If your Philips Hue bulbs turn on automatically after a
power outage—even when “PowerOn Behavior” is set to Last State—the problem is
usually related to hub limitations, bulb firmware, or power fluctuation
behavior. Below are the most common reasons and how to fix them.
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1. The feature only works when the Hue Bridge is reachable
"PowerOn Behavior" is processed inside the bulb only
after it successfully reconnects to the Hue Bridge.
During unstable or rapid power fluctuations, the bulb may
turn on before it has time to reconnect.
Fix:
Use a UPS (backup
power) for the Hue Bridge to keep it online during outages.
Make sure the Bridge
is not rebooting slower than the bulbs.
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2. Older Philips Hue bulbs do not fully support “Last State”
Some older Hue models, especially pre2018, only support “On
after power loss” regardless of settings.
Fix:
Check firmware
version in the Hue app.
Update the bulbs to
the latest firmware.
Replace very old
bulbs if needed.
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3. You are using a third-party hub (Home Assistant, Zigbee2MQTT, SmartThings…)
"PowerOn Behavior" is a feature exclusive to the
Philips Hue Bridge.
If you paired the bulbs with another Zigbee hub, the feature
may not work or may behave differently.
Fix:
Pair the bulbs back
to the official Hue Bridge to fully enable the feature.
Or set a custom
automation in Home Assistant to turn bulbs off after power returns.
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4. Some electrical installations cause doublepower reset
If your home wiring experiences:
micro power drops
voltage spikes
rapid on/off cycles
…Hue bulbs may interpret this as a “reset command” and turn on by default.
Fix:
Use a surge
protector.
Install a voltage
stabilizer if your area has unstable electricity.
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Conclusion
Philips Hue bulbs turning on after a power outage usually
happens because the bulbs reboot faster than the Bridge, unsupported firmware,
or using a nonHue hub. Ensuring proper firmware, good power stability, and
using the Hue Bridge helps maintain the “Last State” setting reliably.