My Hue Bridge runs 30 lights without complaint, and replacing it has never crossed my mind. Owners of the original round bridge felt the same way in 2019. A year later, Philips cut that bridge off from the cloud, voice assistants, and remote control. The lights stayed on, but most of what made them convenient disappeared.
Hue’s own release notes show that decline started years before the cutoff, and the square bridge I’ve depended on since I fixed the wireless problems in my smart home is now showing the same early signs. Philips hasn’t set an end date for it. The pattern is still easy to read, though, and it gives you time to plan the switch on your own terms.
The round bridge didn’t die; it got cut off
What April 30, 2020, took away
Philips launched Hue in 2012 with a round, first-generation bridge. The square v2 bridge followed in late 2015 with more processing power and Apple HomeKit support. For a few years, both lived side by side without much drama.
That changed in April 2019, when Signify (the company behind Philips Hue) announced it would wind down v1 support. The cutoff came on April 30, 2020. From then on, the round bridge received no software or security updates, and away-from-home control, cloud voice control through Alexa and Google, and services like IFTTT all stopped working.
Local control survived through a separate Hue Bridge v1 app. Philips retired that app, too, on April 30, 2022.
When owners pushed back in 2020, Hue called the v2 future-proof and said no new bridge was in development. Five years later, it launched one.
The warning signs showed up years before the cutoff
The firmware notes tell the whole story
Philips keeps a public log of every bridge firmware release, and it reads like a slow handoff. Through 2016, the v1 and v2 received identical firmware on the same days. Rooms, improved scenes, and motion sensor support landed on both.
Then the entries split. HomeKit had belonged to the square bridge from day one. Hue Entertainment, which syncs lights to movies, music, and games, reached the v2 in November 2017 with no v1 version. The round bridge’s last notable addition was Zigbee 3.0 light support in February 2018, and most of what followed were time zone table updates.
When Philips finally explained the retirement, its reasoning matched what those notes had shown for years: the v1 lacked the hardware resources to keep up with the system’s growth in compatibility, speed, and security. The end wasn’t a surprise. It was a list of features the old bridge never received.
My square bridge is following the same script
The Bridge Pro exclusives are piling up
I bought my v2 bridge before the Hue Bridge Pro launched on September 4, 2025. Ever since I solved my early smart bulb issues, it has run my recessed can lights and bulbs without a hiccup, and it still receives firmware updates every few weeks.
The Pro, though, is collecting exclusives the way the v2 once did. It supports 150 lights and 50 accessories versus the v2’s 50 lights and 12 accessories, plus storage for 500 scenes. MotionAware, which turns existing Hue lights into motion sensors, requires the Pro. So does SpatialAware, which adjusts scenes based on where each light sits in a room.
The October 22, 2026, release notes made the split plain. The Pro’s update prepared it for Custom AI Behaviors, while the v2’s same-day update listed only small changes behind the scenes. Hue’s migration tool also moves your setup from a v2 to a Pro in one direction only, much like the 2015 transfer tool did for v1 owners. Meanwhile, Hue’s US store routes its “Bridge smart hubs” link straight to the $149.99 Pro, even though the v2 still sells for $79.99.
The v1 lost support about four and a half years after the v2 arrived. If the same gap holds, a v2 cutoff would land around 2030. That’s my estimate built on just one precedent, not anything Philips has said. I could (and hope to be) entirely wrong.
What I’m doing before the next sunset
A plan beats a panic purchase
With no announced end date and 20 lights of headroom under the v2’s cap, I’m not spending $150 to run the same 30 lights. I’m preparing so the eventual switch is boring.
First, automatic updates stay on. The Hue app requires the bridge to run its latest software, and Hue’s online services only support the three most recent versions. A bridge that falls behind loses features long before any official cutoff.
Second, I know what migration won’t carry over. The move is one-way. Alexa needs to be relinked afterward, and routines tied to Hue devices have to be rebuilt, which is a good excuse to automate my smart bulbs properly the second time around. Apple Home reconnects only through Matter, and non-Hue Zigbee devices must be reset and paired again. Because I already control my smart home devices from one app, most of that relinking happens in one place.
Third, I have a fallback. Most Hue lights sold since 2019 also support Bluetooth, so basic phone control works even without a bridge.
The lights outlive the hub
The v1 story ended better than the headlines suggested. Hue says all of its products connect to the Bridge Pro, so the lights you spent the most on don’t carry an expiration date. The bridge is the replaceable part, and at $80–$150, it costs far less than a ceiling full of new fixtures. When Philips eventually announces a v2 cutoff, the v1 precedent suggests you’ll get about a year of notice. Keep your firmware current, learn what migration leaves behind, and you can make the move on your schedule instead of Philips’.