How to: LivingColors remote on Philips Hue WITHOUT resetting bridge

How to pair the LivingColors remote to your existing Philips Hue system WITHOUT resetting the bridge.
Whatever you do DO NOT PRESS THE BUTTON ON THE HUE BRIDGE!
All other how to videos and tutorials I've seen do it the wrong way. When you press the button on the bridge you make the bridge accept the Zigbee network of the remote thereby resetting itself. May not matter much if it's a fresh system but on an existing system with lots of bulbs and settings it is not cool.
Here's how to make the remote accept the Zigbee network of the bridge - thereby you need to reset the remote instead which is by far the most preferable.
The LivingColors remote I've only found to work with Philips bulbs. As of current bulb firmwares (at time of video) I can't get it to work on Lightify or IKEA bulbs.
Made by request for a Hue Facebook group.

[@HifiCentret]

PLEASE READ !! It'll answer most of your questions! There has recently been an update to practically all Philips Hue bulbs ever made which means that they're now only open to pairing for the first 30 minutes of powering on. So have your bulb(s) been applied power for more than 30 minutes you'll need to physically cut the power and wait for 10 seconds before reapplying power - which will give you another 30 minutes to pair your bulb(s). Also I won't guarantee any compatibility with third party bulbs. In fact I've tried to pair the shown LivingColors remote with both Osram Lightify and IKEA Trådfri without success. Hue bulbs however works fine but only on full color light sources you can adjust color. Ambiance bulbs is just on/off and brightness at whichever color temperature they were last set. To pair more bulbs to the remote simply move the remote to the next bulb. If some of the bulbs are close to other smart bulbs please make sure the others are powered off as they might steal the pairing. The remote supports up to 50 bulbs (the user manual says - haven't tried). The remote will not be visible from the Hue app. The bridge doesn't know what it is so it'll just ignore it. It'll talk directly to the bulbs - not through the bridge like Hue control units normally do. While it has it's drawbacks it also has its strengths - you can control your bulbs even if the bridge is unpowered. If the bulb become unresponsive from the app then you've not succeeded. Don't panic and do NOT remove the bulb from the bridge. The bulb will become responsive again once you succeed. If for some reason you don't succeed and just want the bulb to become responsive in the app again then just move the bulb next to be bridge and let the bridge make a touchlink command to the bulb. The bulb will then become responsive again. iOS / Apple: Sorry, I don't have any Apple devices so I can't help you with that. For Windows you /may/ have luck trying WinHue 3 - I say /may/ because while it can send a touchlink command I haven't tried it (yet at least). You might want to read the video description as well :)

[@21xanatos]

HifiCentret ok Huhn

[@pn506]

Found this out just recently. Whilst it makes sense, it was painful learning without the knowledge! :)

[@norbertmeijering849]

I managed to add my LC remote's (gen2 and gen3) with this procedure. I only have iOS/Apple devices to work with my HUE system. I used the iOS app "Hue Lights" to touchlink the remotes to my setup. Somehow I could not make it work with "iConnectHue".

[@TaranQ]

How's the procedure for the older round remote, with the sliding ring in the middle?

[@philje123]

I've been putting off buying another LivingWhites or LivingColors remote for months after the hassle pairing the last LivingWhites remote caused. Gonna grab another one soon and give it a go! Thanks

[@squidgewinkle]

Legend! This was super helpful. It's a wonder they don't put any of this in the manuals etc...

[@anna-lenakauws7840]

Thank you very much! Today in the night, I deleted my whole hue bridge because of 2:39 am stuff and all the other tutorials ended up by resetting and they have way more views than yours unfortunately… 😅 now after setting everything up and having a back up, I saw your video and did it your way and everything works fine 🎉 so thank you so much 🫶

[@ordoordo]

Finally I can use the Living Colors remotes that I have, without disconnecting them from the rest of the network! Thank you! :D

[@TOMEKPCH]

Thank You! This tip worked even in end of 2021 :)

[@Stephan-72]

Great! With your tutorial works it. Thank you. And it works with the 3th. Generation.

[@danielg4314]

Thank you so much for the video. The other tutorials haven´t work after the last Philips Lamps Update in November.

[@HifiCentret]

Thanks for commenting! Yeah. All other tutorials I've found I've always thought had the wrong approach. A "long" time ago I got two of those remotes because I wanted to control colors without phone or tablet. Of course I ended up with a reset bridge and since I have loads of custom rules programmed in it and it controls rather important stuff I didn't experiment any further. Then had the remotes laying around for a while and since I now got a spare bridge (cheaper than buying spare bulbs, wonder) it would be no big deal if it became reset accidentally. Nice to hear they've apparently disabled that functionality - not a great experience to have your bridge reset loosing everything just because you want to pair up a remote ;) With the reserve that you may still have the old behavior - for the first 30 minutes of powering on. The updates for the bulbs have made that they're now only receivable for paring (both regarding serial search and touchlink) for the first 30 minutes after powering on. If you need to pair a bulb more than 30 minutes after supplying power you need to take power then wait 5-10 seconds then reapply power then you'll be able to pair the bulb.

[@polygonekoma]

Thankfull for this video!

[@jeffgringos3122]

Thank you so much for your smart trick ! It's so usefull to have the possibility to turn on/off and change the color of my iris with my iPhone AND with the remote control ! One Solution for iOS users : If you have the excellent app (expensive but very complete) IConnectHue then you may follow the same explanation as shown in this video. Go to the menu "lights" then click the "+" button and tape on the "Search with Touchlink" button ... finally hit "Start". Now (close to your HUE bridge) push the "I" button on your remote control until you hear the "ta da dam" sound. Et voilà ça fonctionne parfaitement ^_^

[@Powerpitte]

Hi, works well. Thanky you! Question: Can I add a second lamp, for example an Osram Lightfy, and control both lamps at the same time?

[@osbert]

I have two remotes, both paired with the bridge and separately with a bunch of lights. All works great after following these instructions. Only issue is, I have a gledopto strip which is also paired with the bridge, but I just cannot get the livingcolors remotes to pair with it directly at all. Any advice?

[@bratschenkiwi]

Hi, is this still working? I am trying to connect the remote, but after 8 flashes, nothing happens. No long light. Spamming the touchlink button, pressing it softly with different timings and love, does not help...

Apparently the timing is a bit delicate. I succeeded with the iConnectHue app on iOS 16 yesterday (so yes, it is still working) after a few tries and found I need to touch and hold the "I" button on the remote a split second before touching the button on the phone that initiates the Touchlink operation on the bridge. And it is also paramount for the remote to be held close to the bridge as Touchlink only works over very short distances.

[@pn506]

Wow. This is brilliant. Thank you. Just invested heavily in some new lamps and have been tearing my hair out for a couple of days, trying to reconfigure the whole system! I have been into Hue since the early LivingColors days, and these remotes really do make the system. Not sure why Philips chose to retire them. One question though........how should I add a new (additional) LivingColours remote? Through the method you advise or by the 'remote to remote' linking, as advised in other tutorials? I understand the LC remotes have to share a single key? Thanks......

[@HifiCentret]

If you want the two remotes to control the same set of bulbs I'm not sure the best approach. Otherwise just pair multiple remotes to the bridge like the first one. In effect they will both be given the same network key from the bridge.

[@pn506]

Fantastic - that worked. It is for different bulbs. Was worried about adding some of the legacy Living Colors lamps which don't have serial numbers. But added them to the remotes through touchlink and the bridge can see them through the Hue app. Thanks again.

[@Jo12031992]

Do you get two different remotes for different bulbs?

[@HifiCentret]

One remote can also control multiple bulbs. Once the remote is on Hue just follow the manual for your remote for multiple bulbs on same remote. User manual is available online at the Philips website.

[@Jo12031992]

HifiCentret Like the Tutorial in your video I can't get my 2.Gen Remote and 3.Gen Remote connected to hue. I use the same App like you for Touchlink, but at the end there is always this negative tone :(

[@playbock007]

Hi there, it works for me but I am having a big problem. Whenever I connect the Button to my Hue Bloom after that my hue bloom is not reachable from hue app and have to add it again to the bridge by searching new lamp. After adding the bloom to hue app again the connection to button does not exist anymore, I am stucked in to a loop.

[@twoogacom]

That's fantastic. I guess there would be no way to pair it with two/both (ceiling) bulbs in a room to apply the exact same colour/dim changes to both lights simultaneously though.

[@AndrewBennettNZ]

Yes there is -- you can pair as many bulbs to the remote as you want (well, up to 50). Just repeat the "press ON/1 on the remote while touching the bulb, until it stops blinking and turns green then turns white again" step for each other bulb you want to sync. I have two remotes, both of which are linked to all of the bulbs in my apartment, which I can also control through the app. It's very convenient :)

[@twoogacom]

Andrew Bennett, Oh wow. Thank you for that information. That is brilliant. I'm definitely going to have to give this a go now :)

[@b00cian]

Can You support ? I paired it with bulb without problem but now on App i have unreachable and cannot control that bulb anymore. How can I do that. Your way not responding.

[@HifiCentret]

You did something wrong pairing it with Bridge so it didn't succeed. It can be tricky the first few times and timing is critical. Try again. When it succeeds the bulb will be controlable in app again. No need to remove bulb from app.

[@sala5731]

Hello. I tried to connect a Gen2 remote control to my Hue Go with the procedure discribed in the video, but without success. I have the bridge 2nd Generation. Does it only works with bulbs?

[@HifiCentret]

Sorry I don't know about the Hue Go as I don't own one. Since it's also Philips and part of Hue the possibility is there that i might work. I don't know about the Go but as mentioned in the sticky post there has recently been a "security" firmware update. That might be what is teasing you. Sorry I can't give you a better answer.

[@sala5731]

HifiCentret thank you nevertheless

[@jean-francoisgregoire7819]

Hey. Thanks for the great tutorial. I am trying to sync a LivingColor remote Gen3... but it seems not to sync with the Hub. Do you now if there is a different setup for Gen3 remote? Thanks for your guidance :)

[@jean-francoisgregoire7819]

I managed to get it :) A lot of retries, and pushing a lot of times the touchlink button

[@HifiCentret]

Glad you made it! Yes it can be a little tricky. Press touchlink button too early or too soon and it doesn't work... I don't have any gen 3 remote so whether or not it's harder than the gen 2 I don't know.

[@doctor14fr]

Hey, it'll blink in orange if it's correct? Can you see it in the inventory?

[@roaaaar]

A huge thank you to all of you. After a forced reset had lost ability to pair gen2 & 3 remotes. All is ok now. For gen3 remotes, had to hit the Touch link button a lot of time but it worked like a charm. Same for old (but great) smartlink bulbs.

[@Dizzy1234567]

Hi, sorry if I'm not getting something right here. I remember using your way once a while ago and it worked perfectly fine. Now however there was a big update to the hue app and I can't seem to find a touchlink button anywhere. I generally use a 3rd party app with my hue system and it has a touchlink option.. it does not allow you to press touchlink multiple times. I can't get it to work thru there. Extremely frustrated with this. Does anyone have similar experience with this? By the way I run the app on iphone. Thank you

Any app should do which mentions Touchlink (the legacy protocol used by the old LivingColors and LivingWhites lamp and their remotes) and offers a way to trigger it. The button for Touchlink does not need to be pressed multiple times in short succession, just press it once with the right timing and with the remote and the brigde being very close to each other. (For me it worked with the iConnectHue app on iOS 16 when I touched and held the "I" button on the remote a split second before touching the button that started Touchlink on the phone.)

[@mikesalz]

I have a Hue Bridge and 10 or so Hue bulbs. If I buy this remote, will I be able to control one or two specific (color) bulbs with it, while still being able to control the same bulbs through the bridge? And I'll be able to change the color of the bulbs using both the remote and the bridge?

[@HifiCentret]

Yes the Trådfri remote control up to 10 bulbs independently of which rooms the Hue bridge thinks they're in.

[@GermanBadGuy]

I also still have a living colours lam with that round remote. Is there any remote-App that could communicate with the lamp? My phone has infrared remote capabilities on board The physical remote seems to have issues slowly... Thanks a lot!

[@HifiCentret]

That remote is zigbee - not IR. However... You can use Hue Essentials to pair your Living Colors lamp with your Hue Bridge. Remember for touchlink to work you have to have the lamp 10cm from the bridge.

[@HifiCentret]

Oh I should add it's only Living Colors that are "smart link" capable that works with Hue. It's an early version of ZigBee.

[@GermanBadGuy]

@@HifiCentret Ah, wasn't aware of that! Thought it was a simple ir.

[@ka2cu]

Hue Essentials app only for Android? What to do for iOS!

[@rogiervdheide]

iConnect Hue

[@jh132]

Great vid. Will this work with the first gen Living Colours remote? It has a reset button under the slide out battery sleeve. Thanks.

[@HifiCentret]

It will work with all LivingColors remotes that are also marketed with SmartLink. Look here: www.knutsel.org/2012/01/01/livingcolors-gen-2-will-work-with-livingcolors-smartlink/ The remote to the right marked with X will not work - the others will. The round generation 3 with the physical buttons is not shown (this remote is a generation 2 with touch buttons) but will work as well. You may need to check the manual (available online at Philips) for your remote on which buttons to press as it may not be the same as this gen 2.

[@jh132]

Thank you. My remote is round (top left in that illustration) so should work as you have shown. Thanks again.

[@john_woto]

Hello, i tried to add the remote with no success, in the Hue UI it doesn't have this Touch Link button anymore, i presume the UI has changed since you recorded the video. My remote is the newer version then the one in the video.

[@HifiCentret]

The app is Hue Essentials and the Touchlink-button is still there. So either wrong app or you've not found it yet ;)

[@john_woto]

HifiCentret I think the app maybe slightly different on iOS, that’s maybe why I don’t have that button

[@HifiCentret]

@@john_woto I know nothing about iOS. But I believe if you read the other comments you'll find the solution for iOS.

[@kostaspentarvanis959]

Hi , I don’t understand which is the app

[@rogiervdheide]

On Android: Hue Essentials. On iOS: iConnect Hue

[@robertom542]

Oggi é ancora più semplice. Basta inserire il numero di serie della lampada sulla App Hue e viene subito trovata e configurata.

[@ka2cu]

Hue Essentials app only for Android. What to do for iOS?

[@HifiCentret]

Sorry can't help you with iOS. But you may have luck trying WinHue 3 for Windows. Although I won't guarantee as I haven't tried using WinHue for that.

[@ka2cu]

Thanks for the tip! I have found my old Android tablet and current charging it :)