4 ms·

I spent probably $150-$200 for 7 packages of "high CRI" "long lasting" phillips brand LED bulbs last year, for a total of 28 bulbs. 6 of them have failed in le

I spent probably $150-$200 for 7 packages of "high CRI" "long lasting" phillips brand LED bulbs last year, for a total of 28 bulbs. 6 of them have failed in less than 9 months, either flickering so badly it could cause an epileptic seizure or just straight up dying on me. It's maddening.

smolder 4y ago
Look at the fixtures you're putting them in and consider if they're getting adequate cooling. If your average "long lasting" (they all claim this, but not at what temperature...) LED bulb is uncomfortably hot to touch, it's on the fast track to failure.
- sp332 4y ago
  Mine are hanging in thin air over my bathroom mirror. The GE Reveal bulbs say they're good for bathrooms, but I suspect they don't like the humidity. I have four at a time in the fixture and six of them have died in the last two years. Once this box is empty I'll get something else.
  - smolder 4y ago
    Ah, probably not a heat problem, then.
    - sp332 4y ago
      Oh, it's a good point to look out for. I'm just really annoyed at these.
  - vxNsr 4y ago
    If you still have the receipt you can file a warranty claim.
jimbobjim 4y ago
The Phillips bulbs I bought have a ridiculously high failure rate. About half have failed within 6 months. Much worse than the supermarket own brands, or cheaper ones from Amazon.
- cesaref 4y ago
  Meanwhile I replaced around 40 halogen bulbs with Philips branded bulbs around 5 years ago, and have not had a single failure. It's possible the quality has changed, but i'm also wondering whether the mains voltage might be a factor - there is quite a wide range of possible voltages allowed whilst still being in-spec, so maybe i'm lucky at my properties and mains voltage is on the low end of the standard and maybe you're running hot. It's all most frustrating! BTW, I went with Philips on the basis that there was a good chance that if I did need to replace a few after a year or two due to failures i'd be likely to be able to source the same bulb, as it's really annoying if you find one bulb a different colour than the others...
- olyjohn 4y ago
  The Philips Hue bulbs somehow never burn out. I have about 30 of them in my house, and the oldest ones (5+ years old now) are working as well as the new ones that I have bought recently. They are the only "smart" thing that I have in my house, because they're the only thing I've ever hooked up that worked with 100% reliability. They don't require an internet connection, etc. I never have connection problems, never have to reboot the hub, the switches work for me 100% of the time.
  - 8note 4y ago
    I've got a couple burnouts on Phillips hue bulbs
  - cataphract 4y ago
    Same. I have half a dozen hue bulbs from 2016 and none hav failed. The ones I have from Innr have not failed either. 4 of them are outdoors. With Philips spinning off the lights division, I don't know the current quality. On the other hand, I've had others (non smart ones) starting to flicker or otherwise just dying after as little as one year.
louky 4y ago
Best case there is to never buy again, name and shame the specific model places like this discussion, and use the warranty! PITA I know.
- seanp2k2 4y ago
  If the warranty expires, buy the same ones from $BIG_BOX_STORE and return the broken ones. The companies send them back to the mfgs for credit. They'll get the hint eventually.
  - sokoloff 4y ago
    If the bulb lasts past the warranty and then dies, you recommend that we defraud the manufacturer of the bulb?
eth0up 4y ago
I had similar issues with Phillips. I bought six over a year for the relatively excellent quality of the light, but they'd start flickering after a month or two. I had first suspected an electrical problem, but then tried them at entirely different locations in entirely different sockets and found the same. Haven't considered buying Phillips since and won't, ever. Nice light, shit construction.

smolder 4y ago

Look at the fixtures you're putting them in and consider if they're getting adequate cooling. If your average "long lasting" (they all claim this, but not at what temperature...) LED bulb is uncomfortably hot to touch, it's on the fast track to failure.

sp332 4y ago
Mine are hanging in thin air over my bathroom mirror. The GE Reveal bulbs say they're good for bathrooms, but I suspect they don't like the humidity. I have four at a time in the fixture and six of them have died in the last two years. Once this box is empty I'll get something else.
- smolder 4y ago
  Ah, probably not a heat problem, then.
  - sp332 4y ago
    Oh, it's a good point to look out for. I'm just really annoyed at these.
- vxNsr 4y ago
  If you still have the receipt you can file a warranty claim.

jimbobjim 4y ago

The Phillips bulbs I bought have a ridiculously high failure rate. About half have failed within 6 months. Much worse than the supermarket own brands, or cheaper ones from Amazon.

cesaref 4y ago
Meanwhile I replaced around 40 halogen bulbs with Philips branded bulbs around 5 years ago, and have not had a single failure. It's possible the quality has changed, but i'm also wondering whether the mains voltage might be a factor - there is quite a wide range of possible voltages allowed whilst still being in-spec, so maybe i'm lucky at my properties and mains voltage is on the low end of the standard and maybe you're running hot. It's all most frustrating! BTW, I went with Philips on the basis that there was a good chance that if I did need to replace a few after a year or two due to failures i'd be likely to be able to source the same bulb, as it's really annoying if you find one bulb a different colour than the others...
olyjohn 4y ago
The Philips Hue bulbs somehow never burn out. I have about 30 of them in my house, and the oldest ones (5+ years old now) are working as well as the new ones that I have bought recently. They are the only "smart" thing that I have in my house, because they're the only thing I've ever hooked up that worked with 100% reliability. They don't require an internet connection, etc. I never have connection problems, never have to reboot the hub, the switches work for me 100% of the time.
- 8note 4y ago
  I've got a couple burnouts on Phillips hue bulbs
- cataphract 4y ago
  Same. I have half a dozen hue bulbs from 2016 and none hav failed. The ones I have from Innr have not failed either. 4 of them are outdoors. With Philips spinning off the lights division, I don't know the current quality. On the other hand, I've had others (non smart ones) starting to flicker or otherwise just dying after as little as one year.

louky 4y ago

Best case there is to never buy again, name and shame the specific model places like this discussion, and use the warranty! PITA I know.

seanp2k2 4y ago
If the warranty expires, buy the same ones from $BIG_BOX_STORE and return the broken ones. The companies send them back to the mfgs for credit. They'll get the hint eventually.
- sokoloff 4y ago
  If the bulb lasts past the warranty and then dies, you recommend that we defraud the manufacturer of the bulb?

eth0up 4y ago

I had similar issues with Phillips. I bought six over a year for the relatively excellent quality of the light, but they'd start flickering after a month or two. I had first suspected an electrical problem, but then tried them at entirely different locations in entirely different sockets and found the same. Haven't considered buying Phillips since and won't, ever. Nice light, shit construction.