Philips Hue Bulb Flashing? Complete Fix Guide

If your Philips Hue bulb flashing, there’s an easy fix guide for you!

Flashing or blinking Philips Hue bulbs is most often caused by a defective dimmer switch or damage to your bulb.

However, there are plenty of things you can try before replacing your bulb or unscrewing it for a checkup by a technician!

To fix the Philips Hue bulb that is flashing, restart the device and replace the dimmer switch. Then attempt with an alternative light slot and tighten all of the bulb sockets.  If nothing helps, perform a reset on the bulb and examine the setup for faulty wirings.

Why Is Philips Hue Bulb Flashing Rapidly?

Your bulb could be flashing and blinking due to a variety of factors, including defective hardware or malfunctioning dimmer switch.

We will go over the causes of the problem in a little more detail in the following list:

1. Incompatible Dimmer Switch

The most common cause for the blinking issue on your Philips Hue light bulb is an incompatible dimmer switch that doesn’t support your bulb.

2. Software Problem

If there is a problem with the software on your Philips Hue bulb, that could be the cause of the blinking and flashing.

3. Application Issue

Your Philips bulb could also be blinking due to connection issues with the Philips application.

4. Philips Hue Disconnected

Lastly, your bulb could have gotten disconnected and therefore it will blink until paired to the app.

5. Defective Bulb

Faulty hardware of your Philips Hue bulb could also be the cause of the blinking.

Those were all of the known causes for the problem with the rapid blinking of your Philips Hue bulb. Keep reading to learn what are the best solutions you can use at home!

How To Fix Philips Hue Bulb Flashing On And Off?

To fix the problem with your Philips Hue bulb, we’ll start by performing several restarts to determine whether the problem is minor or more complex.

Based on our findings we will either solve the problem right away or perform some more complex troubleshooting.

Here’s how to fix your Philips Hue bulb that is flashing to the on and then off.

Solution #1 Restart Your Philips Hue Bulb

The first thing you should do is to restart your Philips Hue bulb.

By restarting, we mean using the dimmer switch to turn off your Philips bulb manually, and then using the dimmer switch again, turn it on.

To restart your Philips Hue bulb, go over to the dimmer switch and switch it to the offside.

Standby for 1-2 minutes and turn your bulb again to the side. Determine if the device would still be blinking after the reboot.

Note: When adjusting the dimmer switch to turn your Philips Hue bulb on/off, make sure that you’re respectively turning it to the off and then to the on the side.

Solution #2 Power Cycle Your Bulb

If the regular reboot didn’t work for you, a power cycle might just solve the blinking of your bulb.

The power cycle includes, unscrewing the bulb from the light switch for a certain amount of time and then screwing it back.

Here’s how to power cycle your Philips Hue bulb in easy-to-follow instructions:

1. Go over to your Philips bulb.
2. Undo the bulb to the left side until it becomes loose.
3. Pull the bulb out of the slot once it has unscrewed completely.
4. Standby for 5 minutes while your Philips bulb is undone.
5. Re-attach the bulb back to the slot and test.

Note: Be aware that your bulb could be hot when unscrewing it from the light slot. 

You should turn off the bulb and wait for a minute or two in order for the device to cool down before you touch it.

Solution #3 Replace Dimmer Switch

Are you using a traditional dimmer switch? If yes, then you should know that Philips Hue bulbs don’t work flawlessly with a traditional dimmer unit.

You should replace the dimmer switch with the recommended Philips unit, which works perfectly with your Philips Hue bulb.

Since most dimmer switches match a standard wall opening, you shouldn’t have too much trouble replacing them with the original Philips dimmer switch.

Even if you’re unable to acquire a Philips dimmer, get a switch that is well-known to be compatible with the Philips Hue bulb.

How To Replace A Dimmer Switch?

To replace a dimmer switch, check the following steps:

1. Undo the 4 screws that hold your dimmer switch in the wall opening.
2. Next, flip the circuit breaker for the room where your switch and bulb are located.
3. Pull the current switch off from the wall and undo the two bolts that hold the wires coming out from the wall attached.
4. Get yourself a new dimmer switch and install the wires you’ve just disconnected around the electric poles.
5. Tighten the wire with the screws using the appropriate screwdriver you’ve used.
6. Install the new dimmer switch into the wall.
7. Test.

Note: It’s important to have the circuit breaker flipped to negate any damage from electric shock or short circuit.

Solution #4 Reinstall Philips App

There’s a high chance that your Philips Hue bulb is flickering rapidly due to a problematic connection with the Philips app.

In that regard, you should attempt to reinstall the application to solve the problem you’re experiencing.

Here’s how to reinstall the Philips app on your smartphone and re-pair the bulb:

1. On your smartphone, open the storage unit through the settings.
2. Open the app section and locate the Philips application.
3. Access the application settings for the Philips app and choose “Uninstall”.
4. Wait for the uninstall and head to the App Store/Google Play directly afterward.
5. Write “Philips app” in the search field.
6. Download the first, proven result uploaded by Philips.
7. Open the Philips app, hit the “+” button, and re-add your bulb.

Note: Make sure that your Philips Hue bulb is turned on when re-adding it to the application, so it is discoverable.

Solution #5 Use Different Light Switch

The problem could be coming directly from the light switch. If your Philips bulb is flashing or flickering, there’s a high chance that the light switch has gone faulty.

In that case, insufficient electricity is reaching your bulb, therefore it flashes. For this solution, you should unscrew your bulb and attach it to an alternative light switch.

Simply undo it from the current light switch and screw it into an alternative one. Hit the dimmer switch and check if the bulb would still flash.

Note: Ensure that the light switch is also screwed correctly, so both your bulb and the switch make good contact with the socket.

Solution #6 Factory Reset Philips Hue Bulb

If nothing worked so far, you should factory reset your Philips Hue bulb to solve the problem.

This will erase all configurations and system settings along with bugs and glitches that are making your bulb blink/flash.

Here’s how to reset your Philips Hue bulb:

1. Go into the Philips app and select Settings.
2. Choose Lights and tap on the bulb you wish to reset.
3. Tap “Delete” and wait for your bulb to be reset.

Note: Re-adding the bulb from the Philips app is an alternative to reinstalling the application as you did in Solution #4.

When keeping the app on your phone, your bulb will perform a reset instead of simply being re-added.

Read Next: Why Is Philips Hue Bridge Not Connecting to Internet?

Bottom Line:

Thus, to fix a flashing/blinking Philips Hue bulb, reboot the device and power cycle the bulb. Reinstall the Philips application and perform a factory reset. Lastly, change the light slot of the bulb and replace the dimmer switch.

Now that you know why the Philips Hue light bulb flashing, you should be able to solve the problem in no time!

Perhaps, it is time to replace your Philips Hue bulb due to a hardware malfunction and you may have to consider it if our solutions weren’t successful.