This guide is for anyone whose Hue motion sensor (the indoor model) isn’t turning lights on as expected. The steps come from the FAQ on Hue’s UK motion sensor page.

What This Problem Means

The Hue motion sensor needs a Hue Bridge-controlled setup and the Philips Hue app. It has a built-in daylight sensor, adjustable motion sensitivity and a “Do not disturb” option, and each of these changes when your lights come on. If the settings look right, Hue’s next steps are placement, batteries and a reset.

Common Symptoms

• Lights don’t come on when you walk into a bright room
• The sensor is slow to notice you
• The scene doesn’t change when you walk into a room that’s already lit
• One sensor doesn’t cover the whole room
• The sensor has stopped responding

Safe Checks You Can Try

1. Check your setup has a Bridge

Hue says both the indoor and outdoor motion sensors “require a Hue Bridge-controlled Hue setup”, as well as the Philips Hue app.

2. Check the daylight threshold

If your lights don’t come on in a bright room, check the sensor’s daylight threshold in the Philips Hue app. Hue says that “if the room is darker than that when you get detected, your lights will turn on as configured”.

3. Increase the motion sensitivity

If the sensor is slow to detect you, Hue says “you can consider increasing the motion sensitivity”.

4. Check “Do not disturb”

If the scene doesn’t change when you walk in, check the “Do not disturb” setting. Hue says: “If enabled, it will only turn on the configured scene if the room was previously off”.

5. Check where the sensor is placed

The sensor must be within range of your setup. Hue says: “Make sure that the front of the sensor faces the location of the expected motion.” The higher you place it, the wider the area it covers. Hue lists the detection area as 0 to 5 m.

6. Check the batteries

The indoor sensor uses 2 x AAA batteries. The Philips Hue app shows the expected lifetime of the current batteries.

7. Reset the sensor and add it again

First, open the sensor’s edit screen in the Philips Hue app and tap Reset.

If issues persist, delete the sensor from the app, then press the setup button (or pinhole) for more than 10 seconds. Add it again from Settings > Devices by tapping the + button.

8. Use more than one sensor for a big room

If one sensor can’t cover the room, use Device groups. Hue says “You can combine up to 12 sensors, whether indoor or outdoor, and including also Hue Secure cameras”.

Indoor and outdoor sensors compared

When To Contact Support

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