HBN Smart Color-Changing Outdoor String Lights - 24ft, LED, Flat, 2.4 Ghz WiFi Needed-Compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant, iOS and Android (Tuya Smart App Needed) No Smart Hub Required

The good: I purchased a set of these (48 foot/24 light/LED string lights) for my patio for my kid's birthday party and they were awesome. Given all the features with scenes and varying levels of brightness as well as the integration with the Smart Life app. That app also integrates fairly well with Google Assistant on my Pixel 4, and Alexa on my Win 10 PC. I have yet to try it with the Ubuntu Alexa app, but don't expect any issues.The bad: A few days after the party, I woke up one morning to find the last six lights in the string lit up blinking random colors, kind of like demo mode. I used the Smart Life app to turn the lights on and the rest all acted normally, but the last six didn't respond at all and continued to flash. I tried unplugging the main power and pressing the power button to fully drain any stored electricity. But when I plugged them in the last six lights continued to blink. I also tried deleting pairing the lights (in pairing mode with the blinking red lights) and the last six lights continued to blink. The lights before the last six worked normally in every way.I left the lights unplugged for about two weeks wondering if maybe something glitchy needed to discharge. But even two weeks later, the blinking problem remained. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the seventh from the last bulb had water in it. Probably about 3/8 of an inch deep at the bottom of the bulb. Could that be the issue? I remembered that the night before the lights started blinking, we had a pretty heavy rain.The better: I called HBN support and they said to provide my order number, name and address and they would send me a new string with no need to return the old string. They honored their promise and about a week later I had a new set. This time I did a little digging and I noted that these are rated IP65. I had no idea what that meant. So I looked it up and found this:"Is IP65 waterproof?Example :With an IP65 rating, the LEDs can be used in an outside setting and are water-resistant but they are not waterproof and are not suitable to be submerged. An IP68 can be submerged in water."Water resistant means that these lights should be OK in a light and short duration rain. But anything heavier is likely to pool enough and make its way into the bulb housing through the holes in the top that the loops for hanging them stick out of. This probably leads to some short circuit(s) which impede or prevent proper communication of signaling within the string. With the new set, I plan to align all the loops in the way I intend to use them and then use silicone caulk to seal the holes below the loops. We will see if this will prevent the issue. Sometimes, where I live the rain is heavy enough and falls sideways that they call it "blowing spray". I could see that damaging any water resistant product.Bottom line: HBN honors their word on offering a replacement. I am thankful for that and believe that deserves recognition. The product, unfortunately, is not fully water proof. If you want them to last, use them in places where they are sheltered from direct rains, or add insulation at the top where the shaft of the loop mechanism comes out of the lamp housing. These are LEDs, so they should need no replacement for 10-15 years. Not having replacement bulbs should not be an issue.IT pro tip: Put these on their own isolated Internet of Things (IoT) network. I used my router to set up a secondary network on one its ports and connected that to my WiFi access point running OpenWRT as well as setting up a separate WiFi network for them to link to. If you understand what I just said, then you should be golden.

Overall these lights were great. Heavy duty and color changing. However, they DO NOT come with a remote to turn them off and on and to change the colors. Now...maybe this was in the description...but it was my husband who ordered them and not me, so he doesn't always read the full description.You have to download an app on your phone to control the lights. That may not be a big deal to some but for me...I do not need another app on my phone!!! I just want to sit on my back porch and then be able to pick up a remote and turn the lights off and on and change colors!!!!For others it's not a big deal!!! It wasn't for my husband...he immediately downloaded the app and he controls the lights.Otherwise excellent purchase. It's just about personal preference at this point.

These lights are exceptional for the price. Sturdy bulbs that won't break when dropped or bumped or blown over - however in a large rain storm a few bulbs did end up with water inside - which I knew to expect from another review.Easy set up with alexa and lots of light color options - brightness dims as needed and they work as expected.

These lights are fine when they work. The problem is, as others have said, problems very quickly arise when it rains. These lights do a really bad job in even the slightest amount of rain, which is absolutely crazy because they're outdoor lights and I cannot control the weather. I'm not entirely sure what this company wants me to do about that....create a more water-tight seal myself? Only use them under awnings and patio coverings? I'm sure I'm not alone in that most of the time, these lights are used to drape across backyards or open spaces....if you ever get rain, don't think about doing that, or you're going to need to keep buying these.The company offers a 15-month warranty which is pretty decent and definitely will get you through once or twice of these things breaking, and trust me, they will. They lasted about 10 months the first time, and the company was fairly decent about offering a new pair to me free of charge. Okay, I thought, if I have to contact them once a year for a new unit because it breaks, I can live with that. Maybe I'll get lucky, and they won't break again. I was so wrong. The new unit the sent me lasted even less time than the first. It rained a single time and these broke.I reached back out and told them the replacement unit was broken and while the original purchase was outside of the 15-month mark, the replacement had only lasted 6 months. I was told I was out of luck. Let that be a warning to everyone else -- the will honor a 15-month warranty, but ONLY for the original purchase. The replacement provided has no warranty whats-so-ever. I sorta get that, but also, I don't. I'd be fine with paying and additional 10 dollars for them to make these water tight so they can withstand some rain. I'm not dunking these things in water, but it's sorta baffling to me that they cannot handle some rain. I live in Southern California, so it's not even that rainy here. They really cannot handle a small amount of rain, so if you're looking for something to drape across your backyard and you live somewhere like the PNW, do not purchase these. There are tons of other options out there, and you're better off going with something else that will actually last when placed outside. I regret my purchase of these, they're not even all that great to begin with. :-/

Very nice light set. I love the fact that the lights are only spaced 2 ft apart where most out there are 3 ft. My only complaint is that there is no remote. There is an app and while it works, it is a tad difficult and limited.

Choix facile de lumière d’ambiance ou d’éclairage fort pour les jeux grâce a l’appli. Configuration et installation facile, avec cédule programmable. Bouton sur le fil d’alimentation pratique pour les invités qui n’ont pas l’appli!

Ascexpected

Waste of money. Do not buy this product

fonctionne parfaitement avec Alexa, facile à installer et arrivé sans égratignures.

50 % des lumières ne fonctionnait pas à la sortie de l'emballage.Demande échange svp