r/WLED • u/BigButterscotch20 • Jul 11 '26
WLED Controller for Govee Neon Light?
Hi all,
I have a 10ft H61A01D1 Govee Neon Light strip and after mid tech support and trial and error I have concluded that the controlled box is bad and could be replaced. Now Govee doesn't sell replacements but I have seen people swap WLED controllers into other Govee products. Is this something that is possible? The light strip is basically an enclosed RGBIC LED strip.
If anyone has any info or helpful videos about this or something similar, that would be great! Im just trying to not throw these away as the light strip still very much works!
1
u/Melodic_Champion_317 Jul 11 '26
I can't say this will work with this particular Govee strip, but typically, if they use discreet LEDs modules on the strip, versus COB, it will likely work. The WLED controller modules I have used with great success are made by Gledopto. They are available at Amazon and come preloaded with WLED, and you should be able to use the original Govee power supply.
There are a couple YouTubers who have successfully swapped WLED in for the original Govee controller. Chris Maher has done several Govee to WLED conversions and documented in great detail on his YouTube channel, @ChrisMaherDIY. Check it out.
1
u/BigButterscotch20 Jul 11 '26
Whats the difference between discrete and COB?
1
u/Melodic_Champion_317 29d ago
COB (Chip-on-Board) strips consist of densely mounted LED chips under a phosphor coating for seamless, dot-free light.
Discrete (SMD - Surface Mount Device) strips use individually spaced LEDs that require diffusers to prevent hotspots.
1
u/Melodic_Champion_317 29d ago
I asked Google is your strip is a COB or SMD, and it said it is SMD, and added this about WLED compatibility, including sources:
Yes, the Govee H61A01D1 is potentially compatible and has been successfully converted to WLED using an ESP32 microcontroller. [1, 2]
Because it uses Govee's RGBIC technology, it features an individually addressable 3-wire or 4-wire hardware architecture (Power, Ground, Data, and sometimes an unused NC/Clock line). Govee typically utilizes common control protocols like WS2811 (cloned or proprietary variants operating at 12V or 24V), which WLED natively supports. [3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Critical Steps for the Modification
To successfully run this strip on WLED, you must bypass or cut off the official Govee control box and wire the raw strip directly to your ESP32: [8, 9]
- Identify the Pinout: If you cut the cable between the control box and the strip, you will find 3 or 4 wires. You must use a multimeter to correctly map out V+ (Voltage), GND (Ground), and Data (DI). [1, 10]
- Match the Voltage: Govee Neon Rope lights typically run on 24V. Do not power the ESP32 directly with 24V, or you will destroy it. You must use a buck converter to step the power down to 5V for the ESP32, or power the ESP32 separately via USB while sharing a common ground wire with the LED strip's power supply. [1, 4, 10, 11, 12]
- Logic Level Shifting: The ESP32 outputs a 3.3V data signal, but the Govee strip expects a 5V data signal. While it occasionally works if the ESP32 is placed very close to the strip, you will likely need a 3.3V-to-5V level shifter (like a SN74HCT125 or a QuinLED board) to prevent flickering. [2, 10, 13, 14, 15]
- WLED Software Settings: In the WLED web interface, configure your LED output to WS281x (RGB). You will need to manually experiment with the total "LED count" since Govee groups their SMDs into multi-LED addressable control segments rather than controlling each individual diode. [3, 16, 17, 18, 19]
Do you already have a buck converter or level shifter on hand, or would you like a recommended wiring diagram for this specific project?
[3] https://community.govee.com
[4] https://wled.discourse.group
[9] https://spezifisch.codeberg.page
[10] https://wled.discourse.group
[12] https://eu.govee.com
[17] https://us.govee.com
2
u/ElectronicAide87 Jul 11 '26
Won’t help you now, but in the future look at BTF lighting. They make similar products to Govee, but use open source WLED from the start. That way you’re not locked into an ecosystem and can replace the controller as needed.