RGBIC+ lightstrip is Matter ready... but that comes with some issues
A fantastic smart lightstrip with industry leading RGBIC+ tunable tech on board, the Govee LED Strip Light M1 Matter shines bright on numerous fronts. It's much cheaper than lightstrips from big name rivals, and it performs much, much better. The Matter integration is, on one hand, a selling point but it's also the only aspect of the M1 that really lets it down - although that's more down to Matter still being in its infancy. As a standalone 2m lightstrip, you aren't going to get better colors, effects and features than the Govee LED Strip Light M1 Matter anywhere else... but you will have to still use a native app.
Pros
- Superb brightness
- RGBIC+ means multicolors
- Great effects in the app
- Nice physical controller
Cons
- Matter means less features
- Matter is messy
- Wi-Fi, not Thread
- App is a tad clunky
Key features
- Lighting type: 2m RGBIC+ lightstrip.
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.
- Ecosystems: Matter, Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, SmartThings.
Govee is the latest brand to get in on the Matter party with the launch of the Govee LED Strip Light M1 Matter.
Not to be confused with previous LED Strip Light M1 lightstrips, the clue is in the name with the LED Strip Light M1 Matter.
See also: Govee Glide Hexagon Light Panels Ultra review
Costing $59.99 / £69.99, this 2m lightstrip isn’t just Matter smart home compatible but highly customizable thanks to the RGBIC+ tech that Govee often uses with its smart lighting devices.
Unlike traditional RGB lightstrips, which have all the LEDs set to the same color, RGBIC+ lightstrips are equipped with smart IC beads and can display multiple colors simultaneously; opening up a lot more lighting scenes for you to use in your home.
In the case of the LED Strip Light M1 Matter, Govee tells us that they pack in an industry-leading 60 light beads per meter, resulting in the highest luminosity of any 2m lightstrip on the market.
Govee is part of the Shenzhen Intellirocks Tech umbrella and has been making a big play in the past couple of years to get its connected tech to consumers in the Western World.
New arrival: Govee Strip Light 2 Pro review
Govee storefronts on Amazon are overflowing with a range of connected devices – predominantly smart lights – and the Govee Store itself is also pretty easy to use as well.
Take a look at our comprehensive Govee smart light review (which we’re in the process of updating) to find out more.
If it’s specifically the Govee LED Strip Light M1 Matter (model H61E0) that you’re interested in, read on for my full review to find out why it’s beaten the likes of the Nanoleaf Essentials and Philips Hue to become my new favorite smart light strip.
Design and installation
- Easy sticky back installation
- Physical controller
Installation is, as with all lightstrips nowadays, super simple. On the back of the lightstrip itself is a peel-away sticky strip so you can simply run it along the surface you want it to live on.
I installed in underneath my daughter’s bed and this was a super easy process and I was able to hide all the wires out of sight too.
However, you can also use the clips (also with sticky tabs attached) that come in the box and there are even some screws included too if you want to go really secure.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
Whatever method you use, you’ll have to plug the lightstrip itself into a a port on a wire that comes out of the controller.
A nice touch with the M1 is that it comes with a physical controller. This allows you to power on and control the lights without getting out your phone, or bothering your digital assistant.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
On the controller is a power button, a button that changes the color and a button that cycle through some of Govee’s lighting effects.
Both the controller lead and the power lead have plenty of length, so you can easily get your M1 plugged in, even if you’re running it a few feet away from the mains.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
The M1 is a 2m lightstrip, as mentioned, but you can add 1m extensions or, if you need it smaller, you can also cut it.
It’s worth noting that there is a 5m M1 lightstrip available but it’s not a Matter model. We’re told there will be the option to add Matter to that one as some point in the future.
Setting up and controlling
- Works with Matter
- Uses Wi-Fi, not Thread, for Matter
- Native app needed for full feature set
Obviously a big USP of the M1 Matter, as you would have gathered from the name, is that it’s Matter smart home compatible.
Obviously, one of the main reasons for the Matter smart home system is that you don’t necessarily have to use a brand’s app; instead you can control devices through whatever smart home ecosystem you use, whether that be Apple Home, SmartThings, Amazon Alexa or Google Home.
I won’t go into too much detail on exactly what Matter is and what it means for you smart home here – as we’ve got pretty comprehensive guides and explainers galore on our Matter hub page.
Rather, I’ll go through exactly what Matter meant for me, when dealing with the Govee M1 specifically.
Given I run a smart home website for a living, I’ve probably got more than the normal amount of smart home systems and assistants running in my house.
For the Govee M1 Matter, I decided I’d put it through its paces by adding it as a Matter device through Apple HomeKit and taking it from there.
My thinking was that, although I use Apple Home, no one else in my Alexa-trained household does. So I figured it would be a good test of the M1, and its Matter capabilities.
It ended up being a good test of my patience.
Initially, pairing using Matter was easy enough through HomeKit, which is probably the most streamlined ecosystem in terms of pairing Matter devices.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
I simply went through all the steps as I have done with a few Matter devices before and it was all paired up and raring to go within a matter of seconds.
No native app needed, no fiddling around disabling 5GHz Wi-Fi on my Eero router, no fuss at all. Exactly what Matter was intended to achieve.
However, mass confusion started after I tried to access, using Matter, the M1 through another ecosystem… Alexa.
Initially it all worked fine, I grabbed the Matter pairing code from the Apple Home app and used it to add it as a Matter device to Alexa.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
Again, that’s all pretty straightforward and it’s great how easy Matter has made it to transfer devices to other platforms and retain control in both.
It was only when I went into the Govee app that things got weird.
You may be wondering why I’d even bother going into the Govee app, as I could now control the M1 using Matter through both HomeKit and Alexa. And I could have added it to SmartThings, Google Home or even Home Assistant in a matter of minutes.
However, while much of Matter’s early success has been focused on it making smart home setup processes easier than ever, much of its criticism has been focused on its limitations.
As we noted in my recent Nanoleaf Essentials Matter review, the array of smart light controls is quite limited when using apps like HomeKit and Alexa.
For the M1 the lightstrip can be set a solid color or color temperature, and the brightness can be adjusted. That’s about it and this RGBIC lightstrip is capable of so much more, so I headed over to the Govee app to really put it to the test.
I was pleased with how easy Matter made the setup process but I wanted to dig deeper on the feature set.
I’ve got a few Govee smart lights scattered around my house, so I’m familiar with the app.
The first thing I noticed when I fired up the app was that the icons on the M1’s homescreen tile suggested I was only connected to it via Bluetooth, there was no Wi-Fi icon as per another, non-Matter, Govee lightstrip I have setup.
That makes sense because another major plus point for Matter is local control.
Yes, the M1 Matter is a Wi-Fi smart light (rather than a Thread one) it is controlled locally – i.e. now cloud processing – using your Matter controller.
In my case, this would probably have been via an Apple TV 4K as I initially set up via HomeKit; although it’s still not really clear what controllers actually control Matter devices in your house if you have more than one… and I have about 73.
That’s kind of irrelevant though also, as another reason Matter exists is so you don’t have to worry about things like that; stuff should just work.
‘Should’ being the key word here. I noticed as soon as I entered the control panel for the M1 lightstrip in the Govee app, things weren’t working at all.
After playing around in the Govee app and marvelling at the dazzling effects on offer (more on that in a bit), I noticed that the M1 had became unresponsive in both Alexa and HomeKit.
It started working again in HomeKit after quick off and on at the plug, but then I noticed it had disappeared in Alexa completely; it had even erased itself from an Alexa Routine I had added it to.
I re-did the Matter pairing code process and added it again in Alexa and, rather than the fetching “Third Light” moniker it was given by Amazon’s assistant last time around, it was instead now “Fourth Light”.
No big deal I thought, and I left it like that for a few days.
However, I’d installed it under my daughter’s bed and it was part of a bedtime light Alexa Routine. And it had about a 20% success rate.
So I tried setting timers through HomeKit instead… and again it was hit and miss, often missing its scheduled on or off time.
So I made a big call. I ended up ‘ditching’ Matter and connecting directly over Wi-Fi through the Govee app.
This meant no local control, no extra Matter security blanket and no feeling smug that I had a Matter device working successfully.
None of that. But that’s not necessarily Govee’s fault; Matter is still somewhat of a pickle and that was definitely apparent here.
But let’s not get too bogged down with Matter as, if you’re only looking to pair with one ecosystem, you are unlikely to encounter the issues I had… probably.
Features and performance
In order get the most out of the light, you need to hook it up to the Govee app, which unlocks a similar set of features to the company’s other products, such as the Lyra Floor Lamp and the Neon Rope Light.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
Within the Govee app you are able to control up to 20 different segments of light, with 64 different light modes on offer.
The app itself is super busy and somewhat clunky to navigate but once you get your head around what each section means, you’ll be fine.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
There are super niche options, as well as brilliant features like music syncing, which uses the M1’s built-in microphone to sync with your tunes. It’s a great option for creating a party scene in your house with minimal effort.
And if there’s not an effect already set up that you like you can pretty much customize to your heart’s content. There are 20 customizable segments, with 17 moving effects on offer.
The brightness, responsiveness and color effects are are pretty much unrivalled. Brightness is rated at 730 lumens per meter, with a color temperature range of 2,700k to 4,000k.
There’s a choice of 16 million colors, and the M1 does a great job of blending colors together.
The M1 Matter is easily the brightest lightstrip I’ve ever used and the tunable white light and full color segments allow you to create incredible effects.
The photos in this review don’t really do it justice so here’s a video of me cycling through a few of the preset ‘scenes’ on offer.
Final thoughts
The Govee LED Strip Light M1 is, without doubt, the best lighstrip I’ve used for numerous aspects including brightness, effects and customization.
And the fact that it’s Matter compatible only adds to the package… in theory at least. For now, and I don’t think this is Govee’s fault at all, the Matter integration is a bit buggy and very limited compared to what you can achieve with the native app.
So, while one of Matter’s main selling points is “no more extra apps” you really are going to have to use an extra app to really make the most of the excellent Govee LED Strip Light M1 Matter.
How we test
When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.
Smart lights usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a connected light for a week and deliver a verdict.
Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular light compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.
Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.
Read our full guide on How We Test Smart Lights to find out more.
FAQS
Is the Govee LED Strip Light M1 Matter Thread?
No, it uses Matter-over-WiFi
Is the 5m Govee LED Strip Light M1 Matter?
No, that’s not a Matter device.
Govee LED Strip Light M1 Matter H61E0: Specs
| Type | LED Strip Light M1 Matter H61E0, RBIC lightstrip | |
| UK RRP | £79.99 | |
| US RRP | $59.99 | |
| Length | 2m | |
| Color | 2,700k to 4,000k | |
| Release date | 2023 | |
| Ecosystems | Matter, Alexa, Google Home, HomeKit, SmartThings | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | |
| Brightness | 730 lumens / m |
