The Govee Glide wall light is a really cool LED smart light. It’s totally customizable, both in terms of the colors in the display and in terms of how you set it up in your room. Many people use this light in a gaming room, a garage, as part of a smart home, etc. Personally, I use my Govee Glide wall light in my office to illuminate a work surface that I use for photography projects. (Govee sent me a Glide to review, but I was not otherwise compensated, and this is not a sponsored post.)
What comes with the Govee Glide wall light?
The cool thing with the Govee Glide is that it’s totally modular. The light consists of short segments of LED that can easily snap together to form different shapes. You can make a light that’s a long line. You can also include 90° turns to create a light that conforms more to the unique shape of your wall.
When you buy a Govee Glide wall light, the box includes several of these segments. It also includes a power converter that you plug into the first segment to power the whole light. Depending on the pack that you choose, you may also get one or more of the right angle adapters that allow you to create twists and turns in your light set up.
How to Set Up the Light
Your first step to setting up the light is choosing exactly how you want to configure it. Again, you can choose nearly any design to fit your space, as long as you have enough segments and turns. You could do one long line to install behind your TV for mood lighting or under a cabinet. You could also install it with multiple turns to illuminate the space behind two gaming monitors, for example.
In my case, I just wanted one long light that would cover the whole wall behind my photography area. Once you’ve decided on your design, start by laying out all of the segments you’re going to use on the floor. Each segment of the light snaps into the segment the precedes it. You simply align the two on top of each other and then press them together to snap into place.
You don’t need any tools to do this connection, and you can disconnect the light to configure it a different way in the future if you want. That way, it’s more flexible than some other LED light strips like the Philips Hue. With the Hue, you have to physically cut the strip down to size, whereas with the Govee Glide you can simply choose how many segments you want to snap together. If you want to create a turn, snap in one of the right angle adapters as you assemble your light on the floor.
Once you have your desired layout set up on the floor, plug in the wall adapter to a nearby outlet and then connect it to the first segment of your light. The light should come on, and all the segments should operate. It’s important to test the light in this way before you put it on the wall, in case one of the segments is not properly connected or has failed.
Mounting the light on the wall
Once you’ve tested your setup on the floor, it’s time to mount the light on the wall. Govee recommends that you break each segment down and reassemble it on the wall one piece at a time. Because my layout was pretty simple, I decided just to put the whole thing on the wall pre-assembled. Again, it’s up to you and the complexity of the layout you’re planning to build.
Each segment of the wall light has an adhesive strip on the back. To mount it, remove the backing from the adhesive, then press the light and strip onto the wall for 30 seconds to secure it. Again, you can build one segment at a time, snapping them together on the wall as you install them. Alternatively, you can take the lazy approach that I did and put the whole thing on the wall at once, removing all of the strips from the adhesive at one time.
One pro tip; if you’re planning to include any long, straight segments in your layout, I recommend using a laser level to ensure that the segments are level on the wall. You can eyeball it, but using a level ensures that it will come out perfectly. I used my Craftsman laser level, and marked out the exact places on the wall that I wanted each part of the segment to line up with.
Make sure that the first segment is reasonably close to an electrical outlet, too. You’ll have to plug the power adapter into the wall, and then run the cord up to the first segment of the light. Once the light is mounted on the wall, go ahead and plug in the power adapter and power it up. Your light should illuminate brightly, and should follow the layout that you planned. Great work, your Govee Glide is ready!
Using the light
One thing you’ll notice about the Govee Glide right off the bat is the fact that it doesn’t have any kind of built-in switch or controller. It’s a smart light, which means you can control it with your phone or with a voice assistant.
Once the light is installed and powered on, download the Govee Home app and select the option to add a new device. It should automatically detect your light, and walk you through the process of connecting it to your home’s Wi-Fi network. Once it’s connected, you can control the light directly from your phone. You can change basic settings and brightness, and you can cycle through any of approximately 16 million colors. You can even set each segment of the light to a different color to create a gradient effect.
Experiment with the different settings in the app until you have the perfect color scheme for your space. Of course, you can always change the colors based on the game you’re playing, the time of year, your own lighting preferences, etc.
The Govee Glide is a very flexible light for all kinds of lighting needs. I find that it works great to illuminate my work surface in the office. Check it out for your own office, game room, and more.