Hue Lights help

Haha yes but thanks for checking because you never know!
How far are your lights from the bridge?
The four I’m talking about are about 10-30 feet away.

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Were they connected to another bridge at one point? If so, you’ll be no bueno without putting in the serial number.

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They were but why would that affect the search for lights function?

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They were but why would that affect the search for lights function?

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Once they're paired with a bridge, a bulb's firmware will no longer respond to any bridge's search request. The way I understand it is that the bridge basically screams out "Hey, who's out there?" and the bulbs that aren't paired yell out "Here I am!". Paired bulbs keep quiet.

You can pair already paired bulbs with a new bridge (or pair them again to the same bridge) but you need the serial number for the light to enter into the bridge. Then, the bridge will call out that specific light and it will then respond to a request to pair. That way, your neighbor doesn't accidentally (or not accidentally) pair your lights with their bridge. It also allows you to add new lights without having to figure out if you're trying to pair the new light or one you already have set up.

In the future, it's a good idea to take snapshots of the base of your bulbs named with their physical location or keep a spreadsheet with bulb serial numbers that you can refer to if you ever need to pair them again. I learned this lesson when I smashed my bridge beyond repair and had to go all over the house pulling bulbs to read serial numbers.