How to use solar fairy lights
Updated: 22 October 2026
The parcel is open on the kitchen table, the string is dark, and you are not sure whether the switch should be on. These listings tell you to leave the switch on so the panel can charge. A shop sheet for a different product tells you to leave it off for a day or two. This page follows the listing in your hand, then a loose wrap, and the point where you stop and use the seller. Prices and the eight sets are on the [solar fairy lights comparison](/hub/garden-decor/solar-fairy-lights).
The parcel is open on the kitchen table, the string is dark, and you are not sure whether the switch should be on. These listings tell you to leave the switch on so the panel can charge.
The parcel is open on the kitchen table, the string is dark, and you are not sure whether the switch should be on. These listings tell you to leave the switch on so the panel can charge. A shop sheet for a different product tells you to leave it off for a day or two. This page follows the listing in your hand, then a loose wrap, and the point where you stop and use the seller. Prices and the eight sets are on the solar fairy lights comparison.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | First charge | Lead | Weather claim | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  bitjam bitjam 6 m rubber string | Leave the switch on | 2 m lead stated | IP65 claimed | 8.1 | about £6.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  btfarm btfarm 2 × 8 m strings | Leave the switch on | Not stated on this pack | Waterproof, no IP code | 7.8 | about £8.55 | View offer |
 Kolpop Kolpop 24 m PVC string | Leave the switch on | No separate lead stated | IP65, all parts | 8.6 | about £12.99 | View offer |
On this page
Switch on, then give it sun
Kolpop, bitjam, both btfarm listings, Lezonic, cshare, and HHMTAKA tell you to leave the switch on so the sensor can charge by day and light at dusk. The Remote field on that page is not a handset the bullets describe, so do not hunt for one in the box. None of the eight listings describes a battery pull-tab.
Festive Lights, writing about their own solar range, say a set that has never worked is often a flat cell: switch off, sun for 36–48 hours, then on. If your bullet says on, start there. Give the panel direct sun for the 6–8 hours the charge line asks for, and do not expect the 8–14 hour glow on night one. Buying checks live on the solar fairy lights buying guide.
Film, glass, and other lights
Some panels ship with a clear transit film. Lights4fun and Festive Lights say remove it if one is fitted. Peel film if you can see it. If you cannot see a film, do not scrape the cell. A greenhouse roof or a closed window is a poor charger. Festive Lights tell you not to charge through glass.
A security light, a porch lamp, or a street light on the panel can hold the set in daytime after dark, so the LEDs stay off. Move the panel a metre or so out of that pool of light and cover it again. If the string then comes on, the sensor was the problem.
A loose wrap, not a washing line
Copper kinks when you pull it tight. cshare, Lezonic, GCCATE, and the 6 m btfarm strings are copper. Spiral a small tree with the wire resting on branches, and leave a finger’s width of slack at each turn. Which? tie one end and tug that entry, and they call it the main break. Their result is not a pass or fail for these ASINs.
Do not staple copper into bark, and do not use a cable tie so tight that it bites the sheath. A soft garden tie, loose enough to slide, is enough. On sets that state a 2 m lead, that 2 m is how you reach sun. It is not another 2 m of LEDs. Kolpop does not state a separate lead, so plan the panel at the end of the 24 m you can see.
Rain, a dead half, and when to stop
IP65, where it is claimed, means dust-tight and water-jet protection under IEC 60529 / BS EN 60529. Kolpop, bitjam, the 6 m btfarm copper pack, Lezonic, and GCCATE use that claim. It is not a pond rating. The 8 m btfarm pair and cshare say waterproof with no code. HHMTAKA says light rain. Do not immerse any of them.
A string that lights only halfway is a fault, not a mode. UK reviews on the two-packs include one string dead on arrival. Charge both strings before you throw the box away. If the set smokes, scorches, or dies inside the first week in good sun with the switch on, contact the seller. A dead set is electrical equipment under the WEEE rules: decorative lighting takes the crossed-out bin mark, so it goes to a recycling centre or a retailer take-back, not the household rubbish. A string that fades in November is solar fairy lights in winter.
Common questions
Does the switch stay on or off for the first charge?
On these eight listings, on. The bullets say the sensor charges by day and lights at dusk only if the switch stays on. Festive Lights’ long charge with the switch off, and a Solar Centre sheet that says off for three days, are other products. Follow the paper in your box if it disagrees, and do not mix the two rules.
Is there a film or a battery tab?
A clear transit film is possible. Peel it if you can see it on the cell. None of these eight listings describes a pull-tab, so do not lever a cover open looking for one. If the panel face is already bare, the next step is sun, not a knife. HHMTAKA’s included AA cell stays sealed unless the listing says you can open it.
How do I test them in daylight?
Cover the panel while the switch is on. Coopers of Stortford and Festive Lights use that check on their own lights, and these listings do not print it, so treat it as their method. If the cell has had real sun, the LEDs should come on under the cover. A fail after one cloudy hour is not the same as a fail after a bright day.
Where does the panel go relative to the string?
In open sun, using the lead if your listing states one. bitjam and the btfarm packs describe about 2 m of unlit lead, so the lights can sit in a shrub while the panel stands clear. Kolpop does not state that lead. Keep the sensor away from a security lamp, which can hold the string in daytime mode.
Can I charge them on a windowsill?
Poorly. Festive Lights says not to charge through glass, and indoor light can convince the sensor it is still day. Put the panel outside, aimed at open sky. A greenhouse pane has the same problem. After one outdoor day with the switch on, use the cover test before you decide the string is dead.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for electrical safety, product safety and waste electricals. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts were taken from the listings on 20 October 2026. This is not a lab test.
- GOV.UK, Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk, SI 2016/1101 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Electrical Safety First, outdoor lighting (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Electrical Safety First, Christmas lights (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, recycling batteries and electricals (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, WEEE scope, decorative lighting (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- White Stores, garden lighting (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Festive Lights, solar troubleshooting (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Which?, solar garden lights (retrieved 20 October 2026)