An official Philips Hue firmware update that began rolling out on June 4, 2026 could leave a Hue Bridge Pro smart-home hub in an unrecoverable state,[1] unresponsive, showing only a red status LED that a reset does not fix.[2] Signify, the maker of the Philips Hue line,[3] said fewer than 100 Bridge Pro devices worldwide were affected,[4][5] fixed the bug in firmware version 2071401010 on July 13, 2026,[1] & is replacing affected hubs free of charge, regardless of warranty status.[4] Because the Bridge Pro has no configuration backup, each free replacement arrives blank, & the owner must re-pair every light & rebuild every scene by hand.[6]
Background
The Hue Bridge Pro is the smart-home hub of a Philips Hue lighting system; Signify announced it on September 4, 2025 as our next generation Hue smart hub.[1] The lights, switches, and accessories pair to the hub, and the Hue app controls them through it.[7] Signify uses the Philips name for the Hue line under a brand license from Royal Philips,[3] and the hub's firmware changelog is published under the Signify Holding name.[1]
Firmware update and bricking
Signify issues Bridge Pro firmware updates roughly once a month.[8] The faulty release was Bridge Pro software version 2071353020, which Signify began rolling out on June 4, 2026 and described in its release notes only as several small changes behind the scenes to make your Hue Bridge Pro work even better.[1] Through late June, owners who had installed it said the hub becomes unresponsive and only displays a red status LED.[2] A reset did not recover the unit. Hueblog reported that the Bridge Pro was left so inoperable that even a reset no longer helps, and that the control hub had to be replaced under warranty.[2]
Scale
In a statement to Ars Technica that TechRadar reproduced, Signify said its data showed fewer than 100 Philips Hue Bridge Pro devices have been impacted.[4] Hueblog reported the same count on July 1, 2026, putting the number of affected Bridge Pro units below 100 worldwide,[5] and 9to5Google reported fewer than 100 as well.[9]
Root cause
Signify told Ars Technica that the failure was limited to one update path:
The issue affects users who disabled automatic software updates, remained on an older software version for an extended period, and then manually installed a firmware update after the update package had been stored on the Bridge for more than 10 days.
Signify said it did not have more information on why the failure occurred.[6]
No configuration backup
The Bridge Pro has no way to save or restore its configuration, so the free replacement does not undo the disruption. TechMyMoney reported:
The Hue Bridge Pro has no backup or restore function, so a replacement arrives blank. Every light, switch, sensor, scene, schedule, and third-party integration must be rebuilt by hand.
At capacity, the Bridge Pro pairs up to 150 lights & 50 accessories, all of which must be set up again on the new hub,[10] and Notebookcheck estimated that rebuilding a large installation, including every scene & third-party integration, can take several hours.[7]
Signify's response and replacement program
Signify offered to replace every affected hub at no cost. In its statement to Ars Technica, the company said:
We will replace affected Philips Hue Bridge Pro devices free of charge, regardless of warranty status.
Owners of a dead hub were told to contact the Philips Hue support team to arrange a swap, and the company did not condition the replacement on proof of purchase or warranty.[10][6] While the fix rolled out, Signify recommended that owners who had disabled automatic updates hold off on manual updates until the new firmware was installed.[5]
On July 13, 2026 Signify published the corrective firmware, Bridge Pro software version 2071401010, with the release note:
Resolved an issue that could cause the Bridge Pro to enter an unrecoverable state when automatic updates had been disabled for an extended period and a pending update was started manually.
Hueblog and 9to5Google confirmed the fix firmware rolling out over the following days.[8][9]
See also
- Philips Hue starts requiring an account for the Hue app
- Philips Hue: MotionAwareTM
- Discontinuation bricking
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Signify. "Bridge Pro release notes". Philips Hue. Archived from the original on 2026-07-24. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fabian (2026-06-29). "Firmware Update May Cause the Hue Bridge Pro to Stop Working". Hueblog. Archived from the original on 2026-07-24. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Signify (April 2023). "Philips Hue Privacy Notice". Philips Hue. Archived from the original on 2026-07-17. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Alex Blake (2026-07-13). "Philips Hue promises free Bridge Pro replacements after a rogue update bricked its devices". TechRadar. Archived from the original on 2026-07-24. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Fabian (2026-07-01). "Philips Hue Addresses Faulty Firmware Update". Hueblog. Archived from the original on 2026-07-22. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Michael John-Anyaehie (2026-07-11). "Philips Will Replace Hue Bridge Pro Hubs Bricked by a Bad Update for Free". Tech My Money. Archived from the original on 2026-07-24. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hannes Brecher (2026-06-29). "Philips Hue Bridge Pro may become inoperable after latest update". Notebookcheck. Archived from the original on 2026-07-24. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Fabian (2026-07-14). "Philips Hue Fixes Hue Bridge Pro Update Bug". Hueblog. Archived from the original on 2026-07-24. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ben Schoon (2026-07-14). "Philips Hue Bridge Pro update seems to be breaking the hub, taking lights down with it". 9to5Google. Archived from the original on 2026-07-24. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Jackson Chen (2026-07-11). "Philips offers free replacements after update bricked smart lighting hubs". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2026-07-24. Retrieved 2026-07-24.