Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Lights Review: Your Lights, Your Way

Rating:
8/10
?

1 – Absolute Hot Garbage

2 – Sorta Lukewarm Garbage

3 – Strongly Flawed Design

4 – Some Pros, Lots Of Cons

5 – Acceptably Imperfect

6 – Good Enough to Buy On Sale

7 – Great, But Not Best-In-Class

8 – Fantastic, with Some Footnotes

9 – Shut Up And Take My Money

10 – Absolute Design Nirvana

Price: $120

Govee Neon Rope Lights on wall — Marcus Mears III

Govee’s Neon Rope Light is the simple to set up, sure to spice up your room solution to a lacking atmosphere. Countless effects, quality construction, and unparalleled customizability make the Neon Rope Light perfect for movie nights, gaming setups, and holiday get-togethers.

Table of Contents

Here’s What We Like

Simple setup and installation
Vividly vibrant lights
Customization app
Smart home enabled

And What We Don’t

Corners are nearly impossible
No easy shape adjustments

The Neon Rope Lights come in three sizes: 2-meter (6.56ft), 3-meter (10ft), and 5-meter (16.4ft). They run for $59.99, $79.99, and $119.99 respectively—if that sounds a little pricey for RGB lights to you, you haven’t used Govee lights yet.

Craftsmanship: Not Your Average RGB

Length: 5-meters (16.4ft)
Number of bulbs: 420
Lumens: 173/m
Lighting Type: RGBIC LEDs
Smart home enabled: Yes

The 5-meter Neon Rope Lights are the first Govee product I’ve had the pleasure of using. I’ve lit up my desk and shelves with several different RGB light strip options over the years, but they all pale in comparison to the quality of this RGBIC (Red, Green, Blue Independent Control) rope light.

What Does "RGB" Mean, and Why Is It All Over Tech?

For quick context, the Neon Rope Lights are IP67 resistant—meaning they can take up to a 30-minute swim in 1-meter of water and come out functioning as intended. I wouldn’t test this intentionally, of course, but your rope lights will be safe in rain, puddles, or a quick dip in the sink or tub. Exceedingly few other similarly-priced RGB options that look this good offer you that kind of protection.

Something you’re liable to see on other light strips is a scarce number of LEDs and sizable gaps in between them. This makes one long strip of solid color easy enough, but blending colors and creating gradients is often impossible or unsightly.

420 LED beads illuminate the 5m Neon Rope Light, on the other hand, making gradients as easy as a tick of the “Gradient” toggle in Govee Home (more on this later).

The LEDs are encased in a silicone tube exterior, which feels infinitely more durable than the plastic strips of flimsy RGB lights you can find for $10 or less at the grocery store. The wires connecting the control box and power brick to the lights and wall aren’t braided, but they’re clearly quality and in no danger of fraying anytime soon.

Any time someone walked into my apartment, they immediately asked something along the lines of, “Whoa, what kind of lights are those?” So if you’re looking for a conversation starter, the Neon Rope Lights are a solid, high-quality option.

Setup and Installation: Plan Ahead to Make it Simple

Govee Neon Rope Lights with buckle — Marcus Mears III

The setup is nice and simple. Take the lights out of the box and plan out what shape you’re going to create. Then adhere the lights to your surface of choice using the included adhesive (or screw-in) buckles.

Tip: Make sure your design allows the power brick enough wire length to reach a power source.

Next, plug the power brick into a compatible outlet or surge protector and have the control box within reach. Connect the lights via Bluetooth to the Govee Home app for customization, smart home integration, and remote operation and you’re good to go.

Govee Neon Rope Lights forming the word love on the ground — Marcus Mears III

Something you’ll probably notice as you design and test different shapes is the inability to make sharp corners with the Govee Neon Rope Lights. Take a look at the “v” in “love.” It’s clear with context, but it could easily serve as a “u” in another word. Aside from that, the rope lights are generally malleable and easy to work with.

Once you have a design in mind and you’re ready to mount the lights, I recommend clipping the buckles onto the lights without removing the cover on the adhesive at first. This way you can hold it up to get an idea of how many buckles you’ll need to hang the rope lights up, give or take a few.

Govee adhesive buckle — Marcus Mears III

Screw them into your wall with the included anchors, peel off the cover and stick them to the underside of your desk, leave them lying on a table—you have more than one option for displaying the Neon Rope Lights, and you can always branch into DIY solutions like velcro pads or adhesive hooks.

Keep this in mind, though: once you stick the adhesive side to another surface, you’ll only get about one adjustment before it loses its stickiness or pries off of the buckle.

That’s all there is to it. Now it’s time to sync your lights with Govee Home.

The Best Space-Saving Surge Protectors

Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Lights Review: Your Lights, Your Way

For Behind Furniture

GE Pro 3-Outlet Power Strip with Surge Protection, 8 Ft Designer Braided Extension Cord, Grounded, Flat Plug, 250 Joules, Warranty, UL Listed, Gray/White, 38433

For Everyday Use

Belkin Power Strip Surge Protector with 6 AC Multiple Outlets – Flat Rotating Plug, 6 ft Long Heavy Duty Extension Cord for Home, Office, Travel, Computer Desktop & Charging Brick – Black (600 Joules)

For Desk Use

APC Desk Mount Power Station PE6U21, U-Shaped Surge Protector with USB Ports (3), Desk Clamp, 6 Outlet, 1080 Joules Black

The Flush Option

POWRUI Multi Wall Outlet Adapter Surge Protector 1680 Joules with 4-USB Ports Wall Charger, Wall Mount Charging Center 3 Outlet Wall Mount Adapter for Home, School, Office, ETL Certified

For Countertops

GE UltraPro 5-Outlet Extender with USB and USB-C Port, Surge Protector, Spaced Wall Tap, Side-Access, Charging Station, for iPhone/iPad/Samsung Galaxy/Google Pixel, 560 Joules, UL Listed, White, 43650

Govee Home: Colorful Customization

Govee’s device customization app, Govee Home (available for iPhone and Android) is extremely comprehensive, especially if you’re used to RGB that comes with a remote control and 16 or so colors to choose from. You may expect that to make the app complex, but it’s fairly straightforward after a minute or so of exploring.

Tip: Make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your smartphone before trying to add a device to your network.

Starting at the Home page (bottom navbar) on the Devices tab (top tab selection), you’ll see any other Govee products you may have in the middle section labeled All.

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// Set our new one: document.querySelector('.moka_gallery_wrap[data-galleryno="' + galleryNo + '"] .moka_gallery_slidewrap[data-slideno="' + directToSlideIndex + '"]').classList.add('activeslide');

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function moka_gallery_changeslide(galleryNo, direction) var slides = document.querySelectorAll('.moka_gallery_wrap[data-galleryno="' + galleryNo + '"] .moka_gallery_slidewrap'); var targetSlide = -1; for (var i = 0; i 0) targetSlide++; else targetSlide--;

// Allow wrap-around: if (targetSlide > slides.length - 1) targetSlide = 0; else if (targetSlide

x.classList.remove('moka_gallery_wrap_cls');

detectSwipe(x, function(el, dir) // Direction will be opposite what we want to go - natural swipe direction var numericDirection = 1; if (dir == 'right') numericDirection = -1; moka_gallery_changeslide(el.getAttribute('data-galleryno'), numericDirection); ); ); , 800);

If you’re adding your first Govee device, tap the plus icon in the top-right corner of the page. Now, search for your device as it’s labeled on the box and select it from the list. Govee Home will search for nearby powered Govee devices to connect to. Follow the on-screen instructions to pair your device—for Neon Rope Lights, quick-press the power button on the control block.

When your device connects, rename it as you see fit and connect to your Wi-Fi network.

Tip: If you’re planning to sync your Govee lights with your Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, try picking an easy name to identify the lights, like “kitchen cabinets” or “office.”

You now have the entire Govee arsenal of control and customization at your fingertips; tap on your added device to begin.

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Using the power button icon at the top of the page to turn your lights on or off is convenient when you don’t want to call out to your Google Nest or walk over to the control box. Make sure your lights are on or you won’t be able to proceed with customization.

Google Nest Mini (2nd Generation)

The Google Assistant connected smart speaker that fits in every home, just about anywhere.

Explore the Effects Lab, where Govee has designed pages of presets for you to apply to your own lights. Shift the brightness by individual percentage points from 1 to 100%. Choose from Music, Color, Scene, and DIY modes to let your creative side wander or apply one of many available preset lighting configurations. How your lights look at any given moment is entirely up to you.

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Govee Neon Rope Lights spelling "love" on ground

Marcus Mears III

Color mode lets you select individual segments of the Neon Rope Lights and change their colors, adjust their brightness, and change between warm and cool tones. You can also select the “Gradient” option to blend lights together where their segments meet.

100% brightness is almost blindingly bright at night time, so I recommend starting out at around 25 to 50% and adjusting from there. In the mornings I usually have white or dark red light set to around 10% brightness for a little office aesthetics boost.

This is where the “IC” (Independent Control) in “RGBIC” works its magic; one light strip is capable of displaying multiple colors, ebbing and flowing with different hues, effects, and brightness levels. Once you’re done designing, save it to “My colors” and pull it up another day exactly as it was created.

Moving to the Govee Light Studio tab, you’ll find user- and AI-generated lighting effects to instantly apply. The next tab, the Govee Home Community, is a social media network centered around Govee products—sharing design ideas with other users, giving feedback to the company, or simply showing off your new lights.

The Savvy User Store tab aggregates deals for Govee products. Lastly, the My Profile tab is where you can edit your personal information, change the app theme, ask Govee questions before you make a purchase, and adjust other similar settings.

Should You Buy Govee Neon Rope Lights?

I absolutely recommend Govee Neon Rope Lights to anyone looking for an RGB addition to their home. Top-quality craftsmanship, a comprehensive app, and RGBIC that gives the Aurora Borealis a run for its money make the Neon Rope Lights truly shine.

There are only a few minor downsides to a myriad of major wins—grab the size you need and upgrade the ambiance of your gaming station or home movie nights starting at $59.99.

Rating: 8/10

Price: $120