Smart bulbs are clever until someone flips the wall switch.
By Gabriela Vătu Oct. 25, 2026 8:15 am EST Visualspace/Getty Images Add Engadget on Google: Google DiscoverSmart bulbs are all the rage these days for people who are building up their collection of smart home gadgets. They're relatively cheap and colorful, and you can have them glowing in your lamp within minutes of opening the box. But the ease of setup hides a tradeoff that becomes obvious the moment someone else in the house flips the wall switch out of habit. The bulb goes dark, loses its Wi-Fi connection and refuses to respond to the app or voice assistant until the switch is flipped back on. And after a power outage, many smart bulbs turn back on at full brightness — not ideal during nighttime storms.
