Govee M1 - Cutting / Reconnecting LED Strip with Different Length Wires

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

🎄 BEST Christmas 2024 DEALS (updated daily): amzn.to/41ffvu6 ☑ Check out my sponsor to begin your FREE 14 day trial to Aura: aura.com/chrismaher Govee M1 LED Strip Amazon: amzn.to/3Brp6jc Govee M1 LED Strip Govee: govee.sjv.io/jWbgQ6 Spotless Regular LED Diffuser Channel 1m Amazon: amzn.to/47aIujz Spotless Regular LED Diffuser Channel 2m Amazon: amzn.to/3QoHeDb 5% Discount Code: CHRISMAHER Spotless Regular LED Diffuser Channel 1m or 2m Company Site bit.ly/3NHG5Uw Spotless Corner Diffuser 1m Amazon: amzn.to/3DFhRpf Spotless Corner Diffuser 2m Amazon: amzn.to/3Krqw2q 5% Off Discount Code: CHRISMAHER Spotless Corner Diffuser 1m or 2m Company Site: bit.ly/3D3yI4R Wire Stripper: amzn.to/3x9RGF0 Soldering Iron: amzn.to/3jxx1mB Solder: amzn.to/3r6smMA Solder Smoker Absorber: amzn.to/3rbHCYp Helping Hands: amzn.to/3v19YG3 Colored Silicone Wires: amzn.to/3Keoel3 Black and Red Silicone Wires: amzn.to/3DTFARN White Silicone Wires: amzn.to/3y1AaT9 Heat Shrink Tubing: amzn.to/3733zSH Wago Connectors: amzn.to/3y1y5qu Heat Gun: amzn.to/3SKNuD9 ============================= Support My Channel Directly: Become a monthly contributor on Patreon: www.patreon.com/ChrisMaherDIY Buy me a Coffee: paypal.me/ChrisMaherDIY ============================== How-To Solder Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6G2q2aEjb6frpo Main Govee M1 Review Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpmwn36MpqZ8jdk Other Videos I Have Made: Best Flexible Diffuser Material Ever?! kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3mnp6Rtr6d4pbM Best Diffuser Channel on Amazon: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4SuoJJ-mbCJj6M Best Edge Lit Diffuser Channel on Amazon: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fH-nmp6qbLuZiNk DIY Diffuser Channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYLZZIGZgr6ja8k DIY Ground Level Deck with LEDs: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZPSnKuffqp2prc DIY Board and Batten video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGKWh3-fgJx0hbc How-To Video for the LED Pegboard Project: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWWoq39_Zst5pLM DIY LED Baseboard Trim: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5ybeaF9rcuEp5I RGB Lamp Hack: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3-zg5Jvbd1_h7s Corner LED Light using Pex Tubes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHrFha2LeZd4as0 DIY Govee Glide using only paper: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGqvpJyHdrd5l9U Simple Corner LED Project: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHOYeaSNnbKLhNE DIY Customizable Light Up Images: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKLCq6V7mMeLfqc LED Strip Diffuser Ideas: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZmqQl5yNn7VnaLs DIY Hexagon Project: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmrbeKx4acabr7s DIY Edge Lit Designs: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpC3pXuhd6dmrKM DIY Black Acrylic Floating Shelves: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJTWhICqi8SippI Other LED Tutorial Videos: Installing WLED on ESP32: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioCon3mBgdJsidk How To Solder Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6G2q2aEjb6frpo Installing WLED on esp8266: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ommyfpxtiLKjp9U Power Options for LED Strips: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXfXm5lroqlpqqM Use WLED with Govee Lights: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omHWg3pnjKaVp5I Re-Use Leftover LED Strips: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4TRpp5jjamJmKs Unboxing Videos: Sync Entire Room with Govee Immersion: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKW7qomLjtt7ick Divoom Pixel Art: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2raZnmCnsuamrc Govee Glide: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2TNe6ybYsuMpa8 Govee Lyra: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHeniq1pbL-ijrc Govee Hexa: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3W8hqmcmMpnqq8 Govee 3d: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYqXpH6Hpd2Dfrs Lytmi Neo 2.0: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaXLXniaesuGn9U Tiki Torch Bluetooth Lights: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYu1o4uGmamgfdk The best way to help support my channel is to like, comment, make sure your subscribed and share my videos with as many people as you can. The other way is to use my links above as I get a small % at no extra cost to you if you buy something. Thank you all for the support! #govee #ledlights #neonlights

[@pretor706]

I appreciate the amount of production on this video. Looks simple but man that's a lot of work. Pre-production, shooting and editing. Thanks

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching! I appreciate the kind words and you are very welcome! Glad you are enjoying the videos!

[@swampsn1per878]

I swear, Chris you have the most informative and best LED KZbin channel out there! constantly putting out new ideas, responding to common questions with video updates and even just taking the time to like the comments under your videos. Keep it up, I can't wait to own quite a few of these strips and make some projects with them!

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much buddy! I appreciate all the kind words! They are for sure fun to play around with! Hope you have a great weekend!

[@lucasmoore8558]

I second this! I couldn't find any videos then this came up... Such a great video, very informoative, clear and to the point.

[@AndreasGo-r3j]

Cris this exactly was my queries if i can cut the led strip in half and extend the second part for 2 meters without any problems and you answered everything about it! You were very informative thank you keep it up 🙏

[@lancerobbins24]

I know it is redundant, but this specific application applies to the Govee M1. The Govee M1 are 24v and that extra voltage is able to overcome the additional resistance the lengthening wires between sections introduce to the strip. If someone were to try and do this with a 5v strip, I’m sure it would have a different conclusion without power injection or even a sacrificial pixel mid extension section to boost the data on to the next section…FYI

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks for watching and that is a great thing to point out and for sure spot on! Big benefit of the 24v is being able to do something like this without sacrificing performance. Thanks for the great info!

[@benwhittle7204]

I really wish they’d start doing strips at 48-56V so that they can draw power directly from PoE (and be controlled with a Pico/ESP) without introducing another layer of DC-DC conversion and losses.

[@dobyvan]

Thanks for the video! I’ve built a similar setup with a 12v tapo led strip in my kitchen. It’s 2.5m led + 4m wire + 2m led + 2m wire + 0.5m led. The voltage drops so much after the first set of wires the second strip barely has a couple of led lit up weakly. I’ve tried to insert an amp in between but made no difference. Do you have pointers? Thanks

[@johncbakeriii9294]

Will this work for 4 16ft. Runs? With only 1 12v 4amp power supply?

[@ajcarterfilms]

@@johncbakeriii9294 I don’t think so. Everywhere I have read online, has said you can only connect to maximum of 2x 16 foot strips.

[@userbosco]

This is the kind of video that makes KZbin so valuable. Great video, thanks!

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and glad you liked the video!! Thanks!

[@Dubzero946]

So I stumbled on this channel by accident and I have to say, this is the best most informative channel on multiple levels. I binged watched most of your videos over the weekend and feel like I could light up time square with the knowledge you gave me! Unreal. Im now a life long sub buddy. Im gonna steal all these projects for my basement. You are the man Chris 👏

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for the kind words and thanks for watching! Glad you are liking the videos! I appreciate the support and as long as people keep watching I'll keep making them! Hope you have a great week!

[@nrasnake4275]

Great video Chris! This video and comments from @Martin Rox and @Andrew Jenkins helped me troubleshoot and resolve my M1 splice flickering issue. Hopefully my experience can help others. I installed two 16ft M1 strips and had to put an extension splice to go across a doorway. I made the cut on the 3rd joint back from the end and spliced in about 12ft of 18awg 4 conductor (solid) thermostat wire. I soldered on 3-4” 18awg stranded wire leads to the strip pads on both ends for flexibility and soldered those leads to the thermostat wires. When I turned the lights on everything worked except the last segment, which flickered different colors at random. The fix was replacing the data wire (2nd from the bottom relative to “G” orientation indicator) with a separate 24awg wire in a CAT5 twisted pair cable. FYI, the pinout is Ground, Data, 24V (relative to “G” orientation) and the top pad does nothing. As a check, I even added another 10-15ft of CAT5 and still didn’t get any more flickering. Not sure if it was an impedance issue (due to the added resistance and capacitance of the extension) or noise issue (due to EMI and/or the data wire running next to the power/ground wires) but running the separate data wire using one 24awg wire in a CAT5 twisted pair did the trick…….. If that didn’t work, I was going to tie the other wire of the twisted pair to ground (on only one end) to create a pseudo EMI shield. I was also going to try coax cable. If that didn’t work, or you really want to go long distance, check out a TTL to RS-485 converter (

[@JPtheDIVERSE]

Appreciate you actually testing this out!! Perfect for my kitchen cabinet lighting!!

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

You are very welcome and thanks so much for watching!

[@Gurminder_S]

Did it work for your kitchen cabinets? Thinking of getting these for my kitchen too.

[@MasterOfNone88]

I followed each step by step. took my time. had some pretty good solder connections...it was a no go for me. NOTE: ahhh. one of the soldering points was stripped (bad connection). I cut another section off and re-solder. IT WORKS !!!!

[@OldCottage]

I was really hopeful to follow the great lead that Chris has made with experimenting in cutting the Govee M1 as I need 2 x1 meter strips separated by approx 2 meters. So I bought the Govee M1 2 metre length, did the cut at 1 metre, soldered the cables on with approx 500 mm tails, joined them with connectors and all worked fine. HOWEVER, soon as I introduce a cable of approx 2 m in the middle the second strip doesn’t fully light or flickers. I’ve tried different gauge of wire, thicker, thinner and different connectors but just cannot get the second strip to fully light properly. Any ideas appreciated !

[@OldCottage]

Here is an update for anyone who experienced the same issue I had of the second strip not properly responding. I was able to buy from Amazon exactly the same cable as Chris, the BNTECHGO 18 AWG wire and all worked now so something to do with matching the right impedance over an approx 2m length. Thanks Chris for the initial inspiration to try it out !

[@Sean-dv9eh]

​@@OldCottagedid you only use the white silicone 18 gauge wires or the black and white set? Mine are doing exactly the same thing, The end strip flickers with the last four LEDs not lighting.

[@mrdubr]

Thank you so much for posting! Was looking for this answer all over.

[@mark_getset_go]

I've been learning a lot from your videos; thank you! This video is just in time for a project I was trying to figure out, and you've provided the solution. My patio pergola is going to look sick! :) I'm really looking forward to trying this technique out.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and glad the timing worked out! Sounds like a super fun project!!

[@RatedRGameGuy]

Thank you for these videos. You make it really simple to understand for people just starting off 👍🏼

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and for the kind words! That's my goal so I'm glad you think so!!

[@emanezgo9852]

thank you for a quick and easy tutorial I have been wondering if this is possible. gonna be heading to your soldering vid next

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! Appreciate the support buddy!

[@emanezgo9852]

@@ChrisMaherDIY ✌

[@yasminmartin111]

I love this video! Makes more sense than the last 5 I just saw, whew thank you!!

[@toddkitta]

Couldn't have seen this video at a better time! Going to be doing something just like this coming up and this answers my questions. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

That's awesome! Glad the timing was perfect! You are very welcome and thanks for watching!

[@pbrat2000]

Awesome content, you saved me a lot of time experimenting for a custom install. You have hit every technical question I had.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and glad you liked the video and glad it was helpful! Appreciate the kind words!!

[@mattdorsey3258]

Seriously!!! Keep doing what you are doing. Great effort, shooting, and editing. As well as answering questions alot of us have about led strips with the filler or bs. You earned a subscription out of me

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! I appreciate the kind words and thank you for the support my friend! Glad you are liking the videos!

[@J_Alrighty]

Thanks a lot. I searched for a long time before finding this informative video

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

You are very welcome! Thanks so much for watching! Glad you liked the video!

[@yagizbandanoglu8032]

i’ve been searching a video for this since the dawn of time

[@DSeptarov]

Hello, thanks for sharing! I have a question: let’s say I’d like to sync two set up like this being in two different locations in the room and not hardwired to each other to light as a single set up and mimic all the settings of each other (color output, brightness, etc). With two separate power supplies and two separate controllers is that something that Govee allows you to tune up in the app?

[@RIP212]

Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much.

[@Raizit]

Great Video, this helped me a lot! But there is one more Thing I need to know What happens if you cut the the end (like 1 Meter) and place it in the middle of the strip, connecting it to a t-shape piece?

[@RickReichenberg]

Hello. Thanks for the instruction for cutting and reconnecting multiple segments. You referred to using Wago connectors for the M1 strips. Can you tell me which connectors to get. I’m having difficulty finding a 4 pin, 12 mm connectors. Thanks!

[@Sean-dv9eh]

Did you ever find any?

[@BARFMEDIA]

your videos have answered all of my questions! thanks so much!

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

You are very welcome and thanks for watching!!

[@juliusdelapaz128]

bro, thanks for this! hard to find the info, but this is the confirmation video I just need for my project

[@9thousand999SantaFe]

Aside from cutting and rejoining strips everywhere I look it says that the minimum length for a cut is 3 m. You suggested that it would be possible at 1/2 m. It was also mentioned by one person that when they cut in a random spot that the controller wouldn’t recognize the new length? I would love to get down to a half meter

[@justinoftexas]

Great video man. It's what gave me the ok to cut my m1. I've run into an issue now where I am not gettin continuity from end to end cut at a meter. I recently had the m1 split in half 3 meters x2 and didn't have any issue. Not sure why it's acting up now but it's happening on 2 1m pieces.

[@troymcdonald]

Thanks for this. Perfectly answered some thoughts I had for an upcoming project.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

You are very welcome! Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@frankhernandez5273]

Thank you!! This is exactly the video I was looking for.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

You are very welcome! Thanks for watching and glad you liked the video!

[@m1c4hm4n]

This is so close to what I'm looking for, and now that this video is 2 years old...do you know if there is an easier way to wire them together such as bundled wires or quick connects? These videos are immensely helpful Chris thank you.

[@chadgreen4853]

Thank you! Another great video as always, and yes again you have answered all my questions and helped me for my project.

[@40roam]

I love these lights and ordered the M1 and diffuser channels... Now my issue is the cut makes my staircase either 1 for short or 5 inches too long. My next idea was under the bed... But we plan on replacing the frame. I tried to see how it'd look down the length of my bedroom... But dreamview makes the room obnoxiously bright(I know I can change that). I've wanted these for a while, and more so after seeing this video a while back. Now I have what I need, but can't think of a worthy application for them. I want one or 2 in my room, and one replacing the older version my stair railing(but too short/long). I could follow this video to be able to use the 5 foot leftover piece somewhere else, but nothing worthy is within 10 feet of my stairs. Choices choices.

[@victorvek5227]

Chris - how do you start the Govee m1 in your preferred diffuser though? The control has that female connection for the four pins, it doesn’t fit inside the track! Also, and this is to Govee - make solder points closer! It’s terribly limiting to be forced to only cut every 1.5ft.

[@drhome93]

Hey maybe somebody knows, in the M1 instructions they say that the strip cannot be cut in the first 3 meters from the head. If ild like to combine this with a 5m piece to get lets say 7m in total does it also affect me, or can i cut like 2meters from the head? Im just wondering if this aplies to every individual piece of maybe its someehow related to the voltage that a single piece connected to a single PSU cannot be shorter than 3m. Thanks for answer!

[@P_Lou]

“Did someone tell you they love you today? Somebody get this man a I Love You!

[@shaunsmith3202]

Finally someone does a video I didn’t want a continuous led strip for my shelves why doesn’t Govee do a interconnecting lead so you can do this

[@karlluigi1987]

Finally the tutorial that I actually need

[@stephanguidry2178]

Thanks, Chris. Exactly what I was looking for.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

You are very welcome! Thanks so much for watching !

[@kaiynvogler7649]

What if I want to cut on one of the other cut points where there aren’t pads at I still able to reconnect them?

[@Sjaubi-qf6wd]

Awesome but can you see any, I mean any spots thru the spotless diffuser channel when using the Govee M1 LED tape lights?

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching. With the Muzata diffusers I'm using, it truly is spotless. Here is the full review of these lights I did where i go into that in more detail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpmwn36MpqZ8jdk

[@shubhamjain5600]

That's awesome 😎 I was planning to do something similar for my ceiling, but wasn't sure if adding approx 8-10 would result in current drop and change in color. But now i know, it won't 🤯

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! You should be good! No voltage drop from what I could tell!

[@eugenecole1363]

Very informative video. However, I attempted to cut and splice the Govee M-1 light strip and it did not work. Only 1st 40" of the strip worked after cutting and splicing. Tried to refresh but that didn't resolve the issue. Would like to discuss the problem with the cutting and splicing as described. Wasted $200 on lights that won't work now.

[@chrisvettraino7030]

I’m looking to understand the same.

[@PointsPlayTravel]

This video helps tremendously! I cut and extended an LED strip and noticed the LED’s are flickering. Perfect solder job too. Could this be due to a weak power supply? Or maybe the strips are not placed in the same direction? Idk, the flicker is really bothering me

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! Yeah that would bother me as well! I'm not sure! How long is the distance between some of the sections? But yeah, if the different sections are not all going in the correct direction, (the G on the led strip should all be going in the same direction and away from the power supply when reading left to right (hopefully that makes sense) But I do also always try to be mindful of amazon's return window in case they don't work correctly you can always just return/exchange them!

[@ZeroAltera]

I have the same issue when extending about 15ft with 18awg wire. When I tested with 22awg it works better, but still issues. Did you solve this?

[@Marcos-iy8dd]

Exactly what I was wondering! Great video!

[@supernova8962]

Another AWESOME LEARNING Video..Thanks

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks as always buddy! Appreciate it!

[@Superhermit]

Intriguing. Contemplating ways to implement this in my home

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching! Lot of options!

[@thecyberhobbit]

Hell yes this answered every single question I had. Was just looking to do the same thing thank you!

[@riannunney2763]

This may be a dumb question, but, with the Govee M1, if I plug it in to an outlet controlled by a light switch, will the strip ‘remember’ it’s last setting when I flip the switch on/off/on? Or when it loses power does everything need to be programmed on the app again?

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment. That's a great question! If I remember correctly, I do believe it remembers the last setting. I would say I'm 95% sure of that lol.

[@ajcarterfilms]

Yes it does remember the last setting

[@ZeroAltera]

FYI Extension wire type and length has a big impact on if this will work. I tried to extend ~15 ft with 18awg wire and the data signal is lost after a few LED segments. As others have posted, if your extensions is too long the led strip will drop out a few segments past the extension. Others in the comments have posted the same thing. It seems very sensitive.... like 6ft will work, but 10 feet will not.

[@ZeroAltera]

So after more testing, I tested using 18awg wire and the strip stops after 1 meter. Then I changed to 22awg shielded wire and now the strip stops after about 1.5 meters. I am thinking the wire impedance is messing with the communication to the ICs. What wire are you guys using that you can extend the strip 10+ feet?

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks for the information! That's good to know and I'm curious as well what might be causing that and what if any might be the solution. I know I just used some 18awg stranded silicone wires for everything and never had any problems but I obviously did not try every possible cut/reconnect combination there is so its good to know if there are issues that might happen at certain cut points. In this video, I cut the strip at the cut point that was at about every 3 feet which gave me 5 sections. So I'm wondering if there maybe is some issue if they are cut at the first solder pad (around 1.5 feet in) since I never did cut any of the strips I tested at that first solder pad. At the very least, test things out, and if nothing ends up working, just return them. Keep me updated if you can!

[@ZeroAltera]

@@ChrisMaherDIY Do you still have your cut up M1? Can you increase the 10ft gap to 15, 20, etc until it stops working? Personally I think you have a best case scenario in this video as that silicone wire is 150 strands. It's likely very low resistance. I'm using regular 16 strand 18awg and I can not reach 10ft of extension.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Yeah that very well could be. I still have them. I just ordered some more 18awg wires today and they should be here in a few days. I might have to give it a try and see what happens. I'll keep you posted!

[@ZeroAltera]

@@ChrisMaherDIY I think I'm going to order a pair of these for testing. I believe this is the best solution if it works with the M1. kzbin.info/www/bejne/inzdhGarZ96EkLc

[@popsplace]

Chris as always another great video, my question is since I have multiple amounts of Cat 5, have you ever tried using it as a LED wire extension like you did in this video? I'm planning on trying it in my house but wanted to know if you or anyone else had tried it. Thanks in advance.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and great question! I think cat5 wires are usually 24 gauge and I'm not sure what is the recommended voltage for those. 24 is pretty thin so I would be a little cautious of using them. However, I'm not an electrician and still don't fully understand that world so I could very well be wrong on that. Maybe someone else reading this might now the answer?! I'm curious myself!

[@markst.5383]

I bought a 5m M1 strip but only need 3m. So I cut it and now I have a spare 2m strip and a spare powersupply and controller from another m1. The Govee Manuel says I can not use the 2m or connect it to another stripe … but I think it should work - why not? What do you think?

[@lewiswilliams5900]

Did you get an answer to this?

[@markst.5383]

@@lewiswilliams5900 i tested it and it worked, but im not sure if i should use it

[@ProGamingTips]

Great video Chris this definitely helps put Govee’s M1 light strip in my “might buy” category. My only two dilemmas are 1. Does this light strip work with Govees tv sync setup and 2. how well it would work trying to use it with Apples HomeKit sense that’s my main ecosystem.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and great questions! So the strip is compatible with the govee tv sync setup via the dreamview setting. The strip can have up to 6 different segments assigned to it. Now I have not personally used Homekit so I'm not 100% sure but this article I found makes it seem like it is possible. www.diysmarthomehub.com/does-govee-work-with-homekit/

[@ProGamingTips]

@@ChrisMaherDIY Thanks for the info! I just saw Govee came out with the Envisual TV Backlight T2 so maybe I’ll get that for Cyber Monday

[@geerace]

Now that I watched several times, I'm sending back the h615c for the M1. Thanks for the videos it's helped alot. So before I go watch the soldering video several times I have a few questions. 1) I had planned on putting the leds on the backside of the shelf facing the wall approximately an inch away... Should I still use a diffuser? I don't want to see the Individual leds on the wall... 2) did you extend the controller /power away from the beginning of the strip, since I plan on controlling app I would like to have that hidden.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! My guess is with the strip being 1 inch away from the wall, that will be enough distance so you dont see hotspots. I could be wrong but I think you would be fine with the M1 since they have 60 leds per meter. And I did not extend the controller or power in any way. I just ran it up my wall and then used some basic cable hider amzn.to/3RQHjhW to hide things except for the actual controller that was still out. Not perfect but options are somewhat limited unless you wanted to mess with putting things behind the drywall which I did not.

[@Muskyfishn84]

Can two strips be cut and soldered to get a total length of 21 ft?

[@Rumeel12708]

I want rgbic under my kitchen cabinets and have gaps to jump and was wondering if I can cut the strips. Which now I know 😀.

[@SailorYuri]

Hello! So when you cut them you HAVE to do all that work with the wires for them to work “separately “ in different spots ?

[@jodyarcher9933]

Great job and great video ... Could u do this with remain cut lengths of multiple differant M1 led tapes ?

[@ПуйлохуйлоЛА]

You got me hooked and subscribed. Thanks. Great work

[@totalplayer999]

Can I use the clip connectors with Govee strip lights instead of soldering? Thank you.

[@Gurminder_S]

Would this be an ideal way to jump gaps under kitchen cabinets? Could a switch be mounted somewhere so you don’t have to always use your phone to switch them on? Thanks

[@TBUKMusic]

Chris are there any solderless connectors that you might recommend In the uk here Govee point blank a no no. Was hoping to form L shape on viewing wall ie horizontal turning to vertical and vice versa to form a square. Hope that makes sense eyes aren’t as good for soldering 4 points accurately on each strip.p.s forming that square with 2 separate led strips ofc Govee m1

[@josuevelazquez]

What about the strip not having cut off points but after the first 2 meters? Have you tried doing that?

[@stee229]

@Chris Maher - Is it possible to cut the strip and use the leftover piece in an entirely different area with a new power source? If so, how would this be done? Is it possible to soulder a new power cable onto the leftover piece?

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching! Great question and I have not figured out a way to do this yet. I tried getting a strip connected to WLED but was not successful. My guess is if you had another govee m1 controller laying around you could use that but that's all I can think of at the moment.

[@EdisonCole-jc6yo]

Amazing video that covers many of the questions I have about trying this myself as shelf lighting. I am curious if anyone knows if there might be power/signal loss on the M1 were it to be cut into 10 sections and spliced with 5-6’ of wire between each section making the total length somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-60’. If so are there options for improving the performance along the entire length?

[@leitharoderick5648]

Can you also connect two sets of the govee string down lights????

[@Sean-dv9eh]

Is there a recommended solderless way of connecting these and adding the a 5 foot gap?

[@SirJhonsol]

hola, tengo uns rgbic govee, y al tratar de hacer algo similar veo que el color de la tira led en las partes cortados, en color blanco se ven mas opacos y parpadean, solo en la parte unida al final, es una rgbic de 5 metros, y le aumente como 2 metros mas de cable y su tranformador es de 2A 12 V, me puedes ayudar , porfavor

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching! What led strip are you using? Is it the Govee M1 or something else?

[@SirJhonsol]

@@ChrisMaherDIY govee rgbic led strip lights , model H6143

[@bradracine3426]

Awesome as always!! I was wondering if these can be cut and connected any other ways than soldering and if so what would be best way?

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching! So far I have not found anything that would work. These Govee M1 strips have 4 pins and are 12 mm wide. I can find plenty of 4 pin connectors on amazon but they are all for strips that are 10mm wide. I'll keep my eyes open though!

[@motch6182]

First of all thanks... but questions... Govee says you aren't able to reconnect after cutting, which you have just disproven in your video, but they ALSO say not to cut less than 3-meters off of a line, my question is this, how long are the length of cuts you did? I need to make a short one, which is about 2.5 feet, super short compared to what they said! (its right at the beginning of my proposed run, which i'll be extending, but I don't want to cut it just to find out, woops, well, they were right, everything is now dead after that cut or even before it). Thoughts?

[@motch6182]

ha ha, sorry, i just re-watched the video and you do mention you cut it into 1 meter (3') lengths... still wonder though if i cut half a foot off of that if it would mess it up. I may try and see what happens! ;)

[@motch6182]

Well so far I have failed… I had the first cut, which was short, used some connectors and connect to the next run, tested, everything was running soothly until I got to the third run, still under the 33 ft they suggest, tested connectors and can’t figure out why it won’t continue on, then the last few lights in this run started flickering and i decided to take off the last connector and the 2nd run went all Red, I turned the power off and the 2nd run stayed lit! What happened? Ugh, I’ll try trial and error myself to see if I can figure it out. So annoying. (I didn’t do soldering, I bought connectors)

[@motch6182]

PS, I tried applying a splitter at the end of the 2nd run, and thought that was the problem, I have tried several things so far, new connectors, revearsing the connection, I should mention that the beginning of the third run had about 5 lights slightly lit, very dim.

[@Rob-ep1tj]

Can you do a video on just how to power the strips. You do a great job of showing us the run but not how they are actually powered. Do you plug in? Do you tap into power from an outlet? The videos are great though

[@jbabra]

Great video!

[@Shindlife]

Thank you very much Chris for your video! Super helpful. I had some problems when connecting two strips with long cable. I am currently using a classical 4 pin led cable, and i had noticed that there are some problems in the second strip (the signal is kind of confused). I was thinking so use a twisted cable to avoid noise signalling problem. Any suggestion? Thanks!

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! So in the video I think the longest one I did was 10 feet. How long is your cable and how thick are the wires your using?!

[@louiswinskowski8954]

Can you cut a strip of leds into 3 sections so they are layered on top of each other and have the effects synced together starting from the control unit?

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks again for the comment! I have not tried doing that yet. My guess is there is a possibility you could cut the m1 right after the controller, find the data wire and split it 3 ways and then connect 3 of the sections and they would theoretically all do the same thing! I have no Idea if that would for sure work or not but might be worth trying! Worse case scenario is it doesn't work and you can just return them back to amazon.

[@slzrslythrn1635]

how to know what type of white silicone wire to buy for my led strips? do i have to look at the AWG? Volt? Amp? someone help pls 🙏 very new to this type of things

[@Joshyohmygoshy]

Thanks a true 🤴👑 this is very helpful

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

You are very welcome! Thanks so much for watching!

[@umarsaddique2952]

Hi. Great content. Is it possible to extend the distance between the controller and the first led?. I want the lights to start in the corner of the wall but the controller would be in a cupboard which is about 60 cm away. Thanks

[@PraveenSawh]

instead of cutting, is it possible to let the strip go across the gap to the next area you want lit, and deactivate those leds in the gap through the app?

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

That's a good question! I know you can turn off certain sections of light for sure but I believe if your doing any type of animation or effect, then all the lights will be back on if that makes sense.

[@HouseHeadJay1111]

Can you use WLED with the M1's ? If so which controller is best ? Trying to have it sound reactive...

[@sorad10]

Hey thanks for the dreamview setup in the other videos, I just which those strips where 12 parts instead of 10, it would match better the 6 zones Dreamview setup… Anyhow, not like it is you faults! 😂

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and good observation!! Yeah the zones don't work out perfectly but maybe they can make some adjustments with software updates?! I'm not holding my breath though lol.

[@jamesfleming1710]

Great video, Chris. We've just had an M1 connected around our new kitchen but for some reason the last led flickers on certain animations. Not all and not usually on a constant light. Very weird and I can't, for the life of me, figure out why.

[@jordanhigginson7127]

Would adding 10ft of wire between each section affect the color or brightness? I want to do under cabinet lights with these in my kitchen and I would need to run larger distances between strips

[@nomsg7942]

im attempting the same, and by my 3rd strip, it wont light up.. and also the tail end of each strip i cut will emit a different hue of color

[@jordanhigginson7127]

@nomsg7942 i just finished my lights 2 days ago. 10ft increments were too long, I had to cut down all of the runs of wire as much as possible. Ended up working out, mostly. The last strip in the circuit has a little flicker. All in all, I've got 2 M1 strips running off 1 power source, and it looks pretty good. might use the power source from the second M1 box to power the last strip that's flickering

[@tylerbarber7279]

Does the M1 have a power loss recovery setting so it doesn’t turn back on in the middle of the night if there’s a power outage in the middle of the night

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

That's a great question! I believe it does have a power loss recovery setting! I had them connected to a power strip and I cut power to the strip and when I turned it back on the lights did not turn on automatically like my ws2812b lights do during this scenario.

[@notsohandyandy]

Eyyy, I think this is the first time a comment of mine has wound up in someone's video! (that I know of, anyway) Even if it's for a question that belongs in r/ELI5, I'll take it!! 😂

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Lol good catch!! It was such a great question that I had to make a video on it lol. Thanks buddy!

[@roshuar4777]

Hello I have been checking out your videos + others and i still wonder : How do the Govee M1 work if they are spitted? What I am planning to do is to place several led diffusers in the wall vertically next to eachother with different lenghts. This to create a raindrop effect. In this video the leds are connected in series whereas the raindrops will go up(?). What I am thinking is to place them in parallel , splitted. I thought this last shouldve been easy to find but alas i dont see a video what the effect are. I hope you can clarify this for me, your videos have given me alot of info. Thanks in advance!

[@JarodTaylor]

If I had two built-in shelving units with 4 shelves each (36" wide) that I plan to put LED strips in, but there is 7 feet between the two built-ins, could I use two 16' M1's together using this technique so that it's just one power source for all?

[@JarodTaylor]

Okay, I just saw your other video showing that you can connect two m1 up to 32'. So, in theory this should work, right?

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! You should be able to do this! I also soldered wires in-between cut up sections of one strip and everything still worked perfect. Now I did not try this cutting up 2 full length sections and soldering things together but my guess it would work perfect!

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching! They are still showing up as available but I am in the US. Hopefully they will make them more available in different regions!

[@minos55]

Great video but would also like to ask A question if possible to get some info. Can the strip be connected in parralel let's say like a Y connection so 2 seperate cables to 1-2m Led Strips and then the 1 cable to the power adapter? Hope the question was understandable.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching! So they do not have a way of connecting them in parallels. But my guess is you could probably cut them and split the connections coming from the controller and hook up 2 led strips and they would run in parallels. I'm not 100% sure if it would work as I have not tried it yet but I don't see why it wouldn't. It would be nice If govee had a quick and easy way/connector to make this happen. The other thing you can do is if you buy 2, you can use the app to control both strips at the same time which is pretty much the same thing as running them in parallels. I tested this out briefly and it seems to work really well! Its under group and then set things up under "same model"

[@JeikOnilink]

Hi, I appreciate your videos, I'm finally deciding to do my first project, just a question. Why you never put fuses ? is it not necessary?

[@matnowy]

Hey, great video and very valuable test! Can you check or tell if you know, how this strip reacts when you turn main power supply off and back on? Will it start last program instantly?

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching! If my memory is correct, if they get unplugged or turn off, they will turn back on with the last setting they were on.

[@stevenchan8822]

Is it possible to use this approach & extend the part from beginning of LED to power source?

[@needejackson4350]

Hi Chris. Thanks for the great video but I still have some questions. Let's say I have two M1 5m strips. Can I cut off 2m from the tail of one 5m strip and use it as extension on the other 5m strips to get 7m strip? Will the controller recognize 7m properly? Or I have to but two 1m extensions? Thanks in advance!

[@lewiswilliams5900]

Did you get an answer to this? I need to do the exact same thing!

[@bakiceksin8746]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@lewiswilliams5900Hi, no but I did it already by myself. The M1 5m strip consists of 50cm parts (distance between solder points where you can cut the strip) which are basically the same. So you can freely combine them (only in correct direction!). When powering on the govee will recognize all the parts.

[@ajcarterfilms]

Did you ever have any issues when soldering? Im finding my ratio of successful solders is 1 in 3. The iron maybe too how that im. using and frying the components at the end of the lengths. So frustrating@@bakiceksin8746

[@markhie68]

Have you tried cutting and extending the govee spot light or flood light?

[@DoctorPSD]

Would love to be able to cut three 1 meter segments (one with the connection to power brick), and have a long 2 meters segment at the end, but I'm kinda scared I'll trash the whole strip. Chris: your video shows that is possible, but was wondering if I can use 4 pin connectors instead of soldering. Thanks!

[@tyerac]

Chris thanks for this. Do you know if there is a way to "Split" a single strand into 2, so they can go off in a V shape, with the controller being attached to the 2 strips via a 6 wire to 3 duplicator or something similar? I want to use the M1 and split at the very front so it goes into 2 8 ft strands vs the full 16 split up at various lengths option you shared in this video.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! That's a great question! So I'm not 100% sure since I have not exactly tried doing this but In theory you should be able to cut the wires after the controller and use something like a wago connector to split the wires and connect 2 strips like your wanting. I'm not exactly sure how it would work with the beginning part of the strip because it has that built in connector piece but my guess is you could remove that to get to the pads to be able to solder the split wires to it. This is just all speculation but my guess is it would work.

[@REALLYRANDOMREVIEW5]

Impressive but i can't bring my self to cut the strip it cost over 100 pound haha the M1 series is by far the best and brightest RGB iv seen or tested

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Yeah they are on the pricy side! I'm thankful Govee sent me a couple to test out otherwise I would be extra sad cutting them lol. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@Blash1]

Why is the m1 so expensive in relation with the other Govee strips where you get much more length for less price? Great video, I think I’m going to do the channel diffuser thing 😎

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

They are definitely expensive and my guess they will come down in price at some point. The biggest thing that makes them more expensive is they have double the amount of leds on the strip that their other led strips have. That's the biggest reason! Thanks so much for watching!

[@Alzy5]

Chris video idea ….motion activated driveway lights ,2 x 10mtr m1 strips, activated when car drives into driveway

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

That is a great idea! Might have to try that someday! I'll put it on my long list of to do projects!

[@JebusJones]

Would it be possible to do this to connect 2 x 5 metre sections together, or would there not be enough power for the seconde section and the LEDs would fade the further away they got from the power source?

[@-djs]

Hi Chris, have you had any experience good or bad splitting the data from one controller down two strips, any kind IC wise, I have a wall to wall SK6812 RGBWW but I would love the pattern to go from centre out rather than left to right or vice versa.

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Thanks as always for watching! Splitting is super easy and something I have done many times! I've just used a wago connector with 3 slots and take the data line coming from the controller and then plug in my 2 other data lines from the 2 separate strips. This will result in those 2 strips doing the exact same thing. I however have not tried doing it with these govee led strips. Thanks buddy!

[@-djs]

@@ChrisMaherDIY Thanks Chris, that was my thought, using wagos, I was just wondering whether it would introduce interference but if you have done it many times I trust in your judgement. Also well after I left this comment I found a mirror mode on wled that mirrors the given effect from the centre of a strip out, so I made not need to split after all, but it's good to know I can. Thanks as always pal, take care 🙏

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

@@-djs Ahh yes! The mirror mode! Good find!

[@miked7745]

For 10ft. gaps do they sell flat ribbon wire with 4 to 5 cables running parallel so I can run it on my wall and paint over it with the same wall color.