How to Make Philips Hue Lights Strobe

Create an epic party at home with flashing pulsing lights, and strobing! That’s right, you can create strobe lights using Philips Hue flashing to your music. 

A strobing effect occurs when lights flash very quickly, while hue lights are great for ambient lighting, they can also be used to create a strobe light. 

Can I make Hue lights strobe?

Yes you can! The official hue app doesn’t have a way to do this, however using a third party app such as Hue Disco, there is a specific strobing function built in, creating a strobe lighting effect using your Philips Hue lights.

The Hue Disco app is available for both IOS and Android, designed specifically for Hue lights and costs just $3.99. Although not a free app, it is worth every cent as it is a powerful app that has lots for features and functions for creating a disco effect with your Hue lights as well s the strobing effect. 

How to make Philips Hue lights strobe

Using the Hue Disco app you can create a strobing effect. If you have not already got this app then you can download it here. Do note that you need the Hue Bridge to use Hue Disco.

Quick step up guide using Hue Disco –

• Open the app on your phone
• Select and toggle the bulbs you wish to use
• Go to the disco tab view
• Press the lighting strobe button at the bottom in the middle
• Set your options and play

Once installed on your phone, open the app, the first step is to select the bulbs and lights you wish to use. 

Under the disco tab there are a whole range of settings and options, from the Beats Per Minute (BPM) where the quicker and more upbeat the music the faster the lights will change and flash. 

At the bottom of the disco tab page is the lighting button in the middle, this is the Strobe Disco Mode, by default this will strobe your Hue lights with a white flash, however under this there are lots of settings so you can customise and change it. White is the default, however you can select your own color, rainbow effect or into faux black lights.

While Hue disco is great for flashing party lights and can create a strobe light, there are also other apps that have a strobe feature built in that you may already have or want to use instead:

• Hue Essentials
• iConnectHue

Strobe lighting can also be used as wake up alarm clock, some say it is great way to help them wake up, with music and flashing strobing lights how could you sleep through that! 

FAQ

Common questions about creating a party disco light effect with Hue lights. 

Can the strobe light effect damage your Hue bulbs?

Hue Bulbs are LED and can react quicker than a human eye can perceive, we are not aware that this can damage the bulb. 

Can you strobe lights using the Hue app?

There are many settings in the Hue app, however to create a strobe effect it is best to use third party apps that have this feature built in and work really well. 

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