Why Do My LED Lights Turn On By Themselves? Fix Guide

Wondering why do my LED Lights turn on by themselves? It’s simple!

There are quite a few reasons why LED Lights would turn on by themselves, revolving mainly around the power equipment.

Let’s next explore why the problem occurs…

LED Lights can turn on by themselves the Power Driver is malfunctioning and the lights simply reflect the AC line power fluctuations. This can also lead to the LED Lights being overdriven, resulting in turning ON/OFF by themselves!

Let’s next unwrap the question “why?” even further…

Why Do My LED Strip Lights Turn On By Themselves?

Your LED lights turning on by themselves is definitely unusual and shouldn’t be ignored.

Causes for your lights to randomly turn on during the night or the day could be caused by power fluctuations, all the way to issues with the occupancy sensors or a factory defect.

Here are reasons why are your LED strip lights turning on by themselves:

• Power Fluctuations/Inssificiency
• Problematic Power Driver
• Hardware Failure
• Controller remote problem!
• Dimmer Switch or Regular Switch Issue

The problem you’re experiencing is most likely to be related to one of the aforementioned possibilities, therefore we need to address all of them.

Next, we’ll learn how to do this!

How to Fix When Light Turned On By Itself At 3AM?

It does not really matter whether the lights are turning on at 3 AM or 4 AM and etc…

What matters is that the LEDs are turning on without any input or proper reasoning and we need to understand why as soon as possible.

Let’s begin with only proven-to-work methods!

Solution #1 Reconnect the LED Lights!

The first thing you should do is reconnect your LED lights from the power source.

If this glitch is power-related, then a good power cycle should be able to prevent your LED lights from turning on by themselves in the middle of the night.

To reconnect your LED lights properly, follow these instructions:

1. Flick the Power Button on the LED light’s power brick to shut them off.
2. Unplug the Power Adapter of the LED lights from the power source.
3. Standby for about 5 Minutes while the LED lights get discharged.
4. Once that time has elapsed, reconnect the power adapter back to the source.
5. Turn on your LED lights using the power button.
6. Now turn the LED lights off using the power button again.

After the power circulation, feel free to test whether the issue is still there.

Tip: The power cycle is most effective when the device discharges for longer!

Solution #2 Change LED Remote Batteries

Chances are that your LED lights’ remote is giving you trouble.

If the battery of the remote is faulty or the device itself has hardware problems, it may cause your LED lights to turn on in the middle of the night. 

• Most LED lights remote use a coin-cell battery!

To learn the type of your own LED lights remote’s battery, open the battery compartment and take out the battery. 

You could either read the type of the battery or bring it to a technical store to get a replacement.

With the fresh battery, the weird LED behavior should end.

Note: Turn OFF the LEDs using the remote and test overnight to conclude!

Solution #3 Plug Into a Different Power Source

The next thing you could attempt is to plug the LED lights into an alternative power source.

If there is a power insufficiency in regard to the power source, weird things could happen to your LED lights, including turning on themselves at random times during the day.

Here’s how to plug your LED lights into an alternative power source in easy steps:

1. Turn OFF the LED Lights using the Power Button on the controller brick.
2. Relocate the entire LED lights set up near another Power Source.
3. Connect the power adapter to the new power source.
4. Make sure that the Power Driver (brick) is receiving power.
5. Turn on the LED lights using the power button.

When you’re ready, the lights should not continue with the weird behavior and should not turn ON by themselves without any input.

In case the problem persists, jump forward.

Tip: Avoid using power strips or dividers to connect your LED Lights!

Solution #4 Disable LED Lights Timer

Most of the newer remote controllers for LED lights come with an in-built turn ON/OFF timer.

This is a specific set of the remote, that causes the LED lights to either turn OFF or ON when the scheduled task comes up. 

This could be causing your LED lights to turn on in the middle of the night.

Find the Timer Button on your LED light’s remote and press it once to stop the timer!

Tip: If you cannot find a timer button on the remote, just put the remote out of sight.

Solution #5 Reset the LED Lights

If your LED lights keep going bonkers, then perhaps a factory reset will help.

Most users resolved this problem with their own LED lights setup, by performing a reset on the device and flushing their software back to the default value. 

Here’s how to execute a factory reset process on your LED lights:

1. Make sure that the LED lights are Plugged In.
2. Grab the LED light’s power brick.
3. Locate the Reset Button on the power brick (should be a small, round-dark button).
4. Press the reset button and hold it for 30 Seconds.
5. Release the button once that time has elapsed.
6. The LED lights should flicker, to indicate a successful reset.

Note: Some LEDs cannot be factory reset, therefore there is no Reset Button!

Solution #6 Replace the Power Driver

Power issues could also be caused by the Power Driver of your LED lights. This is the most common suspect when the problem appears to be related to a hardware failure.

In most cases, the Power Driver simply does not provide a stable charge and has to be replaced.

You will need a 12V Power Driver to connect your LEDs to the power!

Such a Power Driver (brick) can be found online for as low as $6 but we strongly suggest, investing more in something that will be responsible for your LED lights.

The better Power Driver you purchase, the better and longer performance you can expect.

What Power Brick Should I Get For My LED Lights?

If you’re not exactly clear about what replacement power brick you should get, check the model of your current one. 

This should give you a general idea of what replacement power brick you should get, so you could consult with the technician store for more suggestions.

• Feel free to take the Power Driver with you and ask for a replacement.

The LED Lights Are Still Turning On By Themselves…

In case you’re still asking the question “why do my LED lights turn on by themselves?”, then there is one simple thing you could do.

Whenever you’re walking out of the room or going to be late at night, unplug the LED lights from the power source!

Keep the LEDs disconnected from the power when you’re not at home!

This will make sure that the LED lights have no way of turning themselves on at any point of the day and save you some extra headaches.

This is only a temporary solution but will provide you with peace of mind until you find out how to solve the problem.

In case the problem is persistent and you couldn’t discover a solution you should start considering a New Lights Setup since the problem could also be related to HW failure.

Quick Recap:

Hence, LED Lights will only turn ON by themselves when the Power Driver is bad or the power source is not reliable. Users need to change the power source and power cycle of the LED Lights to be able to prevent the units from turning on by themselves.

Final Thoughts:

Now that we know why do my LED lights turn on by themselves the solution only requires approaching the problem respectively.

It’s important to remember that when the issue is persistent and nothing in this guide managed to help, you should seek help!

Feel free to contact the supplier and inquire about what you’re experiencing. With a bit of luck, the issue might get solved, or perhaps that would be your chance to use the warranty!