# Setting up Govee thermometers

Connect your Govee Wi-Fi thermometers with an API key, then give each one a location. Mays records every sensor's temperature every five minutes and watches it around the clock.

For: Admins, Managers · On: Web · [Help Center](https://www.mays.app/help) › [Food safety & signage](https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices) · Last updated October 8, 2026 · Mays Team

Connect your Govee Wi-Fi thermometers with an API key, then give each one a location. Mays records every sensor's temperature every five minutes and watches it around the clock.

**Who:** admins connect Govee and set thermometers up. Managers see the thermometers at their own locations, read-only. **Plan:** Thermometers are part of the **Pro** plan; if your plan stops including them, Mays stops reading the sensors and raising alerts. The sensors are bought separately.

## What you need

- **Govee Wi-Fi thermometers** that report to the Govee Home app, for example the Govee Smart Thermometer with its Wi-Fi gateway. Until you connect, **Thermometers** in the sidebar shows the recommended kit with a link to buy it.
- The **Govee Home** app on your phone, signed in to the Govee account the thermometers are on.

![The Thermometers page before anything is connected: the recommended Govee Smart Thermometer 2 and Wi-Fi Gateway, Buy on Amazon, and Already have one? Connect your Govee API key from Integrations](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__connect-govee-thermometers__01-thermometers-empty.80647a100f.png)

## 1. Get your Govee API key

In the **Govee Home** app, go to **Profile → Settings → Apply for API Key** and follow the steps. Govee emails you the key.

## 2. Connect it to Mays

1. On the web, go to **Integrations**.
2. On **Govee Thermometers**, click **Connect**.

![The Integrations page with Dropbox and Google Drive under Cloud storage and, under Add Integration, 7shifts, Square, Union POS and Govee Thermometers, Sync fridge / freezer temperatures and auto-task on alerts, each with a Connect button](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__connect-govee-thermometers__02-integrations.2eb919d5ae.png)

3. Paste the **API key**. Add a **Label (optional)**, such as the store it's for.
4. Click **Connect Govee**.

![The Connect Govee thermometers window: how to get an API key in the Govee Home app, a link to the thermometer kit, the API key box, the Label South store, and the Connect Govee button](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__connect-govee-thermometers__03-connect-govee.27b143da93.png)

Mays checks the key with Govee straight away. If the key is wrong, the window says so and nothing is saved. If it works, the window closes and every thermometer on that Govee account appears on the **Thermometers** page a moment later.

**Several Govee accounts?** Connect again with the other key, for example one per store. Each account is listed separately on the **Integrations** page.

## 3. Give each thermometer a location

New thermometers appear at the top of **Thermometers** under **Unassigned**, already open for editing.

1. Check the **Device name**, for example *Walk-in cooler*. It's the name on alerts and logs.
2. Pick the **Location**.
3. Check the safe range, **Min °F** and **Max °F**, and the **Alert delay (minutes)**. See [Temperature thresholds and alerts](https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices/temperature-alerts).
4. Click **Save**.

A thermometer that isn't assigned to a location still records temperatures, but it never raises an alert, and its log has no location or license number on it.

![The Thermometers page: Bar fridge under Unassigned open for editing with Device name, Location — Unassigned —, Min 32, Max 40 and Alert delay 15; Prep fridge at North shown Offline; and at South the Pastry case at 44.5°F out of range, the Reach-in freezer at -2.0°F and the Walk-in cooler at 37.3°F](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__connect-govee-thermometers__04-thermometers-page.3d91e8bab2.png)

## Reading the Thermometers page

- Thermometers are grouped by location, with each one's latest temperature in °F (and °C), when it was taken, the safe range, the alert delay and the Govee model.
- Green with a tick is inside the range; orange with a warning sign is outside it.
- **Offline** means Govee has stopped hearing from the sensor. Check its Wi-Fi gateway and that it shows as online in the Govee Home app.
- **stale** next to the time means no new reading in the last 30 minutes.
- **Disconnected** means the Govee connection was disconnected under **Integrations**. The thermometer and its history stay, but no new readings or alerts come in until you connect Govee again.
- The header shows when Mays last got a reading (*Last synced 2 min ago*) and how many sensors are offline.
- Filter with the search box (name or model), a location, or **Offline**, **Out of range** and **Unassigned**.
- **Sync now** (admins) fetches the latest readings without waiting for the next five-minute round. The sync icon on the **Govee Thermometers** card under **Integrations** does the same. If Govee can't be reached, a message says why.
- Click a thermometer's name for its history chart and the inspection log. See [Health-department temperature logs](https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices/temperature-log-export).

## Good to know

- **Default ranges:** a new thermometer starts at 32–40°F, or −10–10°F if its Govee name contains *freezer*. Change them to match your own rules.
- **Renaming in the Govee app** later doesn't change the name in Mays, and doesn't move the thermometer to another location. New sensors you add to the Govee account appear in Mays by themselves.
- **Temperatures are in °F.** The ranges are always entered in °F; the page shows °C alongside.
- **Sensors read the air, not the food.** Keep probing hot-holding and cooling food and log it with a [custom form](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/custom-form-task-types).
- **Staff don't see thermometers in the app.** They get the alert tasks, see [Temperature thresholds and alerts](https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices/temperature-alerts).
- **Disconnecting Govee keeps the thermometers and all their history.** Readings and temperature alerts stop, and each thermometer shows **Disconnected**. You can still open its history and download its logs. See [Integrations overview](https://www.mays.app/help/integrations/integrations-overview).

![The Thermometers page after Govee was disconnected: the Reach-in freezer and Walk-in cooler at North, each marked Disconnected with the note that history is kept and the last reading](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__connect-govee-thermometers__05-thermometers-disconnected.0d69781107.png)

- **Reconnecting Govee** with the same API key, or a new key from the same Govee account, carries on in the same thermometers: names, ranges, locations and history.
- **Readings are kept for 13 months.** Older readings are deleted, so export anything you need for longer.

## Related articles

- Food safety & signage: [Temperature thresholds and alerts](https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices/temperature-alerts) — Set a safe range and an alert delay for each thermometer. When a unit stays out of range, Mays creates a task at that location and notifies whoever is on shift.
- Food safety & signage: [Health-department temperature logs](https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices/temperature-log-export) — Download a thermometer's temperature log as a PDF or CSV for any dates, with your license number, the safe range and a pass or fail on every row, ready to show an inspector.
- Integrations: [Integrations overview](https://www.mays.app/help/integrations/integrations-overview) — What Mays connects to — Square, 7shifts, Union POS, Google Business, Govee thermometers, Dropbox and Google Drive — who can connect them, and how to check, sync or disconnect a connection.
- Team & roles: [Add and manage locations](https://www.mays.app/help/team-roles/add-and-edit-locations) — Add your stores to Mays, keep their address, phone, email and time zone up to date, and find each location's billing, phone receptionist and scheduling settings.
- Tasks & checklists: [Building custom forms (Task Types)](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/custom-form-task-types) — Build your own task forms, like a cash count, a temperature log or a waste log, under Tasks → Types. Staff fill them in the app, and every answer lands in Task Data, ready to export.
- Account & billing: [Plans, the free trial and locked modules](https://www.mays.app/help/account-billing/plans-and-free-trial) — Every organization starts with a 30-day free trial of all plan modules, then picks Basic or Pro (or your company's own package, if Mays set up custom pricing). What each plan includes, what the add-ons are, what a locked module means, and how each location's package decides its features.

## Still need help?

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Canonical: https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices/connect-govee-thermometers