Govee Hexa Light Panels review: using these lights has made me love being in my home

Although they may not be the first thought when building a streaming for gamers setup, lights like Govee's Hexa Light Panels are a great accessory and can really jazz up your background. What's more, Govee offers a wide range of lights from beams to hexagons to neon strips so you can make a shape yourself. 

Although this review is more geared to the Hexa Lights, I tested - and loved - multiple units from Govee, including the wall light and neon LED strip light. These experiences have also helped inform this review

Installation

After unboxing the Govee lights I quickly found that they were simple to install and set up. An accompanying guide in the box explains in simple terms how to install the lights, and also comes with a QR code that you can scan to access the Govee Home app on your phone. You can also get the instructions through this method.

Regardless of which lights you choose, they all easily attach to your wall with 3M tape, but the Hexa Lights also benefit from a small sticky panel on the back that can you use to attach them to the wall. However, before fixing any of them to the wall I would recommend picking out a shape - which the app can help you decide. Once you've done that you can just attach them to the wall in your wanted fashion. 

The wall light was even easier to install with 3M velcro tabs, and the light bar then has velcro built into the back so you don't have to fuss trying to attach the entire mechanism at once.

After installation, the lights connect to your phone first initially via Bluetooth, and then this enables you to establish a connection through Wi-Fi which is how you configure the lights. 

Features

Once you're up and running, you can then add the lights to your smart home (mine being Google Home). This enables you to control them from the Google app and with voice control, and you can do the same with Alexa or Apple Home. 

Now, the real core elements and USP of these lights are the wide range and flexibility you have when it comes to color customization options. You can pick from tons of preset options or you can pick exactly what you want; the level of customization here is so amazing. From the individual segments you want to edit, to whether or not you want them to flash, and the intervals of said flashing, these lights can really set the mood in whatever space you put them in.

You're also able to easily save profiles so you can quickly change between them from your smart home app rather than having to open the Govee app each time. 

It's also worth noting that most light kits - which in my case were the Wall Lights and Hexa Lights - can be expanded with additional kits so you can grow your display over time too. So, if you wanted to cover an entire wall in Hexa Lights, you could do so and connect all of the lights to one another to ensure they were configured correctly. 

Performance

When installing and using the lights I didn't run into a single problem. They were easy to use and setting up colour profiles was actually relatively simple. 

The lights are very bright, the Hexa Lights alone - which I have 10 panels of, the standard amount in a single box - lit up my entire bedroom when on full brightness. The brightness can be adjusted from your smart home app or with a voice command so I can dim them when I'm going to bed and then make them bright again when I wake up in the morning. 

As a content creator and streamer, having these lights also takes my setup to the next level. They make people forget how many empty monster cans you have piling up or how terrible your cable management is because honestly the lights really are center stage. They are so aesthetically pleasing. Below is an image from the perspective of my webcam so you can see how they appear on stream. 

Should you buy the Govee lights range?

Using these lights has made me love being in my home. This might sound like a strange sentence but I have no other way to describe it. I feel like my house actually looks cool and I'm always excited to have people over just to show them off.

Naturally, they are amazing and a wonderful bonus to have in the background of my streams or TikToks, but even just having them in my home lifts my mood and makes me appreciate my space so much more. 

The main point of comparison I have for the Hexa Lights are, of course, Nano Leaf's hexagon lights. The Govee lights come in significantly cheaper at around $120 / £120 for 10 panels, whereas the Nano Leaf alternative will set you back $180 / £180 for just nine panels. From my experience the Govee Lights punch well above their weight, and if you're considering the Nano Leaf's based on their reputation, you may just find that the Govee Lights are a better value option that don't compromise on quality. 

How we tested the Govee Lights

When testing streaming gear we add the products to our streaming setup and actually go live with them to ensure we fully understand the experience that streams will have when using the product. 

When testing these Govee lights, I installed them in different locations in my home and used them every day for almost a month. I live-streamed on Twitch with the Hexa Lights in the background and I also created TikTok content with the wall light in the background, behind my setup. 

You can find out more about how we test gaming gear in our full GamesRadar Hardware Policy.  

If you're on the hunt for other streaming products then be sure to check out our best webcam for streaming, best microphone for streaming and best ring lights.