diff --git a/packages/utils/src/useControlled.test.tsx b/packages/utils/src/useControlled.test.tsx
index 5ace18a408d..adbf6f940d8 100644
--- a/packages/utils/src/useControlled.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/utils/src/useControlled.test.tsx
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@ import { act, createRenderer } from '@mui/internal-test-utils';
 import { useControlled } from './useControlled';
 
 interface TestComponentChildrenArgument {
-  value: number | string;
+  value: number | string | object | null;
   setValue: React.Dispatch<React.SetStateAction<number | string>>;
 }
 
 interface TestComponentProps {
   value?: number | string;
-  defaultValue?: number | string;
+  defaultValue?: number | string | object | null;
   children: (parames: TestComponentChildrenArgument) => React.ReactNode;
 }
 
@@ -138,5 +138,135 @@ describe('useControlled', () => {
         render(<TestComponentArray />);
       }).not.toErrorDev();
     });
+
+    it('does not throw when defaultValue has React elements', () => {
+      function TestComponentArray() {
+        useControlled({
+          controlled: undefined,
+          default: {
+            value: <span />,
+          },
+          name: 'TestComponent',
+        });
+        return null;
+      }
+
+      expect(() => {
+        render(<TestComponentArray />);
+      }).not.toErrorDev();
+    });
+
+    it('does not throw when defaultValue has function', () => {
+      const fn = () => 100;
+
+      function TestComponentArray() {
+        useControlled({
+          controlled: undefined,
+          default: {
+            value: fn,
+          },
+          name: 'TestComponent',
+        });
+        return null;
+      }
+
+      expect(() => {
+        render(<TestComponentArray />);
+      }).not.toErrorDev();
+    });
+
+    it('does not throw when defaultValue has bigint', () => {
+      function TestComponentBigInt() {
+        useControlled({
+          controlled: undefined,
+          default: 1n,
+          name: 'TestComponent',
+        });
+        return null;
+      }
+
+      expect(() => {
+        render(<TestComponentBigInt />);
+      }).not.toErrorDev();
+    });
+
+    it('should warn only when defaultValue changes', () => {
+      let setProps: (newProps: any) => void;
+
+      expect(() => {
+        ({ setProps } = render(<TestComponent defaultValue={0}>{() => null}</TestComponent>));
+      }).not.toErrorDev();
+
+      expect(() => {
+        setProps({ defaultValue: 1 });
+      }).toErrorDev(
+        'Base UI: A component is changing the default value state of an uncontrolled TestComponent after being initialized.',
+      );
+
+      expect(() => {
+        setProps({ defaultValue: 2 });
+      }).not.toErrorDev();
+
+      expect(() => {
+        setProps({ defaultValue: 0 });
+      }).not.toErrorDev();
+    });
+
+    it('should warn only when defaultValue has functions/components and changes', () => {
+      let setProps: (newProps: any) => void;
+
+      const items = [
+        {
+          item: <span />,
+        },
+        {
+          item: () => 100,
+        },
+        {
+          item: <div />,
+        },
+      ];
+
+      expect(() => {
+        ({ setProps } = render(
+          <TestComponent defaultValue={items[0]}>{() => null}</TestComponent>,
+        ));
+      }).not.toErrorDev();
+
+      expect(() => {
+        setProps({ defaultValue: items[1] });
+      }).toErrorDev(
+        'Base UI: A component is changing the default value state of an uncontrolled TestComponent after being initialized.',
+      );
+
+      expect(() => {
+        setProps({ defaultValue: items[2] });
+      }).not.toErrorDev();
+
+      expect(() => {
+        setProps({ defaultValue: items[0] });
+      }).not.toErrorDev();
+    });
+
+    it('should not fail on null values', () => {
+      let setProps: (newProps: any) => void;
+
+      const s1 = null;
+      const s2 = undefined;
+
+      expect(() => {
+        ({ setProps } = render(<TestComponent defaultValue={s1}>{() => null}</TestComponent>));
+      }).not.toErrorDev();
+
+      expect(() => {
+        setProps({ defaultValue: s2 });
+      }).toErrorDev(
+        'Base UI: A component is changing the default value state of an uncontrolled TestComponent after being initialized.',
+      );
+
+      expect(() => {
+        setProps({ defaultValue: s1 });
+      }).not.toErrorDev();
+    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/utils/src/useControlled.ts b/packages/utils/src/useControlled.ts
index 612400b6bc6..fbb361da93b 100644
--- a/packages/utils/src/useControlled.ts
+++ b/packages/utils/src/useControlled.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 // TODO: uncomment once we enable eslint-plugin-react-compiler // eslint-disable-next-line react-compiler/react-compiler -- process.env never changes, dependency arrays are intentionally ignored
 /* eslint-disable react-hooks/rules-of-hooks, react-hooks/exhaustive-deps */
 import * as React from 'react';
+import { error } from './error';
 
 export interface UseControlledProps<T = unknown> {
   /**
@@ -36,9 +37,9 @@ export function useControlled<T = unknown>({
   if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
     React.useEffect(() => {
       if (isControlled !== (controlled !== undefined)) {
-        console.error(
+        error(
           [
-            `Base UI: A component is changing the ${
+            `A component is changing the ${
               isControlled ? '' : 'un'
             }controlled ${state} state of ${name} to be ${isControlled ? 'un' : ''}controlled.`,
             'Elements should not switch from uncontrolled to controlled (or vice versa).',
@@ -54,16 +55,18 @@ export function useControlled<T = unknown>({
     const { current: defaultValue } = React.useRef(defaultProp);
 
     React.useEffect(() => {
-      // See https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object/is for more details.
-      if (!isControlled && JSON.stringify(defaultValue) !== JSON.stringify(defaultProp)) {
-        console.error(
+      if (
+        !isControlled &&
+        serializeToDevModeString(defaultValue) !== serializeToDevModeString(defaultProp)
+      ) {
+        error(
           [
-            `Base UI: A component is changing the default ${state} state of an uncontrolled ${name} after being initialized. ` +
+            `A component is changing the default ${state} state of an uncontrolled ${name} after being initialized. ` +
               `To suppress this warning opt to use a controlled ${name}.`,
           ].join('\n'),
         );
       }
-    }, [JSON.stringify(defaultProp)]);
+    }, [defaultProp]);
   }
 
   const setValueIfUncontrolled = React.useCallback((newValue: React.SetStateAction<T>) => {
@@ -74,3 +77,36 @@ export function useControlled<T = unknown>({
 
   return [value as T, setValueIfUncontrolled];
 }
+
+function serializeToDevModeString(input: unknown) {
+  let nextId = 0;
+  const seen = new WeakMap<object, number>();
+
+  try {
+    const result = JSON.stringify(input, function replacer(key, value) {
+      if (key === '_owner' && this != null && typeof this === 'object' && '$$typeof' in this) {
+        return undefined;
+      }
+
+      if (typeof value === 'bigint') {
+        return `__bigint__:${value}`;
+      }
+
+      if (value !== null && typeof value === 'object') {
+        const id = seen.get(value);
+        if (id !== undefined) {
+          return `__object__:${id}`;
+        }
+
+        seen.set(value, nextId);
+        nextId += 1;
+      }
+
+      return value;
+    });
+
+    return result ?? `__top__:${typeof input}`;
+  } catch {
+    return '__unserializable__';
+  }
+}
diff --git a/test/setupVitest.ts b/test/setupVitest.ts
index c19b098986e..167abf9821a 100644
--- a/test/setupVitest.ts
+++ b/test/setupVitest.ts
@@ -1,20 +1,30 @@
-import { vi } from 'vitest';
+import { beforeAll, vi } from 'vitest';
 import setupVitest from '@mui/internal-test-utils/setupVitest';
 // eslint-disable-next-line import/no-relative-packages
 import '../packages/react/test/addVitestMatchers';
 import '@testing-library/jest-dom/vitest';
-import { reset } from '@base-ui/utils/error';
+import { reset as resetBuiltError } from '@base-ui/utils/error';
 
 declare global {
   // eslint-disable-next-line vars-on-top
   var BASE_UI_ANIMATIONS_DISABLED: boolean;
 }
 
+let resetSourceError = () => {};
+
 setupVitest();
 
+beforeAll(async () => {
+  // In compiler tests with workspace aliases disabled, the source module and package entry
+  // can be loaded as separate instances, so reset the source copy too.
+  // eslint-disable-next-line import/no-relative-packages
+  ({ reset: resetSourceError } = await import('../packages/utils/src/error'));
+});
+
 afterEach(() => {
   vi.resetAllMocks();
-  reset();
+  resetBuiltError();
+  resetSourceError();
 });
 
 globalThis.BASE_UI_ANIMATIONS_DISABLED = true;