Apple Home sync error when connecting to Philips Hue Hub

TLDR: if you have Xfinity, get the upgrade to the DB8 modem. It solved my issue.

Ok, update- so apparently it WAS some kind of network issue, brought about by the matter update that Hue pushed out which did not work. My network could see the bridge but was not allowing a connection to go through between the bridge and Apple. Hue told me to have Xfinity (my internet provider) check for network issues on their end; however, would not tell me what exactly to look for, so the network IT guys were unable to find a problem. They did tell me there is a new, updated, gateway available that they could send out to me which would get me faster speed. After searching for solutions, myself online, I came across a reddit post that said someone was able to fix their issue by replacing their existing Xfinity gateway with the newest version, the DB8 gateway. I contacted IT at Xfinity again and determined that they were in fact wanting to send me the DB8, so I said sure. I mean at this point; my next step was to go scorched earth on HomeKit anyway, so it was worth a shot.

The new gateway arrived and I installed it, and low and behold- the bridge now connects with HomeKit again! Yay1 The downside? I had to figure out how to split the bands apart (out of the box it combines the 2.4, 5 & 6 together into one signal). why you ask? Because the new gateway had a new SSID so nothing ELSE in my system recognized the network so EVERYTHING else in my HomeKit had to be removed and reinstalled. Exactly the scorched earth I was trying to avoid. On the plus side, hours later everything is reinstalled in HomeKit and running smoothly. Fingers crossed it stays that way!

The issue seems to be with the Matter integration but I was able to find a work around if you are still having issues connecting the hue bridge after removing it:

In the Hue app: The Matter pairing code for the Hue bridge is generated through Settings > Smart Home > "+" > Other Apps > Get Pairing Code

On the Apple Home App: + > Add accessory > More options... > My Accessory Isn't Shown Here > Enter Set Up Code > Enter code...

This allowed me to add the Hue bridge as a generic "Matter" device, but all my lights came along with it and I am able to control them from the Home App now.

Thanks to your support we reproduced the issue and are gradually rolling out a new Bridge firmware 1958159030 containing the fix. After installing this firmware, let us know whether it solved your issue.

We are very sorry for the ongoing problems you have with connecting Hue with Apple Home. As an update we found the root cause of the Hue app error 2002 / Appel Home error "Unable to add accessory: The set-up code is incorrect". This affects a small percentage of Bridges in the field and can not be solved by factory resetting the Bridge. We are working on a fix for this. I keep you posted.

Aside we see the issue that users had a working Hue integration with Apple Home, that broke around September and users are unable to restore the connection. This we pinpoint to a network issue that makes the Bridge undiscoverable. We are still investigating the root cause. In the mean time you can check if you are able to pair by creating an isolated network with e.g. a separate router. The outcome of that would help us in the investigation.

So I ended up having to shell out about 200 dollars for a new modem/router. I have xfinity and was using the xb6, upgraded to an xb7 and still didn’t work. So I took it upon myself and installed a netgear third party router and it work seamlessly. I know this isn’t the beat solution you all wanted to hear but at this point this is the only solution I know will work. I would advise everyone to try this out. I know it’s a headache but I didn’t even have to contact xfinity. I was able to plug in the device and update my account to read the new router all within the apps.

In the Hue App in Settings - Voice Assistants enable for Siri & Apple Home.

I have purchased a new Bridge at a cost of £45. Removed my old bridge, deleted everything & started again. This was made even harder by the bridge not finding the lights, unless I removed everyone & entered the serial number.

You're not exactly a small company, selling chinese rip offs of hardware. The cost of this product & the marketing on it, is ridiculous compared to the level of support given.

I was having this issue and also posted on this thread. I recently got a bridge and couldn't pair it with Homekit to begin with. I ended up buying a new bridge and no longer received the error. Was a drastic measure but it ended up working.

I have now been dealing with this for two months. They keep having me go in circles trying the same things over and over. They keep trying to tell me that I’m the only one having the connection issue, that no one else anywhere in the world is having problems connecting. Phillips Hue did something to break the connection in the update they sent out in early August. They need to figure out what it was and fix it or roll back the firmware to the one that worked. Apple support was great trying to help me figure it out and also ended up giving up saying it has to be something something on Hues end because they have tried everything. Hue needs to be decertified if they cannot figure this out. I am in the camp of not purchasing any more Phillips hue of anything ever again I can use it in the Phillips app, but it’s just not connecting anymore to HomeKit. It worked fine for several years before the August update. Since their customer service refuses to respond to emails in a timely fashion, it takes a week or two to get a response from them unless you use Facebook messenger and the Facebook messenger people are clueless and just tell me they’ll let me know when they hear back from tech-support. They spent the first four weeks having me go through every single process at least four times everyone needs to just give it up and switch all of their Phillips Hue accessories over to non-hue accessories. Literally everything else in my Apple HomeKit is still working great. It’s only Phillips Hue that refuses to connect. Meaning it has to be something on their end. I just had four new bulbs I had to get and I got meross no issues. Apple I know it’s not your problem, but please either figure it out or decertify them.

I had an issue with Philips Bridge connection to Homekit, apple Homekit was throwing the errors or simply was saying "can`t connect". But next steps helped me:

run Philips HUE app (bridge must be already configured there) -> go to Settings -> Integration -> Homekit -> add your bridge

its helped me to connect

11/10/23

I received a brand new hue Bridge yesterday and tried to sync to my HomeKit but failed... over and over again.

I opened a ticket and spoke with your support team.

It is a known issue and they are aware of the problem.

The hue Bridge will NOT connect to the HomeKit at this time. There is NO update and they "are working hard to find a solution".

The hue Bridge, with the HomeKit logo on the front of the box, should probably not be sold until you can actually connect it to the HomeKit.

So I have to use the hue App to turn on my lights and wait for an update. That is no way to run a business.

My first experience with hue has not been a pleasant one, and am not real comfortable going forward.

FYI getting the new gateway did work. IDK why. I got the xb8 (the xb7 still had the issue according to others) but xfinity sent it to me free bc of the issues with Hue.

@axiao99 did you try to do a factory reset. We have some cases where the configuration in the factory did not go well, which can be solved by doing a factory reset. Else best to contact customer care.

@TheRoost are you enrolled in the Matter beta? As you refer to "matter nightmare".

update- you are theoretically supposed to be able to recombine your networks into the single signal after you get everything online; however, both times I attempted to do this, my homepod no longer connected to my devices so nothing would work again, so I had to re-split the bands and reconnect the homepod to the 2.5 band. Just leave them split off and let your things like computers & ipads use the 5 or 6 band and the homekit devices to use the 2.5 band.

also note, that we never did figure out WHY the old gateway stopped allowing the hue bridge to connect to apple, just that it somehow randomly did stop allowing it after a hue firmware update. I HIGHLY recommend you turn OFF your automatic updates on the Hue bridge to avoid this happening again in the future!!!!!

n update from the other thread here: iOS 16.4.1(a) and Homekit - Philips hue n… - Apple Community

It’s apparantly Hue at fault and they are aware and investigating.