SMART Life Connection Guide

The Smart Life app is the free app used to control the WiFi lights, switches, plugs and sensors supplied by Greenhse Technologies in Perth. This guide walks through connecting a new device from start to finish: preparing your phone and router, putting the device into pairing mode, adding it in the app, and then naming it, assigning it to a room and linking it to a voice assistant.

If you prefer to follow along on screen, watch the Smart Life connection video. The written steps below cover the same process in more detail.

Before you start

• Install the app. Download Smart Life from the App Store or Google Play, create an account with your email address and log in. Tuya Smart is the same platform and works in the same way, but keep all your devices in one app so they can be grouped and automated together.
• Use the 2.4GHz WiFi band. Almost all smart lighting products only connect over 2.4GHz WiFi, not 5GHz. Most Perth routers are dual band. If your router shows one name for both bands, log in to the router and split them into two networks with different names (for example Home and Home-5G). Then connect your phone to the 2.4GHz network before you add any device.
• Check the password. The app will ask for the WiFi password during pairing. Make sure you have the correct one for the 2.4GHz network.
• Stay close to the router. During pairing, keep the phone, the router and the new device as close together as practical.

Step 1: Put the device into pairing mode

A new device is normally in pairing mode straight out of the box, shown by a rapidly flashing indicator light or, on a smart bulb or strip, by the light flashing on and off quickly. If it is not flashing, reset it as described in the product instructions. The usual methods are:

• Smart lights and downlights: switch the light on and off at the wall three times in a row, pausing about a second between each, until it starts to flash rapidly.
• Smart plugs and switches: hold the reset or power button for about 5 seconds until the indicator flashes quickly.
• Sensors and other battery devices: hold the reset pin or button as shown in the manual until the LED flashes.

Rapid flashing (around twice per second) means EZ mode, which is the quick default. Slow flashing means AP mode, a fallback method covered below. Complete the next steps within about three minutes of resetting, otherwise the device will drop out of pairing mode and you will need to reset it again.

Step 2: Add the device in the app

1. Open Smart Life and tap the plus symbol in the top right corner, then choose Add Device.
2. Many devices will appear automatically under Discovering devices. If yours shows up, tap Add. If not, select it manually from the category list, for example Lighting, then Light Source (WiFi), or Electrical, then Socket (WiFi). Check whether the product is WiFi, Bluetooth or Zigbee before choosing, as each is listed separately and a Zigbee device needs a gateway.
3. Confirm the WiFi network name is the 2.4GHz network and enter the password, then tap Next.
4. Confirm that the indicator is flashing rapidly and tap Next.
5. Wait while the progress circle runs. The app finds the device, registers it to the cloud and initialises it. This usually takes under a minute.
6. When Added successfully appears, tap Done.

If pairing fails, the usual causes are a phone still on the 5GHz band, a mistyped password, a device that has timed out of pairing mode, or a weak signal. Fix the cause, reset the device and try again. If EZ mode keeps failing, tap Other Mode in the top right during pairing and choose AP mode: reset the device until it flashes slowly, join the temporary hotspot the device creates from your phone's WiFi settings, then return to the app to finish. The connection video shows both methods.

Step 3: Name the device and assign a room

As soon as the device is added, the app offers a pencil icon to rename it. Use a short, plain name that you will say out loud, such as Kitchen Downlights or Patio Strip, rather than the factory name. Then choose a room. Rooms are set up under Me, then Home Management, where you can create your home, add rooms and invite family members so they can control the same devices from their own phones. Assigning rooms keeps the home screen tidy and lets you switch off every light in a room with one tap or one voice command.

Step 4: Link a voice assistant

Smart Life works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. In the Alexa app, search for the Smart Life skill, enable it and sign in with your Smart Life account. In Google Home, tap Add, then Works with Google, search for Smart Life and link the account. Once linked, every device in Smart Life appears in the assistant with the names and rooms you chose, and devices added later sync automatically. You can then say Turn off the kitchen downlights or Set the lounge to warm white, and build schedules, scenes and groups in the Smart Life app.

Quick troubleshooting checklist

• Phone connected to 2.4GHz WiFi, with a separate network name from the 5GHz band.
• Device flashing rapidly and added within three minutes of the reset.
• Correct password entered, with no extra spaces.
• Router within good range of the device.
• Only one phone pairing the device at a time. Share access through Home Management.

Once the first device is connected the rest take only a couple of minutes each. If you get stuck, Greenhse Technologies in Perth can help. Call (08) 9297 2969 or visit the showroom at 5/1 Locke Lane, Ellenbrook WA 6069.