Start Here
First things to check, in order
Follow these steps top to bottom. Most "won't turn on" issues are solved by step 1 or 2 — no tools and no service call required.
Confirm the control box has power
Find the control box (usually in the garage, near an outdoor outlet, or in a mechanical room) and confirm it's receiving power. Check the breaker feeding it in your electrical panel — if it has tripped, switch it fully off, then back on. A tripped breaker is one of the most common reasons a whole system goes dark.
Check the schedule and timer in the app
This is the single most common cause. Open the GOULY app and look at your on/off schedule. If the lights are set to turn on at sunset, they simply won't be on before then — and if a schedule was set to "off," the system is doing exactly what it was told. Confirm your lights aren't just scheduled off right now before assuming anything is broken.
Power-cycle the controller
Turn the control box off at the breaker, wait a full 30 seconds, then switch it back on. This clears most temporary glitches and lets the controller re-establish its connection cleanly.
Confirm the controller is online in the app
If the app can't reach the controller, it can't send the "on" command. Open the app and confirm the controller shows as online. The controller needs a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network with a good signal at the install location — see our connection guide if it's showing offline.
Narrow It Down
One section dark, or the whole system?
The whole system is dark
When nothing lights up anywhere, the cause is almost always power or schedule. Confirm the breaker feeding the control box hasn't tripped, and double-check that the app schedule isn't simply set to off. Power-cycling the controller resolves most of the rest.
Just one run or section is dark
Every LED module in a GOULY system is individually addressable, so a single dark run usually points to one connection along that section rather than a system-wide problem. That's a serviceable issue we repair under your warranty — reach out and we'll take care of it.
After a power outage or time change
Following a power outage or a daylight-saving time change, your schedules can be temporarily offset until the app re-syncs with the controller — so the lights may come on late, early, or not at all for a night. The fix is easy: simply re-open the GOULY app to let it resync the schedule. While you're there, confirm the breaker feeding the control box didn't trip during the outage, and if needed, power-cycle the controller by switching it off at the breaker for 30 seconds.
Still Stuck?
A couple more things to try
- If the controller shows offline, work through our GOULY app connection guide — the app can't send an "on" command it can't deliver.
- New to the system or setting it up for the first time? Our quick start guide walks through connecting and scheduling from scratch.
- Browse the full troubleshooting hub for guides to other common questions.
FAQ
Common questions
Why won't my permanent lights turn on?
In most cases it's the schedule, not a fault. Open the GOULY app and confirm the lights aren't scheduled off or set to a sunset time that hasn't arrived yet. If the schedule looks correct, check that the control box has power and that its breaker hasn't tripped, then power-cycle the controller by switching it off at the breaker for 30 seconds.
My permanent lights won't turn on after a power outage — what do I do?
After a power outage or a daylight-saving time change, your schedule can be temporarily offset until the app re-syncs with the controller. Simply re-open the GOULY app to let it resync. If the lights still won't come on, confirm the breaker feeding the control box didn't trip during the outage and power-cycle the controller.
Only one section of my permanent lights is dark — is that different?
Yes. Because each LED module is individually addressable, one dark run usually points to a single connection rather than a system-wide problem — that's a serviceable issue we repair under warranty. If the whole system is dark, the cause is almost always power (a tripped breaker) or the schedule.
The app won't connect to my lights — could that be why they won't turn on?
Yes. If the app can't reach the controller, it can't send the on command. Confirm the controller shows as online in the app and is on a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network with good signal. If it stays offline, work through our GOULY app connection guide.
When to contact us
If you've confirmed power and the schedule, power-cycled the controller, and the app shows it online — or if just one section stays dark — it's time to reach out. Section-level issues are covered under your warranty, and we're happy to help sort out anything else. Send us your name, install address, and a quick description of what you're seeing: