Philips Hue Bridge Pro Upgrade Problems? Here’s How to Fix Them

Step-by-step fix guide | Philips Hue

Try this first — Only the admin can migrate to a Philips Hue Bridge Pro, so make sure the admin starts it, and keep the Philips Hue app open and the phone unlocked until the migration finishes.

This guide is for anyone moving from a Hue Bridge to a Hue Bridge Pro who hits a problem during or after the migration. The steps follow Hue’s guide to upgrading to the Bridge Pro.

What This Problem Means

Hue’s migration tool moves the content of your existing Hue Bridge onto the Hue Bridge Pro. Hue says it is expected to take 30 to 60 minutes per Bridge, your devices will be unreachable while it runs, and “Migration is only possible one-way from Hue Bridge to Hue Bridge Pro and cannot be undone.” Some legacy products don’t move across, and your smart home apps need reconnecting afterwards.

Common Symptoms

  • Someone other than the admin is trying to migrate
  • Lights and accessories show as unreachable during the migration
  • Automations from a second Bridge are missing afterwards
  • Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home or SmartThings no longer control your lights
  • The app says the “Sync box cannot be found”

Safe Checks You Can Try

1. Migrate from the admin account

Hue says: “Only the admin can migrate to Bridge Pro.” Make sure the person who is the admin starts the migration.

2. Keep the app open and the phone unlocked

Keep the Philips Hue app open and your phone unlocked during the migration. Hue says it is expected to take 30 to 60 minutes per Bridge.

3. Start the migration from Settings if you skipped it

After you add the Hue Bridge Pro in the Philips Hue app, you’re “prompted to migrate content from your existing Bridge(s).” To do it later, go to Settings > Bridges, select the Bridge and choose Migrate.

4. Expect devices to be unreachable while it runs

Hue says “devices will be unreachable during migration.” If any devices are unreachable or outdated, the Philips Hue app guides you through them.

5. Know what won’t move across

Migration is one-way and can’t be undone.

If you have more than one Bridge, the first Bridge you move into an empty Bridge Pro “will have all of its content moved automatically”. Automations from any extra Bridges “will need to be recreated manually after migration.”

Legacy SmartLink and LightLink products “are not supported in the Hue Bridge Pro, and therefore will not be migrated.”

Third-party lights and first-generation lights can’t be optimised for performance in large systems beyond 50 lights.

6. Reconnect your smart home apps

Hue says Apple Home needs to be set up again, and Alexa, Google Home and SmartThings need to be reconnected, after migrating. Sonos finds your devices within 24 hours. The table below gives Hue’s step for each one.

7. App says “Sync box cannot be found”

If your sync box was connected to an extra Bridge, Hue says the app shows a message that the “Sync box cannot be found”. Tap Got it, then choose Change bridge from the menu in the Sync tab.

Reconnecting your smart home apps after migrating

App What Hue says What to do
Apple Home Needs to be set up again after migrating Remove the Bridge in Apple Home, then set it up again from the Philips Hue app
Alexa Needs to be reconnected after migrating Reconnect Alexa, then say “Alexa, discover devices”
Google Home Needs to be reconnected after migrating Reconnect Google Home, then say “Hey Google, sync devices”
SmartThings Needs to be reconnected after migrating to a Bridge Pro Go to Linked services > Philips Hue > Refresh
Sonos Finds your devices within 24 hours of migrating Power-cycling the speaker can speed this up

If you still have problems, Hue says to contact its Customer Support team. The contact details are below.

When To Contact Support

If none of these steps fix it, contact Philips Hue through Hue’s UK support site.