Philips Hue Bridge v1 Reviews

by Smagin

I am not sure why Philips keeps taking a step back each they release a new control app. With a V1 bridge and the original app things were good, always worked, always connected and was consistent. They release the new app years ago and I did not transition as it was overly complicated. So again, PhilipsHueBridgev1 is set the replace the other bad app and my original software. I got caught in a loop for 5 minutes of logging in and it asking to trust PhilipsHueBridgev1 with the network. Answer yes. And do it again, and again, looping. It finally “took” after 10 attempts. Again, you get none of your settings or scenes from the old app transitioned over. I have daily 20-30 scenes that have accumulated over the lifespan of this product as I was an early adopter. PhilipsHueBridgev1 clearly doesn’t work consistently and offers no upgrade path from the old client. It’s like I’m a new user. I have been frustrated by Philips lack of dedication to PhilipsHueBridgev1 and I think it’s just easier to get out the ecosystem altogether now. They got too cute with the software and now it will cost them hardware sales. They have too many competitors that have cheaper hardware and you don’t have to fight their software to use them. Thanks for the run, but PhilipsHueBridgev1 clearly shows your reign as innovator in this vertical is over.

by Disappointedfomerfan78

PhilipsHueBridgev1 has one flaw (in the main thing I use it for which is extremely frustrating) which had gone away in the old version but is now back. I turn my lights off at night and set them to come on in the morning. Then, about 5 minutes after I get in bed they start to come back on. Every night this happens. It’s extremely frustrating. What’s more frustrating is that it is clearly a simple software bug and Philips can’t seem to fix it.

by Ranchgirl09

This product is horrible I got it finally connected and now it won’t connect to google home! plus now it won’t find my lights. So I can’t change the color or do anything since it won’t find my lights!! This is a joke why spend the money on these things and they don’t work!! Were is the customer support!!

by Awalz12

The same hub that once worked flawlessly with their own app is on the verge of being non-function in PhilipsHueBridgev1. Now that I’ve sunk money into numerous bulbs it feels like they think they can shake you out for a new hub since you’re invested in their ecosystem. Luckily the lights can be easily controlled via the SmartThings integration, but that’s the the bare minimum functionality without other features Phillips once reliably provided.

by TECENG

So I leave my house this morning, and noticed my color lights are not on. I have three of the original hue color lights (not on) and 2 new white lights that ARE on. I have the original bridge. I get home at night and open the hue app and it suggests I download the new app for the older bridge. The current setup worked fine before today, but I download PhilipsHueBridgev1 as suggested. Long story short, neither app recognizes the older color lights. They connect with the bridge, but don’t recognize the color lights. Yes, I have power cycled the bridge several times to no avail. So unless a software fix is released, this whole setup goes in the trash. And if hue support tells me to contact them via twitter or Facebook, I don’t use either. How about good ‘ol email? Or God forbid a phone!

Do you actually test your software or are you truly attempting to get me to purchase a new bridge? I noticed there is a convenient link in PhilipsHueBridgev1 to allow me to make the purchase. What a joke.

by Schlepie

I invested in Hue a while ago. For something that should be so simple it is amazing to me that they can’t seem to figure out their apps. This makes the third separate app they have released to control a their lights. Each one has been a buggy mess with constant updates. Every time I go to dim a light there seems to be an update. So the simple act of dimming a bulb is a five minute update followed by a pairing to the base.

by SpinnyJade

The amount of times I have had to switch to a different app to RE SETUP everything is absolutely obnoxious. The purpose of this product is ease of use, and if you guys can’t get your crap together with just PhilipsHueBridgev1 , then it defeats the ease of use. Love the product, not a fan of how you’re managing it. Trying to shove all v1 users on to a different app? Why? This does not make me motivated to go out and purchase more products.

by Fanoraonsapp

Too busy working on the next upgrade to 4 k TV to have proper follow through with PhilipsHueBridgev1, and thats for sure!! No remote control.
This is a safety issue Phillips!!! Being able to control your lighting when you’re away from home Is the primary reason some of us have PhilipsHueBridgev1. you thought you would be clever and have us login through email to collect our marketing data. Set your priorities straight.
You just lost some TV sales

by Ed Spencer

This is now the third Hue app I have had to install in order to do the same basic things the first app did (which was simple but the best of the bunch). These days my newish led strips and older bulbs go unresponsive roughly every 24 hours. I’m a software engineer and am at a loss as to how anyone designed a system this flaky.

I regret spending any money on the hardware given how incompetently the software side has been handled. Get a grip. Stop reinventing the wheel and try to deliver something with quality for once.

by Webfarer

Don’t fall for their scam. Philips will ruthlessly remove existing features of your current hub whenever they feel like forcing you to buy a “new” hub with minor tweaks and useless additions.

Edit: you can tell from the non-answer reply that their only intention is to sell one more unit. They got here by disabling features I already had. Shameless!

by RobbiePcola

PhilipsHueBridgev1 works worse than the one it is supposed to replace. Now my v1 bridge turns all lights on and off when I try to change any single room. Also, whenever I try to update the bridge from within this new app, I’m told all lights are unreachable, even though I can control them. Now the old app will not work properly, and it did before, even with this v1 bridge.

I am grateful that PhilipsHueBridgev1 was released. I was planning to buy a new bridge and additional lights, but I will not continue to invest in hue. These lights are rather expensive for such a terrible interface and unreliable app(s).

by Huge (TM)

So there’s nothing quite like a company choosing to end support for the hub that controls their product.

I have a v1 hub and two hue bulbs. Everything works fine. Or used to. Used to work with Alexa too. Roughly half my house is controlled by alexa now. But I have LED lights from phillips that all of a sudden stopped working with iftt. Why? Because some bonehead decided it’d be cheaper. These lights were over $100 when they came out. LEDs should last 10-20 years.

And it’s not just the cost of getting a new hub. It costs me time and energy to install a new hub, add it to the network, alexa, reconfigure my setup, scenes, rooms, automation, scripts, etc.

Honestly, this is enough of a dirtbag move that I might stay away from buying Phillips products across the board. Sleazy snake oil salesman stuff here. I’m very disappointed.

by Quiche_22

As others have stated the support for v1 bridges is basically nonexistent. But the worst offense IMO is that PhilipsHueBridgev1 is constantly pasting what you have in your clipboard to their servers. PhilipsHueBridgev1 takes 5 minutes to connect to my lights but mere seconds to upload my clipboard contents to whatever goon in advertising they’re selling it to.
and before I get some canned company reply of: “wE DoN’t SeLl DaTa We ShArE iT WiTh pArTners” yeah, partners who sell data.

It’s the same old loophole every app uses to act like it’s squeaky clean with your privacy. If they give the data to a third party, who sells it on their behalf, the company can legally say “we never sell your data”.

by Dahamma

I can’t believe Philips is dropping their support for a light bulb kit that they were still selling just 5 years ago. stop pretending you care about the environment when you make us throw away perfectly good hardware because you are too lazy to support it.

[edit: appreciate that I got a response to this but still disappointed that support was dropped for a 5 year old light bulb controller. This isn’t a smart phone, it’s basically a home appliance, with bulbs advertised to last 10+ years! This sort of thing will definitely set back mass market Home Automation adoption. Some discount on a new hub on being forced to update might be nice, at least! Of course there is no guarantee that v2 won’t be obsolete in a few years either... I guess that’s why some people pay the premium for Lutron... of course it’s not like Hue is cheap]

by Kattkombs

Why did I spend all that money on this system and PhilipsHueBridgev1 can’t find the bridge?? When I first bought this it was great. Then people go off thinking they are smart and improving things. I think it is being sabotaged on purpose. So we will buy the new crap. Well not me. As much as I spent this should still work. Phillips won’t get any more of my money. My bridge has been “unfindable” for over a year. I saw PhilipsHueBridgev1 today and got excited. Well the excitement is over now. Disappointment reigns again, Thanks for the expensive lesson.

by CamSchnackel

Apple opened up HomeKit in such a way that allows support to be added via a simple software update. Despite this, Phillips refuses to add support. Now they’re pushing these customers to the wayside with this “lite,” app. My widgets aren’t even carrying over to PhilipsHueBridgev1 from the usual one. Super unhappy with this.

by Heathertheh

I love my hue lights! They are going strong. But being forced to use this new app with them, makes me rethink every purchasing some again. I keep the lights on a red color at night and if I adjust the brightness, they flash purple and white before changing the brightness. Also when I try to turn on my lights they don’t always work. And once they just shut off. What gives? Please fix since you forced me to use PhilipsHueBridgev1.

by All Nicknames Have Been

I am inclined to agree with the previous reviewer. I keep getting a message saying my app is no longer compatible with my bridge V1. There is no markings on my bridge referring to a V1 or a V2. It does have a model Zig bee and a long number behind it. I tried downloading PhilipsHueBridgev1 Store version V2 and lost all My themes . I do not use the clock settings so I cannot comment on that.
I agree Phillips has a disconnect between its hardware and software suppliers on what is what. I am very happy with my bridge and lights. I have no interest in having my lights connected to music- that is such a 60’s thing.

by Artificial Mind

Finally! Over the last couple of years my hue lights have become less and less responsive as devices and apps got updated. Finally, Phillips has created an app that makes my v1 lights almost as responsive as the day I got them. Thank you for not leaving your early adopters behind Phillips!

by OO0Aegis0Oo

I’ve read other lower rated reviews saying they cannot connect to their bulb or bridge; mine were fine. I had no problems setting up. I could just be lucky to not have to troubleshoot. Great tech, great app!