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How to use pool lights

Updated: October 2026

These decorative lights usually die from a wet charge port, or from a remote you try after the housing is under. How to use pool lights, for the listings in our [pool lights](/hub/swimming-pools/pool-light) set, is a short sequence: load or charge on dry ground, close the seal, set the mode, then lower or float the unit. This page does not rank a winner. Frame-pool walls are on [above ground pool lights](/hub/swimming-pools/pool-light/sub/pool-light-above-ground). Float versus underwater is on [floating or submersible pool lights](/hub/swimming-pools/pool-light/sub/pool-light-floating-or-fixed). If water is already inside, stop. Peter F. checked the listings in October 2026. A link may earn us a commission.

These decorative lights usually die from a wet charge port, or from a remote you try after the housing is under.

Our top picks

Vicloon Vicloon 2-pack

Best overall

Vicloon Vicloon 2-pack
8.1/10about £29.99
View offer
MR.HOKWY MR.HOKWY floating disco

Preis-Tipp

MR.HOKWY MR.HOKWY floating disco
7.2/10about £10.99
View offer
daphomeu daphomeu 2-pack

Rank 3

daphomeu daphomeu 2-pack
8.2/10about £8.43
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Charge and close it on dry ground
  2. 2.Put it in the water
  3. 3.When the remote or the seal fails
  4. 4.When this is no longer a DIY light

Charge and close it on dry ground

Do the electrical part before the light sees the pool. For the daphomeu pair, B0BXD57DV7, that means three AAA cells, not included, fitted while the housing is dry. UK reviews describe water inside, rust, and one battery leak, so a loose lid is not a small mistake. For the MR.HOKWY, B0CQV555MK, insert three AAA cells and tighten the lid. The listing contradicts itself on whether a battery is included, so check the compartment. The vsshe packs, B0F87S4684 and B0H6PJJXCW, charge from USB. The bullet says about 2.5 hours, then up to 24 hours bright and up to 100 hours dim. Treat those hours as the listing’s claim. The Vicloon pair, B0FB8YG8LP, uses magnetic charging, so you do not open the light. Close anything that opens before you carry the light to the edge.

Put it in the water

Turn the light on, and choose the mode, before it goes under. On the daphomeu pair you cannot retune it once it is submerged. The colour you set on the side is the colour you keep. The MR.HOKWY should stay up. The bullet says let it float rather than sink it, even though the same bullet claims IP67. A short press moves through seven modes. A long press turns it off. Pucks go down only after the seal is shut. The vsshe lights use adhesive, and buyers in the shared UK review text did not want to glue a hot tub. Vicloon reviews say the pad comes unstuck. The NATPOW adapter stays out of the water. The VISOFO, B09NVT8F6N, floats.
Vicloon Vicloon 2-pack

Testsieger

Vicloon Vicloon 2-pack
8.1/10about £29.99
View offer

When the remote or the seal fails

Keep the remote dry, and assume it may do nothing once the light is down. That is the repeated UK note on the daphomeu pair. Suction on that pair fails on a pool wall. If the cup will not hold, set the puck on the floor or take it out. Do not open a battery door over the pool. A wet housing is the stop. UK reviews on the MR.HOKWY describe water inside and units that stopped after about four uses or four weeks. The daphomeu file includes rust and a battery leak, and that unit is finished. Shared vsshe reviews include one failure within a month. Take a weeping unit out the same evening.

When this is no longer a DIY light

Stop treating it as a puck when the plan needs a cable in the basin, a hole in a liner, or a transformer that has already failed. The NATPOW kit crosses that line: an AC/DC power field, and UK reviews of a burnt transformer. HSG179 points fixed pool electrical work toward a competent person. NAPIT’s summary of BS 7671 Section 702 is the same door: SELV at 12 V AC RMS or 30 V ripple-free DC, not a party remote. You can still use a sealed battery light after you retire a wet one. Take working lights out when you leave the pool for the week. If you are still choosing, the checks are on the pool lights buying guide.

Common questions

Do you turn the light on before it goes in?
Yes for the pucks, and especially for the daphomeu pair. UK reviews say the remote does not work once the light is under, so the mode is chosen on the side. The MR.HOKWY can be pressed while it floats, because it is meant to stay up. The vsshe timers, listed as 2, 4, or 6 hours, are set before you lower the housing. Switching a sealed light on under water is how people find that the control path never reaches it.
How do you charge a sealed light?
On dry ground, with the port clear of the pool. The vsshe packs use USB. The listing says about 2.5 hours, then a runtime reviews only partly support. The Vicloon pair charges magnetically, so you do not open the light, though the remote needs AAA cells. The daphomeu and the MR.HOKWY take three AAA cells behind a lid you tighten while dry. The VISOFO is solar. You do not open it to charge.
Where should the remote stay?
In your hand, dry, and used before the daphomeu light goes down. That remote is infrared, and reviews say it stops under water. The Vicloon remote is a dry-hand control and needs its own AAA cells. The vsshe two-pack lists infrared and the four-pack lists Bluetooth, but the UK review text is shared, so do not assume a radio link will retune a flooded unit. The MR.HOKWY has no remote. You press the body.
What if the suction cup will not hold?
Leave it. UK reviews on the daphomeu pair say the cups do not hold on a pool wall. Put the light on the floor, or take it out. Do not glue a suction puck because a different ASIN uses adhesive. The vsshe and Vicloon mounts are pads, and buyers resisted gluing a hot tub. A floater avoids the wall. Forcing a cup onto a wet liner is how the seal gets twisted.
Can you open the battery door over the pool?
No. Open it on a dry surface, fit or remove the cells, tighten the lid, then carry it back. The daphomeu reviews include water, rust, and a battery leak. The MR.HOKWY reviews include housings full of water. An open bung over a pool is the short route to both. If the light is USB or magnetic, you should not be opening a door at all.

Related pages

Best pool lights

Pool light

Above ground pool lights without cutting the liner

Pool lights buying guide: power, water claim, mount

Floating or submersible pool lights: which one to buy

Sources

Public UK sources for fixed pool luminaires, SELV in Section 702, and the voltage band of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016. Listings are the amazon.co.uk captures for these seven ASINs, not a live reload on 17 October 2026. Prices on amazon.co.uk move.

  1. BSI, BS EN IEC 60598-2-18:2022 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. NAPIT on BS 7671 Section 702 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. Elec-Mate, swimming pool electrical zones (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. HSE, HSG179 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. Lyco, pool lights (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. LED Technologies, LED pool lights (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. PoolPro, Intex magnetic pool light (retrieved 16 October 2026)