Philips Hue Festavia string light suitable for outdoor use after all?

Since the announcement of the new Philips Hue string light Festavia on Thursday, more and more details have come to light. Among other things, I have already compared the new release with the well-known Twinkly string light. One point that bothered me a lot: Philips Hue Festavia (Online-Shop) is only suitable for indoor use. But is that really the case? I went in search of clues.

Hue string light based on the low-voltage system for the garden

The thing is not quite clear – and that starts with the power supply unit and the connectors. Here, exactly the same parts and plugs are used that we know from the low-voltage system for the garden. At the official presentation, I was told that the reason for this decision was that you can use a T-piece and operate two string lights on one power supply.

The number of people who use two string lights intended for trees around 2.10 metres tall in an indoor space is probably close to zero. It makes much more sense to connect other outdoor light sources, such as an outdoor light strip or a Lily Spot, in addition to the string light. For an indoor string light that consumes 16 to 17 watts, Philips Hue would never have had to use a 40-watt outdoor power supply. Instead, the universal plug that we know from Play Lightbar, Lightstrip and the many other products would have been suitable.

The thing with the sticker on the power supply and controller

And if you take a closer look at the power supply included with the Philips Hue Festavia string light, you will quite quickly discover a sticker there that draws attention to indoor use. If you peel off the sticker, you will discover the normal print of the outdoor power supply with IP67 certification.

But there is a sticker not only on the power supply unit, but also on the controller. Here, too, it says: IP20 – indoor use only. If you peel off the sticker, however, you discover interesting information. “For Indoor And Outdoor Use. LEDS IP44, RF-Box IP66”.

The marketing material is also clear

But that's still not all the clues Philips Hue has given us along the way. When the string light was announced on Thursday, the official website featured the following image, which has since been replaced:

Pretty clearly the fairy lights are placed outdoors here. It is also strange that the picture was changed within a short time.

Indoor or outdoor? Philips Hue has run out of time

There is no doubt that Philips Hue absolutely wanted – or rather had to – launch the string light in November. And apparently they were extremely short of time, because otherwise they could have presented the Festavia quite relaxed in September together with the other new stuff.

My guess is that Philips Hue simply ran out of time in the end to be able to say with certainty that rain, snow and ice cannot harm the string light. In order to be able to bring them onto the market before Christmas this year, the outdoor suitability was dropped for the time being.

Outdoor use at your own risk

As far as the guarantee and warranty are concerned, what the manufacturer states currently applies. And that is currently the fact that the Philips Hue Festavia string light is not suitable for outdoor use. Should you still use it outdoors and it comes to a damage, it is quite possible that you will be denied warranty or guarantee. At this point, I cannot officially advise you to use the Philips Hue string light outdoors…