Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Philips Hue Bulbs Can Now Remain Off Following a Power Outage
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Make sure your bulb firmware is updated.
All of my colour ambience, white ambience, and plain white bulbs received a firmware update yesterday. The release notes for the firmware says it adds the power on behaviour.
It was only today that the app got updated to enable the settings for this.
Likely a safety precaution for first responders. Your typical knee-jerk response when you flip a switch and a light doesn't come on is to flip it a couple more times. So when they enter a home and flip the switch and the lights go back to their previous 'off' state, they can flip it again and get them back on. Just a thought anyway.
It is possible, just not configurable with the Philips app. You can set the bulbs to recover to any color you want (including off) with the iConnectHue app.
Just tested this as well with one of my lamps (not all my bulbs are supported yet) and it doesn't behave like that, i.e. it works fine the second or third time. I do get a quick flash before it returns to the previous state though.
I’m glad it’s customisable.
While this is good for the midnight power interruptions (which is the only reason I wanted it), it’s less helpful if you simply want to use the light like a normal light (with the switch) and this need is more common than people realise:
- network/bridge is down or faulty
- guests staying who don’t have (or need) access
- faulty or misbehaving Hue switches/dimmer
- trouble-shooting: if the light is ‘off’ when you turn it on, it’s hard to know if there is power to that fixture, or if the bulb is faulty without getting the app out.
While I was waiting for this, I installed a relay in my switchboard which is a better solution for me as all my lights (50) are Hue bulbs. If there is a power failure it switches off the light circuit so when the power comes back on, the lights stay off until I hit the reset button. Works like a treat.
While this is good for the midnight power interruptions (which is the only reason I wanted it), it’s less helpful if you simply want to use the light like a normal light (with the switch) and this need is more common than people realise:
- network/bridge is down or faulty
- guests staying who don’t have (or need) access
- faulty or misbehaving Hue switches/dimmer
- trouble-shooting: if the light is ‘off’ when you turn it on, it’s hard to know if there is power to that fixture, or if the bulb is faulty without getting the app out.
While I was waiting for this, I installed a relay in my switchboard which is a better solution for me as all my lights (50) are Hue bulbs. If there is a power failure it switches off the light circuit so when the power comes back on, the lights stay off until I hit the reset button. Works like a treat.
Or just people who forget to use the Hue controls - it took me multiple months to consistently remember one of my lights was remote, not switch, controlled.
Or for visitors who may not know/may not have access to a smart device to turn them on. When a family member came over daily to feed my pets when I went on vacation, that family member didn't have access (no Google Home/Alexa/HomePod/etc in the house,) so flipping the switch off and on was their only way to turn the lights on. (This family member doesn't own a smartphone.)
To be fair. This is not an oversight, rather an intentional design decision. The lights were meant to mimic traditional lights in a switch. From the bulbs POV it is hard to distinguish between a power failure and an intentional flip of the switch. Though they could use some logic to validate the bulb against the power state of the Hub to determine if a real power interruption occurred.
With "regular" bulbs, the switch still works to set the desired state for when power is restored when the power is off; there is no "smart" equivalent to that. It's understandable that someone is concerned that a smart bulb only works like a "regular" bulb--obviously an option--when doing so (turning off the physical switch) loses the "smart" part. In this poster's case, for example, automations (if any) won't work in the morning if they do that. That being said, short of adding "Off" as a default (possibly an odd choice but certainly a possibility), there isn't a good way to do this since without power it's not like the bulbs could receive an "off" command and remember that next time they start.
This is actually intentional to allow you to "reset" the bulbs. Say you don't have your phone, a Hue Tap or Dimmer, or other smart or automated method of control handy. You'll never be able to turn the bulb back on. (Ikea Trådfri does something similar but needs more, quicker switch-offs; I'm sure there's a "timeout" where if you wait long enough between Hue power cuts, it will go back to remembering, but I don't know.)
I'd say there are many reasons. That's certainly one, but not waking up to all lights on at 100% in the middle of the night when the power goes out for a few seconds is my main reason for wanting this. I can already account the rest by only using "smart" switches and automations.
Firmware updates are rolling out slowly, so even if you wanted to have them updated it may not be possible for some users at this time. In fact, out of the nine Hue lights in my house (which includes White & Color Ambiance, White Ambiance, White, and Lightstrip Plus), only the lone White bulb worked...
...which is the opposite situation of this person. I'll be checking the Hue app periodically to see if the updates have trickled down yet.
Yeah, except it doesn't behave like that for everyone. I turned one of my lamps on and off using the (physical) switch three times in a row and each time the lamp briefly flashed (as noted in the release notes for older bulb models) and then returned to the "off" state as configured. So no, I don't think this is intended behavior. EDIT: Apparently it is:
Good call. I just tried switching the lamp several times quickly and after 2 or 3 attempts it does indeed stay on. OTOH, if you wait ~15-20 seconds between switching, it goes back to the configured recovery state regardless how often you switch. Seems like a good compromise.
Last edited:
My LIFX lights have always remembered their last settings. This means I can use an ordinary light switch with them (provided they are "on" when I switch them off). I am surprised that the Hue globes did not do this. Another plus for LIFX is that they don't need a bridge.
About time... Who doesn't like being scared $***less after the lights come on in the middle of the night?
Too bad that they just don't add a randomize feature on that setting, lets make it interesting! Come on Hue! lol
[doublepost=1544777815][/doublepost]
Yeah i am probably in the same boat...
I have a crap ton of Gen 1 Hue White and multi color LED lights in the house. I think we are pushing 50 bulbs exactly... So that will be my luck too.. I can see it now on the app screen
"Great News, 3 of your 50 lights are supported" Fingers crossed....
Too bad that they just don't add a randomize feature on that setting, lets make it interesting! Come on Hue! lol
[doublepost=1544777815][/doublepost]
Yeah i am probably in the same boat...
I have a crap ton of Gen 1 Hue White and multi color LED lights in the house. I think we are pushing 50 bulbs exactly... So that will be my luck too.. I can see it now on the app screen
"Great News, 3 of your 50 lights are supported" Fingers crossed....
The bulbs in my house are compatible, except the two in my master so no benefit yet but sitting here thinking I'm not sure it would be. When the power goes out the difference in white noise in my house is enough to wake me. My fan beeps when power is applied, the heat or air is normally running but then shuts off and on, plus whatever else makes noise in my house that I don't notice until power outages. I appreciate the option and may try it but its not going to prevent me waking up at night if the power goes off.
“we will enable this feature on all the official Hue lamps that we have ever released” -Philips Hue twitter
My outdoor light strip got the new firmware, but my indoor light strip has not yet so far. Patience!
[doublepost=1544830771][/doublepost]
On my system so far, of the color bulbs, only the original 600 lumens got the new firmware so far. So my situation is the opposite of yours. It’s just a matter of time!
Light strips aren’t supported?
My outdoor light strip got the new firmware, but my indoor light strip has not yet so far. Patience!
[doublepost=1544830771][/doublepost]
On my system so far, of the color bulbs, only the original 600 lumens got the new firmware so far. So my situation is the opposite of yours. It’s just a matter of time!
Last edited:
I'm seeing it on both the iPhone and iPad app. There was an app update yesterday that added this. Are you sure you installed the updated app?
I had a few more bulbs get the update earlier today. Weird that they are rolling this out to different bulbs at different times. I have 9 bulbs left that need to setting. Hopefully itll be updated soon.
[doublepost=1544922820][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1544922820][/doublepost]
If they do that I may never leave the couch again lol
I installed the most recent version on both my phone and iPad and none of them show the power failure option.
My Hue version is 3.11.0 (10308). I have the old round bridge and the bulbs are LCT001 with the firmware 5.105.0.21169
All my bulbs also show the firmware update from Dec. 18 and the new power setting is now available.
This is why hue is not an optimal solution.
It should be working like this (but then you need to replace your switches too), have in wall switches that give out a continuous signal when off or on, on top of the usual power, like a digital signal.
You are absolutely right this is not the optimal solution. However, for most of us it’s the only reasonable solution.
My Sonos system is not an optimal solution. A friend of ours built a $1 million home a years ago. It had built in and wired in complete house sound. I do not know what it cost him. I did look on the Internet and the system start at $10,000 plus. My Sonos was not nearly as expensive. Many people consider Sonos to be expensive but I consider it to be cheap compared to the alternatives.
Back to lighting. We are in the first stages of home automation and there must be ways to patch to the future. 30 years from now Hue probably won’t even exist. Then again neither will I.
By now in wall branded switches are still mostly dumb, and/or expensive, I looked into them, I live in Europe, there's 1 brand that's in the "friends" of Hue" program (Niko) but sadly their design is not to my liking and doesn't fit my other (new) switches.
I completely renewed all my in wall switches/power outlets (apartment rebuilt), was time for me to chose smart ones but it was, or too expensive, didn't like the design ,wasn't up to the job.
It's still nearly impossible to find a good solution for reasonable money, if you grow money on a tree though....
Most brands have their own automation, most of them are too difficult even though I am an electrical engineer myself.
My Philips hue doesn't seem to like my network gear either, I have Ubiquiti gear, great stuff, probably a config problem.
Have nothing but trouble with them, I will find a better way I am sure, Hue is expensive for what it does, and it does it's job just barely.