Frequently Asked Questions

Have Questions? We have answers.

Best Use Q&A

How close do I need to be to my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb?

It’s best if TUO’s light is the dominant light near you. TUO Circadian Smart Bulbs work best when you’re within 6 ft (2m) of the bulb. If you have multiple bulbs in the same area, TUO's effects are magnifying so you can be further away. Be especially careful to stay close during your wake mode. This is the mode most impacted by distance.

How do I use my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb to improve my sleep quality?

Use Wake mode right when you wake up. This is the most important time to be exposed to circadian influencing light. This will not only improve your sleep, but will also improve your mood and alertness throughout the day. For users who wake up hours before the desired wake-up time, additional exposure to Wake mode may be required 2-3 hours prior to going to sleep. It may take 2-4 weeks of morning light therapy to see full sleep improvement. This won’t be permanent, so continue usage to maintain your circadian rhythm health.

How do I use my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb to improve my focus?

Use Wake mode in the morning and Active mode throughout the day to improve and maintain focus. If you're slowing down after a large lunch or have an afternoon slump, use Wake mode for 15-20 minutes to get a boost of energy.

How do I use my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb to reduce S.A.D (Seasonal Affective Disorder) symptoms?

Use Wake mode in the morning upon waking to start the day off right. Then use Active mode throughout the day to keep your circadian system stimulated. Additional 15-minute therapy sessions with Wake mode may be required. Simply fire off Wake mode in short bursts when you need a boost.

How do I use my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb to get help get rid of my hangover?

Use Wake mode for 15-30 minutes upon waking up and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

How do I use my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb to reduce jet lag?

A few days in advance of travel, begin using Wake mode for approximately 30 minutes for every hour that you will be losing or gaining. If traveling east, use Wake mode in the morning upon waking up for the suggested amount of time (in addition to your normal Wake mode schedule). If traveling west, use Wake mode in the evening to delay your circadian rhythm. You can also do this upon arrival at your new destination.
Stay tuned for app enhancements to help with jet lag scheduling and tips.

How do I use my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb to maintain energy and focus while pulling an all-nighter?

Whether it's for work or for play, we all have times where we need to stay awake and alert long past our normal sleep time. TUO's modes can help you do this. Switch to Active mode instead of Calm mode to prevent winding down, and use Wake mode for 15-30 minutes around the time you usually go to bed. If you feel yourself fading, use Wake mode in short bursts to re-focus and re-energize.

Science Q&A

How does the TUO Circadian Smart Bulb compare to other products on the market?

TUO's lighting technology modulates the "dawn detectors" in the retina to create a highly stimulating light at normal room lighting levels (~90-150 lux at the eye) -- this is the only lighting technology that provides any circadian influence at that level. TUO provides influence even as low as ~20 lux. Lighting products that claim to have circadian benefit provide little to no circadian influence at standard lighting levels. Other lighting products require high intensity light, up to 10,000 lux, to provide circadian benefit. TUO's light provides full benefit at less than 250 lux.

How does the TUO Circadian Smart Bulb spectrum compare to the sun's?

TUO’s circadian lighting technology uses spectral opponent modulation. The time averaged spectral power curve looks similar to that of standard LED lighting spectral power curves with the exception of having a “hill” or “peak” in the 420nm range. This stimulates retinal cones under normal room lighting levels and is much less than what is required for static Circadian Phase stimulating light. Typical requirements are between 5000-10000 lux at the retina to have any sort of phase influence. Spectral opponency works because our eyes have "dawn-detectors." These were recently discovered by the University of Washington and are theorized to be how circadian rhythms are set to a day/night schedule. TUO's patented ability to influence these detectors is what makes our product unique.
Read the article that explains this at UW Newsroom: Let There Be Circadian Light.

Given that so many of us spend an inordinate amount of time on various screens, does the TUO Circadian Smart Bulb impact that exposure?

TUO impacts this by making the lights around you at home and the office healthy for your ideal circadian performance. Screens are generally too dim to affect circadian health.

Web Site Q&A

How do I order new TUO Circadian Smart Bulbs?

We only accept online orders and payments through credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and tons of other options.
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Do you have an affiliate marketing program?

TUO has an affiliate program, please email david@thetuolife.com for more information.
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Bulb Connectivity Q&A

Does my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb require a hub?

No, your TUO Circadian Smart Bulbs use your Wifi network and the TUO Life App. We minimize the hardware you need.

Can I use TUO Circadian Smart Bulbs without Wifi or turn my Wifi off at times?

Having a Wifi connection is required to use your TUO Circadian Smart Bulbs. This is used during setup and especially when we update your lighting mode based on your circadian schedule. If the bulb loses Wifi, it will work as a regular light bulb with traditional white LEDs until it gets a connection again. For best results, keep your bulb connected to Wifi.

How does my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb communicate with my mobile device and Wifi network?

Your TUO Circadian Smart Bulb uses a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) signal to communicate to your phone or tablet on setup. After that, your bulb communicates directly with the cloud via Wifi, just like most other IoT devices in your home and office.

Does my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb send and receive signals constantly, periodically or only a small pulse a few times a day?

We send a signal via Wifi when there is a user-triggered change or your circadian schedule says it's time to change light modes. TUO does not continuously send signals to your light although there is a fairly constant pulse connecting your bulb to our network. This does not impact your Wifi bandwidth in any noticeable way.

I’m having trouble setting up my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb, how do I fix this?

The following are some common issues that might affect bulb connectivity and setup.

  1. Your TUO Circadian Smart Bulb will not work if the lamp is connected to a dimmer switch. Make sure the lamp you're using does not have and is not connected to a dimmer. For best results, use our TUO Shadeless Lamp for your TUO Bulbs.
  2. Ensure that all permissions were accepted when setting up the TUO Life App. The app requires Bluetooth and Location permissions to be enabled.
  3. The router may not be set up for 2.4Ghz – this can be enabled in your router settings.
  4. If a bulb isn’t setup in the app, it might take up to 30 seconds to boot. If the bulb hasn’t gone through full initial factory startup, it won’t be broadcasting on the BLE network and your phone or tablet will not be able to connect to your bulb. Wait for the bulb to complete its boot sequence (you'll see it flash through different colors) before trying to connect it to the app. When your bulb displays white light, it's ready to connect.
  5. If the bulb hasn’t been turned on in many months, the firmware might be out of date. Bulbs purchased before May 2021 and left offline may not work with the updated app. If bulbs remained online, there should be no issues as they should be receiving normal firmware updates from the cloud. To check your firmware version, navigate to your bulb's screen in the app by going to Home > Room > Bulb and then click on the "i" icon. If the last three numbers of your firmware version are 3XX or 5XX, the app will be able to connect to the bulb.
My TUO Circadian Smart Bulb is showing offline, how do I get it back online?

If your bulb is showing offline in the app, try the following steps to bring it back online.

  1. Try refreshing your app's screen. To do this, either pull down on your current page and wait for the screen to reload, or navigate to the home screen in the app. Sometimes if a bulb is starting up when turned on at the switch and the app is open, the screen won’t refresh automatically and will still show the bulb as being offline when it's really online.
  2. Check the router to ensure that your Wifi network is broadcasting correctly with internet access.
  3. Try restarting your TUO Circadian Smart Bulb. Your bulb is basically a mini-computer, and sometimes it just needs a restart like your phone, desktop computer or laptop.
I changed routers or updated the ID and/or password of my Wifi network, what do I need to do to get my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb back online?

In the TUO Life App, navigate to the room that the bulb is in. Click on the "Wifi" symbol and walk through the steps to connect your bulb to your updated or new Wifi network.

Bulb Q&A

How do I factory reset my TUO Circadian Smart Bulbs?

Power your TUO Circadian Smart Bulb off and on at the switch 5-6 times allowing the bulb to momentarily turn on each time before powering off. When the factory reset is initiated, you should see the bulb flash red and then run through its startup sequence. Once this completes, restart the bulb and allow it to boot and reconnect to the app.

Why does my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb appear to flicker?

TUO’s lighting technology uses spectral opponent modulation to stimulate the retinal cones. This may cause an apparent color flicker which will be more prevalent in Wake mode and visible to some people – this is due to Wake mode being our most stimulating mode. Slightly dimming the mode will reduce the flicker. If flicker appears in Calm mode, the bulb is defective.

Why won’t my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb turn on when I turn on my lamp?

It is most likely defective. Even though we test 100% of our bulbs, things can rattle loose during shipping. Please contact info@thetuolife.com if you run into this issue.

What is the life expectancy of my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb?

The life expectancy of this bulb is similar to that of any LED smart bulb. Our life expectancy is 25,000 hours, and we offer a two-year limited warranty.

What is the CRI of a TUO Circadian Smart Bulb?

Active and Calm modes have a CRI of >80.

App Functionality Q&A

I just purchased my first TUO Circadian Smart Bulbs, how do I control my new bulbs?

The app to connect to your TUO Circadian Smart Bulbs is available in the Apple App Store and the Google Android Play Store. On your phone or tablet, search for the TUO Life App, download the app and follow the steps in the app to sign up, connect to wifi, set your custom circadian schedule and more.

Why do you ask for my chronotype and age when I first sign up?

The TUO Life App creates a custom circadian schedule for your lights based on your current circadian rhythm. Your age affects the amount and type of light that passes through your lens and hits your retina so we adjust for this when we create your circadian schedule to ensure that you get just the right amount of light. Your chronotype (night owl, early riser, rooster) helps us understand how out of phase your current circadian rhythm is so that we can further customize your circadian schedule. Your chronotype can change with time so for best results, make sure to keep your information in the app current.

Why is my login email or password not working?

If you use an auto-populate function on your password field, the app may create an extra character or space in front of the password. Click on the “eye” icon in the password line to verify that it's populating correctly. Keep in mind that our app and our shopping site do not share login credentials. If you haven’t used the TUO Life App before, you will need to sign up to get started.

How do I use my TUO Circadian Smart Bulb as an alarm clock?

In the Home screen, select the On/Off Schedules tab at the bottom of the screen and select the (+) to add a new schedule to an individual room, or multiple rooms. Fade in and fade out allows for a gradual increase or decrease in brightness when scheduling the bulb to turn on or off.

What is my circadian schedule and how is it created?

Your circadian schedule is your body's clock. This controls when you naturally wake up and when you start to feel sleepy. Your circadian schedule in the TUO Life App is the schedule we use to send different light modes to help you wake up and go to sleep more naturally. This is based on your wake and sleep times, your age and your chronotype (night-owl, early bird, rooster) which you set as part of account creation. These can also be updated in your profile.

Is there an issue if I turn off my TUO Circadian Smart Bulbs with a switch?

No issue other than missing out on the circadian benefits of TUO lighting. Once your circadian schedule is set, just use your lights normally and the TUO Life App will run the right light modes at the right time for you automatically. If you do use a switch, turn the toggle to the ON position in the app and each time the bulb is powered on it will connect to the cloud and automatically go to your circadian schedule.

Can I change the colors or the color temperature of the light my TUO Circadian Smart Bulbs emit?

The circadian lighting modes are designed to look like a white light. You can pick your preferred color temperature range. The circadian lighting technology is independent of visual colors so whether you like bright white or warm candle light - you get to pick your preference.