Porchgeist

Support

Help with setting up the porch, and answers to what people ask most.

Still stuck, or found something that doesn't work?

Write to scs@scsit.dk. Say which iPhone or iPad and which Hue Bridge you have, and what you see; a screenshot helps. You'll get an answer within a few days, sooner in the days before Halloween.

Setting up

  1. In the Hue app: Settings → Entertainment areas → make one with the lights by the door (up to 10 per bridge). Do this on each bridge that has lights by the door.
  2. In Porchgeist, Setup: find the bridge and press the button on top of it when asked. Pick its entertainment area. For a second bridge, tap Add another bridge.
  3. Put the lights in order along the path, with the one nearest the door last, so footsteps and chases run toward the door. Or tap Find with the camera, stand at the street end of the path, and hold the phone still while the lights blink.
  4. Tap Test the lights: every light in turn, then all of them.
  5. Connect your speaker and play a sound.

Questions

Porchgeist can't find my Hue Bridge

The phone and the bridge have to be on the same home network, and a VPN on the phone can get in the way, so turn it off while you set up. Porchgeist also needs permission to find devices on your network: Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network → turn on Porchgeist. Then try again under Setup.

The lights don't do anything when a sound plays

Look under Setup → Light stream, which says what went wrong. The usual reasons:

  1. No entertainment area is picked for the bridge, or the area has no colour lights in it.
  2. Another app is streaming to the same entertainment area, such as Hue Sync or the Hue app's own sync. Only one app can stream to an area at a time, so stop the other one.
  3. The bridge was paired before its software was updated. Forget it under Setup and pair again.
The flashes come before or after the sound

Speakers, Bluetooth above all, play sound a little late, and lights react a little late too. Porchgeist corrects for the speaker by itself. If the flashes still come too early or too late, move Lights under Setup → Sound and light in sync until a thunder crack and its lightning land together.

The motion sensor doesn't start a scare, or the lights do something else

Turn off the motion sensor's own automations in the Hue app for the lights by the door, so the sensor only tells Porchgeist and doesn't switch the lights itself. Under Auto, choose which sensor to listen to if you have several.

Auto mode stopped when the phone locked

Auto mode keeps the screen on while it runs, so leave Porchgeist open with the phone on a charger. With a background sound playing, it keeps going even if the screen locks; without one, it waits until Porchgeist is open again.

The flashing is too much

No light ever flashes more than three times a second, the limit for photosensitive epilepsy. Under Setup → Safety and brightness you can lower that to two, turn the intensity down, or choose shows with fewer flashes (Ghost, Music box and Werewolf howl are gentle).

Can I use my own sounds?

Yes, with Porchgeist Full: tap Add on the board and pick audio files. Porchgeist picks a light show from the file's name and you can change it on the sound's page. Your sounds are copied into the app, so they stay when the originals are moved.

I bought Porchgeist Full on another iPhone or iPad, or reinstalled the app

Open a locked sound and tap Restore purchase. It works on every iPhone and iPad signed in to the App Store with the Apple account that bought it.

I want a refund

Apple handles payments and refunds for the App Store. Ask for one at reportaproblem.apple.com.

I don't have Hue lights. Can I still use it?

Yes. The sounds play with their light shows on the porch preview on screen, so you can try every show before you set up any lights.