SwitchBotSmart Electric Motorized Blinds Kit - 3Pack with 2.4G WiFi Remote Control, Solar Powered, Compatible with Alexa, Google Home and Siri, Light Sensing Control, Unlimited Group Control

The media could not be loaded. I’ve installed four of these SwitchBot Blind Tilts in my home — purchased a three-pack and a one-pack — and couldn’t be happier with them. The one-pack I purchased was a ‘kit,’ also containing Switchbot’s “Hub Mini,” which is a necessary addition if you want to control these via your smart home controller — Alexa / Google Home / so forth. Mine are controlled through Amazon Echos via Alexa routines.Installation instructions are clearly written and the necessary bits and jigs to insure correct alignment are included with each blind tilt in the form of cardboard templates with adhesive. You align the cardboard template with your tilt wand, attach it to your blind’s headrail with the template’s adhesive pads, and it shows you precisely where to attach the wand clamp and the motor mount for a correct fit. At first, opening the package, installation looks daunting, but it’s really quite simple. Just read through the instructions and you won’t have any problems.Others have mentioned trouble keeping these units charged. I haven’t experienced any problems, and all four of my blind tilt units are on a north-facing wall. It’s true that the solar panel doesn’t keep their batteries at 100%, but this is to be expected when the panels are facing north and get zero direct sun. When I first installed these I installed the solar chargers on three but did not install the solar charger on the fourth. After a month, the three with the chargers were at 78% battery, the one without was at 58%. So even facing north, the solar chargers provide a small charge, helping to keep the batteries up. I charged these unit’s batteries to 100% prior to installing them and own a supplemental battery for my iPhone. It’s a simple matter to unplug the solar panel’s USB-C connector from the unit and plug the battery in to top off the blind tilt’s battery. Would it be better if the solar panels did all the work? Of course. But there will always be these minor issues with any tech, and honestly, this is so minor it’s inconsequential.My ONE problem with SwitchBot Blind Tilt was with the unit’s bright whiteness. I have mahogany blinds in my living room and honey maple blinds in my bath. The white motor and wand clamp stood out and not in a good way. I’ve painted mine with solid color deck stain to closely match the blinds and now I don’t even see them. If you want to paint yours, prior to painting tape up the wand clamp and the bottom of the motor unit. The wand clamp contains a latch-release with very close tolerances. Any primer or paint in that latch will make it unworkable. Learn from my mistake — I spent about an hour with an x-acto knife trying to surgically scrape off primer to get the latch operable again. Just tape the clamp portion and leave it white. The bottom of the motor unit contains a button you press to connect the unit to your network. This also needs to remain unpainted, so tape that too before priming. The attached video shows these two areas. Start with a bonding primer and follow-up with the paint or stain color of your choice. Home Depot sells “sample size” deck stains quite inexpensively. Stop by and pick up a deck stain color sheet, take it home and match your blind color with that sheet, return to Home Depot and pick up your sample size can of stain. I used solid-color deck stain, but any paint or stain will work.One final note: Alexa only has the ability to close the SwitchBot Blind Tilt with slats facing DOWN. This was unsuitable to me. Here’s a simple fix: in your final installation step — the calibration of the unit — when the app instructs you to fully open the blinds DOWN, fully open them UP. And when it instructs you to fully open them UP, fully open them DOWN. Alexa will now close your blind slats in the UP position and you are indisputably the master of your domain.I have mine opening at sunrise and closing at sunset every day through Alexa routines. I couldn’t be happier. For the price, these bring automation to existing blinds very cost-effectively. Go for it!

Used these for some windows that are too high to regularly open/shut. Setup was fairly simple. I’m not sure if it said to charge the batteries first before installing, but either way, charge the batteries before installing. The solar panels get TONS of sun in the afternoon and only seem to keep it at the original 70ish percent charged. Otherwise great product. Would buy again.

They work beautifully but installation and phone app was a little challenging. We now have set to open at 7am and close at 10 pm. Very happy with them.

I like the functionality of the product but instructions were not that great. It could have been written in a simpler way so people do not get confused. Anyway, at the end, I was able to install all three and set a program on them. They seem to be working as expected so no more manually opening, closing blinds.

Although installation took some time, these devices are super reliable. With automation to open and close at sunrise and sunset, plus the solar panel support for light-level triggers, I never need to adjust them manually.

update: after being reached out to by the company and asking what they could do to help, they promised to send an newer better hub, but didn't, then they said they were going to give me a full refund, but quickly back tracked on that offer, then when they kept asking for my personal information, which is against Amazon policy they accused me of not wanting to help them solve the problems. Here what I found with my extensive testing. You will need a hub for every room, the hub needs to be in direct line of sight to work effectively. The stated specifications of the hub are all wrong. I couldn't figure out why I found very few reviews about this obvious limitation, but then realized they reach out to all people who give them bad reviews and basically bribed them. So if you are going to only have one or two devices, then this will work, or just buy a hub for every room in your house.Original: The device works really well when it receives a signal. It's fairly quiet, or at least much quieter than what I expected. Really easy to install after the first one, the instructions are a little bit confusing at times. With the new firmware update, blinds can be grouped which is fantastic, because they don't receive the signal from the hub very well, which would cause all sorts of issues, if planning on using any of the 3rd party systems like Alexa or Google. More than 50 percent of the time the device will fail to communicate with the hub properly when the hub is not directly in the line of sight of the device. I purchased quite a few of these based on reviews and product description. One stark example of how unreliable the hub is, I have a group in the living room and one in my kitchen which is separated by one wall. The hub is directly against the wall in the living room, so it works fine with the living room group of 3 devices, but in the kitchen, is hit or miss. The hub states 80 meters in range, but this is far from the truth. If this were true I would only need one hub for my entire house, or at the most, one hub on each floor. No, this is not the case you need one hub for every room the devices are in to have reliable communications. So, keep that in mind, you will have to add 40 dollars for each room, plus a way to plug in each hub. If you're just going to add one or two devices these are probably okay, but if you plan on doing your whole house, or living areas, maybe go with a more reliable product. Be prepared to by a hub for each room that the blinds are in.