Level 1

64 points

Hue Bridge suddenly not working with Home app

I am running an Apple Home setup with two HomePods (v1), three HomePod minis, an Apple TV 4K (v1), and an Apple TV 4K (v2). My Apple devices are an iPhone 15 Pro, iPad Pro 11" M2, and iPad (9th gen), and MBP 14" M2 Max, as well as an M1 Mac mini running as a Homebridge server to create dummy switches and give me access to my Nest Learning Thermostat. Everything is running the most recent OS/firmware (iOS/tvOS/iPadOS 17). I have an AmpliFi Alien router, and all of my Home devices and bridges have static IP addresses. I have done extensive troubleshooting and can verify that all of my devices are updated and in good working order.

After realizing that my Home app was running in the background and killing my iPhone's battery on my brand new iPhone 15 Pro, I tried tinkering with settings, selectively unpairing devices, and ultimately wound up running the Apple HomeKit reset profile and completely nuking my HomeKit setup with something like 40-50 devices on it. After that, I spend hours trying to get my HomePods updated and initialized, as they kept getting stuck on "Configuring" for hours, and finally had to open a case with Apple Support. Then, as if by miracle, the HomePods started coming online one by one, after not working for nearly 48 hours, and I was able to begin rebuilding my Home setup.

I had just gotten all of my devices linked with HomeKit (a pain because Hue apparently doesn't transmit the names and rooms of the lights to HomeKit anymore) when all of a sudden all of my Hue devices stopped responding. My Hue hub now shows as being disconnected from HomeKit in the Home app, but the lights all work in the Hue app and can be controlled using the Hue dimmer switches. The Hue app says it is connected to Apple Home. I have tried unlinking (losing all the names and locations of the Hue lights and switches in the process) and Hue will stay connected for 15-30 minutes and then disconnect again. I am beyond frustrated at this point. Does anyone have any ideas/solutions? Anyone having the same issue?

Posted on Sep 26, 2023 9:08 PM

Top-ranking reply

arsmatticus Author

Level 1

64 points

Posted on Sep 29, 2023 1:22 AM

I have since solved the issue. Adding the Hue Bridge from the Home app using the HomeKit code on the sticker or from the Hue app directly now adds it as a Matter hub which has connectivity issues and lacks many features such as name and room sync and adaptive lighting. You have to instead tap the button on top and wait for it to appear in the list of devices (it’ll say Hue Bridge-XXXX [insert string of random numbers likely unique to your device], and then scan the code to add to HomeKit. Not as intuitive but crucial.

View in context

Similar questions

58 replies

arsmatticus Author

Level 1

64 points

Nov 26, 2023 8:11 PM in response to Elvgif

Have you tried to factory reset the Hue bridge? I started from scratch each time to reduce the number of unknown variables until I stumbled upon a solution.

arsmatticus Author

Level 1

64 points

Dec 15, 2023 7:47 AM in response to itstheju

Try factory resetting the hub. I had done that before all that.

arsmatticus Author

Level 1

64 points

Sep 30, 2023 2:47 PM in response to Vancouver22

You did not have to rebuild your entire setup on this new architecture, so you have yet to experience this issue. That doesn’t change the fact that the issue exists and had defied my every troubleshooting step until I spent hours adding Hue back in by trial and error and stumbled upon the solution.

I tried adding the Hue Bridge from the Hue app, it quit working within a few minutes. That method no longer works on the new home architecture because it adds it as a Matter device rather than as a native HomeKit device, which has connectivity issues and additionally does not transfer names and rooms nor does it support adaptive lighting. I have already solved my issue by following the steps I outlined in my previous reply and it has worked reliably.

arsmatticus Author

Level 1

64 points

Oct 2, 2023 11:26 AM in response to Robertharpool

I didn't even think there were additional steps to consider, good to know if anything else happens. I actually got a call from Phillips and from Apple Support today to get more information on these issues, so I suspect that this is now a known issue. I suspect I didn't have to take those steps because I had factory reset everything, so I was starting with a completely blank HomeKit setup and a blank Hue bridge. By the by, the Zigbee never went away—that's how the lights talk to the bridge—what happened was Hue was trying to talk to HomeKit over Matter instead of its native HAP (HomeKit Accessory Protocol), and Matter is still pretty half-baked.

I am glad you were able to get back up and running! I only have the one bridge and like 15 lights (I only use them for the old part of the house where the switches don't have neutral wires, everything else is on Kasa switches), and I was pulling my hair out. I do not envy you! You should consider downloading Controller. It backs up all your names, rooms, scenes, and most automations. It's a big time saver (and even then, it took a long while to get all my stuff loaded up in HomeKit and customize notifications across all my different devices).

Oct 4, 2023 12:25 PM in response to arsmatticus

Some sort of power and/or Internet glitch last night made some of our devices offline this morning...notably our thermostats, Wyze cameras, and Philips Hue bulbs. Rebooting the router brought the thermostats back online and some of the cameras. Rebooting the other cameras brought those back online. Restarting the Hue bridge did nothing and neither did turning power to the bulbs off and on.

I could see the bulbs working fine in the Hue app, so I tried removing the bridge from the Home app and re-adding it...but could not.

Tried re-adding from inside the Hue app. Didn't work...but did end up removing all my "not responding" Hue lights from the Home app. Bleh.
Tried in Home app by going to + and "Add Accessory" and scanned the code on the bottom of the Huebridge. Didn't work.
Tried in Home app by going to + and "Add Accessory" and "More options" and it is scanning for some nearby accessory. Pressing the button on the Hue bridge does nothing. Spins and searches forever.
Did a factory reset on the Hue bridge, re-added all 7 active lights, and tried to add to Siri/Homekit from within the Hue app. Didn't work.
Retried steps 2 and 3 after that factory reset. Still not adding.

Saw someone else mentioned removing Matter settings under "iPhone Settings - General - Matter Networks", but I don't have anything Matter-related under General.

Vancouver22

Level 8

37,592 points

Sep 29, 2023 12:57 AM in response to arsmatticus

It might be offline. In the Hue app is it green as “connected”? or red disconnected? If the latter, it’s the wifi. Reboot your router.

Feb 21, 2024 1:09 PM in response to arsmatticus

Switched my Xfinity Modem/router to the new XB8. A few minutes on a chat with Hue and everything is back to working like it should.

dcmoose

Level 1

12 points

Mar 7, 2024 3:56 PM in response to dcmoose

Replaced the modem to the Xb-8 and now I have no issue. Connected like it was supposed to within secs of me firing up the new modem.

niklaes

Level 1

8 points

May 3, 2024 12:52 PM in response to arsmatticus

Hey all!

It has just been solved for me!

Hue bridge firmware was updated, and now i can add the bridge 🤯

arsmatticus Author

Level 1

64 points

Sep 30, 2023 7:14 PM in response to Vancouver22

It’s no fun! Took me hours to add everything back from scratch. I have quite a few “smart” home devices. Controller backups can only restore so much.

Hopefully Apple and Signify will get together and address the issues when their systems interface over Matter instead of HomeKit. But they really should issue documentation letting us know about the differences between adding the Hue hub as a Matter device versus a HomeKit native hub, and which methods do what. If I hadn’t attempted to add the hub various different ways, I suspect I wouldn’t have been able to figure this out since it’s a novel issue.

I also noticed that the Hue bridge really doesn’t like my HomeKit secure router unless I bypass security, which is concerning. I don’t really enjoy my third-party IoT devices having internet access.

Mar 26, 2024 10:03 AM in response to Robertharpool

Yeah that post was vague and understandably upsetting

Tap the button at the top

Of what? lol

Go to the Hue App on your phone and tap Settings in the bottom right corner

Scroll down to Smart home and click Apple Home to add your accessories

Hopefully you have named your lights/accessories well so that you can assign them to the correct rooms

Vancouver22

Level 8

37,592 points

Sep 30, 2023 1:13 PM in response to arsmatticus

Mine is working and didn’t change with the update. The only time I’ve had to add it again by pressing the top is to use the Hue App, when installing the app on a new device. There’s different generations of these bulbs and bridges so it could be that too.

Apart from using to Siri to ask the lights be turned on or off I don’t rely on it to control automations and scenes - the Hue App is far better for that. Or I end up having the wrong colours coming on. The Hue App might need an update from the App Store.

In the Hue App you should ensure it’s linked by going into Settings - Smart Home and making sure Siri & Home is enabled.

Sep 30, 2023 7:07 PM in response to arsmatticus

Could be please be more precise with your wording when you say “You have to instead tap the button on top and wait for it to appear in the list of devices (it’ll say Hue Bridge-XXXX [insert string of random numbers likely unique to your device], and then scan the code to add to HomeKit. Not as intuitive but crucial.”

The button on top of what? The big button on the physical PH bridge? The app? Which app? Apple Home? P.H.? If so, which tab/button?

What list of devices? In Apple Home or PH? Either way, where exactly are you within that app?

Thanks :-)

Vancouver22

Level 8

37,592 points

Oct 2, 2023 12:23 PM in response to arsmatticus

It would have to be an extreme last resort to rebuild from scratch. The ecobee thermostat was not easy to add and once I finally did it was another pain getting it to connect to wifi. HomeKit set up is not for the faint of heart.

Nov 9, 2023 4:19 PM in response to arsmatticus

Same issue, after approx three days I realized HomeKit kicked all of my hue devices off and was initially too lazy too look into it. I have all lighting setup to do sunset to sunrise and now my home looks abandoned. Has anyone figured out a work around on this to date?

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Hue Bridge suddenly not working with Home app