Philips Hue Secure doorbell accidentally leaks via iOS app

Signify is seemingly close to launching its own Philips Hue video doorbell, following a leak in the company's own iOS app.

Signify's Philips Hue collection covers a lot of smart home devices, with the list chiefly consisting of lights and security cameras. While it doesn't currently have a video doorbell in its imaging collection, that could change within a matter of months.

Revealed by HueBlog, the Hue app for iOS was updated in March to include an option to register devices by QR code, with there also an option to add hardware without the QR code too. It's this latter option that confirmed the existence of the device.

Three smartphone screens display a home security app showing options for a secure camera, floodlight, doorbell, motion sensor, and outdoor sensor, with installation instructions and settings.

Secure Doorbell in the Hue app - Image Credit: HueBlog

Going through the "No QR code" menu brings up a list of device types, including a "Hue secure doorbell." The app asks users to make sure they physically install the doorbell, but attempting to continue brings up a warning that it can't find the doorbell due to a lack of power.

It is very likely that the doorbell will have video capabilities, with the doorbell requiring both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for setup.

Though there is no mention of the specifications of the doorbell, it is probably going to match the capabilities of the Hue Secure Camera line, which goes up to 1080p. The ability to talk to whomever rang the doorbell is probable, given the existing Camera features, as are smart alerts and the use of end-to-end encryption.

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The appearance of a device in an app is usually a good sign that a new product is on the way, or at least being tested for a future release. As for when that could be, report sources expect it will arrive sometime in the fall.

Probably not on HomeKit

While the appearance of the doorbell in a settings menu in the official iOS app is a good sign that it will work with the iPhone, there is still one catch that Apple ecosystem users may find irksome. Namely, the likely lack of HomeKit support.

The existing Philips Hue Secure Camera lineup do not have HomeKit support, and they do not work with HomeKit Secure Video. Though the doorbell will probably connect to the app securely with encryption, it's unlikely to do so with Apple's smart home platform.

Philips Hue does support Matter, the standard to help devices from different producers to connect with various smart home frameworks, such as HomeKit. However, while it covers a lot of hardware, Matter's support for security or smart cameras is somewhat lacking at the moment, though that can change in the future.

With a lack of HomeKit Secure Video support in the security cameras in their current state, the situation is unlikely to change until Matter makes its update.

6 Comments

bulk001 17 Years · 817 comments

About 2 days ago

Quote: “

with there also an option”?

Was this written by Apple Intelligence? 😂
Maybe: “with there also being an option” or just “with an option for”?

proline 12 Years · 224 comments

As someone with over 100 Hue devices, I wouldn't recommend Hue to anyone who isn't an engineer. They're actually quite finicky. You end up having multiple hubs to deal with the 50 device limit. When a light burn out, there's no easy way to replace it- you have to adjust all your automations, switches, etc to talk to the new light. This tech just isn't ready yet (and I've use it nearly 15 years).

2 Likes · 0 Dislikes

dewme 11 Years · 5943 comments

About 1 day ago

proline said:

As someone with over 100 Hue devices, I wouldn't recommend Hue to anyone who isn't an engineer. They're actually quite finicky. You end up having multiple hubs to deal with the 50 device limit. When a light burn out, there's no easy way to replace it- you have to adjust all your automations, switches, etc to talk to the new light. This tech just isn't ready yet (and I've use it nearly 15 years).

Wow, that’s impressive. I only have a baby Hue system with a few lights and motion sensors. To me the need for a hub seems redundant considering the state of the art in home automation technology. I hope Hue gets on board with Matter and Thread to eliminate the need for the proprietary gateway. The individual devices seem pretty good but are always in the high end of the price curve.

It seems like more makers of these peripheral devices are trying to jump in the systems business with additional devices like cameras and sensors. Ecobee is doing the same thing.

Hopefully the Matter standard will provide a way to assemble systems using whatever brand devices you prefer.

hammeroftruth 17 Years · 1374 comments

dewme said:

proline said:

As someone with over 100 Hue devices, I wouldn't recommend Hue to anyone who isn't an engineer. They're actually quite finicky. You end up having multiple hubs to deal with the 50 device limit. When a light burn out, there's no easy way to replace it- you have to adjust all your automations, switches, etc to talk to the new light. This tech just isn't ready yet (and I've use it nearly 15 years).

Wow, that’s impressive. I only have a baby Hue system with a few lights and motion sensors. To me the need for a hub seems redundant considering the state of the art in home automation technology. I hope Hue gets on board with Matter and Thread to eliminate the need for the proprietary gateway. The individual devices seem pretty good but are always in the high end of the price curve.
It seems like more makers of these peripheral devices are trying to jump in the systems business with additional devices like cameras and sensors. Ecobee is doing the same thing.

Hopefully the Matter standard will provide a way to assemble systems using whatever brand devices you prefer.

I have noticed that thread devices are really finicky about how the network is created. Some ISPs create headaches by locking down their router, or in some cases block the end user from configuring their own hardware like modems and routers.

Sure it would be great if they all worked together, but what I am running into is that HomeKit will act up with Thread devices and say they aren’t available, but if I create a new home, they will work intermittently, which hints the problem is in my ISP provided modem/router/AP and the solution is going to be replacing that and starting over with a clean configuration. That is terrible because I have about 50 devices and ironically Hue which is only controlling like 10 lights didn’t give me any trouble until it tried to switch from its proprietary configuration to Matter and then couldn’t see anything. I had to troubleshoot for days until I figured out how to configure it the old non-Matter way and now it works perfectly with Homekit and is probably the most reliable device platform (for me), IF you’re not gonna use multiple hubs like Proline does. 100 devices is a lot of money invested in Hue. They should make Proline a beta tester.