How to sync smart lights with music

Three ways lights can follow music

There are three common ways to get smart lights moving with a song. They suit different rooms.

• A light's own music mode. Many Govee lights have a microphone and a music mode built in, and the WiZ app has music features of its own. They're easy to try, but each only moves its own brand's lights, and a microphone hears the room, not the song.
• A TV sync box. The Philips Hue Sync Box sits between your TV and its sources over HDMI and matches Hue lights to what's on screen. It's great for films and games, but it only follows the TV and only runs Hue lights.
• A music source that controls the lights. This is what FirePod does. You play from any app over Bluetooth, the way you would with any speaker, and FirePod moves every Matter light in the room to the same song, whatever the brand.

The steps below set your lights up for the third way. Most of them also help with the first two.

Step 1: Check which lights you have

Look for the Matter logo on the box or in the light's app. Not every model supports Matter, even within one brand. If you're not sure of the brand, check the box: Signify makes both Philips Hue and WiZ, and some bulbs in our test room that we'd been calling Hue turned out to be WiZ.

Philips Hue lights need a Hue Bridge. The Bridge is what shares them over Matter. Most WiZ, LIFX, Govee and GE Cync Matter lights join your Wi-Fi directly, with no hub.

Step 2: Get your network ready

Matter lights join your home Wi-Fi, so the light and your phone need to be on the same network during setup. If every light you try hangs at "Setting up", check your router's IPv6 setting before anything else. That was the cause in our home.

Step 3: Add each light with Matter

1. Put the light in pairing mode. For many bulbs that means switching it off and on at the wall until it pulses. Hue lights pair through the Bridge instead.
2. Open your smart home app and add the light with the Matter code from the box or from the light's own app.
3. If the light is already set up in another app, open pairing mode from that app to get a fresh code to share.
4. Give it a minute. Some bulbs, WiZ among them, restart after joining a new app.

Each brand has its own quirks. Our brand guides go through them one at a time:

• WiZ
• Govee
• LIFX
• Philips Hue
• GE Cync

Step 4: Place the lights for the music

Brands change at different speeds, and that matters when a song has a busy beat. In our test room:

• WiZ bulbs keep up with fast changes best, so they're good for the quick hits.
• LIFX bulbs fade smoothly, which suits slow builds and softer songs.
• GE Cync bulbs are steady, and start to fall behind past two or three changes a second.
• Govee strips are slower than bulbs, so they work best for the bigger moments in a song.

Put a fast light where you'll see it most, and use the slower ones to wash a wall or a ceiling. Mixing brands looks better than it sounds: read how we got five brands working in one room.

Step 5: Play music

With FirePod, you add your lights in the Firedance app, then play a song from Spotify, Apple Music or any other app on your phone, tablet, computer or TV. Your lights change colour and brightness with the music for as long as it plays. Your lights can stay in the apps you already use. See how FirePod works and the full list of supported lights, music apps and devices.

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Questions

Can I sync smart lights from different brands to the same song?

Yes, if the lights support Matter and something plays the music and controls them all. A brand's own app or built-in microphone mode only moves that brand's lights. FirePod plays your music over Bluetooth and moves every Matter light in the room together.

Do I need a hub?

Most Matter bulbs from WiZ, LIFX, Govee and GE Cync connect straight to your Wi-Fi with no hub. Philips Hue is the exception: Hue lights connect through the Hue Bridge, which shares them over Matter.

Why do some of my lights lag behind the beat?

Brands change at different speeds. In our test room WiZ bulbs keep up with fast changes best, LIFX and GE Cync start to fall behind past two or three changes a second, and Govee lights fade into each new colour over most of a second. FirePod plans around each light's speed so they all land on the beat.

My light is stuck on "Setting up". What do I do?

Check your router's IPv6 setting, then try again. That was the cause in our home for both Govee and GE Cync lights. If a light still won't join, it may already be paired to too many apps: remove it from one you don't use, or reset it.

Do I have to stop using Apple Home, Google Home or Alexa?

No. With Matter, a light can stay in Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, SmartThings or Home Assistant while FirePod handles the music.