How to Cut, Extend, & Split Hue Lightstrip V4! How I Created My Smart Pantry!

I set out to build a pantry in my home and I wanted to include smart lights that I could control from my phone or Siri. In the process, I learned how I could extend, split, and modify the latest-generation Hue Lightstrip V4 with micro connectors using a CAT5e cable. Here's the process!
Grab your own light strip: amzn.to/3qNFYtZ
Hue Lightstrip Plus Extensions: amzn.to/3dNMKfg
Grab some CAT cable (Short): amzn.to/2P72iRh
1000ft CAT 5e cable: amzn.to/3kgwx3D
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[@kevinh723]

Imagine a quick short video focused on the object that’s being referenced that just showed how it was done. Lol.

[@Storm_.]

I know right... 10 minutes of waffle 1 min of instructions

[@SM2005_]

Brilliant. Thanks. I have about $4000 worth of hue lights in my house. This just saved me a boat load.

[@joebleyor]

Genius! thanks for sharing this trick with the community and for those planning to buy new CAT 5 cable, make sure to by the flat ones, it makes it a lot easier

[@jonathanstephens3197]

I'm 2 years late to this video and I always was curious if CAT5 would do the trick for Hue lightstrips as well and this just answered it for me! Thank you for this! Now I can work on putting them under my L-shaped desk!

[@jeffmarshall6924]

You just answered all of my questions. We have staggered cabinets in our kitchen and I wasn't sure how to run the light strips above them without them being seen on the verticals of the cabinets that are higher than others. Solution, cut and use cat5 to fill the gaps that you don't want light in. Thanks for making this, man!

[@azinazi1]

how did you cut the lightstrip and also how did you remove the plastic from each wire in ethernet cable?

[@annasortti8201]

My husband bought one of these lightstrips to use in the Ikea Kallax 4-compartment shelf, but realized (too late) that there were no connectors/extension cords on the market (yet). Thanks to your video I managed to make my own solution! Happy hubby, and pretty lights in our gaming room! Thank you!

[@SamiR-wv5lb]

OK I watched this again several times and now I get it. Thank you so very much for solving my problem.

[@johnfitzpatrick1474]

Thanks Andrew! You now gave me an option from Litcessory and help give us options in design or route of lights. Thank you!!

[@miinyoo]

Absolutely brilliant. I was looking for a solution to just this problem and this is exactly how I wanted to solve it. Thank you very much.

[@DanielC__]

Excellent idea! Thanks for the video. Very god tip on extending the Hue strips with Cat 5e

[@jcpallitto]

I may or may not have ruined my connector that came in the box. Any idea where can I get another?

[@TheWhiteLife]

Fascinating but you skipped through how you strip back the light strip to fit in the box, which for me was the sole purpose of watching the video.

[@JorgenHaugen]

Great video! Thanks for all the help.

[@petertroelsen5491]

Absolutely brilliant, thanks!

[@SeeSheriLee]

Thank you for this video. I have been searching for a way to add the Philips Hue strips under my cabinets (left and right) without like your pantry. Thank for the tips and instructions.

[@cholschuh]

Did you buy two extension packs or were you able to reuse your cut off light strip ? Sorry it was not clear in the video but great video! I need to gap two sections for under cabinet lighting. and want to reuse the cut off portions of the lightstrips

[@fatbatgor687]

Genius! I wish Philips would release official extenders for this.

[@joshuaburke411]

That’s too much common sense

[@joshuaburke411]

@@tomc yeah dude they just throw stuff out there on the market and don’t provide or suggest connectors or extensions or anything lol

[@StumblingGamer648]

I just dont get it. What exactly is the point of making their strips able to cut... And provide a clip that just puts them directly back together? Why.... Would... I... Cut... It... To... Simply... Clip...it...back... Together!?!?!?!? Philips... Wtf! I have ruined at least 1 kit of lightstrip trying to cut and solder cat5 cable to the cut ends... It has been an exercise is futility, frustration, burns, anger...etc.. Just why!? Philips: if you made cat cable like extension cables to go between cut light strips... I would buy the crap out of them. I am at my whitts end with these lights... I am going to try the approach in this tutorial as a last ditch effort to salvage my project. Looks like a good plan with a lot lower chance of burning the crap out of my hands on a soldering iron. Thanks for the video!! (your pantry looks awesome!)

[@sturna44]

@@StumblingGamer648right?? and there’s only one clip available? what a waste of £70

[@matthewclark7766]

Thanks for the video, great idea! I assume you are using solid core Cat5e cable and not the stranded variety? I've tried using stranded cable with and without solder and its too wide to fit in the extension connector. fits fine in the joining connector provided with product. Thanks for any feed back

[@camelonn4772]

Thanks! This is a nice solution. Didn’t even though of that; it make total sense though: cables are just cables.

[@tomwhitlow3186]

Even the Litcessory extension cables won't connect to V4 cutoff ends. Your solution to use the Hue provided connector clip and Cat5 cable is a great idea! I was also trying to come from a single controller and needed to split and come down on each side of the microwave. Thanks for solving a problem that Phillips seems to have overlooked.

[@malicfata3045]

OMG!!! I just threw the clip out last night i kid you not dude

[@prophets6935]

Was there a reason you didn't use the 6 pin LitAccessory extension cables to just extend from one end to the other? Just curious, because it seems that would of been much easier than splicing the CAT5 cables.

[@rohansharma5297]

great video

[@Matiz127]

Hello, very good video and very good idea! But I have a question, forgive my ignorance, is a cat 5e cable prepared to efficiently handle the required voltage of these LED strips?

[@olegvorkunov5400]

So, how to cut, extend then? I did not see cutting part and what is getting exposed if any when cut. What peices of lightstrip can be extended? Could the cuttoff part be reused to extend second light strip? Nothing about it.

[@philwhite1897]

this is brilliant

[@lindsaycalverley3672]

This worked like a charm on one set of bookshelves, now I’m having a beast of a time getting the second set to work. Any tips for getting the connection to work? I’ve tried cutting the plastic back a bit on the light strip, making the cat5 wire tips shorter, electrical tape to keep it in place… nothing seems to be working

[@denitamoore3790]

Can tou please give me step by step on how you used the connector? I have a similarsituation with my outlet being abovemy stove. And I need to go right and left.

[@SamiR-wv5lb]

I really like this video except it went a bit too fast for me so I have to keep pausing it. I need a split or not so much an extender so that my lights can go to the left and go to the right without having to buy a lot of extra strips. Not quite sure I understand how you actually split that out. I understand the why are you used but I didn’t actually see a splitter like one to the left and went to the right. Can you help me out?

[@jonathanheck101]

I see you spliced two cad5 cables together, do you think it will work if I splice 4 together?

[@deepanmurugan467]

Brilliant. Philips Hue or Friends Of Hue should make an accessory that does this easily, just offer different lengths of extension, 1m/1.5m/2m/2.5m/3m

[@Linh81nl]

Great video, I want to connect them to my ceiling but will need a lot more than 10 meters. Do you know if it's possible to extend it to more than 10 meter, let's say 11 or 12 meters? Will it reduce the brightness a little or a lot?

[@sturna44]

i’m also trying to connect it to my ceiling but the power cable is really bugging me. i was thinking of cutting a smaller strip near the end so it can be closer to an adapter but this video makes it so complicated for me to do

[@ForzaJonesy]

Great video! I couldnt tell how you knew what order to put the individual cable colours (does it matter), are there colours on the connector? When you split the cable did you notice any difference in brightness or colour intensity?

[@robertbakker1650]

I tried to connect my v4 strip via the connector and the cat5e kabel. However after I put on the power the strip (incl. the extended piece) just blinks once and then dies. Anyone had a similar issue or an idea how to solve it?

[@9310Shufflerz]

Can I cut the light strip wherever? I have a situation where it's too long if I have to cut it at the designated cutting area. So I was just wondering if I could cut it so it fits perfectly? Thanks

[@CMA1967]

This Dingaling isn’t big on answering questions, unfortunately

[@IsaacSant]

Anyone knows if it's 10m including the ethernet cable or 10m of philips hue strips?

[@AL71B]

Thanks for the video. But you don’t make it very clear about what “clip” you use. Although I can see from the comments below, a clip is included in the Hue light strip. Can you confirm? Thanks.

[@indiekiduk]

I used a "SPACER Extension Cable | for Philips Hue Lightstrip Plus V3 | upto 10m/30' | F" from ebay to bridge the gap in the kitchen cabinets where the cooker is. Stuck it to the wall before the tiler put the tiles over it.

[@AndrewOHara]

Totally works! But those extension cables can be pricier than making your own AND there aren't many out there at all for the V4. As I rambled in the vid, there was very little info on the V4 models and that new clip makes a big difference.

[@Kammie69]

I'm confused about one thing. So when you cut the strip, the left side is labeled B, and the right side (which you have cut off) is labeled A. However, at 8:00, you are connecting the ethernet cable to the final connector of the strip on B, not A--effectively making a B to B connection. So this works being B to B, and not A to B, assuming you keep the cables connected to the same connection points? Directionality doesn't matter? (Edit: I've now finished doing the project, and am editing this comment in case anyone has the same question. You can connect the cut B side to the female pin connector B side, just make sure that you keep cables in the same order on both sides going from top to bottom. Also, I had an issue where the first Cat5e cable I tried would not fit into the female pin connector with or without tinning. I ended up using another Cat5e cable that had slightly thinner wiring, which fit fine after tinning.) Thanks for the video.

[@elizabethhaynes3250]

I wish this video had actually shown where to cut the light strip. No matter where I cut it on the indicated line the strip won’t light afterward. I’ve looked all over the internet for a video that clearly shows this but can’t find anything.

[@vincent66]

Super merci pour l'astuce du RJ45 ❤❤

[@theonlyallan]

You want Solid core vs Stranded network cable. that's the technical name for the difference.

[@jslimp22]

Where can I find the clips? They didn’t come in the package and I have V4

[@JR-xh2zq]

litcessory.com/product/6-pin-to-cut-end-connector/

[@kevinbrown2779]

The video description is incorrect. This video does not show how or where to cut the Hue Lightstrip V4

[@AndrewOHara]

It doesn’t? I thought I showed that exactly that.. with the V4, they have those new clips. So I cut exactly where the lines are and use the clip with the strip in one end and an Ethernet cable in the other.

[@Marzen216]

At the risk of sounding negative, this method seems like it could be dangerous and void your home warranty by using 26awg stranded core CAT cable for power. I don't know what the load is for x number of feet of strip lights, but I do know that a loose electrical connection will get hot and potentially start a fire and you're relying on a wad of tape. Surely someone makes a proper extension cable that would be better than a jury rigged solution like this?

[@russellebenton]

not at those voltages my man. Not at those voltages.

[@user-ft5ok3bh2w]

sounds so easy but i cant make it work

[@22TheJuggernaut]

Ya. Its impossible to split without soldering... fml

[@CMA1967]

Oh please! For a measly $18 you can buy these little do-dads thus bypassing all this aggravation and bs.. Litcessory 6-Pin to 6-Pin Connector for Philips Hue Lightstrip Plus (15 Pack, White - Micro 6-PIN V4) Amazon. I connected two 6 ft Hue lightstrips just yesterday [in a dimly lit room] using only one hand as I’m paralyzed on my left side.. easy to do, and worked flawlessly! Forget this nonsense, trust me, totally unnecessary. Geez

[@CMA1967]

Oh..and without needing to make a single cut. Note: the reason I needed these connector-pins was I needed a 5 to 6 foot span with no light on the strip.. I used the following cables for that purpose; Litcessory Extension Cable for Philips Hue Lightstrip Plus (3.3ft, 2 Pack, White - Micro 6-PIN V4). Be sure and get V4 pins and extensions if your strips are V4 This whole thing is absurd! If you can’t afford $18, you certainly can’t afford the ungodly expensive Hue product line

[@drhx97]

you talk a lot and show very little