Hi Hue developers, Please read the following statement on the Friends of Hue program / blocking 3rd party bulbs. ------------------- Added 21 Dec 2015 - 18.00 The rollout is now completed worldwide. For details please see here: http://www.developers.meethue.com/documentation/3rd-parties-and-homekit ------------- Added 17 Dec 2015 - 20.03 Thank you for your feedback. We will be ready soon to roll out the reversal of the software upgrade for Philips Hue. We start in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands tomorrow, 18 December. Worldwide roll out will be completed by end of day Monday, 21 December. To install the new software, just start your Philips Hue app and follow the “New Software Update” notification in the main menu. It may take some time before the update is available in your region. To force your system to fetch the new software please unpower and repower your bridge. ------------- Added 16 Dec 2015 - 10.30 We recently upgraded the software for Philips Hue to ensure the best seamless connected lighting experience for our customers. This change was made in good faith. However, we under estimated the impact this would have on a small number of customers who use lights from other brands which could not be controlled by the Philips Hue software. In view of the sentiment expressed by our customers, we have decided to reverse the software upgrade so that lights from other brands continue to work as they did before with the Philips Hue system. We are working on the reversal of the upgrade and will shortly confirm when this will be available. Philips remains committed to providing our customers with the best possible connected lighting experience. That is why we launched the Friends of Hue partnership program to test and certify that products and platforms from other brands work seamlessly with Philips Hue. Customers using uncertified lights may continue to have the same incompatibility issues as before, such as lights not dimming to off, creating the right colors or scene experience. Philips welcomes other brands to join as Friends of Hue so that we can work together to ensure seamless and great lighting experiences. ------------- Added 16 Dec 2015 - 13.30 Q. Why have you reversed your strategy? We underestimated the impact this would have upon the small number of our customers who currently use uncertified lights from other brands in the Philips Hue system. We have decided to continue to enable our customers who wish to integrate these uncertified products within their Philips Hue system. Q When will the software upgrade be reversed? We are currently finalizing a new software upgrade and will let you know shortly when this will be available. Q: How will you ensure compatibility with untested products? Building an interoperable and future proof system like Philips Hue requires us to continually add functionality. This means we must put products from other brands under continuous tests and upgrades. We do this through our Friends of Hue partnership program, which enables us to certify and ensure compatibility with Philips Hue. We will not actively block them and will continue to rely on the level of compatibility offered by ZigBee certification. Q: What specific compatibility issues will remain after the roll back? All compatibility issues that were present previously will remain, such as lights not dimming to off, creating the right colors or scene experience. Compatibility issues may arise as new products and features become available that are not Friends of Hue. Q: How can customers get back to their old situation? Once rolled out, our customers will be prompted to install the new firmware via the Philips Hue app. For lights that have compatibility issues with Philips Hue scenes, the user may have to edit and re-save the scene in the Philips Hue app to regain the old functionality. If these scenes are used with our physical switches the newly saved scene will need to be configured for use. More information will follow as soon as it becomes available. Hue Developers Support - Niek
Philips has announced it is to issue an update to its Hue lighting hub that reverses the move to intentionally scupper third-party lightbulbs, following consumer pressure. The company also announced Philips Hue" certification programme for third-party suppliers to ensure full compatibility. Philips said that it "underestimated the impact [the change] would have upon the small number of our customers who currently use uncertified lights from other brands in the Philips Hue system."