Good question. I've never had any problems with mine. The official Phillips app has some limitations, such as insisting on using their cloud when you're not on

Good question. I've never had any problems with mine. The official Phillips app has some limitations, such as insisting on using their cloud when you're not on your own LAN. But there are many alternative apps and it's easy enough to write your own. I like one called Hue Pro, which does let you connect from outside without using the cloud.