FabianIn summer 2018, Philips Hue launched its low-voltage outdoor series. Starting with Calla and Lily, the portfolio has now grown to dozens of different products, even the officially indoor-only Hue Festavia light chain uses the same cables and connectors.
But it is precisely with these cables and connectors that Philips Hue seems to have at least minor problems with quality. I was hit with another defect this week. After an outdoor light strip with rusted contacts gave up the ghost a little more than a year ago, it was now a single cable of my outdoor installation that suffered a defect. Fortunately, I was able to identify the fault quickly and only had to replace a single cable.
Hue outdoor cables are difficult to disconnect again
It doesn't necessarily have to come to a defect, there are also completely different problems. Have you ever tried to disconnect a cable of the Hue Outdoor System after two or three years? What was simply screwed shut during installation can often only be opened again with force and tools.
I assume that Philips Hue is aware of the problems. Only a few days ago I read a support statement that new T-connectors are no longer compatible with old cables. I have not been able to verify this yet.
Anyway, the situation is a dilemma. If you don't improve the connection, there will be problems in the outdoor area in the future. But introducing improved connectors would possibly mean that older hardware is no longer compatible.
Mel
One of my calla socket lamps started flickering, after investigating the issue is corrosion on the power plug connectors. When opening up, the connector shows green, and one of the pins broke. I checked all connectors and found that most of my power plugs have the same issue across multiple lamps, both for wires lying on the ground, or fixed about 1 metre above it on the wall. As Philips advertises this as an IP65 certified system, I complained with their customer service. After three months of silence, and another compliant, they simply stated this is a defect of regular use, and not covered after your guarantee expires. Very very bad service for such an expensive product.
Insane…
I have had an issue with pins breaking while having to disconnect some old power supplies and replacing them (product recall on the power supplies – their response basically bad luck and wouldn’t do anything about the cable). I broke the male to male cable that comes with a base unit. The connectors are crap for the price you pay.