Are Philips Hue Flicker-free?

Philips Hue bulbs have been in the market for a while and have made some very loyal customers over the time period. However, it is not all sunshine and roses; some users have complained that Philips Hue bulbs can flicker and cause a disturbance.

Philips Hue bulbs are generally known to be flicker-free. They have the lowest flicker rate among all bulbs, i.e., less than 1%. However, there might be other reasons why your Hue bulb may flicker, such as distance from the Hub or a dimmer switch.

So, let’s find out why your Philips Hue bulbs might be flickering and what you can do to troubleshoot the problem. Let’s begin.

Reasons why Hue bulbs flicker and buzz

If you observe that your Hue bulbs are both flickering and buzzing, you will need to consider several factors.

To begin with, if you are using hardwired dimmer switches with the Hue bulbs, things could turn a bit finicky. At the same time, if the bulbs are installed in a light fixture that is controlled via a dimmer switch, that is most probably going to be the culprit of buzzing or flickering.

However, it is not necessary for the problem to persist with every dimmer switch. Some may work without any problems, and others will create a little buzzing. In worst-case scenarios, the Hue lights will flicker to the point where they become unusable.

Therefore, the best way to prevent the problem is by using the Philips Hue dimmer switch. Plus, Philips recommends that you keep the dimmer on 100% at all times.

Finally, if you want to know if the bulb is faulty, you should replace the Hue bulb with some other bulb and check for flickering. If the other bulb doesn’t flicker, it means you have simply ended up with a bad or faulty Hue bulb.

Hue bulbs flickering during video streaming

In addition to dimmer switches causing flickering issues, some users have also complained that the Hue bulbs flicker when video streaming.

While some users have fixed the issue by setting the shutter speed to 50, others still struggle to find a solution. You can also try using a 1/60 shutter speed.

Troubleshooting: Hue bulbs stopped turning on

Another common concern amongst Hue owners is that the lights will remain turned on only for a while. It might be that the dimmer switch you are using is not that reliable, but that is just not it. There could be several reasons for that.

First, if you have multiple Hue bulbs installed in the house, you should make sure all the bulbs are within the Hub range. If the distance between the bulbs and Hub is significant, the bulbs will struggle to catch the signals. So, the bulbs need to be close to each other.

If a batch of lights is far from the other, you can try sticking a dimmer switch or light bulb to see if that solves your problem. Some users have fixed the issue by plugging the Hub directly into the router.

This means that if you have a large network of Hue bulbs and dimmer switches, you might need to reconfigure things.

Final thoughts on whether Philips Hue are flicker-free

To sum it up, Philips Hue bulbs are designed to be flicker-free. However, some factors can cause flickering, which can annoy the eyes. Therefore, if your Hue bulbs tend to flicker, try bringing the bulbs close to the Hub, using the Philips Hue dimmer switch, and adjusting the shutter speed.

If that does not solve the problem, you are looking at a faulty bulb that will need to be replaced.