Thanks for this excellent video. I recently purchased a new home and outfitted all of my windows with Smartwings shades. I purchased both cassette type and dual roller shades. The cassette shades were so easy to install. The dual roller shades are a completely different animal and unfortunately there is not a ton of info out there on the dual roller. As an example, I have 12 dual roller style shades which results in 24 separate shade motors and therefore you will need to order at least two 15 channel remotes. Also, unlike the cassette shades the dual roller system is not already assembled and is installed in pieces on the window. I do love the shades however and they add value to my home.
I bought 2 shades (x3 windows) and stacked them. One blackout inside mount and one woven wood outside mount. All Matter Thread border motors. It was a little tricky but the only way to achieve the look I was after. Have had issues with naming. Google Home doesn’t like 'shade'. If I say shade (or Blind) they all react. Confusing since they are a defined matter device in Google as Blind. I have not figured out how to group them on one remote channel. Each have their own channel. I’d prefer to select channel 5. And they all close or open. It’s tedious to move the channel selector to activate one blind. Especially in the dark at 5:30am when I’d rather not say Hey Google. Has anyone been successful at grouping multiples?
Have you looked into creating a group? I haven’t been successful. For instance, I’d like 4 shades to do the same command from the remote. I can do it with Google home by voice command or Google home app automation. But, I’d rather leave remote on selected channel and press up or down on remote to open or close all 4 shades.
@@awreeve I use Apple Home and I am able to group the shades however I need. As an example I have a "West Shades" and a "West Privacy" group. She I can command Apple Home to "open West Shades" and all 6 of my 5% shades in that location open at once. If I say "open west privacy" then all of my black out shades at that location open up. I am also able to group those shades into scenes in Apple Home for my automations.
You are the first reviewer to mention that they have a hardwire option. Which is exactly what I want. Having recently upgraded my windows to high impact I no longer need my alarm sensor wire. So I'm going to use them to power the shades.🎉 Also the first reviewer to mention the different speed adjustments amd show a comparison. Awesome job! First reviewer to show the light saturation at night. Your firing on all cylinders.
Great info, Brett! It's so helpful to see all the details and how the parts fit together. I'd also like to see a review of their outdoor roll-up shades. I have a screened porch that gets brutal midday sun, but we also have a lot of wind.
Hi, I have 6 smartwings with thread over matter. One of them the charging port is so far back facing the wall, that I have to remove the shade to charge it and replace it the next day. This is an inconvenience to say the least. I tried to plug in the charge cable and leave it there for when it would be needed, but the port is up against the wall and I can’t install the shade in the brackets. Is there a way to adjust this port to be rotated and facing more front or down?
Smartwings make great shades. I also have that same blackout shade without the solar panel and a zebra blind in our kitchen. Battery life on both are great. I also had a problem with going offline trying to connect over matter.They have a new wall mount remote I just ordered that looks really nice.
@TechWithBrett They both get opened and closed a couple times a day and I probably get 3 maybe 4 months between charges. And that's only letting it get down to about 30%.
Issue with matter is known to them and I got mine back in Novrmber. I got really frustrated and they ended up sending me a smartthing hub. It obviously doesn't work with matter but with a separate app called smartlife. Disappointing since I paid a premium to have it matter compatible. I need to cover 2 or 3 more windows but until they tell me the problem with matter is fixed, I'm not gonna buy anything from them anymore. I really thing they should not advertise that they are matter compatible if they know there are issues and also they really didn't try that hard to make things right with me until I really got upset. Right now, I can't set things with Google home and the smartlife app has a lot of limitations.
I purchased the dual roller shades for my home and absolutely love them. They are a very different animal to the cassette type that most reviewers are showing. Installation is very different and takes a bit longer. They do solve my need for the window to have both a transparency shade for privacy and a blackout shade. Although this is an expensive route it is cheaper than buying 2 sets for each window to achieve the same result.
Hm I wonder if it'd be better to get an oversized measurement so it goes like 5 inches on the sides of the windows then install it on the outside instead of pressed up against the window frame to get a better black out.
I'm learning that is the best way to do Blackout. Thanks for the reminder. Because our windows are deep I always feel like I need to add them on the inside, but wide outside mount is most likely best for Blackout.
If the motor is working you can press the button to manually operate. If the motor dies they would not be able to function... but they do have a 3 year warranty.
Would be nice to know how long the charge lasts, without the solar panel, assuming open close once a day. Solar panel is a bit large in my opinion. Also, will the remote work without web connection? One more thing, do you think the google home issue(s)will be addressed? Thank you for the video. Nice to see something more affordable, Serena shades are $$$$$$$
Great questions. Someone else had mentioned their battery is about 4 months, but I could unplug and do a test. Yes, the remote will work as long as the shade has power, no internet required. I have reached out to them about Google Home because they did disconnect again but haven't heard back. I am currently testing on SmartThings to see if maybe it is just a Google Matter issue.
I have several Smartwing shades in my home and I do not have the solar panel. Most of my shades operate twice a day, going up then going down. I am able to get 5 to 6 months on a 100% charge.
Brett, great video on these SmartWing blinds! Love how you cover all aspects of these products. I use SmartThings V2 hub. Do in need an edge driver to make these work or do they pair up fine without ant Edge driver? Thanks, love your videos!
So I just tried to switch the driver and it just showed Connected and gave no options. I'd say going with Zigee or Z-Wave motor might be best, but I'll give this a week to see if Matter is good.
I bought two shades for outside and paired them both with Alexa. One stopped working with Alexa after a week, tried to repair it multiple times to no avail. The other works quite well with Alexa, but every now and then it stops working and I have to resort to the remote. Go figure.
Have you contacted their customer service? I'd like to know how they're doing with service. For example, I've had a couple of experiences with Roomba customer service and it is amazing - they walk you through each step of fixing the problem and even send free parts when needed. That's why I will always buy Roomba from now on.
@@TechWithBrett I'm pretty sure I purchased the Alexa Smart Motor but it's impossible to see prior order details on the SmartWings site even though I have an account. I did not purchase a Zigbee hub as the Alexa Smart Motor is supposed to work without one.
Thanks for this excellent video. I recently purchased a new home and outfitted all of my windows with Smartwings shades. I purchased both cassette type and dual roller shades. The cassette shades were so easy to install. The dual roller shades are a completely different animal and unfortunately there is not a ton of info out there on the dual roller. As an example, I have 12 dual roller style shades which results in 24 separate shade motors and therefore you will need to order at least two 15 channel remotes. Also, unlike the cassette shades the dual roller system is not already assembled and is installed in pieces on the window. I do love the shades however and they add value to my home.
I bought 2 shades (x3 windows) and stacked them. One blackout inside mount and one woven wood outside mount. All Matter Thread border motors. It was a little tricky but the only way to achieve the look I was after. Have had issues with naming. Google Home doesn’t like 'shade'. If I say shade (or Blind) they all react. Confusing since they are a defined matter device in Google as Blind.
I have not figured out how to group them on one remote channel. Each have their own channel. I’d prefer to select channel 5. And they all close or open. It’s tedious to move the channel selector to activate one blind. Especially in the dark at 5:30am when I’d rather not say Hey Google. Has anyone been successful at grouping multiples?
Have you looked into creating a group? I haven’t been successful. For instance, I’d like 4 shades to do the same command from the remote. I can do it with Google home by voice command or Google home app automation. But, I’d rather leave remote on selected channel and press up or down on remote to open or close all 4 shades.
@@awreeve I use Apple Home and I am able to group the shades however I need. As an example I have a "West Shades" and a "West Privacy" group. She I can command Apple Home to "open West Shades" and all 6 of my 5% shades in that location open at once. If I say "open west privacy" then all of my black out shades at that location open up. I am also able to group those shades into scenes in Apple Home for my automations.
You are the first reviewer to mention that they have a hardwire option. Which is exactly what I want. Having recently upgraded my windows to high impact I no longer need my alarm sensor wire. So I'm going to use them to power the shades.🎉
Also the first reviewer to mention the different speed adjustments amd show a comparison. Awesome job!
First reviewer to show the light saturation at night. Your firing on all cylinders.
Wow, thank you for noticing! I love finding tips like that, so I'm glad it helped you.
Great info, Brett! It's so helpful to see all the details and how the parts fit together. I'd also like to see a review of their outdoor roll-up shades. I have a screened porch that gets brutal midday sun, but we also have a lot of wind.
Good job on this video Brett. I'm a big fan of SmartWings as well!
Hi, I have 6 smartwings with thread over matter. One of them the charging port is so far back facing the wall, that I have to remove the shade to charge it and replace it the next day. This is an inconvenience to say the least. I tried to plug in the charge cable and leave it there for when it would be needed, but the port is up against the wall and I can’t install the shade in the brackets. Is there a way to adjust this port to be rotated and facing more front or down?
Smartwings make great shades. I also have that same blackout shade without the solar panel and a zebra blind in our kitchen. Battery life on both are great. I also had a problem with going offline trying to connect over matter.They have a new wall mount remote I just ordered that looks really nice.
What is an estimate on battery life length? Thank you for the real world review.
@TechWithBrett They both get opened and closed a couple times a day and I probably get 3 maybe 4 months between charges. And that's only letting it get down to about 30%.
Issue with matter is known to them and I got mine back in Novrmber. I got really frustrated and they ended up sending me a smartthing hub. It obviously doesn't work with matter but with a separate app called smartlife. Disappointing since I paid a premium to have it matter compatible. I need to cover 2 or 3 more windows but until they tell me the problem with matter is fixed, I'm not gonna buy anything from them anymore. I really thing they should not advertise that they are matter compatible if they know there are issues and also they really didn't try that hard to make things right with me until I really got upset. Right now, I can't set things with Google home and the smartlife app has a lot of limitations.
Great review. Thorough and I think you may have convinced me on these!
I think once you saw the value you get for that price, that is what did it.
You should look onto day/night or dual shade definitely more expensive but they're wonderful.
SmartWings does have that as an option that looks really good.
I purchased the dual roller shades for my home and absolutely love them. They are a very different animal to the cassette type that most reviewers are showing. Installation is very different and takes a bit longer. They do solve my need for the window to have both a transparency shade for privacy and a blackout shade. Although this is an expensive route it is cheaper than buying 2 sets for each window to achieve the same result.
Hm I wonder if it'd be better to get an oversized measurement so it goes like 5 inches on the sides of the windows then install it on the outside instead of pressed up against the window frame to get a better black out.
I'm learning that is the best way to do Blackout. Thanks for the reminder. Because our windows are deep I always feel like I need to add them on the inside, but wide outside mount is most likely best for Blackout.
Both mine are mounted on the frame and I went a couple inches wider.
Love the video!! What projector ru using?
Thanks. I'm using the Samsung Freestyle and it works pretty great.
When the motor inevitably stops working, it's there a way to manually raise and lower them?
If the motor is working you can press the button to manually operate. If the motor dies they would not be able to function... but they do have a 3 year warranty.
Would be nice to know how long the charge lasts, without the solar panel, assuming open close once a day. Solar panel is a bit large in my opinion. Also, will the remote work without web connection? One more thing, do you think the google home issue(s)will be addressed? Thank you for the video. Nice to see something more affordable, Serena shades are $$$$$$$
Great questions. Someone else had mentioned their battery is about 4 months, but I could unplug and do a test.
Yes, the remote will work as long as the shade has power, no internet required.
I have reached out to them about Google Home because they did disconnect again but haven't heard back. I am currently testing on SmartThings to see if maybe it is just a Google Matter issue.
I have several Smartwing shades in my home and I do not have the solar panel. Most of my shades operate twice a day, going up then going down. I am able to get 5 to 6 months on a 100% charge.
M hello install it one I like comment and said on your video and give you the thumbs up
Brett, great video on these SmartWing blinds! Love how you cover all aspects of these products. I use SmartThings V2 hub. Do in need an edge driver to make these work or do they pair up fine without ant Edge driver? Thanks, love your videos!
I'm not sure exactly, but I did just pair it to my SmartThings hub to see if Matter would work better.
Please let me know about the Edge drivers if you know, matter seems to me to be very unreliable in any an all ways!
So I just tried to switch the driver and it just showed Connected and gave no options. I'd say going with Zigee or Z-Wave motor might be best, but I'll give this a week to see if Matter is good.
I bought two shades for outside and paired them both with Alexa. One stopped working with Alexa after a week, tried to repair it multiple times to no avail. The other works quite well with Alexa, but every now and then it stops working and I have to resort to the remote. Go figure.
What motor did you purchase? Do you have a Zigbee hub in close proximity?
Have you contacted their customer service? I'd like to know how they're doing with service. For example, I've had a couple of experiences with Roomba customer service and it is amazing - they walk you through each step of fixing the problem and even send free parts when needed. That's why I will always buy Roomba from now on.
@@TechWithBrett I'm pretty sure I purchased the Alexa Smart Motor but it's impossible to see prior order details on the SmartWings site even though I have an account. I did not purchase a Zigbee hub as the Alexa Smart Motor is supposed to work without one.
$200 is not bad.
Compared to others it is very affordable.
First
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Use it wisely.
@@TechWithBrett ofcourse I will
@@TechWithBrett I'll also try to find the video in I saw your email
@TechWithBrett