4 days Ago By [email protected] (Mike Prospero)
The rest of our house may look like a mess, but one room that actually looks put together is my daughter's bedroom. Even so, I thought I'd spiff it up a bit more with some smart lights, and the review kit of the GE Cync Dynamic Effects Indoor LED Neon Rope Lights seemed the perfect thing to try. Not only does this smart light strip boast a multitude of colors, but it also comes with a bunch of mounting clips, so that you can make it almost any shape you want.
Plus, it's both Matter-compatible and can respond to your music. While I've added a lot of the best smart lights to my house, these are definitely among the most fun. GE Cync Neon Rope Lights: Price The Cync Neon Rope lights come in three sizes: A 10-foot strip rated for indoor use costs $59 ( though it's currently on sale at Amazon for $49 ) and a 16-foot indoor strip — the model I tested — is $79 at Amazon.
There's also an outdoor-rated version, which is sold in 16- and 32-foot lengths. The former is currently sold out, but the latter goes for $179 at Amazon . In addition, you can buy 8-foot extensions for both the indoor and outdoor versions.
Setup The first step in setting up the lights was to plug them in and then connect them with the Cync app and my Wi-Fi network. That was the easy part. Because these are Matter-compatible, I could also connect them to Alexa, Google Home and HomeKit.
Trickier was mounting them to my daughter's wall in a shape she liked. While the illustrations show that you can make stars, the strip doesn't lend itself to being bent into acute angles; I took the easy way out with a rainbow. Included with the lights is a packet of mounting clips; the clips have an adhesive backing, but you also get tiny nails and screws.
The installation instructions recommend using these, but I didn't want to hammer dozens of holes into my plaster walls. Fortunately, the adhesive is still doing its job. The kit also comes with a large sheet of paper with a grid printed on it, which is really useful for laying out the pattern you want before sticking something to a wall.
If you're having trouble visualizing how to best put up the lights, the app has a link to a webpage with patterns, which shows you exactly how to arrange things. To set up the lights on the wall, I taped the top paper sheet to the wall, and then using the guide, ducked my head underneath the sheet to place each clip on the wall. I felt a bit like Andy Dufresne when he was tunneling out of Shawshank.
After about 15 minutes of work, all the clips were in place, to which I attached the lights. It's not perfect — as you can see, the arcs of the rainbow aren't as smooth as I'd like — but it's pretty close, and my daughter didn't mind. The lights in action As with most smart lights, you've got an infinite number of choices when it comes to setting up the Cync strips.
You can pick solid colors or gradients, and the 16-foot strip has 70 sections, which you can configure individually. You could spend hours setting them up. The app also has a number of presets, such as Candle and Rainbow, which make things a lot easier for those less artistically inclined.
Of course, you can customize these scenes to your liking, too. What's real fun, though, is the Music scenes. Enable one of these, and the lights will respond to whatever audio is picked up by the microphone in the control box.
More than just flashing, the lights will change color and pulse or flow to the beat. It was hard to get my kid to stop once she turned on Taylor Swift and started rocking out. Even my wife got in on the dance party; before you could say "cruel summer," we were all dancing around the bedroom.
I also like that you don't need the app to control the lights - in the same module that has the microphone, there are three buttons which let you turn the lights on and off and switch between different modes and colors. It's not as comprehensive as using the app, but it also means my kid doesn't have to ask me to turn them on or off, either. If you're looking for some fun smart lights to add to your child's room, these rope lights are definitely worth a look.
If I'm feeling ambitious, I might try and rearrange the lights to spell out her name, but right now, she's more than happy with the wobbly rainbow pattern. Right now, the 10-foot version is on sale for $49. I tested the 16-foot version, which costs $80; it's not on sale, but it's still $20 less than comparable lights from Govee.
Whatever length you choose, they're a fun treat. More from Tom's Guide.
