The Govee Outdoor Chromatic String Lights are, as the name suggests, a more saturated take on outdoor string lights.They may be pricey, but their attractive design and durability join Matter-compatibility in making these lights a compelling addition to the exterior of a modern smart home.Govee Outdoor Chromatic String Lights 8 Brand Govee Hub Required No Music Reactive Yes Color Range RGBICW The Govee Outdoor Chromatic String Lights are brighter, more saturated, and more energy-efficient bulbs for use outside on a porch, patio, or any other exterior gathering space.
They come with Matter compatibility and an expansive feature set via the Govee app.Pros & Cons Excellent unboxing experience and easy set up Reliable Matter compatibility Slightly improved weatherization for the outdoors Plug too large for some power outlets Some assembly required $170 at Govee $170 at Amazon Expand Collapse See Our Process How We Test and Review Products at How-To Geek We go hands-on with every product to ensure it's worth your time and money.Posts By Justin Duino Pricing and availability The Govee Outdoor Chromatic String Lights come in two sizes: 32.8ft and 65.6ft, priced at $170 and $300, respectively.
As is typical for Govee lights, you can regularly find these on sale directly from Govee or via Amazon.Specifications Brand Govee Hub Required No Music Reactive Yes Color Range RGBICW Wattage 26W Connectivity Wi-Fi, Matter over Wi-Fi Length 32.8ft, 65.6ft Brightness 240 lumens per light Outdoor Yes Expand Collapse Nicely packaged and easy to set up There's no fun in detangling a jumble of cables.Fortunately, these lights come packaged in styrofoam cutouts holding them firmly in place.
The bulbs are already strung together, and most of the wire is tied up in small bundles that you can loosen at your own pace, which you must do eventually to unravel the full length.You will also find clips, which the packaging refers to as hooks, that need to be snapped together above each bulb.These clips make the bulbs more presentable and better distribute weight.
Each clip also has a hole that you can drive a nail through to securely fix the lights in place.In that way, they do function as hooks.There's a control box with a single power button on it, which turns the lights on and off.
Holding this button down for over five seconds places the lights in pairing mode.On the other side of the control box, you'll find a 3M sticker for adhering the box to a wall or post.I recommend only doing this once you know for certain where your lights will be, because the sticker will resist efforts to change its location quite adamantly.
A similar sticker came with the string Govee Christmas Sparkle String Lights that I reviewed half a year ago.In attempting to remove that block from my wall, I ended up stripping paint from the drywall.Fortunately, this time around, whether I attach the block to brick or to wood, I'm less concerned about any aesthetic harm done in removing it later.
The bigger issue, for me, is that the plug is too large to fit into my covered outdoor power outlets.I will need to invest in an outdoor-rated power strip or extension cord in order to use these lights long-term.For the time being, I have the lights connected to the nearest indoor outlet.
It's less than ideal, so keep that in mind if your outdoor outlets are also surrounded by a protective box.A familiar and dependable Matter experience These lights, like most Govee lights, are Matter-compatible, and that is the only reason I am interested in them.I have an all-Matter smart home and generally skip cloud-dependent companion apps in favor of the features available to me over my private local Matter connection.
If Govee's app were the only way to control these lights, I may think they were neat, but I wouldn't buy them.If you've used one Matter light before, then you know what to expect here.When you first plug the device in, the lights flash rainbow colors, and they're frankly quite usable as they are.
For the first 15 minutes out of the box, the lights are in pairing mode.You can find the Matter QR code and pairing number printed on a sticker wrapped around a wire near the control box, which you scan or type into your smart home app of choice.In my case, I'm using a Homey Pro.
The Matter onboarding experience can be hit or miss, regardless of device.Sometimes it fails without providing a clear reason why, only to work successfully once you place the device back in pairing mode and try again.That said, I had a particularly difficult time pairing these lights with my Homey Pro, though that was due to no fault of their own.
As outdoor lights, these are almost by definition the farthest devices away from both my Wi-Fi access point and smart home hub.I attempted to set these lights up at the limits of what those networks can reach, and I spent upwards of half an hour hunting for a signal.It would have been better for me to pair the lights indoors near everything and take them outside.
Lesson learned.Once successfully paired, the lights have proven responsive to my commands from the Homey app.Since they only need to be near my Homey Pro for the initial pairing, distance is no longer an issue.
Thanks to various mesh Wi-Fi nodes in my house, the string lights are close enough to a router that they're okay.The light control options within the app are the same as any other Matter light.I can dim the lights from barely luminescent to very bright.
I can also change their color.Govee's Outdoor Chromatic String Lights offer a deeper color than that of the company's Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights.They're also three times brighter, at 240 lumens per bulb.
They do this while also using less energy: 26W compared to 48W.One limitation of Matter's controls is that the lights lose their animations.I can't make them alternate rainbow colors as they did out of the box.
Each bulb must be the same color and brightness at the same time.Fortunately, Matter controls do still enable automations.The lights can come on at night and turn off in the morning.
You can pair them to a presence sensor and have them come on when you enter the area and turn off when you exit.For me personally, Matter controls do enough that I don't feel the need to sign up for yet another account and give another company an opportunity to collect and monetize my behaviors and usage patterns.That said, you can unlock far more functionality by installing the Govee app.
Here you will find that the string lights have a similar set of options to any other Govee light.Govee's app not only allows for many dozens of animation presets, but your lights can also flash and pulse along to music.If, like me, you're not a fan of cluttering your phone with IoT apps, you can install this right before a big gathering or event, then remove it for the rest of the year when a simple glow from a single color using Matter is enough.
Durable enough to weather the weather These string lights aren't just any other smart home product.They're designed to be strung outdoors, and they are able to live outdoors.For that reason, they need to be strong enough to withstand the rain, wind, and whatever else the weather brings.
Fortunately, both the lights and the control box have an IP67 rating.This is a marginal improvement over the Govee Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights, whose bulbs were IP67 but whose control box was IP65.Subscribe to the newsletter for smart-home gear insight Make smarter buying choices by subscribing to the newsletter: concise hands-on reviews, practical setup tips, and side-by-side comparisons that help you evaluate smart-home lighting and outdoor gear before you buy.
Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.You can unsubscribe anytime.The day after I mounted these lights, they were met with a heavy downpour.
I didn't turn the lights off, unplug them, or take any protective measures at all.The next day, they continued to glow brightly.The wind and rain were not an issue.
To secure these lights from stronger winds, it's best to take advantage of the included hooks.By inserting nails or screws, you can give the lights as secure an attachment as possible.In this way, they become more of a permanent light fixture.
Already, they've transformed our back porch from a relatively dark space at night into an area lit well enough to feel comfortable in, even in our dark, heavily wooded corner of the world.Should you buy the Govee Outdoor Chromatic String Lights? The Govee Outdoor Chromatic String Lights are easy to set up, respond quickly to my smart home input, and so far function as advertised.Matter-compatibility means you aren't locking yourself into an ecosystem nor are you dependent on the cloud for core functionality, even though you do need Govee's app for the more exciting features.
Yet with a price of $170-$300, you have to really want the deeper hues and brighter lights.Cheaper 48-ft Matter-compatible Govee outdoor string lights can be had for under $100.You can get 100 feet of non-smart lights for under $100 as well.
Yet when compared with other brands like Philips Hue, Govee's price is quite competitive, especially when you consider that you don't also need to buy a separate hub.I'd be interested in knowing which product holds up better for longer, but that's unfortunately a question I cannot answer.For what it's worth, Govee offers a one-year warranty, whereas Philips Hue offers two.
Make of that what you will.Govee Outdoor Chromatic String Lights 8 Brand Govee Hub Required No The Govee Outdoor Chromatic String Lights are brighter, more saturated, and more energy-efficient bulbs for use outside on a porch, patio, or any other exterior gathering space.They come with Matter compatibility and an expansive feature set via the Govee app.
$170 at Govee $170 at Amazon Expand Collapse
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