Soldering a NeoPixel stick without cooking it

The 5050 packages on a NeoPixel stick are more heat-tolerant than they look, but the plastic lens will haze long before the die gives up. Keep the iron at 320 °C and work along the strip rather than dwelling on one pad.

What you need

A temperature-controlled iron, thin solder, and something to hold the board. Tack one end pad first, check the alignment, then do the rest.

Testing

Power it from 5 V before you commit the wiring to a project. If the first pixel lights and the rest don't, you have a data-line joint to redo.