How to Add RGB LEDs to Your FPV Drone & Setup in Betaflight (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

Adding RGB LED strips to your FPV drone isn’t just visually appealing—it offers practical benefits too. It can help you easily identify drone orientation, monitor battery status, and indicate flight modes and many more. Betaflight makes this setup straightforward. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the process step-by-step.

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For more tutorials, check out our comprehensive Betaflight setup guide: https://oscarliang.com/betaflight-firmware-setup/

Benefits of Adding RGB LED to FPV Drone

Adding RGB LED strips to FPV drones offers several practical and aesthetic benefits:

• Improved Visibility and Orientation: LEDs help pilots quickly determine drone orientation when flying in line of sight (LOS), making it easier to navigate in low lighting conditions or long distances.
• Battery Voltage Monitoring: LED strips can visually indicate battery status in real-time by changing colors based on voltage levels, helping pilots easily monitor battery life without constantly checking telemetry or OSD.
• Flight Mode Indication: RGB LEDs can display distinct colors for different flight modes (e.g. acro, angle, horizon), providing immediate visual confirmation of your current mode.
• Enhanced Safety: Bright LEDs significantly improve the visibility of the drone to spectators and other pilots, reducing collision risks.
• Customizable Appearance: LED strips allow you to personalize your drone, creating a unique appearance during flights, especially useful for racing, freestyle, or group flights.
• Night Flying: Enables safer flights in low-light or night time conditions, greatly improving visibility and drone tracking.
• Race and Event Identification: In drone races, distinct LED colors help pilots and spectators quickly distinguish between multiple drones.
• Many Other Functions: Explore Betaflight’s LED tab for more features and creative uses.

What You’ll Need

The LED strip feature in Betaflight is primarily designed for addressable RGB LEDs such as WS2812. They come in various forms. The most common is a flexible strip sold by the meter, easily cut into individual LEDs or smaller segments with scissors for a perfect fit. Ensure you select the 5V version:

• AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_okHypsi
• Amazon: https://amzn.to/4n3aSfk

Alternatively, consider RGB LED strips specially designed for FPV drones. These come mounted on a PCB, simplifying installation:

• GetFPV: https://oscarliang.com/product-x6wf
• RDQ: https://oscarliang.com/product-dxea
• AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_onDTglu

Other Tools and Hardware

Here’s a checklist of additional hardware you’ll need to add RGB LEDs on your drone:

• A flight controller that supports RGB LEDs (look for a solder pad labeled “LED” or “LED Strip”). See our FC recommendations.
• Supplies to mount the LEDs to your drone, such as double-sided tape, zip-ties, or clear heat shrink. Check out our tool recommendations.
• Small-gauge electrical wires, 28AWG or 30AWG should suffice.

Power Requirements

A single 5V WS2812 LED typically draws around 18mA. Ensure your flight controller or BEC can supply enough current for the number of LEDs you plan to use. Current draw varies slightly with color—when it’s showing blue light it typically consume more current than when it’s red.

The power consumption of LED strips is negligible compared to motors, so they shouldn’t noticeably affect flight time.

For your reference, here is the current draw for 3 LEDs.

Step 1: Connect LED to Flight Controller

Most Betaflight flight controllers have a dedicated pad labeled LED or LED Strip.

Connect the LED strip as follows:

• 5V → 5V
• GND → GND
• DI (DIN) → LED

Note: most WS2812 LED strips are directional, with a data-in (DI) and data-out (DO) pin. Connect the flight controller’s LED pad to the DI pin on the LED. If adding additional LED or LED strips, you can connect them in series (connect DO of the existing LED to the DI of the new LED). Each LED will be addressed when connected in series, and you can control/program them individually. There’s a limit though, you can only control up to 32 LED’s in Betaflight.

Pro Tip: When soldering, use a low temperature and avoid holding the soldering iron on the pads too long, as overheating can damage those LEDs.

Step 2: Mount LED Strips

Ensure solder joints are insulated from your drone’s carbon-fiber frame.

Securely attach LED strips so they won’t come loose due to vibrations or crashes. Note each LED’s wiring order and location.

Step 3: Enable LEDs in Betaflight

Before connecting a battery, always remove propellers for safety.

Open Betaflight Configurator and connect to your drone.

Navigate to the Configuration tab.

Scroll to “Other Features” and enable LED_STRIP.

Click Save and Reboot.

After reconnecting with a battery, the LEDs should illuminate white by default. The LED Strip tab will now appear on the left menu. If not visible, enable Expert Mode (top-right).

Step 4: Setup LED Strip Layout

Click on the LED Strip tab.

Activate “Wiring Order Mode”.

Assign LEDs sequentially on the grid, starting with the LED closest to your flight controller.

The grid helps visualize the arrangement but the exact placement isn’t critical.

Betaflight starts numbering with 0 so when we get to the 4th LED the number is 3.

Complete for every LED, then disable Wiring Order Mode.

Step 5: Assign Functions to LEDs

Assign colors and functions to LEDs:

1. Select the first LED (numbered 0).
2. Under Functions, select Colors and pick your desired color. The LED on the grid will have indicator showing Function and Color have been selected.
3. Repeat for each LED.
4. Click Save. LEDs will now display the chosen colors.

Basic LED Setup

Let’s move on to a simple example.

Here I have entered the first 4 LEDs – that’s a LED strip I will be mounting on one of the arms.

Again, it doesn’t matter where on the grid, as long as you have room to enter all the LEDs and can make sense of where they relate to their position on the quadcopter.

Here I will place the rest of the LED’s in the grid, then deselect the Wiring Order Mode button. Notice that I have 6 separate strips, and the order represents how they are wired together in series.

Now we can start assigning functions to each individual LED. In this case we are just going to assign different colors for them.

Highlight the first LED (numbered 0) by clicking on it, select “Colors” from the “Functions” drop down menu.

Then click any color you want to assign that LED in the color chart.

Do the same thing for the next LED and so on until all the LEDs have been assigned a color.

Click the Save button and the LEDs on the quadcopter will switch from white, to the colors you’ve selected.

Betaflight LED Setup: Advanced Functions

The LED feature in Betaflight is pretty powerful, there are many functions that can be activated and overlaid for a completely customized LED display.

Color modifiers, Blinking, Larson scanner/Knightrider effects, warnings for battery, RSSI and more, even color coded VTX channels controlled through SmartAudio. The possibility is exciting :)

The throttle modifier will change the LED color depending on throttle position. The color selected will be shown at mid throttle, the previous selectable color will show at low throttle and the next selectable color at full stick.

To activate this, highlight the LED you want to use and click the Color Modifier for Throttle. This can also be changed from throttle to a different channel such as AUX switches for flight modes, rate modes etc.

Note the orange dot indicating Throttle Color Modifier.

Both rear arms set to change color according to throttle position. Once saved this can be tested through the transmitter without arming, simply slide the throttle up and down and see if you like the transition.

Turn indicators will flash corresponding LEDs when roll or pitch is applied. To do this, first we must select the orientation for the specific LED we want to use by selecting N, S, E, W or UP and DOWN.

Notice the orientation arrow attached to that LED box now

Next click the “Indicator” switch. Do this for any LED you would like to blink when TX input is applied in that direction.

Now this LED will blink when left roll is applied, slow with small inputs and fast like a strobe when at full stick. This can also be tested now with the transmitter.

Arm State is another useful function. Highlight the LED you wish to use and select Arm State from the Functions drop down menu.

The Arm State function allows you to select two colors, one for when armed and one for when disarmed.

There are so many combinations that can be made here to get that custom look you’ve always wanted, start playing around with different settings and see what happens. Wether you would like to add some lights to help orientation, light up the entire night sky, or just add a touch of color for your race, LEDs are always cool. ;)

Here is a instructional video by Droneofprey.

Turning LEDs Off Using a Switch

You can assign an AUX switch to toggle LEDs on/off: go to Modes, enable LEDLOW, and assign it to a preferred AUX channel.

Troubleshooting

• LED not lighting up: Verify wiring and soldering connections. Ensure Betaflight configuration matches your wiring.
• Incorrect LED function: Double-check the LED strip assignment and functions in Betaflight.

Final Thoughts

A properly configured LED strip on your FPV drone is both functional and visually impressive. Experiment with different setups to best suit your flying style and needs. Enjoy your enhanced FPV drone experience!

Edit History

• Jun 2018 – tutorial created
• Jun 2025 – updated