Can Bluetooth Mesh lighting work without a gateway?

Yes. MESHLE devices talk to each other directly over a local Bluetooth Mesh network, so no gateway is needed for the lighting to run. Timers, scenes, sensor automations and Swarm all keep working without Wi-Fi, a cloud connection or a permanently connected phone. A gateway is only required when you want remote access, voice assistants or a link into a building management system.

MESHLE is offline-first: every automation is stored on the devices themselves and runs locally, so an internet outage never stops the lights.