherwise do by hand, like "Movie night", "Good night" or "Heading out", into a single tap. Scenes are unlimited on the free plan too.

Where to find scenes

Scenes never run on their own; they run only when you tap them. Routines that run by themselves at a set time or when something happens are called automations.

• Routines tab › Scenes: all your scenes as tiles. Under the section title it says "Tap to run · hold to edit".
• Home › Scenes: once you have at least one scene it also appears on the home screen; All takes you to the Routines tab.
• Each tile shows how many devices and steps the scene has.

Create a new scene

1. Open the Routines tab at the bottom.
2. Tap the New scene tile in the Scenes section.
3. Type a name in the Scene name field at the top and pick an icon from the row below it.
4. In the THEN · Do these in order card, tap Add action.
5. Under What should happen?, choose Control a device, Wait or Send a notification and finish the step.
6. Add as many actions as you like, then tap Save at the top right.

Save becomes active only once you have entered a name and added at least one action. Cancel leaves without saving your changes.

Types of actions

Actions run in the order they are listed, top to bottom; each row shows its step number underneath.

• Control a device: Choose a device › feature › value. For on/off features pick Turn on or Turn off; for adjustable values such as brightness or temperature set the value with − / + and tap Add; for features with options pick one; for color pick Warm white, Red, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple or Pink; on appliances with programs pick a program or Stop.
• Wait: choose a duration from 5 seconds up to 1 hour and tap Add; the next step runs when the time is up (for example: lights off, wait 30 sec, lower the blinds).
• Send a notification: type a short message and tap Add; the phones in your home get a notification. This action is a Plus feature.
• If a device has nothing that can be controlled, you'll see "This device has no suitable features."

Run a scene

• Tap the scene's tile on the Routines tab or on Home. The play button spins while it runs, turns into a check mark when it finishes, and a "Ran …" message appears.
• You can also run your scenes from your phone's home screen widgets and from Siri / Shortcuts.
• Your phone runs the scene: the app sends the commands to your devices. Devices connected through a cloud account can be reached from anywhere; devices controlled only over your home network can be reached while your phone is on the home network.

If a scene has long wait steps, keep the app open until the scene has finished.

Edit, test or delete

1. Press and hold the scene's tile; the Edit routine screen opens.
2. Change the name or icon, or add new steps with Add action.
3. To remove a step, tap the red minus (Remove) button on the right of its row.
4. To try it without saving, tap Test now at the bottom; if every step works you'll see "Tested …", otherwise "Some steps didn't run".
5. To delete the scene, tap Delete at the bottom and confirm.

An added step can't be changed in place and steps can't be reordered by dragging: remove the step and add it again with the right value or in the right position.

Start from a suggestion

The Suggested section at the bottom of the Routines tab offers ready-made routines that fill themselves in from the devices in your home. Only suggestions that fit your home and that you haven't set up yet are shown. Tap Set up on a suggestion to open it in the editor; check the steps and tap Save.

• Lock up when leaving is a scene: one tap turns off lights, plugs and the TV and locks the door.
• The other suggestions (for example Lights on at sunset, Weekday wake-up, Tell me when the laundry is done) are automations and need Plus; see the Automations page for details.

Who sees your scenes

Scenes are saved to your BluConnect account, per home: everyone you share the home with sees the same scenes on all their devices. Guests can run scenes but can't create or edit them.

FAQ

What's the difference between a scene and an automation?
You start a scene yourself; an automation runs by itself at a time you choose, at sunrise or sunset, when a device changes, or when someone arrives or leaves home.

Do scenes need Plus?
No. Scenes are unlimited on the free plan. Only the Send a notification step is a Plus feature.

What happens if a device doesn't respond?
The scene doesn't stop; the remaining steps keep running in order. When you use Test now you'll see a "Some steps didn't run" warning.

Can I turn a scene into an automation later?
Yes. While editing the scene, add a time or event with Add trigger in the IF card and the routine becomes an automation (needs Plus). The other way round, choosing Manually only in an automation turns it back into a scene.

← Previous Using your devicesNext → Automations

Topics

1. Getting started
2. Adding devices
3. Using your devices
4. Scenes
5. Automations
6. Location: arriving and leaving home
7. Notifications
8. Energy and bills
9. Cameras
10. Remote
11. Shortcuts
12. Members and homes
13. Home Hub (optional)
14. BluConnect Plus
15. Account, privacy and troubleshooting

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