After almost ten years of reliable service, Signify launched the Philips Hue Bridge Pro in the fall of 2025, the successor to the popular V2 bridge. A few months after the introduction, I dared to switch to the new system. The Hue Bridge Pro has three times the capacity and offers innovative features such as MotionAware, AI functions and improved security.
In addition, Signify is continuously expanding the capabilities of the Bridge Pro, including the addition of SpatialAware. But why would you switch to a new bridge if the old one still functions fine? In this extensive review we examine the Bridge Pro: from specifications and the migration process to the extra options compared to the V2.
Hue Bridge Pro: ready for the future
The Hue Bridge Pro features the ‘Hue Chip Pro’: a quad-core 1.7 GHz processor, more than 1 GB DDR4 RAM and 8 GB flash storage, which ensures a response time that is up to five times faster than that of the V2. Where the old bridge was limited to around 50 lights and 12 accessories, the Pro now supports over 150 lights, 50+ accessories and up to 500 light scenes, making it perfect for large installations. This makes the Hue Bridge Pro future-proof.
Ethernet or WiFi
New is the dual connectivity with which you can connect the bridge via Ethernet or can connect using Wi-Fi only. This ensures that you can place the Birdge anywhere in the house, as long as the WiFi connection is stable.
Security and Smart Home integration
Security is strengthened with advanced AES-128 encryption via the Zigbee Trust Center, which protects the entire system against unwanted access. Compatibility with Apple HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings and Matter remains fully intact, allowing you to easily integrate your Hue system into your Smart Home.
Install Hue Bridge Pro
Installing the Philips Hue Bridge Pro is a breeze and takes just a few minutes: connect the bridge to a wall socket with the USB-C adapter (included), connect it to your router via Ethernet or use WiFi for more flexibility in placement. Do you choose WiFi? Then you are not allowed to connect an Ethernet cable during the setup.
I immediately started using the WiFi connection so that I could place the Bridge Pro in a central location in the house. Previously, the Hue Bridge had to be connected via Ethernet, which limited its location in the home to proximity to the router.
After you have supplied power to the Hue Bridge, you can easily connect the Bridge Pro to your existing system in the Hue app. Select the desired connection method, wait until the network LED flashes blue and follow the instructions in the app.
Migrate old Hue Bridge to a new one
At first I was somewhat hesitant about migrating all the lamps, switches and accessories from the old Hue Bridge V2 to the new Hue Bridge Pro. Although Signify promised that the migration would go smoothly, things of course remained uncertain. With 43 connected accessories, a lot of scenes and automations, that was an exciting job.
Fortunately, the migration from the old Hue Bridge to the new Hue Bridge Pro was smooth and structured via the Philips Hue app, which guides you step by step. The app automatically recognizes your existing setup and asks if you want to transfer the settings. Make sure that the old Bridge remains connected at the same time so that the app can link the two Bridges and transfer data.
The app guides you through the process in an intuitive way and clearly indicates what you can expect and what the system is currently doing, so that you will not be faced with any surprises. All Hue devices, automations and entertainment zones are transferred automatically. Once completed, the app will automatically restore the old bridge and everything will run smoothly on the Pro.
Non-Hue bulbs
When migrating to the Hue Bridge Pro, non-Hue lights and Zigbee devices from other manufacturers will remain in the system after migration, including their associated automations, scenes and routines, but they lose temporarily their connection and must be manually restored by re-pairing via the Philips Hue app.
The app walks you through this step by step with simple instructions, such as pressing the reset button on the device and scanning or pairing, which will quickly restore the connection without having to reconfigure any settings. Once reconnected, all automations and integrations immediately function as before, keeping the process efficient and without significant interruptions.
Reconnect old accessories
During the migration from the old Hue Bridge to the new Hue Bridge Pro, accessories such as the Hue Tap must be connected manually, as they are not transferred automatically. The Philips Hue app guides you step by step and prompts you to press the button on the Hue Tap (or similar battery-powered accessories) several times during the process, which instantly establishes and restores the connection to the new Bridge Pro without data loss or additional configuration.
Smart Home: Reset
After the migration, in most cases you will have to manually reconnect with smart home systems. For example, the Home app (HomeKit and Matter) completely loses connection with your Hue system, requiring you to re-add the Hue Bridge Pro and restore devices, rooms, zones and automations one by one.
There is good news at Homey: thanks to efforts by Athom, the entire system continues to work after migration without manual action. It is important that you connect the Bridge Pro to your network via Ethernet when you use Homey, so that the flows and integrations continue to function smoothly.
Hue Chip Pro: 1.7 GHz quad-core processor
The Hue Chip Pro is the powerful 1.7 GHz quad-core processor that forms the core of the Philips Hue Bridge Pro and ensures what it claims is unparalleled performance in smart lighting systems. This chip processes complex algorithms and AI functions at lightning speed, resulting in 5 times faster response times, support for more than 150 lights, 50 accessories and 500 scenes compared to the previous generation. Thanks to 1 GB RAM and advanced encryption via Zigbee Trust Center, your system remains stable and secure, while innovations such as MotionAware™ transform lights into smart motion sensors without additional hardware.
Hue MotionAware
One of the new features of the Bridge Pro is Hue MotionAware. This innovative technology transforms existing Hue lights into motion sensors without the need for additional hardware, such as physical sensors. The system measures fluctuations in Zigbee signals between 3 to 4 compatible lights in a room or zone, which occur when someone or something moves through the detection area.
This allows automations to be activated, such as turning on lights, dimming, activating scenes or sending security notifications. Through the Hue app, you can set up to 4 motion zones, adjust sensitivity and up to 10 time slots per day, and integrate with other Hue sensors or cameras for seamless automation, with optional notification subscriptions.
Experiences MotionAware
Naturally, I tested the MotionAware function and am moderately enthusiastic. Everything depends on proper calibration and placement of the lamps. For example, in the kitchen I only have two lamps, plus an extra lamp in the adjacent ‘room’. This creates a virtual triangle that reliably detects movement, but also ensures that the lighting in the kitchen turns on when you enter that zone via the signal from the adjacent room.
In the seating area it works more consistently due to multiple lamps at strategic locations in this space that respond intelligently to each other, without false alarms or glitches. This arrangement eliminates the need for separate sensors and feels seamless in everyday use. However, a motion sensor is a bit more useful because you can adjust the lighting based on light intensity.
Conclusion: Philips Hue Bridge Pro
REVIEW SCORE
The new Hue Bridge Pro marks a major step forward for the Hue ecosystem. In practice, the faster response is particularly noticeable: lamps and sensors respond almost immediately, which makes everything a lot smoother. The migration to the new bridge is going surprisingly smoothly. Philips Hue has largely automated this process, bringing existing installations back online in a short time and without significant complications.
However, there is one point of attention: links with other smart home platforms, such as Apple’s Home app, must be manually reset. That takes some extra time, but does not outweigh the benefits. New features like MotionAware make the system feel smarter and more personal. The lighting responds better to presence and habits, which makes the Hue Bridge Pro not only an upgrade, but a clear innovation within the Hue universe.
- Fast response thanks to powerful processor
- Step-by-step migration from old to new bridge
- New smart features: such as MotionAware
- Improved stability: the connection remains more constant on larger installations
- Manually relink all lights and accessories to Apple Home
- Old generation Hue lamps not suitable for MotionAware
Buy Hue Bridge Pro
The Hue Bridge Pro has a recommended retail price of €99.99 and is available at various webshops and stores. You can also buy a starter package that contains lamps in addition to the Hue Bridge. Consider the starter kit with two E27 lamps or a package with 1 Bridge Pro, 3 lamps GU10 lamps and 1 dimmer switch.
