As summer is well underway and entertaining outside is looking likely—even with British weather—Govee seems to be focusing their attention on outdoor lighting fixtures. Having recently reviewed the frankly magical Outdoor Lamp Post, I was keen to see what they were offering here with the UpDown Wall Light, available from today at $129 each or $229 for a two-pack.
Brightness, colors and build quality
In terms of brightness, they offer a total of 1200 lumens that shoot up or down at about a 90-degree angle. That’s in white mode thanks to the separate warm and cool white LEDs, but they also do full color. That gives you practical lighting for year-round use, not just fun color modes.
The IP66 waterproofing means they’re suitable for year-round weather, too (when installed properly), and the casing is UV-resistant polycarbonate, not metal. I’m definitely in favor of that: nothing metal survives the salty Cornish air.
Size, appearance and first impressions
They’re a little bigger than I expected—just over 5 inches wide by 10.5 inches tall—and protrude about 4 inches from the wall. So no, they’re not discreet. They’re bold and will absolutely be a visual feature.
The front panel is plain, unlike Govee’s other outdoor wall light offering.
The UpDown Wall Lights consist of a corrugated shell with a small Govee logo in the bottom-left corner. The fun stuff happens on the top, bottom, and sides.
Installation and DIY warnings
Installation was relatively simple for me, but it is a DIY job. You’ll need to drill into your wall to attach the brackets, and the cable entry is designed to come from behind. If you’ve never touched a drill, you’re going to struggle.
I was upgrading existing wall lights, so I already had cabling in place. The box includes some easy cable-joining screw caps, but remember—you’re dealing with live AC wires. Turn the power off at the fuse box, and check with a voltage tester or AC detector pen before touching anything.
Wiring and fixing are straightforward, but the final step was a bit fiddly for me: sealing where it connects to the wall to make it watertight. Grab a silicone gun, do your best to get a neat seal, and try not to make a mess like I did.
Pairing and smart features
Once installed, power them up and open the Govee app to add the lights. There’s a Matter pairing code on the side of the unit—scan it within 15 minutes of turning the power on to connect it to your preferred smart home platform.
As with most Matter lighting products, the native Matter control is basic: on/off, brightness, and single color. No scenes, no individual segment control. Technically you don’t need the Govee Home app, but if you want access to the full feature set, it’s not optional.
Light pattern and visual coverage
Despite the name, the lights do emit a small amount of light from the sides, though the main projection is up and down. The side lighting helps ease the visual transition and adds some flair to an otherwise plain dark gray case.
You won’t see the top and bottom emitters at eye level, but you will see a translucent side strip that glows. Govee claims coverage of up to 12 square meters of wall.
While they provide some ambient illumination, they won’t light a whole patio or garden—unless they’re your only lights, and it’s pitch black. Think architectural accent lighting, not your main source of brightness. If you're picking out lighting for your outdoor entertainment area, you'll want something directly above, too.
The dedicated white LEDs are brighter and more functional than color modes, so for general lighting duties, use those.
Govee Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights
Durable, color-rich string lights with smart and AI-powered features, designed to elevate outdoor gatherings and everyday patio moments.
Scene modes, audio sync and limitations
There are something like 100 scenes in the app, but most of them felt underwhelming: there’s only so much you can do with one light pointing up and another pointing down. The side panels are the most dynamic part during these scenes, which can be fun; but in some cases, the side panels feel a bit over the top for what’s essentially a wall light.
Dramatic flickers and fast color changes feel out of place on a fixture like this. They’d make more sense as part of a larger seasonal or party setup. Most people will likely just pick a favorite color and leave it at that.
As for music-reactive mode: it relies on your phone’s microphone. There’s no built-in mic on the fixture, which really limits its usefulness. If you have a DreamView setup, where a controller listens to audio and syncs lights over Bluetooth, it can slot in nicely, but on its own, music sync is a bit of a gimmick.
Should you buy the Govee UpDown Wall Lights?
It’s pretty clear Govee is targeting the Philips Hue Dymera here—a similar dark gray fixture with independent up/down projection. Govee’s version adds side lighting and a more exciting scene selection, but the real difference is price: it’s about half the cost of the Hue model.
You can find cheaper smart wall lights elsewhere, but they usually lack Matter support, are far dimmer, and use clunky proprietary apps.
For what it is, I think the pricing is fair. Outdoor lighting is expensive even without smart features, and with a little customization, you’ve got a classy fixture that delivers enough light for small gatherings all year round—but don’t expect it to flood your whole yard.
Mine haven’t flickered, they don’t overheat, and Matter gives you just enough control for day-to-day use. You won’t be running dynamic party scenes every night, but they’re there when you want them, via the Govee app.
Learn more about this product at Govee, or order the UpDown Wall Lights online at Amazon.
