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arsmatticus Author

Level 1

39 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

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arsmatticus Author

Level 1

39 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.

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58 replies

Oct 5, 2023 7:21 AM in response to PDelahanty

Seems that u did a thorough job, so I don't have much to suggest ... other than to perhaps make certain ur PH bridge is plugged directly into ur router (vs a ethernet hub that connects to ur router). After setup u can move it back.

Other things I did, though I have no evidence they were necessary, were to log out of the PH app, completely delete it, restart phone, reinstall PH from Apple Store and re-add the hub locally (w/o signing in). I feel, however, you've already tried this.

I can't imagine it being a hardware issue since you imply that the bridge is working properly within the PH app ... it's just the sync to Apple Home that's screwy.

Oh!! here's another idea I also did that might work for you! ... on your iPhone, go to Settings - Privacy & Security - HomeKit and toggle off Hue. Then restart your phone, go back into that setting and turn Hue back on.

That's the best I got. Good Luck :-)

Nov 6, 2023 12:07 PM in response to arsmatticus

Arsmatticus' solution worked for me. First, I had to remove the hub from both the Home app and the Phillips Hue app. Then, after selecting the bridge under "More Options", I had to manually enter the HK code on the back of the hub.

And here I had hoped using the new architecture would resolve things like this.

Elvgif

Level 1

8 points

Nov 14, 2023 1:24 PM in response to arsmatticus

Thanks for making that detailed guide, however I think I’m stuck.

1) deleted bridge from home app

2) deleted bridge from matter accessories in settings > general

3) when trying to add accessory in home, I select more options and then there’s just an infinite loading screen. I press the button on top of the bridge and nothing’s happening.

I know it should show up as a device to connect to via homekit but it’s not happening, any suggestions or idea?

Dec 29, 2023 5:13 PM in response to arsmatticus

Wow. Even after an apology, you’re grumpy. I guess you have to just embrace the fact that you’re grumpy. I hereby retract my wishes for a Happy New Year and wish you an Irritation Free New Year and that you don’t have to deal with any more incompetents like myself.

Sean S

Level 1

65 points

Jan 16, 2024 10:24 AM in response to PMMad1969

Do you happen to have an Xfinity router? Spoke to Hue support and it is an issue with Xfinity routers. Hue bridge can’t be seen when trying to add to HomeKit. Their developers are working on a solution.

dcmoose

Level 1

12 points

Mar 1, 2024 4:22 PM in response to Accountucator

Ive been dealing with this for 3 weeks. I’ve tore down my my whole HomeKit to ground. I’m going to be relieved and angry if all it’s going to take is swapping my router from Xfinity. I have the XB-7 right now, they are sending me the XB-8. Fingers crossed this works. I’ll update it when i get it.

arsmatticus Author

Level 1

39 points

Sep 30, 2023 7:18 PM in response to Robertharpool

Go in the Apple Home app and use the add device button (plus sign). Instead of scanning the code on the bottom of the Hue bridge or adding it from the Hue app, you need to select “More options” while standing near the Hue bridge and then tap on the big white button on top of the Hue bridge. When I did this, it then appeared under “Nearby.” Do not—I repeat, do not—select the Hue Bridge under Matter devices, this will not work well, will not preserve your bulbs’ names or locations, and will not support adaptive lighting. Instead, wait until the one with the string of numbers appears.

arsmatticus Author

Level 1

39 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.

Vancouver22

Level 8

36,776 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?

Dec 2, 2023 3:22 AM in response to arsmatticus

Thanks for this. I am having the same issue and it is super frustrating as you know. When you say tap the button (on the hue bridge) and wait for it to be displayed… where will it be displayed?

thank you

itstheju

Level 1

9 points

Dec 12, 2023 9:53 PM in response to arsmatticus

I followed these steps after unlinking the HomeKit in the Hue app and also removing the Hue Bridge from the HomeKit, but it still doesn’t work. My setup worked perfectly fine until iOS 17.2 was installed on my iPhone Monday night. I don’t show any updates available on my HomePod minis, so they should be up to date as well. (Also made sure to NOT select the Matter option.) I think Apple screwed the pooch on this one. Any other suggestions? ):

Dec 29, 2023 1:09 PM in response to arsmatticus

Could you be a little more descriptive of the process, please. For instance - tap which button on top of what? Not sure what “button” you’re referring to. Thank you kindly. I am going mad trying to get this thing to work.

arsmatticus Author

Level 1

39 points

Dec 29, 2023 1:41 PM in response to fernandofromalbuquerque

I hate to be mean, but this has been addressed multiple times in this thread. Factory reset your hue hub in the hue app, and for good measure use the pinhole reset button on the hub itself, then reset everything up in the Hue App. Add all your lights and switches as you want them to be named in HomeKit, etc. Then ensure the Hue hub is removed in the Apple Home app and then select the “+” in the top right, “Add Accessory” and then tap on “More Options.” Then tap the white button on top of the Hue hub and wait for it to show up on the Home app. It will have a string of numbers in it. DO NOT select the Hue bridge you see under Matter devices. Type in the HomeKit pairing code from the sticker on the Hue hub when prompted and make sure all your accessories are named correctly and placed in the right rooms. The reason you are doing it this way is that Matter doesn’t support names of devices or adaptive lighting—it will have limited functionality. You want HAP (HomeKit Accessory Protocol) not Matter, for now.

Best of luck, and next time please take the time to read the entire thread before asking a question that’s been answered already.

Dec 29, 2023 3:09 PM in response to arsmatticus

Ah. Apologies for not reading through the thread thoroughly. It was kind of hard to follow, actually, but I finally got things working and then had to walk around like a madman through 3200sq.ft. trying to figure out which bulb I needed to identify, label it and place it in the correct room of the house. Pretty sure I put in my 10K steps for the day. Anyway - the solution that worked for me was connecting the hue bridge to my router rather than into the modem. It was instantly *problem solved* as far as Apple Home finding the bridge.

I didn’t sense “meanness” in your reply - just mild grumpiness, which is a lot better than what I’ve been feeling towards both Philips and Apple. Anyway - thanks for the quick reply, and Happy New Year!

Hue Bridge suddenly not working with Home app