Step 1 – Open your LIFX app and select the light/group you want to apply an effect to. (For this example we will do all lights)
Step 2 – In the bottom right corner select “Effects”
Step 3 – From this screen you can simply tap each effect to apply it to your lights. LIFX offers six different effects. Candle Flicker, Colour Cycle, Music Visualiser, Spooky, Strobe, and Animate Theme.
Candle Flicker – This effect allows you to have the lights simulate a candle flickering.
Colour Cycle – This effect allows you to have your lights cycle through multiple colors.
Music Visualizer – This effect allows you to have your lights be controlled by sounds. Music beats etc will have the lights change along to the tempo of the song.
Spooky – This effect creates a creepy lighting environment one might expect to see in a haunted house. The lights will randomly flicker before eventually turning deep red followed by a complete blackout.
Strobe – This effect will have the lights you select pulse rapidly like a strobe light.
Animate Theme – This effect allows you to select a theme and have the lights flow through the color palette.
Step 4 – You can customize each effect to your liking by tapping the word underneath each icon. We will go through each adjustment below
Candle Flicker – Tapping on the word “Candle Flicker” will open up advanced controls
From here you can control the Speed and amount at which the lights will flicker. Adjusting the speed by sliding the bar left or right will change the time in seconds between the flickering effect. While adjusting the amount left or right will change the brightness variation of high and low.
Colour Cycle – Again to customize the tap the word “Colour Cycle” below the effect icon.
For Colour Cycle you can adjust Speed, Variation, Difference and Change. Sliding the bar for Speed will adjust the duration in seconds of light and color variation. Sliding the Variation bar will adjust max brightness drop off between color changes. Adjusting the Difference will change to hue difference between multiple lights. Finally sliding the change bar will alter the amount of change for each light.
Music Visualizer -Tap again on the words “Music Visualizer” for advanced options
From within the Music Visualizer advance options. You can toggle a switch to randomize colors. If not toggled the lights will stay in the current theme or colors that you have them set on
Spooky – Tap on the word Spooky to each the advanced settings menu.
From within the advanced settings for the Spooky effect. You can use the slide bars to adjust average time between light flickering as well as how long before the lights flash red and then black out.
Strobe – This effect is slightly different than the other effects to control. First Tapping on the icon will bring up a warning. You will have to click through the warning before continuing. Then Tapping on the word “Strobe” will open advanced options.
From the advance settings you can change Color Tempreature, Speed, and Strength of the strobe. You do this again by sliding the bars left or right.
Lastly the only way to activate this effect to to physically hold the strobe button down. It will strobe for as long as it is pressed then once you release it will stop.
Animate Theme – This is perhaps my favorite of the effects offered by LIFX. Tap the words “Animate Theme” below the icon to adjust advanced settings.
From the advanced settings you can control Speed, and Brightness. Sliding the bar left or right will control the speed at which the colors will migrate from one to another. While sliding the bar for Brightness will scale the overall brightness of the theme selected.
***Note, before you turn on the “Animate Theme” you will need to go select a desired theme. You can read more about available themes here.***
That’s it! Have fun playing with effects for your LIFX lights. I know I do. Write a comment of what your favorite effect is below.
Why doesn’t my music visualizer have the random button???? I just want blue white and dark blue but it always does other colors too. I’m so frustrated
How can you leverage the music visualizer and connect to a Bluetooth speaker (amazon tap) at the same time. It appears turning this effect on disconnects your phone from Bluetooth and music is played instead via your phone.
Great Question Veronica. We beleive that enabling the Music Visulizer most likely disconnects your bluetooth device because the LIFX application is using the microphone from your device to make the lights dance. With that said, we like to untilize a secondary device like and iPad or iPod to leave in a room and enable that effect. Then we can keep using our primary device to play the jams that we love. We know this is not the most desired solution but we tend to drift away while we are listing to our music. Cheers!