Currently, the development of single-phase white emitters is an interesting research topic. Researchers have paid much attention to tune white-emitting of Dy3+-activated phosphors via Tm3+ sensitization strategy. However, the role of Tm3+ sensitization on luminescence thermostability was usually underestimated. Herein, color-tunable germanate phosphors Ba2Y2Ge4O13 (BYGO):Tm3+,Dy3+ were prepared. The white light emission is achieved due to the effective energy transfer from Tm3+ to Dy3+. A BYGO:Tm3+,Dy3+-based w-LED exhibits warm white-emitting. Moreover, the back-energy transfer of Dy3+→Tm3+ contributes to the improvement of luminescence thermal stability. Meanwhile, the difference of temperature-dependent Tm3+ and Dy3+ emissions realizes satisfactory temperature sensing properties. This work provides a deep understanding for the role of Tm3+ sensitization strategy on color tuning and thermostable improvement, promoting multifunctional utilizations of Dy3+-activated phosphors.