How to Connect and Reconnect Hue bulbs

Check Pricing

Philips Hue bulbs have a few requirements to get them connected to your bridge.

• The bulb will need to be installed in a fixture and powered on. We recommend writing down the serial number on the bulb before installing.
  
• It is recommended that the bulb is not installed in a fixture that has a Dimmer or in a Ceiling fan. These types of fixtures can create connectivity or power issues.
  
• For an initial connection with a new bulb, it is best to install the bulb in a fixture such as a table lamp within a few feet of the bridge for it to be more easily found by the bridge.
  
• It also helps to power off all other Hue lights when trying to add a new bulb to an existing Bridge.
  

Bulb Distance from the Bridge

After a hue bulb has been connected to the bridge, it will need to stay within 40 to 60 feet of the hue bridge. This number can be smaller with interference from walls and other wireless devices. The bulbs do act as repeaters meaning they will chain together creating a mesh network if you keep the bulbs within about 20 feet of each other. This is great because it will allow you to chain bulbs together to get greater distance from the bridge.

How to Add a New Bulb

Open the Hue App and go to Settings > Lights.

Select the plus sign on the top right.

If this is a new light, try pressing Search first and it will start searching for your light. New lights that have never been connected before have a higher chance of being connected through the Search function.

Make certain your bulb is powered on and within range of the bridge while searching, It can take up to 1 minute to finish searching for your bulb and will continue searching after it has found it. Your bulb should flash indicating that it has been found and it will show up on your lights list.

If your Bulb was Not Found

All Philips Hue bulbs have a serial number printed on the side of the bulb. With more recent hue products, the Serial Number can be found on a sticker on the front of the User Manual. There is an Manual search option just above the Auto option in the hue app under Settings > Lights > +. All Philips Hue Serials are a total of 6 characters/numbers. Technically, this is the MAC Address of the bulb.

Hue Bulb Serial Number Locations

• All Hue Bulbs – Printed on the side of the bulb, it will say Serial No.
• Bloom – Silver label on the bottom of the stand
• Iris – Silver label on bottom
• Hue Go – is on a sticker near the power jack
• Hue Lightstrip – On the Zigbee rectangular box along the cord, not the power brick

Below is an example of where the serial number is on a Hue A19 White & Color bulb. The number 6M5 is the Manufacturing Date Code.

If your Bulb still Didn’t Connect

The last step to try if your hue bulb or light still does not connect is Lamp Finder. This is a MAC or Windows 7/8 Java application that does better at connecting hue lights. Follow the link below to get your lights connected.