ShawTech Lighting · the ShawTech app
How to get the ShawTech app
Two parts work together: the ShawTech app on your phone and ShawTech firmware on your controller. (It is not the WLED app; the WLED app does not work with ShawTech controllers.) Pick one below.
On your phone
The ShawTech phone app
The ShawTech app is live on the App Store for iPhone and on Google Play for Android. Already using the TestFlight version? Keep it — it is the same app.
What you need
- An iPhone or Android phone. iOS 15 or newer, or Android 7 or newer.
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on the first time you set up a controller. The app finds it over Bluetooth and connects it to your home Wi-Fi.
- A 2.4 GHz compatible home Wi-Fi network. After setup, the app works at home and away.
- Your email address. A quick email check links the controller to you, so only you control your lights.
- A ShawTech controller with current ShawTech firmware — see the other card.
What you can do
- Pick colors, effects and brightness for the whole house or one section.
- Split your lights into zones and style each one.
- Save your favorite looks as presets and run them with one tap.
- Set schedules — fixed times, sunrise or sunset, with offsets — that keep working even if the internet is down.
- Keep more than one controller in sync as one house.
- Back up your setup to the cloud and restore it, even onto a replacement controller.
- Get firmware updates right in the app.
On your controller
The firmware it needs
Firmware is the software that lives on your lighting controller. The app and the firmware are built together, so the app only works with a controller running current ShawTech firmware.
What you need
- Current ShawTech firmware. The current release is 1.2.0.2 (October 2026). The app checks your controller's version when it connects and offers updates from then on.
- A ShawTech controller. Controllers ShawTech installs come with the firmware already on them.
- Older firmware, or WLED, will not work. If your controller still runs WLED or an older ShawTech version, it needs an update before the app can use it — we help with that below.
Why the newer firmware matters
- Talks to the app at home and through the ShawTech cloud when you are away.
- Remembers your zones and presets on the controller, so every phone in the house sees the same setup.
- Runs your schedules itself, including sunrise and sunset for your area, with no phone or internet needed.
- Keeps several controllers in sync so the whole house changes together.
- Adds the newest effects — chases, twinkles, fire, fireworks, spooky eyes, cops and robbers and more.
- Protects your power supply with a built-in power limiter.
- Updates itself through the app from then on.
Good to know
- ShawTech firmware is our own, written from the ground up — not a version of WLED (more about that here).
- Your lights are never exposed to the open internet; the app reaches them privately.
Need the firmware updated?
Not sure which firmware you have, or still on WLED? Contact us and we will work with you to get your controller updated for the app. Just tell us the name on your installation.
Contact ShawTech Support to get the firmware