These dollar store LED light strings cost $6 and punch far beyond their weight
The Vibe Pixie fairy lights were great on a recent camping trip.
My track record with dollar store tech is abysmal because they rarely offer much in the way of interesting smart lighting technology. Most of the time you find forgettable bulbs that are perfect for a cheap gift but are nothing more than novelty items.
Yet the Vibe Pixie light string surprised me a few months ago when I walked into my local Five Below looking for samples to use in an article about mood lighting. You can control them with a mobile app via a Bluetooth connection for $5.55. Even more impressive is that these string lights support RGBIC (RGB Independent Control), where each LED can be adjusted individually.
Portability makes perfect
I like that these fairy lights are so compact and portable.
Vibe Pixie String Lights are fantastic when paired with a USB power bank. They’re also reliable: only one of my power banks turned the lights off prematurely, which happens when some USB devices don’t draw enough power to keep the battery active. I can’t guarantee that every power bank will keep the lights going, but newer models from brands like Anker are a good bet.
USB power offers a ton of possibilities compared to the standard RGBIC light strips I’ve used. My favorite use was on a camping trip where I could easily light up a tent without bulky flashlights or lanterns. While these Vibe lights are waterproof, you still need to protect the USB plug from water. A dry tent shouldn’t be a problem.
Because these smart lights are so flexible and customizable, they can be a great option for cosplay lighting on a budget. By incorporating them into clothing and props, you can sell your character design. The lights did get a little warm on the brightest setting with good airflow during my testing, but nothing uncomfortably warm. Just be aware that they will add extra heat to clothing.
Surprising depth for little money
To get started, you’ll need the Zengge mobile app, which is available at iOS And Android — more proof that Vibe lights are as generic as they come. (Mismatched app names are a hallmark of generic products.)
My time with the Zengge app has been generally positive, although the user interface isn’t immediately intuitive. The favorites menu, for example, is where you can change static light settings on the addressable LEDs.
The Scenes menu has dozens of dynamic lighting programs and customization options. While you can control the speed of the preset lighting patterns, there’s no brightness slider unless you create custom scenes. You can at least long-press a scene to open the editing menu. Dynamic lighting isn’t usually my thing because it can be distracting, but the level of control is excellent.
The Rhythm menu is fairly functional, though you may have to adjust the sensitivity a bit to avoid the lights pulsing rapidly during slower songs. It didn’t work with my phone’s microphone, but was fine when using the built-in mic on the Vibe Pixie String Lights. Unfortunately, it doesn’t integrate with music apps, so your experience may vary.
You don’t have to create an account to use these light strips, which is a bit of a security issue, but my tests showed that the light strip can only connect to one device at a time. The Vibe light strip will stay connected to your phone as long as you don’t force close the app or go out of Bluetooth range.
The lights are also great for decorating the inside of your car or as an alternative to built-in car lights at night, especially if you have kids.
While I like custom app controls, the killer feature of the Vibe light strip is that it remembers its previous settings after a power outage. You don’t have to mess with the Zengge app every time you turn the strip on. Persistent light settings also unlock the option to use the Vibe lights with a smart plug and voice control.
If the strip is off when you unplug it, simply tap the physical power button to cycle through your last setting. Pressing this button multiple times will cycle through the lighting modes, and you can turn the device off by holding the button for 3 seconds. The button is also handy for restoring a lost Bluetooth connection.
While the Zengge app lets you group up to five lights on Android and eight on iOS, the exact number varies based on your phone. I haven’t had a chance to test the group feature, but it seems promising if you can find enough USB ports or chargers. That said, if you need a large number of lights in one string, you’ll have better luck with other generic light strings.
Vibe’s customer service resources are limited, but better than I’ve seen on most generic tech. The small manual covers the basics, and the Zengge app’s Help option links to a simple FAQ. You can even contact customer service via an email form, which seems out of place when most budget brands leave you to your own devices.
Cons
There are 20 controllable segments for 25 lights, so you’ll be controlling some lights in pairs (left), unless you use an advanced setting to deactivate single LEDs for a total of 20 segments (right).
It’s easy to criticize mainstream products like Vibe, since there tend to be fewer customer service resources than mainstream brands. Plus, the quality of the product can never match more expensive competitors like Philips Hue or Govee. (There’s no smart home integration for Vibe.)
My biggest complaint is that the Vibe Pixie String Lights only have a maximum of 20 controllable segments, despite the strip having 25 lights total. This means that some of the segments will have two lights on when all 25 LEDs are active. While this isn’t a huge deal for lighting up the entire strip in solid colors, it is annoying if you want precise control over each light.
The best solution I found is to go into the settings menu and reduce the number of lights per segment to 20, which will disable the last five lights on the strip. You might get better performance if you group lights, but I doubt it.
Remote controls from other cheap lamps can interfere with your Vibe lights. It is best to use them in separate rooms.
Another issue is that the string lights also support an IR remote control similar to those found on other cheap LED lighting products. Not only does the strip not include a remote control — there is no way to purchase one that I know of — but remote controls from other products will interfere with normal operation.
I have a few of these remotes lying around, so I experimented to see what they could do with the light strip. At first glance, none of the functions matched the Vibe’s features and settings. I could activate some colors and scenes, but rarely had any control over the brightness or power settings. It’s a mess.
My final criticism is that the Zengge app lists several RGBIC control standards, found in the IC settings menu, that are not compatible with the strip itself — primarily CommonRGBW and RGBW_TM1814. These are the only standards that use the strip’s white LEDs for maximum brightness.
The flexibility of the lamps makes them ideal for various DIY projects.
CommonRGBW is pretty much useless as it doesn’t match colors in the app and you don’t have much control, although it’s fine for brighter dynamic scenes with unpredictable colors. RGBW_TM1814 is also great for white light at max brightness, which is all it can do. The power button and app don’t work, but at least you can still switch the IC setting to something that works.
I’m not sure what the other settings offer, but most seem to work fine as long as you calibrate the lights. It’s best to ignore the IC setting, as the default option works as intended.
Besides the lights, the availability depends on whether you have a Five Below store in your area. There are no stores in the Pacific Northwest or parts of the Mountain West. At least the flat rate of $7.95 for shipping isn’t terrible for bulk orders in the continental US. That said, Hawaii and Alaska have no official purchasing channels, aside from a few overpriced eBay resellers.
Conclusion
A spider loved that the Vibe light strings attracted easy prey.
Vibe Pixie light string are the perfect example of a budget smart light that does most things well. The basic functions are nearly flawless and their portability makes them a worthwhile purchase. As expected, the advanced controls feel underwhelming, but aren’t completely unusable. Not a bad deal for $5.55.
