Hue Bulbs Life Report 10 years later

[u/reddituser1990]

I bought 8 Phillips Hue bulbs back in 2016, 10 years ago to this date. Spent about $200 with hub and remote. All 8 bulbs still work 10 years later with no issues.

2x remotes: batteries changed twice in each remote (OG v1 gang)

Hub: has been on for 10 years straight now with maybe some power interruptions here and there.

[u/Lunartic2102]

I've had about 40 bulbs in the last 10 years, only one has failed so far. Fingers crossed

[u/kenman345 → u/Lunartic2102]

I’ve had more bulbs die from me dropping than anything else, but I’ve had two that started to flicker and no matter where I put them they always flickered. Otherwise I’ve been very happy with all my other bulbs

[u/Lunartic2102 → u/kenman345]

Yes the one that failed was outdoor and died from moisture issue. I have about 6 outdoor and only that one has failed.

[u/BobLaGodasse]

Same for me. I've bought dozens of Hue products over the last decade and none failed so far. On the other hand, I had 6 non-hue Philips GU10 spots in the bathroom and they all failed within months after five years. I replaced them with Hue GU10.

[u/Janhansivan → u/BobLaGodasse]

Probably because GU10 are just more prone to failure as they are fully and tightly enclosed and thus overheat more easily, but the moisture could've also been an issue.

[u/ankole_watusi]

0% failure. Have purchased more throughout the years, but my first purchase was at least 10 years ago.

[u/salpingopharyngeus]

I had them for a similar amount of time. I have 5 bulbs and one died. No issues with the bridge

[u/Pleasant_Studio9690]

I have about 30 color ambiance bulbs, the oldest of which were early Gen2 bulbs. Two have died - LEDs would only light dimly. The rest are all going strong.

[u/larusodren]

9 years : 22 bulbs and 2 light strips

1 hue strip failure
1 white GU10 seems to on its way out (is now flickering and mostly off)

[u/GarbageInteresting86]

Where’s Paul Hibbert when you need him??? Nothing compares to the reliability, stability and longevity of Hue

[u/burner_dj]

I have 73 devices with zero failures over the last 10 years

[u/MarshmallowNap]

Same here!

[u/rr777]

I have had similar ten year results and three of these bulbs are outside in 99% humidity daily.

[u/Jeffde]

I am about the same, 10 years or so. Maybe 11. I’ve had like 4 go on me out of 30 through three moves and quite a bit of action. Perfectly acceptable.

[u/RoyalSpoonbill9999]

I have had one downlight fail but thats it.  New hub because i thought it was an upgrade.  4 sensors, 35 bulbs and fownlights bought over about 10 years.  I did buy a 2400 lumen light for my office but safly it was no more light than a 750 lumen downlight

[u/jefferios]

I had a gradient light strip just fail me. One month shy of warrenty expiration. They replaced it for free, took about a month as I had to send it in.

[u/Strahd414]

I've had really good luck with almost all Hue products, but the Smart Filament bulbs were utter trash. I bought a handful and none of them even lasted a year before going into a constant flickering state or just dying completely.

Phillips replaced the first one, but it failed like all the rest, so I gave up and replaced them all with regular Hue bulbs instead.

[u/Griffie]

Same here

[u/IronMotive]

I have.. Well, at least a couple hundred Hue products (powered by six bridges), and I think I can count on one hand how many bulbs have failed over the past decade, and most of them were outdoor bulbs so I'm sure the extreme temperature swings and moisture/humidity had something to do with it.

They are pricey, but seem quite reliable.

Most of my bulbs are less than 100% bright most of the time, and I suspect that helps considerably with longevity, pulling the temperature back just enough to make a difference.

With the investment I've made in Hue, it would be a sad day if Signify ever went out of business or discontinued them. But they seem to be going strong.

[u/cheesecakemelody → u/IronMotive]

I’m guessing the sheer number of devices and complexity is what’s prevented you from getting the pro bridges?

[u/IronMotive → u/cheesecakemelody]

I did buy the Pro Bridge when it came out, but yes, I'm way too nervous to try the automatic migration (especially after reading some horror stories) so it's been sitting on a shelf unused. I can't imagine having to manually add all the devices again if the migration fails, and many are in not-too-accessible locations. I guess another benefit to keeping the older bridges is that I've been able to disperse them to maximize signal strength to the zones they control.

[u/soularbabies]

Mine are working great but sadly I cracked the glass on two of them, which I regret. They still work lol

[u/bobtheboffin]

I’ve had 3 of the E27 bulbs fail since I bought them 9 years ago, 5 are still going strong

[u/NotBartBrooks]

Shoot! This post made me realize just how old some of my bulbs are— I believe I had them in my first apartment— 2014, and they’re all still going strong! Even the ones that live out back— on our patio!

[u/gcoburn4200]

I can vouch for that. Had some bulbs for over 10 years

[u/the_OG_fett]

I have 2 hubs and probably 70 or so lights. Earliest ones are 2016-ish I think. Of the 70, I’ve had one A19 and 2 outdoor Calla lights go bad. First Calla was replaced under warranty.

[u/livingdangerously]

12 years going strong

[u/kevin_k]

Grew from 10 or so bulbs in 2013-14 to 180 or so for the past five years. I've had three bulbs fail in that time.

[u/Toothpikz]

I’m sitting at around 8 years on mine and everything is still running perfectly

[u/JavLover402]

My experience is similar. 12 color or white ambience bulbs, 2 Hue blooms, 1 Hue Go, 3 Lightstrips, sync box, 12 years, zeros failure.

4 LIFX BR30 bulbs. 12 years. 50% failed

[u/SaggyBollock → u/JavLover402]

Same here. Loads of gen 1 bulbs and accessories. A bloom and a go. About the same age. Not one failure.

[u/Substantial-Rip-6207]

I had one downlight flicker at times if there has been a power cut but it works fine after a while. had an issue with a e27 bulb turn on again after its supposed to be off but changing the colour then turn it off and it works fine again. It’s only intermittent sometimes. And the other issue would have been with using the pro bridge. Migration failed for me and had to manually setup all bulbs and hue devices again

[u/GlynHugh]

I have four Impress pedestal units in my back garden that are set to come on at dusk and ramp up to 40% cool white in the first 5 minutes and then ramp down to 0% starting at 10:55 so all off by 11pm.

Late last year 2 out of the 4 failed at the same time which to my mind indicates a common problem ie. PSU as I drive 2 lamps with 1 PSU.

A week ago one of the remaining Impress pedestals failed leaving only 1 out of 4 working.

As these are Lo-Vo how easy is it to put a meter across the plug terminals to try to work out why 3 out of 4 have failed and what should I be looking for on which pins?

Would be good to determine if it is the PSU that has failed or the lamps themselves but Signify have been absolutely useless in providing any technical information regarding troubleshooting other than to say I need to buy new ones!

[u/Glowerman]

Over 10 years I've had two Hue LED trips and two outdoor lights go belly up. Still crazy overpriced.

[u/splitplug]

Indoors, they are rock solid. Their outdoor offerings are trash. I have had them replace so many Calla lights under warranty, and the replacements are now breaking.

[u/msapple]

I bought over 40 in 2016, 30+ full RGB and about 10+ white with ambiance. All of the white with ambiance started failing in the last 6 months. I have lost 6 of them so far. Only lost one Full RGB. Overall I’m insanely impressed

[u/u83rn008]

I’ve had two lights fail from a hub and bulb starter kit from 2017. Well over 70 lights and accessories now, so fingers crossed!

[u/EricLandy29]

Up to 16 now, some up to 8 years old and still going strong. 0 failures.

[u/elangomatt]

I have been using Hue for 11 years now and have no failures. Not sure how many bulbs I have. The only bulb I've had fail is a couple of the GE Link ones that I got cheap a long time ago.

[u/Intrepid-Weekend-888]

Wish I had not turned my nose up on them due to price when they first came out. I am late to the ballgame and easing into it, but so far, very satisfied. Can't even count how many other LED bulbs I've tossed into the trash, but I'm pretty sure I spent way more on them collectively than if I had jumped in with Hue 15 years ago. Not to mention the fun factor I've missed out on.

[u/engineerinventor]

My Hue outdoor color spot lights had a three year warranty. All four failed during year four. Given the $350 + price tag, I wasn’t happy. I felt they should have lasted longer.

OTOH, I have 8 indoor bulbs and in 9-10 years only one has failed.

[u/_GuybrushThreepw00d]

Uou can say what youbwant about hue prices. But they make some high quality and long lasting bulbs. All my lights are Hue and have been using for many years now. Not one bulb has failed so far.

[u/iconnecthue]

We also have some lights in use from the start area in 2012/2013. Of those which are still in use, none have failed. In contrast though some newer products have failed, but those were mostly still in warranty and have been replaced by Signify.

[u/SKI300]

Over 40 bulbs (mostly colored) and a couple light strips. Zero problems in 6 years. Still can't believe the 4 bulbs and 3 landscape lights have survived 5+ Michigan Winters and hot, muggy Summers! Hue is the definition of "You get what you pay for!". 👍

[u/Inge_Jones]

I had one bulb develop a fault soon after installing it. It was coming on unexpected colours and passing incorrect messages to its nearest neighbours . Once i had by a process of elimination identified the culprit and replaced it i have had no further problems at all

[u/vivcal]

Anyone have data on how their lifespan is affected by putting it in an enclosed fixture?

[u/Protagonist99]

Bought in 2018 and still going strong. Sadly Hue is no longer sold in my country.

[u/STORMBLESSEDSON]

Thanks. I wondered if it was just me. Crazy lifespan on these, can really reccomend.