Must I buy Connect Bridge?

I'm a home user with Level 1 certification and limited experience. Question: If I upgrade to Essentials 12.2 will I have to purchase a Connect Bridge for the system to work? I currently have 12.0 firmware. I ask because under New Features, Item 4 is: Remove Support for LHC+Mobile App: Details are provided to the user of the app for upgrading to the Lutron Connect app which provides an updated user experience without a subscription. A quick look online has the cost of the bridge at somewhere around $225. One other question. In my reading of this forum it sounds likes one bridge model had issues. Is there a model number that I should get, if I decide to do that? Thanks.

If you are going to buy a bridge, make sure it is the BDG2. This one is enabled for HomeKit, as well as Google Assistant and Alexa. If you decided to upgrade, you won't need a Connect Bridge unless you want to have an app to control the lights (either at home or remotely). The old Home Control+ app has been discontinued and is no longer supported in 12.2.

I recently upgraded to 12.2.1 and am experiencing crashes whenever I go to the Design tab and the Visor Receiver is selected as the current Keypad (unfortunately, this is the default one selected so it always crashes when I go to Design). I'm not sure if my issue is environmental or specific to my project. I tried uninstall/reinstall including cleaning out C:\ProgramData\Lutron and creating a fresh project from Extract Project File. I have an open case with Lutron Support.Regarding the question as to whether the Lutron Connect Bridge is required, I don't believe it is but it gives you remote access to your house, support for HomeKit, Alexa, and Google Home. I highly recommend having one.

I created a test file with 12.2 (Inclusive) and could not recreate the issue with the VCRX. If you had a previous version of the RR2 software, it is still on your computer. Use the previous version of the software and database to see if the problem exists. If it works with a previous version, try importing the file in to 12.2 again. This will tell you if the import routine is corrupting the file. If you know someone with SQL skills, they might be able to fix the error.

I would also send an email to support@lutron.com. It will probably get to engineering faster but you won't get to listen to Lutron propaganda while on hold.