Mirabella, an Australian owned lighting company has launched a range of smart lights called Mirabella Genio. The Genio range includes the Genio Bulbs as well as a number of other smart home products like a star projector and Christmas lights. Is it worth buying Genio lights? I bought some of these smart lights to test them out for myself and here is what I discovered.
The Mirabella Genio Range
The Mirabella Genio Smart lights range is quite extensive. These include:
- LED Screw in and Bayonet Downlights
- LED Lamp Bulbs
- Strip Lights
- Designer Filament Bulbs
- Christmas Lights
- Cabinet Lights
- Appliances including desk lamp and charging lamp.
As you can see the range is huge. It’s possible to replace pretty much every light in your house with these smart lights.
Mirabella Genio Features
| Mirabella Genio Features | |
|---|---|
| Apple HomeKit Support | No ❌ |
| Google Home Support | Yes ✅ |
| Alexa Support | Yes ✅ |
| Bridge or Hub Required | No ❌ |
Mirabella Genio Cons
There are some pretty major drawbacks with the Mirabella Genio range. Here are some of the cons I discovered while trying to setup these bulbs.
No Hub or Bridge
The Mirabella bulbs don’t require a hub to operate. While this may sound like a pro, I’ve found that lighting systems that don’t have a hub have way more reliability issues. Without a hub each bulb essentially needs to connect to your router through Wifi. Where as a system like Philips Hue has it’s own networking. I’ve been using Philips hue for 5+ years and I have never not been able to turn on my lights.
The Mirabella lights also don’t support Thread. This is a newer networking protocol that turn devices like a HomePod mini into a smart home bridge.
Router Issues
My parents tried installing a Mirabella Genio smart bulb into their home and came up against networking issues. The lights work on the 2.4ghz band. Most modern routers (and definitely all smart mesh routers) combine the 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands into a single network. Apparently Mirabella lights can’t work on these routers.
This in my opinion is a massive problem. Many newer routers, especially mesh routers don’t give you an option to seperate the networks.
You can change settings on your Router to work around this issue, but this will make your WiFi slower and less reliable.
No HomeKit Support
Cheap smart lights often only support Alexa and Google Home. You don’t need to jump through as many developer hoops and don’t need to worry about security. If you use an iPhone, an Apple TV or a HomePod, you should definitely get a device that supports HomeKit.
HomeKit supported bulbs will work across all your Apple devices automatically without you needing to install any software. And if you have an Apple TV or HomePod, they work as a hub. So you can control lights when you’re away.
Connection Issues
Reliability appears to be an issue with these bulbs. I’m not sure about the build hardware quality, but the software quality is poor. I found the iPhone app to be extremely buggy and had issues connecting to my lights. The lights would often go offline. To test these bulbs I had to use an older router. They don’t work with my modern Google Mesh Wifi Router. So these bulbs definitely aren’t future proof.
Should You Buy Mirabella Genio Smart Bulbs
When it comes to smart home lighting, I believe it’s worth spending a little more to make sure you get a system that will work everyday without issues. If bulbs have connection issues, you are going to be driven mad. It’s just not worth the hassle. Imagine coming home and trying to turn the lights on, only to be left in the dark because of a connection issue.
I had issues connecting the lights and looking at other Mirabella reviews, many users have had similar issues.
Mirabella Genio bulbs don’t support HomeKit. While you can use an app on your iPhone to control the lights, you won’t be able to use smart switches and Siri to control your lights.
Finally, the biggest reason why you shouldn’t buy Mirabella Genio bulbs is the router issues. Mirabella isn’t a tech company. They are just putting their logo on a product that has been designed and built by a third party. I don’t have a lot of faith in them being able to solve these router issues.
Mirabella Genio Alternatives
In my experience using cheap Mirabella Genio bulbs isn’t worth the hassle. Smart Lights should just work and they soon lose their appeal if you constantly have to troubleshoot them.
If you’re looking for the best Mirabella Genio Alternatives, I would look at these brands:
Philips Hue
I use these Philips Hue bulbs in my apartment and these are the bulbs I recommend to others. These bulbs are more expensive, but they’ll last longer than the Mirabella bulbs and you won’t have issues with bulbs dropping their connection and not responding.
These bulbs also work with Apple Home, Google Home and Alexa. Plus they will soon support Thread and Matter – two open standards that will ensure you’re bulbs are future proof and work no matter what device you own.
Mirabella Genio vs Philips Hue
Here’s why I think Philips Hue make the best Mirabella Genio Alternative:
- Bridge Support – to make sure your lights are always connected and available, Hue has an optional bridge. I use the bridge and I haven’t come across unresponsive bulbs.
- Highest Quality LEDs – While Hue bulbs are more expensive, the LEDs they use a really high quality. I’ve been using the same bulbs for 5+ years every night, and they still haven’t died. I wasn’t able to find information on which brand of LEDs that Mirabella use.
- Customer Support – Hue is a popular product so there are lots of answers to issues you might come across. Because Mirabella is a local company, there aren’t that many people using the bulbs.
- HomeKit Support – As well as Google Home and Alexa, Philips Hue bulbs will work with Apple HomeKit. This means you don’t need any apps or software to run them. You can just use the “Home” app on your iPhone.
Does Mirabella Genio Work with Apple Home?
Mirabella Genio doesn’t support homekit. This means you can’t use the Apple Home app on your iPhone to control these bulbs. You’ll need to install a seperate app and you won’t be able to use Siri to turn on your bulbs.
Does Mirabella Genio Support Alexa
Yes. Mirabella Genio supports Alexa. You’ll be able to use Alexa voice devices to control your lights.
Does Mirabella Genio work with Google Home
Yes. You’ll be able to use the Google Home app and use Google Assistant to turn on and off your lights. Mirabella Genio lights don’t support Google Home Seamless Setup.
Here’s a video on how to setup Mirabella lights with Google Home and Google Assistant
As far as I can tell, Genio doesn’t currently support Android widgets, which would make it much easier to turn on and off your lights.
Where to Buy Mirabella Genio Lights Online
The best place to buy Mirabella lights online is through Amazon. The lights can also be found at Bunnings and some products at Kmart. I know that Woolworths stocks these lights as well.
Check out the Mirabella Genio Range
My Mirabella Genio Review
It’s just not worth getting these lights in 2022. There are better options. These lights have a fatal flaw in that they don’t work well on modern wifi routers. These bulbs don’t support the latest networking protocols for Smart Homes like Thread and there is no support for Apple HomeKit.
I’m sure that these bulbs will work ok for a lot of people. But I’m just not confident in recommending them over better quality bulbs that I know will work for everyone. If you want a single bulb in a lamp, then these might be an ok option. But I wouldn’t setup an entire smart home using these bulbs.
