Review – Have you ever wanted to add a fully customizable neon sign to your room that can be bent into (almost) any shape you want, but didn’t want to pay hundreds of dollars for a real glass custom neon sign? If so, the Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Light may be just what you’ve been looking for! Rope lights are designed to mimic the look of classic neon lights, and can be installed with bends and curves in different shapes.
What is it?
Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Lights are rope lights made from many LED lights that can be programmed into an almost infinite number of colors and patterns. There are various length options, I am reviewing the 3m version, but there are also 2m and 5m models being released.
What’s in this box?
- Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Light
- AC Wall Plug
- 10 x Mounting Brackets (8mm)
- 10 mounting screws with drywall anchors
- 4 x Alcohol Prep Pads
- User Manual
Hardware Specifications
- Lighting technology: RGBIC (red, green and blue controlled separately)
- LED lights: 252 individual lights in 15 lighting segments
- Color spectrum: 16 million color choices
- Smart Home Connectivity: Google Assistant/Home and Alexa Integration
- 24V DC
Design and Features
The Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Light feels like it’s mostly a rubber-like substance that provides flexibility and water resistance (though the control box itself isn’t waterproof, so be careful where you mount it). This allows very steep bends, but not 90 degree bends. Like the neon sign it is imitating, it can only do curves of different intensities.
The 10 included mounting brackets are 8mm wide (17mm deep), I wish they included more, but reviews on Amazon suggest that additional brackets are easy to find and inexpensive.
The rope light itself has a plug end to which the AC power supply and control unit are connected.
The 252 individual LEDs are so spread out that you can’t see the individual LEDs at all. This is a great neon effect that looks very neon-like when a solid color is chosen. It produces some great effects when using pattern or audio response mode, while still not betraying the individual LEDs under the diffuser layer.
installation and setup
The first thing you should do when setting up the Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Light is to plan your design on the floor, using a weight or book to outline the shape. Next, you’ll install the wall mounts (there’s a strip of tape and it looks pretty sturdy, but if possible I recommend using the included screws as well).
Once these are installed, simply push the Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Light into the stand and plug it in. Note in the image below, from the side, the mounting bracket and the rather thick body under the lamp are quite evident. It’s not a deal-breaker for me, but the angled view is certainly not as impressive as the frontal view.
The physical control box also has strong adhesion, so it can be placed on any surface or hidden. For full customization, you’ll need to get the Govee app (available for iOS and Android). Since I’ve reviewed many Govee lights (and bought a few), I’ve installed it. The next picture shows the process of adding a device. I was blown away by the vast catalog of Govee smart products, and every time I checked out a new Govee light, they seemed to be adding dozens of new SKUs. Because of this, I find it easiest to search for “rope” and the 2/3/5 meter model pops up right away:
Next, you get an extensive light customization menu. There is a wide variety of pre-built and community-shared designs and color palettes, including audio responsive options. I like the audio response option that Govee allows you to do app control or device control, if you’re doing the audio response version I recommend the latter so you don’t have to keep the app open all the time. The device’s own microphone listens to ambient noise, and the Govee RGBIC neon rope light responds accordingly. I’ve monitored network traffic with this mode enabled and don’t see any indication that the device is sending audio over the internet, but if you’re concerned about this, you can choose not to connect it to your wifi network and just use Built-in – in lighting mode (you can choose from over a dozen color and pattern options from the physical controller).
On the 3m rope light I reviewed, 252 individual LEDs were combined into 15 different controllable sections. Each section can have a custom color set, or you can create gradients from a palette (or even auto-generated from an image!), or you can be basic like me and mostly just use solid colors. I use the Govee integration with Google Home (and Alexa integration is also possible), which lets me turn lights on and off and change colors, from my phone or from voice control to the Google Home device.
Performance
Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Lights emulate classic neon signs nicely, with the added benefit of highly customizable colors and patterns. The video below shows the various lighting modes, including some audio response modes, and you can do just about anything you can imagine with this rope light.
The Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Light is bright when viewed head-on, but not enough to light even a small room on its own (unless you like very dim lighting). This device is great as an accent product, but please note that it cannot be used as a primary light source.
what do I like
- Highly customizable
- The audio response function works well
- Imitation of a neon sign from the front
what would i change
- Includes more mounting brackets – design limited to a few curves with brackets
- The mounted light looks rough from the side, would have liked to have a better design for a product designed to be wall mounted
final thoughts
The Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Light is a well-made product that allows you to add creative lighting elements to a wall or ceiling with just a few screw holes. Combined with a wide range of other Govee lighting options and integration with Alexa and Google Home/Assistant, you can add tons of custom lighting to your home or apartment (at a very reasonable price compared to the competition). I’ve used or reviewed nearly 10 different Govee products over the years, and only one of their cheapest RGB strips died for me, so the reliability seems pretty good.
Price: $79.99
where to buy: Amazon
resource: Samples for this review are provided by Govey
