FabianA community post by Jenaih brought a rather interesting story to my attention. He writes in his comment: “Am I the only one who noticed that the effects Candle, Fireplace and Prism also run on Hue lamps without Bluetooth?” I can now answer this question with a partially “yes”.
But let's start from the beginning. When Philips Hue introduced the new effects in the first quarter of 2022, they let us know: “The effects are only compatible with Philips Hue products that support both Zigbee and Bluetooth.” That's basically all products launched since summer 2019.
“I still have older lamps without Bluetooth and can now activate them,” writes Jenaih. That's exactly what I can confirm now – but apparently the change doesn't affect all Hue lamps that have come onto the market so far either.
Hue lamps already received an update in July
In a small test, I was able to successfully activate the effects on older E27 and E14 bulbs. On a much newer Hue Ensis and a very old Lightstrip, however, it did not work. I could not recognise a specific pattern.
What is behind all this? Already on 26 July there is an entry in the release notes of Philips Hue, it says: “Added support for effects on platform versions 100b-10c and 100b-10f”. You can find out which hardware platform your individual lamps have in the lamp info in the settings of the Hue app.
It is also important to know that the candle effect works on all Hue lamps, including a Hue White. The fireplace effect requires at least one White Ambiance lamp. The new Prism effect requires coloured lamps.
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Wish they would roll this out for outdoor lights, my older Hue Lily’s do not have this option. Whilst my newer ones do, it doesn’t look right when only half of the lights work.