Is a home smart without smart lights? Govee offers a wide range of bulbs and LED light strips that quickly transform your home into a lovely scene. Once you integrate the lights into your virtual assistant (Alexa or Google Home), you get more convenience with voice control commands. However, for this to happen, the lights must be connected to your home network. Therefore, Govee lights not connecting to Wi-Fi becomes a significant cause of concern.
Luckily this is a fixable problem. In this post, I’ll walk you through the troubleshooting steps to help you fix your Govee lights connection.
Why Won’t My Govee Lights Connect To WIFI?
Govee lights won’t connect when using a 5 GHz Wi-Fi SSID or because the bulbs are too far from your primary router. When connecting your Govee lights, use a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network and ensure you have disabled any VPN running on your mobile device.
That said, there is a handful of other factors that are in play when connecting the Govee lights. When connecting your Govee lights, ensure that;
- That you are within the Wi-Fi range when setting up your bulb. Ensure the bulb is close to your router when setting up your Govee light.
- A stable Wi-Fi network that’s not overcrowded. Also, use the correct Wi-Fi password when connecting the bulb.
- Connect to 2.4Ghz frequency band. You can switch off the 5Ghz band when connecting your light and switch it back on when done.
- Your mobile device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the light. Also, turn on the necessary permission, location and Bluetooth.
- Reset the Govee bulb before connecting to the network. Resetting clears up any software glitches that may be causing your smart bulb to misbehave.
If your bulb was already setup on the Govee app but lost connection, it could be a network or server outage scenario. Confirm your home network state and power cycle the lights.
Also, check for reported cases of Govee server outage. The Wi-Fi bulbs must always be in sync with cloud servers to work on the app.
Troubleshooting Govee Lights Not Connecting to Wi-Fi
First, ensure that your phone is connected to your Wi-Fi network and that you disable any Virtual Private Network (VPN). The VPN masks your phone’s connection and may cause connection issues with other devices.
Also, confirm that the light’s main switch is turned on and ensure that your bulb model has Wi-Fi connection capability. Some of the Govee light models only work over Bluetooth.
Check Your Router Internet Connection
Ensure that your wi-fi network is working and can be used on other devices (phone, tablet, Tv, or laptop can connect to the network). Otherwise, your network connection is down, and you have to contact your ISP for a fix.
Suppose your Wi-Fi is showing lagging signs or not running at average speeds. A quick fix is to reboot your router. Unplug your router, wait for 1 – 2 minutes, and plug your router back into power.
Ensure you use the correct login credentials to connect your Govee light to the Govee app. If you misspell your password or leave a space after the last character, it won’t connect.
Also, double-check your router for any special settings. Turning on MAC address filtering on the router can affect linking new devices.
Also, check the security type on your Wi-Fi network. I have experienced connection issues connecting smart devices to “wpa2/wpa3-personal”. You can consider downgrading to “wpa2-personal”.
When connecting your Govee light to your Wi-Fi, be close to the router. The strength of your Wi-Fi is affected by different materials, concrete walls, metals, or different obstructions. Therefore, the connection can drop when your Govee light is far from the Wi-Fi router.
To fix this, ensure your router is centrally placed and the Wi-Fi range covers your house evenly.
Tip: 20 – 30 feet distance from the router would be an ideal position for you when connecting your Govee light to your Wi-Fi.
Use the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi frequency band.
Current routers can broadcast both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz frequency bands. 5Ghz offers more speed and bandwidth but less network range, while 2.4Ghz offers considerably less speed and bandwidth but more network range coverage.
Govee lights can only connect to the 2.4Ghz frequency band of your router. Therefore, if your router can broadcast both frequency bands, you should consider switching off the 5Ghz band. Pairing your Govee light with the 5Ghz network will lead to a Wi-Fi connection error.
Correctly Connect the Govee Lights
Following the proper steps when connecting your Govee light to the Wi-Fi network is crucial. To connect the Govee light to Wi-Fi, download the Govee app from your respective app store and follow in-app prompts to set up a room and devices.
If your Govee lights were already connected to the app before, remove the lights from the room and then reset them.
To remove a light, select the room where the light is, choose a light, and scroll down until you find “Delete.” Tap the button and confirm to delete the light. Repeat the process for all the other bulbs in the room.
Here is a complete guide on correctly connecting Govee lights to Wi-Fi.
Perform A Power Cycle on Your Devices
Restarting an electronic device helps clear out temporal software glitches affecting the connection process. Therefore, restart your router, the light bulb, and the Govee app.
To power cycle, unplug the device from the power outlet, give it 3 – 5 minutes to completely discharge, and reconnect it to the mains. Again, repeat the process for your bulb.
Next, force-close the Govee Home app on your device, and restart your phone.
After the devices restart and are connected to your network, attempt connecting the lights to Wi-Fi to check if it works.
Check your Apps
Check that your apps are updated if you use the Govee app or connect directly through any other smart light app. Keeping your apps updated ensures you get the latest performance features and fixes to common problems. Therefore, quickly look at your respective store for any available updates.
Again, prolonged cache build-up can mess up your apps when connecting a device. Clear the app’s cache and try linking your lights. If this doesn’t help, try uninstalling them and installing them afresh.
Reset The Govee Light and Reconnect
When resetting your Govee light bulb, connect the bulb to a standard fixture, not those dimmer ones.
To reset Govee light bulbs, turn the bulb on/off five times. The bulb should blink “Breathing mode” to show it’s ready to pair.
On the other hand, to reset Govee LED strip lights, continuously hold the power button while pressing the middle button 4 times on the control box.
Once your bulb resets, follow the correct procedure to connect your lights to the Govee app or your virtual assistant (Alexa or Google Assistant).
Final Thoughts
Govee Lights not connecting to Wi-Fi can be frustrating as it denies you the opportunity to enjoy your lights fully. While the troubleshooting guide solutions should help fix the problem. If nothing seems to help, contact the Govee support team for guidance or a quick replacement.
It could be that the light got damaged and can’t connect to any network. This can’t be ruled out when the lights won’t connect.
