Enlarge Image Tyler Lizenby/CNET

After upsetting some of its user base, Philips Hue is announcing that it will roll back a recent system software update that blocked customers from pairing third-party smart bulbs with their Hue Bridges.

Philips issued the software update due to "an increased number of interoperability issues" stemming from third-party smart bulbs that use ZigBee, the same wireless communications protocol as the Hue Bridge and the Hue bulbs it controls. Users had long been able to add these outsider bulbs to their setups and control them alongside Hue bulbs using the Hue app. Many felt betrayed when last week's software upgrade shut the door on those bulbs, which include popular and relatively inexpensive options like the GE Link and Cree Connected LEDs.

Philips admits that it underestimated the impact that the change would have on its user base, and says that it's now working to reverse that software upgrade altogether. However, Philips continues to maintain that interoperability issues may occur in setups using third-party bulbs. To that end, it's sticking with the new Friends of Hue partnership program, which will allow Philips to test and certify third-party bulbs for performance and system compatibility. Though it will no longer block uncertified bulbs, Philips warns that it can't guarantee the seamless performance of systems that use them.

A full statement from a Philips spokesperson is included below: