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Smart bulbs acting up? Try a manual reset

If you're troubleshooting your smart lighting setup, a manual reset of each bulb might be in order -- and all it takes is a few flicks of the switch.

Ry Crist Senior Editor / Reviews - Labs
Originally hailing from Troy, Ohio, Ry Crist is a writer, a text-based adventure connoisseur, a lover of terrible movies and an enthusiastic yet mediocre cook. A CNET editor since 2013, Ry's beats include smart home tech, lighting, appliances, broadband and home networking.
Expertise Smart home technology and wireless connectivity Credentials
  • 10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team
Ry Crist
2 min read

Watch this: Get your smart lights in line with a manual reset

Replacing your lights with connected LEDs is one of the easiest ways to smarten things up around the house. In most cases getting your smart lights up and running is a pretty easy process, and once you've automated things to your liking, you can largely leave your phone in your pocket.

Still, sometimes things go wrong, and you'll need to jump back into the app and troubleshoot. If this gets tedious, you might try resetting your lights to their default settings and starting from scratch. Luckily, this is a lot simpler than it sounds -- here's how to do it:

Ry Crist/CNET

Belkin WeMo LEDs

Start with the WeMo LED on, then flip the switch off and wait 1 second before flipping it back on. Wait 3-4 seconds, then repeat two more times. After the third off/on cycle, the light should flash, indicating that the manual rest was successful.

Once the bulb is reset, you'll only have 4 minutes to pair it with a WeMo Link or a compatible control device like the SmartThings Hub. Fail to do so, and you'll need to start the reset process again.

Osram Lightify LEDs

Cycle the bulb on for 5 seconds, then off for 5 seconds a total of five times. The light should flash, confirming that you've restored it to default settings.

Colin West McDonald/CNET

Connected by TCP LEDs

Starting with the bulb off, cycle the power on and off three times. After three cycles, turn the bulb back on and leave it. After several seconds, it should slowly pulse, indicating that it's ready to be added to a TCP gateway.

Cree Connected LEDs

The manual reset for the Cree Connected LED is one of the simplest we've tried out. Turn the bulb off for 2 seconds, then on for 2 seconds. Repeat three more times. After the fourth cycle, the bulb will flash, indicating that the reset was successful.

GE Link LEDs

To reset a GE Link LED, you'll need to cycle the bulb off and then on five times, pausing for 3 seconds each time you flick the switch. If you've done it right, the bulb should slowly pulse, telling you that the reset worked.

philips-hue-bridge-factory-reset.jpg
You'll need to reset your entire Philips Hue setup in order to delete a lamp. Ry Crist/CNET

Philips Hue LEDs

Due to limitations in the Philips Hue API, you can't currently delete a bulb from the app, nor is there a simple way to reset the bulbs manually. Your best option is to force a factory reset on the Hue Bridge, which deletes all lights and scenes, and then start your setup again from scratch. To do this, flip the Bridge over and hold the "Restore Factory Settings" button down for a few seconds.