Philips Hue Outdoor lights follow up -what happened after 3 years? Updated review

A couple of years ago I reviewed the new-at-that-time Philips Hue Outdoor lights. I installed the Bollards, Spotlights and light strip. At the time, I loved them…but I had three unanswered questions: one, how would the hold up in a Canadian winter, how long would their lifespan be and how could I get the scheduling to work better?

Here we are, much later but all this time spent with these outdoor lights has given me ample opportunity to evaluate each of those three points. In this review update I'll take a look at whether I still think the Phillips hue outdoor lights are a good choice for your yard.

Let’s start with the light strips… when I did this review a couple of years ago, I noted that the light strips themselves are fat and bulky. This is not the same as the indoor light strips which you can basically run flat along any surface. These are about an inch wide and half an inch thick. Think more like rubber tubing than a light strip.

After all this time, I can confidently say these should be used to nowhere near any stairs; there's too much of a tripping hazard. I opted to run these along the edge of my deck to create some background or ambient lighting. It turns out this light is actually pretty bright and can illuminate an area really well. In all honesty, I've left it sitting out here through two summers and two winters and I can say now that the lights are still working perfectly. They seem to be able to last through extraordinary temperature fluctuations from +35°C, to -40°C.

Similarly, the spotlights and bollard lights have also held up well after two years of weather. All of the lights are still working just as well as they did when I installed them. So to answer two of my main questions, each of these lights has been extraordinarily successful in holding up against harsh weather, and seems to be lasting.

When it comes to the scheduling feature, it seems Phillips has been able to resolve these problems… And in all honesty they probably resolved them along time ago but since I haven't done an update, we’ll get everything caught up now.

Inside the Phillips hue app under routines, and then other routines, there's a way to have the lights come on at sunset, and then to automatically turn off at dawn. You can completely customize your schedule and have different on and off times during the day and on the weekends. It's also possible to have the lights turn on and custom colours and combinations. Overall, the interface for this is now really easy to use and interpret, and I've been extremely successful in scheduling it so that it adapts to my needs all year round.

The other thing I've been able to do with all of these lights altogether and control them as one unit either inside the app with it acting as a remote control, or on that schedule. This came in very handy when we were away from the home for quite a stretch of time, and we wanted it to still look like someone was around.

While these lights also have voice control with Google and Alexa, and they do work really well at turning the lights on or off just by asking, I find I use the voice control almost never. It's just too convenient to have the entire system on a schedule that adapt to the changing sunrise and sunset times all year long.

Overall, I have to say that more than two years into my experience, I am still absolutely thrilled with the aesthetics, durability, and the excellent control and scheduling features I get with each of these different lights. I can definitely recommend any or all of them for you. Whether you own your home and are looking for a semi permanent installation, or you are renting and want something you can take with you, these lights have given me years of enjoyment, and I have no doubt it'll be the same with you.

[justdrewit]

Your voice is legitimately on-par with broadcast professionals. Inflections, intonations, etc. spot-on. Really helps carry the story along and kept me engaged. Bravo

[josephj]

Wow, a review after a few years! Thank You Erin! Well done. I’ve been procrastinating purchasing these. I’m now a lot more confident to purchase these. The light strip does look Ike a good option. :)

[MarlonKingShow]

Thank you, exactly what I needed to know, got mine in the box ready to install.

[jSIN]

You had me at "Canadian winter".

[carap]

How are things today with these lights? Canadian with lots of rain in lower mainland here.

[mikebrodner]

how did u conceal the power cable powering all of it? Did you bury it in the yard?

[robertmcconnachie]

I have tons and tons of hue lighting and the gradient light kit for the TV with the synch box and am a hue fanboy. I definitly watched your reviews of the calla lights as well as the lightstrip a few years back and pulled the trigger. I got 4 Calla lights and the higher awttage power supply for my front yard, and I got two of the light strips for the back deck. Sadly the Calla lights have failed. I really not sure why. Thet were working perfectly for over two years and then I tried changing the colors with the "new"? scenes feature. Three of them completly just refuse to turn on at all no matter what config, power supply, cable that I try. Nothing works! I even erased the hue bridge and started from scratch, which was a bit of a task. The three just can not be "found" no matter what-serial number input/hue remote reset method-NOTHING! The fourth Calla is found but behaves so erratically that I'm just giving up. Of course the are 2 years and about 3 months from purchase and tha warranty is 2 years from purchase so they are trashed. I'. not sure if I have the appetite to invest another $600 and try again. Aside from that they were always great lights!!

[seanlally]

Unfortunately, two years after installing these Philips Hue lights they have stopped working and Philips say they are out of warranty. So they are now to be consigned to the bin!

[donnanolan]

Thanks for this video. Do u cover your spot lights in the winter and do you bring in the power source in the winter? Thank you

[HarveyTAS]

FYI - I have 2 of the 16ft outdoor strips and 3 of the 6.5ft strips... one of my 6.5ft strips died this summer after just over 2 years. I hope my others fair better. Note: I live in Calgary as well. (No issues in cold weather so far)

[akakak]

In my experience 2 of 13 calla lights died due to condensate after 2 years. More to come (condensate visible inside) 7 lilly lights still fine.

[mrgproduction]

Hi Erin, I have a question. I am about to install a three light system but will be adding two more lights in about 3 weeks. Is it pretty easy to add lights to an existing setup or would you recommend setting them all up at the same time?

Thanks in advance!