Can Philips Hue bulbs run schedules while the bridge is off?

Question

I understand I need the Philips Hue Bridge to control Philips Hue lights.

Let's say I set everything up and configure a light to go on/off on a schedule (turn on light in evening, turn off in morning). Then I disconnect the Bridge (unplug/power off). Will the light still go on/off on the schedule, or do I need the Bridge connected for this to work?

I guess what I'm asking is: Is the light itself aware of the time and schedule, or is it the Bridge which knows about the time/schedule and just sends on/off instructions to the light?

Answer 1

Nice question, love it! I've found some information on reddit. Someone asked,

[I am] wondering what happens if my network goes out. Can the lights and switches operate without the Bridge?

The answer given was,

No. The bridge is essential to controlling the lights. Without a bridge they are "dumb" lights that merely invoke their default behavior when powered on: bulbs to a warmish white light and light strips to their last activated colour.

Without the bridge any kind of color control, or any other behavioral control whatsoever beyond turning on/off by flipping the light switch or unplugging, is entirely unavailable.

The bridge is the brain of the operation. The bulbs just receive instructions from it; they have zero intelligence of their own. Your smartphone can be used to program/control the bridge, but cannot in any form address the lights directly: they speak a different protocol altogether from wifi called ZigBee.

In other words, the light does not know the schedule; it is very much the bridge that sends the instructions to the light. The light is basically an endpoint in the system with no intelligence of its own: it depends on the Bridge system to turn it on and off.