[Bug] "Cannot connect" error despite correct API Key and working network connection #263
Description
When trying to configure the Govee integration, I consistently receive the error "Cannot connect. Is the API-Key correct and the internet connection working?"
I have taken the following steps to ensure the key is correct:
- [cite_start]Confirmed there are no leading/trailing spaces when pasting the key[cite: 2].
- Requested a brand new API key from Govee and tried again, with the same result.
- Confirmed my Govee lights work correctly with other cloud services (Google Home).
Environment
- Home Assistant Core Version: (Go to Settings > About and fill in your version, e.g.,
2025.9.2) - HACS Govee Integration Version: (Go to HACS > Integrations > Govee and fill in the version, e.g.,
v1.12.2) - Installation Type: (e.g., Home Assistant OS, Supervised, etc.)
To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:
- Install the Govee integration via HACS.
- Restart Home Assistant.
- Go to Settings > Devices & Services > Add Integration.
- Select "Govee".
- [cite_start]Enter a valid API key obtained from the Govee Home App[cite: 1, 2].
- Click Submit.
- [cite_start]The "Cannot connect" error is displayed[cite: 2].
Expected behavior
The integration should accept the valid API key and connect to the Govee service successfully.
Diagnostics
To rule out a network issue, I ran a curl command from the Home Assistant terminal. The test was successful, proving that my Home Assistant instance can resolve DNS and establish a secure connection to the Govee API endpoint without any issues.
Command:
curl -v https://developer-api.govee.com
Result:
* Trying 52.70.137.180:443...
* Connected to developer-api.govee.com (52.70.137.180) port 443
* ALPN: offers h2,http/1.1
* TLSv1.3 (OUT), TLS handshake, Client hello (1):
* TLSv1.3 (IN), TLS handshake, Server hello (2):
* TLSv1.3 (IN), TLS handshake, Certificate (11):
* TLSv1.3 (IN), TLS handshake, Server key exchange (12):
* TLSv1.3 (IN), TLS handshake, Server finished (14):
* TLSv1.3 (OUT), TLS handshake, Client key exchange (16):
* TLSv1.3 (OUT), TLS change cipher, Change cipher spec (1):
* TLSv1.3 (OUT), TLS handshake, Finished (20):
* TLSv1.3 (IN), TLS handshake, Finished (20):
* SSL connection using TLSv1.3 / ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 / secp256r1 / RsaEncryption
* ALPN: server accepted h2
* Server certificate:
* subject: CN=*.govee.com
* start date: Apr 08 00:00:00 2025 GMT
* expire date: May 07 23:59:59 2026 GMT
* subjectAltName: host "developer-api.govee.com" matched cert's "*.govee.com"
* issuer: C=US; O=Amazon; CN=Amazon RSA 2048 M02
* SSL certificate verify ok.
* using HTTP/2
* h2h3 [:method: GET]
* h2h3 [:path: /]
* h2h3 [:scheme: https]
* h2h3 [:authority: developer-api.govee.com]
* h2h3 [user-agent: curl/8.14.1]
* h2h3 [accept: */*]
> GET / HTTP/2
> Host: developer-api.govee.com
> User-Agent: curl/8.14.1
> Accept: */*
>
< HTTP/2 401
< date: Fri, 19 Sep 2025 17:42:10 GMT
< content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
< content-length: 39
< vary: Origin
< access-control-allow-origin: *
< access-control-expose-headers: API-RateLimit-Remaining,API-RateLimit-Reset,API-RateLimit-Limit
< x-response-time: 1ms
< x-traceid: f869d170-957f-11f0-bca7-edbd2c3004f0
<
* Connection #0 to host developer-api.govee.com left intact
{"message":"Miss API Key","status":401}
This successful diagnostic test indicates the problem is likely within the integration itself. Thank you for looking into this!