No Hue Bridge Found? Here’s How to Fix It

Last Updated: April 4, 2023 / By

Hue lights are perhaps the first devices that come to mind when the topic of smart lights is mentioned, as they have practically perfected the smart light experience in almost every way possible, whether it’s the ease of use or the quality of the bulbs.

That being said, the unfortunate downside that comes with not just the Hue lights but practically every smart device is that they are prone to technical problems in ways that regular devices aren’t, which can sometimes make it a real challenge to get them up and running.

In this article, our topic will be the “no Hue bridge found” problem, in particular, which is a message that you can come across when using the Hue app to set a Hue bridge up in your home network for the first time, indicating that your smartphone has not been able to locate the bridge.

So, how can you fix the “no Hue bridge found” problem?

Below, you can find a brief list of the solutions we recommend applying upon coming across the “no Hue bridge found” message on the Hue app:

  • Make sure that the power light of your Hue bridge is flashing solid blue.
  • Power cycle the Hue bridge by unplugging it from power and plugging it back in.
  • Restart the router that your Hue bridge is connected to.
  • Plug the Ethernet cable directly into the router from your Hue bridge.
  • Switch to a different Ethernet port on your router.
  • Verify that your Hue bridge receives an IP address through your router’s interface.
  • Replace the Ethernet cable.
  • Restart the smartphone you’re using to set your Hue bridge up.
  • Reinstall the Hue application on your smartphone.
  • Verify that your smartphone is connected to the same network as your Hue bridge.
  • Try to connect to the Hue bridge by inputting the IP address manually into the Hue app.
  • Factory reset the Hue bridge.

In the following section, you will find a comprehensive guide where we will be taking a deep dive into all the potential solutions that can help you fix the connectivity problem you’re facing with your Hue bridge and hopefully get your Hue lights back in working order in no time.

How to Fix the No Hue Bridge Found Issue?

As the Hue bridge requires all of its three indicator lights, which represent power, network, and Internet, to be lit for the setup process to go through, the troubleshooting process usually comes down to finding the culprits that can prevent these lights from coming on, and taking the necessary actions to resolve them.

hue bridge indicators

That being said, since there are also reported cases of the issue persisting even with all three indicator lights on, we will also go through solutions you can apply in such a case.

Below, you can find sub-sections for each of the solutions we recommend applying to fix the “no Hue bridge found” issue, where each solution is tagged with the indicator light (power, network, or Internet) it’s related to (if applicable), in which you will find explanations about how this solution can help to resolve the problem and a guide that will take you through the process.

Ensure That the Hue Bridge is Powered On (Power)

The very first thing to do when facing the “no Hue bridge found” error is to check whether the power light on your Hue bridge is on, which will ensure that the device is receiving power.

Out of the three indicator lights that are lined up next to each other, the power light is the leftmost one and has an icon (vertical line in a circle) that indicates it is the power light above it.

hue bridge power light

We highly recommend connecting your Hue bridge to the outlet with the official adapter to ensure you don’t face issues related to powering the bridge up.

Restart the Hue Bridge (Network & Internet)

The next step in solving the problem you’re facing is to restart the Hue bridge, which is a common troubleshooting step that applies to almost any electrical device due to its ability to solve things automatically without further troubleshooting.

To restart your Hue bridge, unplug the power cable from the device, wait roughly a minute or two, plug the power cable back in, and give your Hue bridge another minute or two to initialize.

This process will cause your Hue bridge to shut down completely and re-initialize, potentially restoring the network and Internet connectivity in the process.

Restart the Router (Network & Internet)

As the router can be just as responsible as the Hue bridge in creating the network and Internet-related issues, restarting the router is the natural next step in our troubleshooting guide for another chance at resolving things automatically.

Restarting your router will require you to follow the same steps as restarting your Hue bridge, which we have outlined in a couple of quick steps below:

  1. Unplug the power cable from your router.
  2. Wait roughly a minute or two for the electrical components to discharge completely.
  3. Plug the power cable back into your router.
  4. Wait approximately another minute or two for your router to boot up and initialize.

Please note that this process will cut out the Internet connection for all the devices in your home for a short amount of time until the router is fully initialized.

Once that’s done, and Internet connectivity is fully restored for the devices in your home, make sure to check your Hue bridge’s network and Internet indicator lights to see whether a change has occurred.

Plug the Hue Bridge Directly into the Router (Network)

Moving forward, we have another network-related solution at hand, which only applies if your Hue bridge is not connected to the main router itself but to an external device responsible for expanding the network’s reach, such as a powerline adapter.

For this solution, you will need to place your Hue bridge right next to your router (or get a long-enough Ethernet cable), and plug the bridge directly into the router without any extra components in between, whether it’s a powerline adapter or an Ethernet hub.

This way, you will be able to eliminate any technical problems that can potentially stem from these external components themselves and reduce the networking complexity between the Hue bridge and the router.

Switch the Ethernet Port (Network)

Switching the ethernet port on the router that your Hue bridge is connected to is another simple but effective solution that can help resolve network-related in some cases, as it’s entirely possible for one of the ethernet ports on the router to be misbehaving.

To apply this solution, all you will need to do is to unplug the Ethernet cable that connects your Hue bridge to your router from the router’s end and plug it into a separate Ethernet port that is currently unused.

By applying this solution, you will be ruling out the chance of a problematic Ethernet port, as it’s highly unlikely for a router to have multiple malfunctioning Ethernet ports at the same time.

Ensure That the Hue Bridge Receives an IP Address (Network)

While finding out whether the Hue bridge receives an IP address (and manually giving it one if it doesn’t) is one of the more advanced network-related solution steps in our list, it’s one that we highly recommend following before moving forward with steps such as replacing the Ethernet cable and factory resetting the Hue bridge.

To find out whether your Hue bridge receives an IP address from your router, you can follow the steps below:

  1. Log in to your router’s interface.
  2. Find the list of clients that are currently connected to the router, where you can see the MAC addresses and IP addresses of the connected devices.
  3. Look at the bottom of your Hue bridge to find a six-character string written below a barcode, which are the last six characters of your Hue bridge’s MAC address.
  4. Find the MAC address that matches the string you have found in step 3, and verify that the Hue bridge has a valid IP address.
hue bridge mac address

If the Hue bridge does not have an IP address, manually assign an IP to the MAC address that belongs to your Hue bridge by navigating to the DHCP section of your router’s interface.

When manually assigning an IP address to the MAC address of your Hue bridge, ensure that the IP address of your choice is not currently in use by any of the other devices of your network, as using the same IP address for multiple devices will create an IP conflict and prevent the devices from having network access.

Replace the Ethernet Cable (Network)

If the network light of your Hue bridge does not come on despite following all the network-related solutions we have outlined above, the last thing that’s left (before a factory reset) is to replace the Ethernet cable, which can potentially be the culprit behind the connectivity issues between the Hue bridge and the router.

For this solution, all you will need to do is to find another Ethernet cable and use it to establish the connection between the router and the Hue bridge.

While the specifics of the cable don’t matter in this case, it’s good practice to use a high-quality cable that ensures you won’t be facing issues related to the cable itself.

Alternatively, if you don’t have access to another Ethernet cable, you can try connecting another device (such as a computer) to the router with the same Ethernet cable to find out whether the problem resides with the cable or not.

Restart Your Smartphone (or Try with a Different Device)

In a scenario where you’re experiencing the “no Hue bridge found” error despite all three indicator lights being on, the first solution we recommend trying is to restart your smartphone, as it’s just as responsible as the Hue bridge for establishing the connection.

For this solution, restart your smartphone the way you usually would, re-open the Hue application, try to find the Hue bridge again, and see if there is any change.

Additionally, if you have access to another smartphone where you can install the Hue app, we also recommend trying to establish the Hue bridge connection on that device to rule out the possibility of your smartphone being the problem.

Reinstall the Hue App

Another quick solution that can help resolve the issue is to reinstall the Hue application, as minor software glitches related to the app can sometimes create problems such as the one you’re experiencing.

For this solution, remove the Hue app from your smartphone as you would with any other application and reinstall it from either Google Play or Apple App Store.

If you come across a dialog that asks whether you would like to erase any user data related to the application, make sure to confirm it to ensure that the application is entirely erased.

Connect Your Smartphone to the Same Network as the Hue Bridge

Making sure that the smartphone you’re using to set the Hue bridge up is connected to the same network as the Hue bridge is another simple but crucial solution step, especially considering that this is a factor that can easily be overlooked when there are multiple networks available in a single household.

Below, you can find a step-by-step guide that will help you to find out whether your smartphone is connected to the same network as your Hue bridge:

  1. Note down the name (SSID) of the Wi-Fi network your smartphone is connected to.
  2. Bring up the router interface for the router that your Hue bridge is connected to.
  3. Note down the name (SSID) of the Wi-Fi network that it’s broadcasting.
  4. Compare the Wi-Fi network names (SSIDs) you have noted in steps 1 and 3 and ensure that they match.

Alternatively, you can utilize the MeetHue Discovery website on a device that is wired to the router alongside the Hue bridge to confirm that the Hue bridge is successfully connected to your network and then cycle through the available Wi-Fi networks on your smartphone until you find the correct one.

Connect to the Hue Bridge by Manually Inputting the IP

When the automatic detection of the Hue bridge still fails after trying everything possible to make it work, manually establishing the connection can be the solution to the problem.

Here is a step-by-step guide you can follow to connect to the Hue bridge by inputting the IP address manually:

  1. Open the Hue application.
  2. Follow the on-screen instructions and navigate to the Connect a Hue Bridge screen.
  3. Press the “I need help” button.
  4. Press the “Search with a specific IP” button.
  5. Log in to your router’s interface on your computer.
  6. Find the IP address of the Hue bridge from the list of connected devices on the router’s interface.
  7. Input the IP address you have found in the previous step into the Manual IP box on the Hue app, and press the Search button.
hue bridge manual ip

If the process is successful, your Hue bridge should show up in the Hue app just as if you have connected it through automatic detection and ask you to press the Link button (the round button in the center) to complete the connection.

Factory Reset the Hue Bridge

The final solution on our list is to factory reset the Hue bridge, which will bring your Hue bridge to the same state as when you first unboxed and connected it to power.

To factory reset your Hue bridge, you can follow the steps we have outlined below:

  1. Power on your Hue bridge.
  2. Remove the Ethernet cable from the Hue bridge.
  3. Flip the Hue bridge to find a pinhole with the label “restore factory settings”.
  4. Push into the pinhole with an object that fits inside to press the button, and hold it in position for 5 to 10 seconds.
hue bridge factory reset

When you successfully initiate the factory reset process, the three indicator lights on the Hue bridge will start blinking to indicate that the reset is underway and stop blinking once the Hue bridge is ready for setup.

Conclusion

While fixing the “no Hue bridge found” issue can definitely be a drawn-out process that takes a lot of time due to the many factors that are potentially involved in its occurrence, it’s not an impossible problem to solve by any means.

Below, you can find a quick summary of the solutions we recommend applying to fix the “no Hue bridge found” issue:

  • Verify that the power light (the indicator light on the left) is solid blue, which indicates that the Hue bridge is fully powered on.
  • Power cycle your Hue bridge to shut it down completely and re-initialize it, which is a process that can resolve minor technical problems automatically.
  • Power cycle your router to re-initialize it similarly to your Hue bridge to resolve minor technical problems on the side of the router.
  • Connect your Hue bridge directly to the router to rule out the contribution of any external components in between.
  • Use a different port on the router to rule out the possibility of a malfunctioning Ethernet port.
  • Verify that the Hue bridge receives an IP address from the router to rule out issues related to the DHCP server.
  • Replace the Ethernet cable to rule out the possibility of the cable causing the problem.
  • Restart the smartphone you’re using to set your Hue bridge up to reconnect it to the network and to re-initialize the Hue app.
  • Reinstall the Hue app for a fresh installation, which can be helpful in resolving bugs.
  • Verify that your smartphone is connected to the same network as your Hue bridge, which is mandatory for the discovery to work.
  • Use the manual discovery function of the Hue app as a workaround to the automatic discovery not working as intended.
  • Factory reset the Hue bridge to bring it back to the factory state and resolve bugs and glitches in the firmware.

That being said, if the solutions we have mentioned above have not been helpful in resolving the issue in your case, we highly recommend contacting Philips Hue support and explaining the steps you have taken so far to fix the problem, which should make it easier for them to find a solution.