Suggestion for LIFX Z strip light

An idea for wide usage of LIFX Z strip lights is to make up flexible 1 foot connector cables to allow connecting strips into a square grid pattern, instead of a straight line.

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One of the people in our office just found some great connectors that work well for the LIFX Z. Unfortunately heā€™s off on a diving course today (Lucky him as it is rather ā€œwarmā€ here today) Iā€™ll grab the details and stick them in here on monday.

Do you have any updates on what these connectors were?

Not yet have not heard from Kevin

Any updates on this thread. I would like to do custom install and I need straight and 90,s extensions to make that happen.

Hey Kevin - Did your coworker never come back to work? How about an update on those connectors por favor!

I found THESE but want to make sure I donā€™t fry my lights!

Just a word of warning, LIFX does not support third party extensions adapters. Anything that is suggested is ā€˜at your own riskā€™. Thereā€™s an obvious lack of foresight on LIFXā€™s side in the need and desire for these and in my experience communicating with them on this itā€™s pretty clear a solution is low priority to them. It seems they are unwilling to even take the time to test and evaluate third party solutions for their users and consider this a generation 1 limitationā€¦translation they may try to solve this in a gen 2 productā€¦buy new lights.

Thanks @PWPW. I am surprised at the lack of foresight on both LifX and Phillipā€™s part. At least Phillips acknowledges you can cut them to size. Iā€™ve found this companyā€™s connectors per report of a LifX Z owner in another forum. They report zero troubles and full compatibility with them. Iā€™ve got some on order and will report back after ā€œtestingā€.

https://www.amazon.com/TronicsPros/b/ref=bl_dp_s_web_13390033011?ie=UTF8&node=13390033011&field-lbr_brands_browse-bin=TronicsPros

Yeah, if this doesnā€™t work, Iā€™ll be switching to a DIY solution and reconsidering my decision to migrate from Hue to LIFX.

Link found HERE hopefully

Gah! I canā€™t edit my replies. Apologies. Hereā€™s the LINK to their full listings on Amazon.

Iā€™m going for the extension cables to install under cabinetry with gaps, and the corner L connectors for mounting on the TV.

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Hi, Iā€™m also trying to insert a connector between two strings in order to run them under some kitchen cabinets that have a gap between them. I purchased some connectors on Amazon (link) that seemed to fit fairly well with the LIFX strips, but I canā€™t get the second strip to light up correctly. It either lights up with weird colors that donā€™t match the first strip, or only a portion of the string lights up, or it doesnā€™t light up at all.

I have checked (a) continuity between each of the four prongs of the connector at each end and confirmed they are all connected; (b) voltage differentials between each of the four prongs at the end of the first strip going into my connector and each of the four prongs coming out of my connector at the opposite end, and they are consistent; (c ) plugged the second strip directly into the first strip to ensure there are no product defects, and they both worked together as advertised; and (d) used the continuity check at each end of the connector to ensure that my wire nut connections did not inadvertently cross wires.

![IMG_4702|666x500](upload://hLomO2pRGatJADMuxB6ivHt97mb.JPG this could be an issue with resistance being too high over a long run, I covered most of the distance with relatively-thick 16 AWG lamp cord to mitigate current loss (see all the wire nut connectors). Even THAT didnā€™t work. Does anyone have ANY ideas?

Definitely need to up vote this! Seems really short sighted not to have a connector with first party support.

Iā€™ve tried third party connectors to no avail, the pins on the Lifx Z seemed to be non standard e.g the final hole is slightly further apart than the others. I tried to use the third party connector anyway, but the additional strip would go into a continuous colour cycle. Iā€™ve checked that the strips when connected directly to each other and both strips work correctly.

If anyone finds third party connectors that work then please share the link!

Hi Pakemp,
I am having the exact same issue. Extending the light strip using third party connectors makes the end part of the string not light or cycle through all colours.
Did you ever get this to work?

Unfortunately, no. I put in another 110V receptacle in the cabinet to which I was trying to bridge the gap, and bought an entirely new LifxZ module. Sorry I donā€™t have better news. After all my testing, my best guess is that the voltage differentials that cause the colors to change are so miniscule that putting an extension between the light strips causes just enough resistance so as to change the voltage to make the second strip think it is supposed to display different colors than the first strip. Good luck.

Iā€™ll add myself to this list ā€“ the rounded connectors at the end look simple but the ones I find on Amazon are square. It seems simple enough to extend the pins so Iā€™m surprised LIFX doesnā€™t offer it since it is necessary for anything but a straight strip.

I donā€™t want to futz with soldering or whatever. So if anyone knows of a semi-rounded connectors please share.

Iā€™ve purchased a few extensions; some have worked, some have not. These are the best Iā€™ve found: Amazon.

The 1m extension, although not the snuggest fit, works well, and only requires the slightest bending of one connecting pin (the extensionā€™s connector is ever so slightly more narrow).

The 2.5m extension does not work; your LIFX Z will not be recognized beyond.

Iā€™m doing the exact same thing that kungfuaddict says heā€™s doing. I bought 3rd party adapters and extensions and here is what I have to report so far.
1) Tried adding a 10ā€™ extension between two strips. First one works fine. Second not at all.
2) Tried adding a 3ā€™ extension between 2 strips. First strip works fine, second strip has random flickering per zone but otherwise works fine.
Worth noting, I was able to successfully use a 90 degree corner that I found on Amazon that works great (if you donā€™t mind hacking up a strip). Also, I measured the resistance across the four pins of a strip end to end and noticed that the second (or third (canā€™t remember)) pin has a significantly different ohms reading than the other three. I wonder if this has anything to do with what we are seeing when trying to add an extension.

 I am pleased to see that LIFX now has extension cables (1 meter and 10 cm) for their Z strips!!! YAY! I tried looking into their FAQs to find out more info but the answers were few. 
 I'd like to know how many of these extensions can be hooked together, for example; can I extend a Z strip 2 or 3 meters from another strip?
 Oh, and worth noting from my experience with aftermarket extensions... I noticed that the wires in the aftermarket extensions were ALUMINUM where as the lifx Z strip uses copper. I bet that is what was causing my issues (or at least wasn't helping). Also wanted to say that the little 90 degree corners that I found are still working great (but you'll have to cut up your Z strip).

On the subject of hooking them together, the website states:
BYPASS ZONES

Jump sections like the stove, fridge or cabinets and extend your LIFX Z LED Strips to the right places. The LIFX Z 1m Connector is rated for 1 cable per LIFX Z Strip section.

So it looks like 1m is the maximum jump. I canā€™t see anything about the 10cm connectors - you might be able to daisychain a few of those, but I expect the recommendation will be: use the 10cm ones for corners, use the 1m ones for anything longer than 1cm

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What happened to these connectors offered by LIFX? I would like to buy some but cannot find them for sale anywhere.

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