Fwiw, I have all functionality in the app while blocking the bridge connecting to the internet.
It did mention an update was available ( how it knew is beyond me) but it might have been the app…
I know it’s blocked because Google can’t see the devices anymore (which is a real bummer)
App is latest ( believe it even updated just now) .
I’ll open the internet to update the bridge and then close again .
That means: Not update the mobile app and don’t open it at all anymore.
I didn’t open my mobile app since I blocked bridge from the Internet. I thought when I open de mobile app (it have internet connection) it will send something to the bridge to destroy it.
Im wondering what will happen when you update your mobile app and give the bridge access again. Will everything work again. ( but that’s given your life to the devil…)
App version is 5.3.1
I think that’s around when they started requiring the account. It’s probably too late but you probably have to downgrade the app and the hue box to dodge the online requirement.
I’m still using the app just haven’t updated it yet.
maybe I misunderstood you / misexpressed myself, but, all Is working perfectly fine here, with a blocked bridge.
then again, Ive had 3 accounts for over 6 years now… (need an account per bridge)
Hello everyone.
I can’t really have a say as I don’t use Hue products, although I had considered it and I recently bought a Hue bridge - I’m a master at always choosing the ‘right’ moments lol - that returned yesterday, price refunded.
But:
The past has shown again and again that there are a lot of private people who almost always want to enforce their principles (for example: private life, open source, sharing, etc.) and many of these private people are much smarter and better than those who do call the shots. This is probably how HA came about.
The Playstation has been made hackable (I’m not a fan of illegal things like that), and it will take some time, but then there will be HUE emulation, which is far better and can have all the bells and whistles you want.
Philips hasn’t done themselves any favors, but they won’t realize that until it’s already too late.
And probably it will be the day when Philips decides to remove the local API…
Stay calm, it’s ‘just’ light.
EDIT:
When I ordered the Hue bridge from ‘Am…’ I saw that there was also a new version. Maybe the old version, which is also significantly more expensive than the new version, has the local API ‘burned in’… whoever has the time and experience can test this…
Some acquaintances told me that they ordered a Hue bridge from ‘Am…’ with the intention of returning it on the grounds that ‘The Hue bridge is stealing my privacy. I have no intention of giving up my privacy.’
I don’t think the idea is bad, because ‘Am…’ certainly has more influence than us, because when money goes missing…
I have moved my bulbs (GEN 1) to Zigbee2MQTT with the HA Skyconnect.
Now they keep going offline several times a day. I never had that problem in all those years they were connected to the Hue bridge (also GEN 1).
What could be the reason?
The Hue bridges probably have a much bigger antennae than SkyConnect.
But even a bulb that is 50cm away from the Skyconnect keeps falling of the network.
When I restart Z2M everything is available again for a short period of time.
The fact that a bulb is close to the co-ordinator doesn’t mean they are connected - the co-ordinator can only connect directly to a finite number of devices. Messages may be taking any number of routes, and those will be changing all the time.
Sounds as if there may be weak spots in the network that were masked by the larger Hue bridge antenna. When you restart zigbee the network gradually shakes down to a stable level over a period of hours. It may be that that particular bulb has to be sacrificed to keep the rest going.
What is the best way to solve this?
Two of the three bulbs are three metres placed from each other with the coordinator in between it. The third bulb is about 5 meters further with a thin wall in between it. Furthermore there are 3 smoke detectors in the house.
I had a somewhat similar problem recently, where my devices sometimes wouldn’t turn on. I read somewhere that it helps to take out the zigbee coordinator for a while (like, 30 minutes), and after putting it back in, it should restructure the network.
I am not sure if the technical points of this explanation are quite correct to be honest, but it did fix the issues on my end. Hopefully it may help you too 
You could try adding a few more routers to make the network a bit denser. Smart plugs and wall sockets often give a stronger signal than lightbulbs. If you don’t want/need any more devices, you could try “repeater” routers - that is routers that don’t do anything else. There are some small USB ones that aren’t expensive. I’ve got one in each room to provide a sort of backbone for everything else.
I had this too regulary… some ZigBee devices just went dark and no real possibilities to debug. For me it stayed hit & miss till the day I dropped all of my ZigBee gear for cheaper and (proven) much better esphome stuff. Happy since then because everything is reliable and no more devices going dark!
SkyConnect is only experimental support with Z2M. SkyConnect is stable with ZHA only.
For Z2M it is best to use the ZB-Dongle-P or a dongle with comparable chipset.
101 Zigbee devices in Z2M with ZB-Dongle-P here, no stability issues. About 45 Hue lights.
Maybe you have to create a new post. This one is about forcing people to create a account and we discuss what we can do.
You are right. This is getting in another direction than the original intention of the post. I will see what I can do with the given suggestion, thank you all for that. If that still doesn’t solve it I will make a new post
Do we have any new news about this whole forcing users topic?
No, it’s old news. No body cares anymore (it’s the internet!) and we put Signify/Philips Hue already on our NO BUY list for their a-hole move.
Friendly reminder: Don’t buy Signify or Philips Hue products because they don’t respect the privacy of their (former) customers.