LIFX
The Official LIFX App
How much does LIFX cost?
Prices are current as of 11 Sept 2026.
LIFX has no in-app products on record in the United States.
10+ alternatives to LIFX
| LIFX |   Philips Hue |   Hubspace |   Nanoleaf |   Twinkly |   WiZ Connected |   Led Light Controller LedRemote |   Aqara Home |   Meross |   Home Assistant |   Led Light Controller Home App | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating / 5 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.2 |
| Reviews | 12K | 454K | 243K | 112K | 99K | 96K | 67K | 46K | 36K | 21K | 16K |
| Released | 2013 | 2016 | 2020 | 2015 | 2016 | 2022 | 2021 | 2018 | 2017 | 2017 | 2023 |
| Weekly price | — | — | — | — | — | — | $6.99 | — | $1.99 | — | $4.99 |
| Monthly price | — | $3.99 | — | — | — | $3.99 | $12.99 | — | $1.99 | — | $12.99 |
| 6-month price | — | — | — | — | — | — | $29.99 | — | — | — | $34.99 |
| Annual price | — | $39.99 | — | — | — | — | $49.99 | — | $1.99 | — | $39.99 |
| One-time price | — | $129.99 | — | — | — | — | $59.99 | — | $3.49 | — | $49.99 |
The going rate for each plan in United States, in its own currency, shaded from the cheapest price on the row to the dearest.
LIFX reviews
3.6 out of 5, based on 11,694 reviews.
What people like
- Developers listened and brought back the easy control wheel
- Colors are vibrant and lighting effects are fun
- Works well with Apple HomeKit and other platforms
What they complain about
- Lights disconnect constantly and are hard to reconnect
- Setup process is frustrating and often fails
- App drains battery and heats up your phone
Good app, great lights
The lights themselves are the real difference here. They are amazingly capable. They cost a bit more than many of the “look at this instead” brand but they are totally worth it. The app is great and the features let you do all the needed things. We are slowly shifting and zoning our whole house. Home offices is where we started and are why we will keep going.
Garbage
I cannot believe that in late 2026 this app still makes it impossible to add bulbs. Do not waste your time.
Still need Routines for Switch Backlights and matter upgrade function no longer working
We need to be able to schedule the brightness and color of switches I don’t need bright blue at night. After the latest update I am no longer able to load my list of matter devices in the app it gives the “unable to fetch” error
Heats up phone and drains battery like crazy
Heats up phone and drains battery like crazy if left open.
LIFX App for iOS is not intuitive
The LIFX app for iOS is difficult to use and could use some usability cleanup.
Fun
It’s great for my light but it keeps disconnecting
Connecting to wifi doesn’t work
We spent too much time trying to get the smarter light strip and app to work together. It doesn’t work the way the instructions say it should. The app can’t find the device, no matter what troubleshooting methods you try. Good luck getting support. Terrible
Be patient
Connecting your LIFX light to your Wi-Fi network requires patience. Follow the prompts and after a few attempts and you will be rewarded with brilliant lighting and wonderful features. LIFX provides a few alternative ways of connecting and setting up. I was successful using the ‘manual’ method.
Almost
One of the worst apps for getting lights to work in conjunction with one another when inline. 1. App has a MANAGE button but all you can do is rename something you’ve added. You can’t delete a string and just begin again. This is basic and should be much simpler. It’s not. Also, there’s no “SAVE” button on settings. Making the app more useless. I have two 12 light strings and they completely reset to different colors and effects, no matter what I do. I’ve had these a month and the app is 0 outta 10 for intuitiveness. 0 out of 10 for support. Like the product. But I can tell why these aren’t flying off the shelf. Fix it. Stop thinking everyone is an engineer.
LIFX app
It’s complicated
Wow
These lights are so much fun. Hope they keep updating the app.
Security and Provacy Concerns
Wants to access to all permissions and unbearable setup through this app.
Classic colour wheel
Came to complain about the recent trend of trying to improve the UI of apps but making it worse and more complex without need and discovered via other reviews that the much better classic colourwheel can be enabled in the advanced settings.
LIFX Switch is the LIFXApp
This is not a smart switch. It’s a scam designed to lock you into the app. The HomeKit setup process works just far. You get through the pairing, it shows up, and the basic setup features appear to complete. Then it completely fails to work properly with Any smart home ecosystem. You can’t even program the buttons or create scenes in Apple HomeKit, SmartThings, or Amazon Alexa…Controls don’t respond reliably, and you’re left with a switch that only functions the way LIFX wants it to — inside their own app. If you want a smart wall switch that is only meant to look good, that’s about all this is good for. If you’re happy living entirely inside the LIFX app and don’t care about native HomeKit, Siri, or smart Home integration, then this might be fine for you. For everyone else, it’s a deliberate bait-and-switch. They advertise smart-home compatibility, give you just enough of the setup flow to feel official, then force you onto their proprietary app to actually use the product. Save your money.
Can be a bit confusing at times.
I like the app. I love the features and effects and the colour themes I can choose from. I have two lamps in my room and my favourite effect is that I can choose two different colour themes and I can sync both of the lamps to the music but they respond to the opposite beats. What I found challenging is that the settings I put them on won't stay locked in. I have to fiddle with the settingss too often. Which is frustrating because I enjoy thisnlarticular setting when I'm relaxing after a rough day or studying (I found it helps me concentrate). My focus is broken because the settings all of a sudden stop working. I would also like it if the colours were brighter as in the hue not the light brightness. I guess the word would be vivid. Also. The themes could be updates more often and not just because of a sporting event.
Absolutely so good!! ❤️
So I have a LIFX light so I tried this app out and I get to change the colors and it absolutely works so well!!
0 stars
I wish I could give this negative stars, the app constantly crashes and freezes, and these useless lights refuse to connect to anything except their internal network. Unfortunately I was swindled into replacing my overheads with this garbage so I’m stuck with these now, and they refuse to connect to my network
Classic Control Wheel
thankyou so much for reintroducing the control wheel. it’s so much easier and quicker than the new controls
heats up phone
When open or left open, app will often increase temperature of phone. as soon as it's closed, temperatures return to normal. needs to highlight the active saved scene also.
Constant UI Changes
Been using this app for years and they STILL have not settled on how they want to display the settings. Feels like every update they completely revamp it. I'm sick of it, and I especially hate this circle they keep trying to force for the "whites". Doesn't make sense. It's a temp for the whites. Two things. Warm and cool. Not 3. With the RGB stuff, the circle makes sense because there are 3 colors, but not with the whites. It works fine, and some of the changes CAN be neat like with the effects they introduced awhile back, but PLEASE stop changing around the basics. PLEASE.
Amazing
I see lots of negative reviews but not my experience. Got 6 Lifx bulbs and have ran them through home assistant flawlessly. Bulb are amazing, when I do tweaks colors via app it’s amazing ❤️ colors, adaptive lighting is amazing 🤩
Always disconnects
This thing will not stay connected for more than a week and wants a QR code from the original package to reconnect.. bottom line it’s garbage
Terrible new UI: Update
Original: As others have said, it’s so disappointing to have such a great app ruined by an update that the developers push to make things “better”. The slider to change brightness - the most basic detail - is now fiddly, inaccurate and just plain ugly. I’ve been looking at switching to Phillips Hue for a while now, and this may well be the final nail in the coffin… Update: Great action from the developers here, who have obviously listened to feedback. I can now use the app as originally intended, and hopefully this will continue to remain in place. Thank you!
Every Single Time.
I don't understand how hard it is to create a damn light to stay connected to the wifi? Is this something that is just too hard to achieve? Can you hire anyone with any ounce of clue how to keep the damn thing connected? Her derrr! Can never turn my damn lights off because it decides one light isn't connected and won't connect, just loads until it randomly turns on.
Routines and Schedules
Routines and Schedules are not working. I have the latest update.
Totally Awesome
I’ve been using these lights and app for 6+ years! Always worked great - updates keep coming! The only lights with comparability across all platforms and Apple HomeKit! Keep up the great work and the new products are Fab!
Poor update
I don’t like that now this app requires me to give them more information by forcing users to download I home and turn on iCloud.
Terrible Update
The latest version of the app is terrible mistake by the LIFX management team. If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it. Please reverse and roll back. UPDATE: I have just been informed by the developer they have reintroduced the classic colour wheel to the app. This can be reactivated via settings > advanced settings > check classic wheel. It appears LIFX and their developer listened to their customers/user base and did something about it. Well done. I have changed my rating up from 2 to 4 stars because of this. The app still misses out on a 5 star rating though as the iOS version will not recognise disconnected lights to reconnect but the ipadOS version does recognise them. Go figure.
An absolute nightmare to keep connected
Support for this device and app are not great. Customer support contacts just go in circles. I’ve had the misfortune of buying two of these, so we’re now “shame on me”. There won’t be a third. The light disconnects from the app several times a year. It used to be somewhat of a pain to reconnect. But LiFX upped their game and now it’s an absolute nightmare. It always has to be manually configured, which also means HomeKit won’t be supported. And any light schedules will have to be deleted and readded because once the pairing fails, the associated schedule loses the ability to be edited. Wonderful product. It’s not really a smart light. It’s just a light.
Was an advocate
I was one of the first to get a LIFX bulb when they were on Kickstarter. The set up was so easy then, but the annoying integration to HomeKit is unbearable. I just want it in the app, and don’t want to wait the 15 minutes just for the pairing to be unsuccessful. 10 years ago, 5 star review. Now, 2 simply for the set up. It’s great to allow folks to use HomeKit if they choose. But it feels like I’m being forced to.
Love these lights
Great product and fun to use.
Doesnt work anymore?
Strong WiFi, powered on, bulbs keep disconnecting and now I cannot get them to reconnect.
Coke classic
Hey thanks for restoring the classic control wheel. It really is much easier to use one handed, particularly on the best iPhone model (the mini, obvs). Mind, you kids gotta be a careful ya’hear? Don’t be doin’ a Sonos now… if it ain’t broke don’t be a fixin’ it. Now who wants some o’ momma’s cold lemonade?
used to be amazing. terrible now
i don’t know if all of the company decided to quit or what happened here but these lights don’t work anymore. disconnect genuinely every single day and i am so sick of having to constantly reset them. also so sick of their lack of customer support it’s actually insane if you’re gonna charge this much for a light bulb & have an entire APP why do you not have a better customer support team it makes 0 sense. wish i could get a refund but i spent too long giving the lights a second (and third and forth and fifth) chance. don’t waste your money
Get the basics right first
I like having the variable lights and this app to control them, particularly being able to make the lights around me dimmer and more orange late at night. It definitely helps me sleep. That’s the good bit. My family hates it and refuse to use this app. So most of the lights are turned off at the light switch. It takes a long time for the lights to connect to the app once the power is back on. I often have to force close this app and restart before it reconnects to the light. Sometimes multiple times. I find the automatic timers to be inconsistent and the newer globes are painful to setup. In the meantime this app provides all sorts of fancy light shows which I have little interest in. GET YOUR BASICS RIGHT FIRST (then maybe I’ll have a look at the fancy stuff).
Thank you for the restore!
After a big app update that left the app frustrating and unrealistic to use, I am so, so glad that an option to revert to the classic control wheel (to be found in the advanced settings if you were like me) has been added back onto the app. I hated the previous update but having this wheel option accessible again makes the app much more user friendly. Thanks to those that complained and to those that listened :-)
Awful!
The light bulbs do not connect at all to this app. If by some slim change 1 of the 4 bulbs in my dining room light does connect, it doesn’t last and immediately disconnects again.
Great but…
The lights are the best ‘smart’ ones we have used/tested. The app is a bit clunky but easy enough to navigate, however as technology improves, and telcos change it would be nice to have the option to update connection settings, (unless this is a hidden option somewhere?) I’m having to reset my lights and redo whole set up again anytime we have a change over of telco (not often) or connection device (regularly)
Bad light. Dont recommend
Ever 5 second the light disconnects and starts flashing colors, its so annoying and it has woken me up at night 6 times now.
Horrid
All i can say is bring back the old app. New one is not user friendly
New user interface
A new user interface was introduced which was in my opinion a step backwards. In response to negative feedback it seems, they have released the option to revert to the classic UI should you wish. Excellent work, Thank you!
Round down and upring light
This light has been giving me connection issues since I bought it two months ago. Connection never lasted more than 2 minutes and I am going insane.
Working again
Light stopped working for a while after update, but has sorted itself now. Not sure how, I just opened up the app and it had found my light.
Constant Disconnects
I love the bulb itself, but it gets lost all of the time. Fixing is usually a multi-hour process, waiting for home hub timeout, looking like LIFX app found it, saying unsuccessful and having to start over. I never have these issues with my other smart bulbs, just LIFX. Reports of this issue go back years if you look on Reddit, and it’s still a problem in 2026.
Last update
Last update makes it way harder to control things like brightness.
GB BST failed
Oops. GMT to BST completely failed on 3 Lamps. Switched off at mains and back on again - worked! Fine again now.
terrible app
disconnects every 5 seconds and nearly impossible to connect back the app layout and in general sucks js get govee lights
Long time user
Been using the app about 5/6 years it’s just finally had an update the ui is great and works well, it’s robust and reliable I’ve had almost no issues in the time I’ve used the lights and app. I like it works well
Lights are unstable
Sketchy performance. Very disappointing
Needs a big improvement
Had these lights for a couple of years now and when they work, they’re great. Problem is every 2 months or so, the entire LIFX system goes down. The lights no longer appear on my network and I have to do a completely fresh install. And that’s where things get really frustrating. Doesn’t matter if I scan the QR code for each light or do them manually, it never works the first time. Or the second. It will eventually work, but it’s a journey to get there. If I hadn’t invested good money in these lights they’d be going straight into the trash.
LIFX FAQ
- Is LIFX free?
- Yes. The app is free, in all 175 countries it sells in, and it sells nothing inside it.
- Does LIFX have a free trial?
- No. None of its offers (US) come with a free trial.
- What are the best alternatives to LIFX?
- Philips Hue (4.7 from 453,901 reviews, premium from $0.99), Hubspace (4.8 from 243,012 reviews) and Nanoleaf (4.2 from 111,542 reviews).
LIFX download
Last updated 29 days ago.
LIFX sells in 175 countries. It was released 12 years and 10 months ago, on 18 Nov 2013. It holds a 3.6 rating from 11,694 reviews.
Supports 10 languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Spanish.
How much does LIFX make?
Third-party estimates for the last 30 days, worldwide — not the store's own figures, which Apple publishes for nobody.