How to Reset Philips Hue bulbs (with and without a bridge)

There are times when you have a hue bulb that may not connect or your wish to reset, this could be a used bulb you have bought, or perhaps moving between bridges.

Here’s how you reset your hue bulbs, with and without a Philips Hue Bridge.

How to reset a Philips Hue smart bulb

If you have a Philips Hue Bridge, then using this is the easiest way to reset your bulbs.

Before we begin it is important to identify your bulb’s serial number. The bulb serial numbers can usually be found on the bulb itself or the connector, for light strips it can also be found on the strip itself. 

1. Using the Hue App, tap the menu button (three dots, top right),
2. Choose Light setup. Select the “i” icon next to the bulb or light you want to reset, then tap Delete.
3. The device gets forgotten by the app, and is ready to be added again or used in a completely different system.

How Do I Reset Philips Hue Bulb Without Bridge?

If you do not have a Hue bridge then you can remote the bulbs using your Echo Plus or via any Zigbee smart enabled device you may have. Using the Alexa app you can reset by tapping on Devices; choose the room group, then the bulb, then the settings cog (top-right), then the trash/delete icon to remove.

If the Hue light you are trying to reset has Bluetooth you can connect to this via the ‘Hue Bluetooth app’, this is different to the main Hue app.

Reset Hue bulbs with a dimmer switch

If you have a Philips Hue dimmer switch, you can reset your bulbs easily using this physical switch without the need for a Hue bridge. Follow these steps to reset:

1. Turn on the bulb
2. Hold the dimmer switch close to the bulb or zigbee module
3. Press and hold the power on and power off buttons for 10 seconds (power on and scene selection buttons on the new dimmer) until the bulb flashes.
4. It’s now reset to its default factory state.

This method can be used on Hue bulbs and also light strips and lamps just hold the dimmer close to the zigbee module on the lamps and not the bulb itself. 

You can pair a Hue switch directly with a bulb. Again, hold the switch within a few inches of the bulb and press and hold the power button. The switch’s LED will blink, and the bulb will blink. You can now toggle the power, adjust brightness and change the colour/temperature of the bulb using the switch’s buttons.

How to delete a single Hue light

1. Open the Hue smartphone app
2. From the home screen, tap on the icon with three dots in the top-right
3. Tap on Light setup
4. Tap on the light you want to delete, or swipe it to the left
5. Tap Delete

How to factory reset your Philips Hue Bridge

If you are selling your hue bridge or need to restore to factory settings then you can reset your Hue bridge with these following steps.

1. Remove the Ethernet cable from your Hue Bridge
2. Turn over your Hue Bridge
3. Locate the reset button, which is recessed beneath a small hole
4. Press this button using a pin or paperclip and hold the button down for five seconds to reset.

Mike Ford

Founder & Editor

Mike is the founder of Hue Home Lighting, a huge Hue fan with far too many lights, covering home and garden. A smart home gadget addict and also enjoys the odd bit of DIY