Philips Hue Dimmer Switch v2 review: The smartest way to dumb down your smart lights

Coming full circle

I've reviewed a lot of smart lighting products, but the ones I spend my own money on are usually Philips Hue. I've always found Hue to be more reliable than the competition, and recent app improvements have made me even happier with my smart lights. That said, sometimes you just want a light switch.

Lightbulbs were among the first household objects to get "smart," which is funny as the standard light switch is already a marvel of form and function. While connecting bulbs to my network has added a ton of functionality, I don't always feel like talking to Assistant (especially if it's acting up) or opening an app. That's why I've been enjoying the new Philips Hue Dimmer Switch. In some ways, it's a step backward, but my house has smarts to share, and the $25 price tag is easy to swallow.

Design, hardware, what's in the box

When you buy a Philips Hue setup, you have to commit to keeping your light switch on. Turn it off, and the smart bulbs lose connection, and you can't control them via the app or connected services like Assistant. The Hue Dimmer Switch adds that "slap the wall" functionality back (and then some). There are four buttons just like the old v1 dimmer, but the layout makes a lot more sense. There's an on-off toggle at the top, the two brightness controls, and then a scene switcher at the bottom.

The dimmer comes with a wall plate to mount the dimmer wherever you want. It's just a bit of white plastic with a magnet, but it feels sturdy enough. You can hang it with nails or screws, but it comes with two pre-installed 3M adhesive strips for quicker installation. You might not notice if you walked past or even pressed a button, but the Hue Dimmer Switch doesn't have to live on the wall plate. It's held in place by magnets, so you can grab it and carry it around to change lighting without going back to the wall.

The remote itself is sturdy and reassuringly dense despite being composed of the same matte white plastic as the mount. The buttons are appropriately stiff with strong tactile response when pressed. There's also a small LED embedded in the power button that flashes when you hit any of the buttons. Around back, there's a small door for the coin cell battery, which comes pre-installed. It should last about two years before you'll have to swap it.

Features and setup

One of the things I like most about Hue products is how quick they are to set up. With Wi-Fi smart home devices, there's usually some awkwardness as you try to get it connected to your network, but Hue is a snap. In the case of the dimmer switch, you simply press and hold the power button to wake the remote up and it'll appear in the app for configuration.

Image Gallery (3 Images)

Most people will probably set the switch up to control all the lights in a single room, but you can add as many rooms as you want. You can even control all the lights in your house with one remote. If you are using Bluetooth instead of a Hue hub, the dimmer can still control a smaller number of lights. However, you won't be able to update the firmware. It's nice that Philips is supporting non-Hub usage, even if that's a sub-optimal way to manage Hue lights. I tested the Dimmer Switch v2 with a hub setup, and it worked perfectly with smooth brightness changes and scene shifting. Every button press was recognized in less than a second, and the switch hasn't lost connection once.

The power button is always the power button, and the same goes for the dimmer controls. The Hue button at the bottom defaults to cycling through the standard Hue scenes (there are five of them), but you can change the order, add new scenes, and even add custom scenes. I do wish there were more long-press controls available—the power button is the only one that supports that, and the only thing it can do is turn off all the lights in your Hue network.

Should you buy it?

Yes, if you're already invested in Hue lights. The revamped Dimmer Switch v2 is a great addition to any Hue lighting configuration that consists of at least a few bulbs. It's easy to set up, reliable, and it looks nice in an understated way.

I wish there was a little more customization in the Hue app, but you can't expect too much in a product that is designed to be dead simple. It makes your smart lights work more like the dumb kind, but sometimes that's what you need.

Buy it if...

• You already have Hue lights, and want a simpler way to control them.
• Members of your household don't want to use an app or voice to control lights.

Don't buy it if...

• You're already invested in a different lighting ecosystem.
• You have a collection of Hue lights but you don't use a hub to control them.

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About The Author

Ryan Whitwam (7124 Articles Published)

Ryan is a tech/science writer, skeptic, lover of all things electronic, and Android fan. In his spare time he reads golden-age sci-fi and sleeps, but rarely at the same time. His wife tolerates him as few would.

He's the author of a sci-fi novel called The Crooked City, which is available on Amazon and Google Play.

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