Back to: PIXIE Certified Installers Training Course
Hints and Tips
Both the PIXIE and PIXIE Plus App are updated on a regular basis to keep pace with new product releases for both iOS and Android.
Always be sure you are using the very latest version of the PIXIE Apps for the best performance.
What’s the Difference?
Remember there is ONE range of PIXIE products.
There are 2 Apps.
PIXIE does not need to have a registered account or a PIXIE Gateway to achieve basic Bluetooth smart home solution, but a few advanced features are not be available.
See the list below.
PIXIE PLUS needs a registered account and a PIXIE Gateway to achieve smart home solution. PIXIE Gateway will enable internet access for the home.
You will be able to control your home with advanced features, for example, out of home control, voice control, auto-switch daylight savings time of schedules, guest management etc.
IMPORTANT: This does not convert all of your PIXIE devices to WiFi devices!
The PIXIE Gateway creates a bridge between the internet in your home and the Bluetooth Mesh in your home. So even if the internet ‘goes-down’ in home control from the PIXIE PLUS app and all installed PIXIE devices continues unhindered.
In the case of no internet, voice control capability and out of home capability would be disabled until the internet was back up and running.
Software Tips:
When seeking assistance its best to have always undertaken the following actions first to ensure maximum compatibility.
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- Update the PIXIE Apps to the latest version for your operating system.
- Update the Firmware in the PIXIE devices with the newest version of the PIXIE Apps.
- Update your mobile devices Operating System to the latest version.
There are 3 key questions you may need to ask the homeowner to decide between PIXIE or PIXIE PLUS as below:
do you need a pixie gateway? 3 questions to ask first
a) Is Out-of-Home control a necessary feature for the homeowner?
If Yes, you will need a PIXIE Gateway for this house, so PIXIE smart home system will have Internet access. It is recommended to use PIXIE PLUS.
b) Is Guest management control a necessary feature for the homeowner?
If Yes, you will need a PIXIE Gateway for this house. In PIXIE PLUS App there is a feature called “Member Access” that could give permission to guests with specific restriction defined by the homeowner. Ideal to stop siblings controlling each other’s lights for example. It is recommended to use PIXIE PLUS.
c) Is Voice Control a necessary feature for the homeowner?
If yes, you will need a PIXIE Gateway for this house, so PIXIE smart home system will have Internet access. Then, you will be able to link the PIXIE smart home system to Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa or Siri Shortcut for voice control. It is recommended to use PIXIE PLUS.
PIXIE PLUS also has an iPAD app which can be used in any orientation on the wall with any suitable custom mount of your choice.
There is no Android tablet App.
SimpliDock have a good range of iPad mounts*
*Note SAL National and PIXIE have no relationship commercial or otherwise
FAQs
All FAQ’s open a seperate link to the original FAQ on the PIXIE Partners website.
- My SAL Pixie App could not find any devices on my phone? ♥
- Why can’t I find any PIXIE devices when I use an Android phone? ♥
- After setting “schedule” in PIXIE app, what will happen if I turn off my phone, or if I take my phone out? Will the “schedule” keep working? ♥
- How do I set the SAL PIXIE timer for activity under an hour? ♥
- How many users can I have controlling a SAL PIXIE HOME? ♥
Important Documents & Links
All documents will open a seperate window and are linked to the original source document on the PIXIE Partners website.
- Download PIXIE App for iOS
- Download PIXIE App for Android
- Download PIXIE Plus App for iOS
- Download PIXIE Plus App for iPad
- Download PIXIE Plus App for Android
OPTIONAL VIDEOS
1. How to transfer a PIXIE home setup from the PIXIE App to the PIXIE PLUS App.
Transcript
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Video Lesson Transcript
SIMON:
I’d like to talk about the PIXIE apps. There are two PIXIE apps. There’s the SAL PIXIE and the PIXIE PLUS app, and they both use the same range of PIXIE products. There’s one range of PIXIE products and there’s two apps. So the SAL PIXIE app is primarily for Bluetooth only control.
As the PIXIE products use a Bluetooth mesh to communicate, which we’ll go into in a little bit more detail later, using the SAL PIXIE app in your home means that you have full control of everything inside your home. But as soon as you go outside of your home, you no longer have control. The PIXIE plus app, however, introduces the capability with the addition of the PIXIE gateway, to be able to control not only all your PIXIE products from outside the home, but also the ability to introduce a voice assistance, such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple Siri Shortcuts, and Samsung SmartThings integration.
SIMON:
So just to review, two apps, SAL PIXIE and PIXIE PLUS. One range of products that works with both apps with full capability, except that the PIXIE PLUS app provides you the ability to have voice control and out of home control. Both of the apps are free, and even if you start a home with somebody with a PIXIE app, if they wanted to upgrade to PIXIE PLUS for voice control, there’s a process in the apps that helps you to deliver that easily for you and your customer.
You can download either one of them free from the appropriate store, whether it’s iOS for the mobile phone or for tablets, or for Android, for mobile phones.
Got Questions or Comments about this Lesson?
What is the maximum range between pixie devices
15 metres as per the Bluetooth spec and of course depends on building materials and construction, hence why we have both discreet Bluetooth boosters, and some products with built on boosters in addition to their mesh capabilities.
Will an Android app become available?
Is an Android tablet app in the pipeline? Many homes built by the major project builders use an Android tablet for the AC control as they are cheaper to buy than Apple and there are many manufacturers Android making tablets .
You’ll be happy to know the new PIXIE PLUS app which has just been released now provides the ability for landscape mode on Android devices. To day we we believe it works best with Samsung tablets