FabianBack in February 2023, I published an article with the headline “Philips Hue soon only usable with an account? Today another news follows, where I unfortunately have to leave out the question mark in the headline. As Philips Hue has now confirmed, the use of the system will soon only be possible with an account.
A corresponding notice has already appeared on the start page of the Hue app for some users:
When asked about this, Philips Hue responded in a statement on Twitter as follows:
Hello, thanks for reaching out. Believe us, this change can only benefit the users, when it comes to security. Soon it will indeed be mandatory to have a Hue account in order to control the lights.
In other comments, Philips Hue states that after signing up with an account, the system will run without an active internet connection. The collected account data will not be sold to third parties and marketing emails will only be sent after consent.
More information on the Hue website
On the Philips Hue website you can find more information about the topic. Among other things, it explains the different user permissions, which is interesting especially in combination with the new Hue Secure System.
I've always used a Hue account
Personally, this announcement does not bother me. I have been using my Philips Hue system with an account since the beginning, because this is the only way that remote control is possible in addition to local control. I have often switched off forgotten lights on the go. This is a comfort and also a safety extra that I don't want to miss.
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Hopefully multiple bridges will be supported? It is currently a pain to have multiple accounts just to have multiple bridges.
I run 3 bridges in my house. Previously I was able to switch my account between any of the three bridges (so I can have access when not home) by simply logging out from one and logging into another one. Not anymore. Now, if I try to log out of the bridge a warning message appears saying, that if I just log out (not delete account), bridge will be deleted from the Hue app, together with all the rooms, zones, scenes and lights!!! It is now impossible to change which bridge is controllable when not home, while it’s still also impossible to have multiple bridges under the same account. Thanks Phillips!
This is really bad news. While I understand most users don’t care and are fine being forced to create an account, think about what will happen next… Whenever Lightify decides that your bridge isn’t supported anymore because they want to sell the new version, they can simply issue a statement stating that the online service will not support the connection to that bridge anymore at the end of the year, and all customers have to go out and buy a new product if they want to be able to have their lights work.
This also means their product doesn’t work anymore for scenarios without Internet connectivity at all, and cannot be used when the ability to work only locally with no dependency on online services is mandatory.
They should make the online account a benefit, not a liability.
As someone who has an online account that doesn’t work properly since 2 years with no fix besides the usual “please try again later”, I’m really uncomfortable with that change.
I have been using Hue for years offline and locally. I don’t like the idea of having devices in my home network to be accessible from the internet that I don’t maintain. Something as stupid and simple as controlling the lights in my house is one of them.
Better yet, I have automated this in a way along with Home Assistant, that I almost never touch any switches in my house for controlling lights.
I disliked the way Hue has been forcing me to update my bridge via the app, but now I hate that I need an online account to do basic things such as adding a light.
There is not any good reason why Hue forces me to have an account or anyone else who only want to use their bridge offline.
I agree. I strongly object to having to provide personal information to an outsider in order to switch the lights on in my own home.
I also have 3 bridges and wonder how this will work with one account? I dosent work today.
This is a big mistake.
Hue will lose some of thier most vocal proponents if they pull the rug on us.
The openness of the hie bridge protocol is what keeps me buying hue products.
Take that away and I’ll happily spend less on Chinese products with similar functionality.
i wonder if that is possible. i bought the product because it is possible to use it without an account. now they just change that. i dont want them to collect data. the are assuring that they dont give that to third party (for now). i dont need the remote features and its easy for me to define who is able to connect to my nerwork so security is an argument for me.
Have they thought about us with multiple bridges? i have 4 in my house. But I would love to see a solution that I would need only one bridge. Or at least that you can use same account to more bridges.
That’s my biggest problem. Juggling multiple bridges with limited (when not on my wi-fi) access, not being able to use sensors on one bridge with lights on another bridge, not being able to do a bridge backup… It looks to me like Hue thinks their customers are mostly “young and trendy” (like in their ads) who have a couple of lights in the TV area and maybe a couple in their bedroom, in their one bedroom apartments. They completely ignore people like us, basically their best and most loyal customers, who are running multiple bridges and who already spent and keep spending thousands on their products. thousands
Was able to return most of my hue products. Completely eliminating that ecosystem.
I have used Hue lights for years and one of the main draws was that it didn’t require any “phone home” nonsense. These companies don’t care for security, it is an after thought. Philips is implementing this in the name of “better security”. Tell me Philips, what security benefits does having a centralized DB of accounts stored on the Internet hold for the customer? Previously I didn’t expose my lights to the internet, meaning they weren’t a security risk. Now my data is going to be on the cloud, a perfect honeypot for hackers. Thanks Philips.
Another point, will Philips use this to allow the roll out of planned obsolescence. Meaning if they want all customers to upgrade their bridge because they need more revenue, they can push an update to each account. Forcing customers to run out to buy the new bridge in order to continue being able to use their lights. Previously I had to manually update my bridge and wouldn’t only do so if it was a major bug/feature.
Not happy. There are zero benefits for the customer here.