Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1, Requires Zigbee AQARA HUB, with Schedule and Voice Control, Rechargeable with Long Battery Life, Compatible with Apple HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT
| Weight: | 420 g |
| Model: | AM023GLW01 |
| Part: | DE-Roller Shade Driver E1 |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Manufacture: | Aqara |
| Quantity: | 1 |
Easy to install and set up. USB C port for charging and integration with Home Assistant.
Its not silent in operation but if your a deep enough sleeper you likely wont notice it opening. Controls a 2m long roller blind with ease which I was concerned it might struggle with given its small size
Using it in Homeassistant with a Sonoff Zbridge and that has proven very reliable. automations to open/shut via sunrise/sunset have never failed to work.
My only gripe appears to be the fact that no matter what it refuses to connect to a different zigbee device to the one it paired through at the start. so my blind motor is always talking through the lamp instead of directly to the hub. This seems to be a common Aqara issue and kinda defeats the point of a zigbee mesh. but maybe thats something that works fine with their own hub/products
It is easy to install. Little pricy for blind control but works great.
I am using 3 devices. It is easy to install, battery life is good.
Downside I have found with the product is, it cannot control from Google Home App.
It can be control via Google Voice.
Works with Alexa and Home Kit.
Also you cannot add 3rd Party Zigbee Devices to the E1 hub not all Aqara products can be added to the E1 hub.
overall, its good product. Does the job.
Cannot say as bought as present for Son living in Londo
I bought two of these to open the blinds in the morning and close them again at night. In my house I seem to be the only person to open and close blinds manually. I got fed up of coming home and the blinds are still closed so I decided to try these. They are super easy to setup and work flawlessly.
Easy to install have brought 2 now great control from your phone and with Siri
Works very well. Stuck it to the tiled wall at the base of the kitchen window using the sticky pad it came with and it’s rock solid. It’s a bit noisy but that’s more about the chain mechanism and it running slower than if you grabbed it yourself. Sounds like it’s always about to give up the ghost but it’s been working fine for weeks with routines set to raise/lower the kitchen blind at sunrise/sunset. It’s only failed once but that was something at the Aqara end as Alexa suddenly couldn’t find it (Google still worked interestingly). I had to relink the Aqara skill and add it back but that wouldn’t find the device until the next day. Since then it’s been fine. This has happened with Aqara devices before according to the web.
Alexa and Google both work successfully with the usual quirks – Alexa provides a percentage slider for it and Google doesn’t provide anything but will work with voice commands.
Battery life so far is good (currently at 88% after a month). You have to buy their E1 hub (which you can use with other Aqara bits) for it but other than that I couldn’t really be happier for what is a retrofit solution. Will definitely be buying more.
Please be aware you do need the Aqara smart hub to link this to most smart hubs such as Alexa.
The motor works perfectly, I have only charged it once and it has so far lasted about 4 months. I am also able to see the live charge through the app. Charging is completely not an issue as it took about 2-3 hours to fully charge.
The motor comes with lots of attachments so I had no trouble fitting it to my beaded blind. It is a little on the noisy side but not noisy enough to decide to not purchase the item.
I have 3 of these on 3 different windows, all the same type of Roman blind, and each had a different issue when I installed them with the original chains. One blind went inside the chain on the way down, and caught inside the motor. Another one, the pleat caught on the motor on the way up, and broke the safety clip off.
I tried various configurations, closer to the window, further from it, but nothing looked right, or worked well. In the end I ordered 15cm (yes, 150mm) chains, and installed the motors right up at the top of the window – and they work perfectly!! If I have one issue, the angle of the short chain causes a bit more noise than it should, but the fact the blinds are fully automatic makes up for that!
Noise: I find you can hear the 3 motors operating simultaneously from upstairs etc, but it’s not too annoying.
Verdict: these are brilliant, but they will take a bit of work to get them operating smoothly with this type of blind.
Working great,minor issue setting up open/close limits but I am using with Home Assistant and don’t have official hub. Works as expected and battery life seems good so fa
Overall the motor works well. Set up was very easy, its quiet, reliable and not too offensive to look at.
Installation is easy, although use the 3m tape with caution. It did not come off cleanly when I needed to move the motor.
Set up was very easy although I didn’t use the app at all as I connected to my Home Assistant. However this was very intuitive. The limits are set very quickly and its easy to add to HA automation.
The battery lasts well, its been I stalled for over a month with 2x daily use (as well as my playing around) and it has 50% battery still!
Overall I like it a lot and will get 2 more to motorised the rest of the blinds in the room. I’ll just wait for a sale however as t 60 each it is a little steep in my opinion.
I started using this Smart Blind motor last year, with a view to try out one roman blinds, and see how it goes, the device is integrated to Home Assistant, Sonoff dongle and Z2MQTT – I am not using Aqara App. All works fine, battery life is approx 3months between recharge, and not had any problem with the device. Now I have purchased an extra 2 Smart Motor blinds, this is now spread to other part of the house, and all is working well. I use these on a normal roller blind and roman blind, that has a chain bead. Just a shame that it is a little expensive to buy, but nowhere near as that one you can get integrated into the blind mechanism itself, which I looked into and it’s approx 200 a unit, before you even get materials on it!
When added to Home Assistant, this thing really shines. The supplied app certainly does the job for automations but having it tie in with HA really makes it an amazing addition to other smart home tech. It’s quiet enough not to disturb TV, music or conversation.
Very easy and quick to install. Comes with a number of wheels to suit different cords, screws and wallplugs, also a really sticky double sided adhesive pad. I used the adhesive pads to install mine and they are seriously sticky! They paired my GH2 camera/hub in the Aqara app with seconds, once calibrated for the maximum opening and closing they were ready to use. They will need charging either before or after installation and do come with a reasonably long USB C cable for charging. I bought two for my bedroom blinds and grouped them within the App and after setting an automation have them closing at sunset. They both have closed every day since I installed them without any problems
Very good roller for the price. I’m using it to open and close a horizontal curtain and it works perfectly.
Easy to setup and pair.
Note that you need the Aqara hub.
Decent motor, currently handling a very large blind across a bay window. Paired easily with third party controllers in home assistant, and also letter with an Aqara hub being used as an extender.
Work great on my blinds, the power connector is a godsend
I bought this to automate our lounge roller blind, which I’ve been looking to do for a while, but couldn’t decide which product to go for. All my smart home stuff needs to work with HomeKit and this ticked all the boxes on paper.
In reality, it exceeded my expectations. Installation was a breeze, taking only about 15 minutes. It integrates seamlessly with HomeKit and it actually makes the blind look much more impressive and expensive, as it’s now so smooth in its operation.
Our roller blind is the day and night variety, so it’s important that the positioning is accurate in order that the two layers align. No issues at all with getting them aligned every time, by simply setting what you want the highest and lowest positions to be, and then finding the exact percentage for the positions you want.
Another nice feature, is the ability to choose the speed at which the motor moves. The handles of our windows stick out enough that they brush the bottom bar of the blind when it moves past them. If you lower the blind too quickly, it can catch itself on them and land on top of the handles rather than passing by them. I used the medium speed setting and this ensures it passes them every time.
This has been my first Aqara product (along with the E1 Hub, which I bought along with it), and based on my experience with it, it certainly won’t be my last. Great value for money.
I really like these.
They are part of my energy reduction programme, I am fitting thermal blackout blinds to every window to reduce heat loss through the winter.
I am automating them because it would be a pain to have to keep opening and closing them every day.
Not considered in the design, but the thermal blackout blinds are great at keeping the hot sun out that we had in July 22!
With the cheap USB Hub to control them they auto open in the morning and close at dusk, can also set them to close when outdoor light levels drop.
I bought 2 at full price and tested them for a couple months, then satisfied they will work, bought another 10 in the Amazon Day sales in July, they were much lower cost so saved a lot of money.
They install very quickly and easily.
I like the manual buttons on the driver, so if you are in the room and you just want open/close you can just push a button on the device and it will auto stop on full open or full close. If it is midway and you press a button it will just stop there and then.
NOTE if installing on a new blind, the chains stretch out quite a bit after some use, so fit the controller tight to start with, or end up having to move the controller and remount later when the chain is too long and fouls the motor.
These can run directly off a USB C wire, or off the battery which last about 2 months, I am using a USB C wire in the lounge where the blind gets the heaviest usage to block out southern sunshine straight onto a TV.
Cons
It would be great if I could get these to work reliably, or at all with Hubitat or Homey, but the Aqara hub is Ok and I can access them through HomeKit and Alexa. So not a show stopper.
Working out a way to stop the cog cover from popping off when the blind is opening and closing is still a challenge I have yet to resolve.
One of my many Aqara products never cuts out and can pull a heavy blind as well.
I was worried my blinds would be too heavy and the motor couldnt pull it down or lift it up properly.
It does a great job and recharchable battery as well added bonus you can charge via USB c cable
I’ve been using 5 of these around the house for about 3 weeks now and they’ve been really good. They were easy to install using the M3 tape, quick to set up using the Aqara app and M2 Hub and now they’re working great with HomeKit so I can control them using Siri or the Home App on iPhone or iPad etc.
If you’re looking for a way to control your existing roller blinds from your phone or with your voice, I can highly recommend this!
Easy to fit (although getting the open/close limits set require a lightning trigger finger). I’ve just used Command Strips to attach to the window reveal and they are performing perfectly.
Integrates directly with Home Assistant using Zigbee2MQTT and a Sonoff Zigbee 3 Dongle+
I’m using it to open/close vertical hanging blinds (not roller) and it works a treat.
Sadly I have a bay window with 6 windows so this gets costly, but I have always wanted my blinds automated. So I really like these. Just wish you got a spare 3M tape too
Great for use with home assistant. The latest version of DeConz (2.15) supports this natively now so you get up down and stop controls automatically in HASS. Quieter than expected. Can’t comment on battery life yet as it’s only been active for a week.
I simply love Aqara smart home equipment working with apple HomeKit in particular. This item allowed me to keep my existing blinds and make them smart which was a complete deal for me! These are a great price and reliable when used alongside an Aqara hub, I have the m2 hub which also exposes a security system to HomeKit too which is amazingly useful! I have these automated to go down at sunset and cones up at sunrise which means I don’t have to think about then anymore, it also does this when I’m not home too and even on holiday so it simulates someone is home to keep the burglars at bay. Amazing product which I will purchase more of!in thinking of 3 of these currently but I will probably kit out the whole house when I have time, which isn’t very often at the moment!
I bought 2 of these and was sufficiently pleased that I bought a third. We have them on 3 small but fairly heavy fabric Roman blinds that certainly need a good tug to get moving, but the motors are fine.
Ours are integrated into Homeassistant via a electrolama ZigBee dongle and the connectivity is totally reliable. The battery state also shows up in Homeassistant and, opened and closed once a day, they are getting through about 5% battery a week, so will probably need charging every 3 months.
As it may be helpful for someone, one of the blinds gets a lot more use and is conveniently close to a power supply, so this one is powered. The charging state is shown in Homeassistant and the external power is disconnected each time once the battery is back to 100%, so I feel comfortable that it can remain plugged in all the time without damaging the battery.
The full retail price seems a bit high, and is expensive if you have a lot of blinds, so I waited for a special offer.
I bought this to see if I could get it working with the conbeeII stick and Home Assistant. Sorta got it working with it, enough that I will continue to use it but it’s hit and miss enough with Home Assistant that I may look for alternatives.
The product is well thought through, with different wheels that will accommodate different types of cord for your blind.
Install was easy, with just two screws to secure the back plate.
Automation works well for timed or event triggered opening/closing. Battery is easily charged in-situ with the long cable provided.
Am very pleased and will purchase for other rooms in the house. Not cheap though, so you have to really want automatio
Was easily added into Home Assistant with ZigBee2Mqtt make sure to be on the least version for the battery value to work, also setting your min an max is done on the unit itself, nice an quite easy to install
Easy to install, opens and closes roller blind every day and still at 50% battery after nearly 7 weeks. Novelty of kids asking Alexa to open and close has now worn off so battery will probably last even longer 🙂
Very quick to install, pairing with the app was incredibly smooth, and they work an absolute treat! Highly recommend
All 4 I bought work seamlessly, I use them with HomeKit and the intervention is perfect.
Extremely easy to set up, be cautious of the size, I had to buy 2 new shorter cords for 2 of my blinds as the length of the current cords almost reached the bottom of my window sill so the the device wouldn’t fit.
I have them all set up in automations so no need for manual intervention. Battery life seems good so far, I charged 2 of them when I got them and straight up installed the other two and a few weeks in sees very little battery drain.
Overall, good quality, sturdy devices, easy to install and even easier to use.
Oh, I really love Aqara product range, really well-designed, long battery life and excellent value for the money.
I have door sensors, motion sensors, temp sensors (really recommend this one), lux sensors, vibration sensors and now added two Aqara blind controllers. My Venetian blinds have simple pull cord, but that didn’t stop me, I bought a few short metal chains (4.5mm ball size is perfect) for verticals and then tied them to both ends of the cord. Everything works nicely together. I use Home Assistant and zigbee2mqtt, pairing was instant, hassle-free.
There are still minor ‘kinks’ with my software like battery status showing as ‘?’, but knowing how fast zigbee2mqtt gets updated, and the fact new devices are being added constantly, I am sure this will be fixed soon (as I am writing this in dev branch the battery issue has been resolved).
Edit my review after the excellent aqara service.
My device failed after a month but aqarq support very quickly replaced so I will be using more of these as they are quality and the instructions are good for setup. Best bit for me in choosing this driver is the usb C charging port so I’m not tied to a specialised charge
Note.. When installing motor below blind, make sure its out the way of the path where the blind is going to travelling BEFORE you screw it to the wall (I speak from experience)
* RECOMMENDED *
Connect avec un Jeedom, ce boitier aqara permet l’automatisation de mon store.
Trs content.
It is functioning very well. It is starting/stoping with easy in / easy out. Never lose the position and price/value is wothy.
You do need an Aqara hub to integrate these into HomeKit, but the hubs are cheap (starting at around 20).
Once installed, the motor activates quickly, but are not the fastest and opening and closing blinds (not an issue for me).
Only had for a few days, so I am still testing the battery life.
Overall, a good product at a good price.
You do need an Aqara hub to integrate these into HomeKit, but the hubs are cheap (starting at around 20).
Once installed, the motor activates quickly, but are not the fastest and opening and closing blinds (not an issue for me).
Only had for a few days, so I am still testing the battery life.
Overall, a good product at a good price.
Bought 6 Aqara E1 Blinds never had any problems with them and they work with HomeKit this is way a bought them I love the sunset setting all 6 Blinds go down same when it sunrise all 6 blinds open I would recommend them
Bought 6 Aqara E1 Blinds never had any problems with them and they work with HomeKit this is way a bought them I love the sunset setting all 6 Blinds go down same when it sunrise all 6 blinds open I would recommend them
Very good and reliable product. I use the alexa integration via the hub and works perfectly everytime. Automations work a treat via alexa routines to open the blinds at sunrise and close them at sunset. Although it doesn’t state that it supports vertical blinds I have these in 3 sets with no issues. Great product!
Solid and can be added to the xiaomi home app
I bought this roller blind drive to automate my patio verticle blinds tilt mechanism, it works perfectly, very easy to install and upto now absolutely no ‘creep’ ….I have this set so my blinds open at sunrise and close at sunset and they open and close to the same positions every time, just ensure the tension is correct at install.
I bought this roller blind drive to automate my patio verticle blinds tilt mechanism, it works perfectly, very easy to install and upto now absolutely no ‘creep’ ….I have this set so my blinds open at sunrise and close at sunset and they open and close to the same positions every time, just ensure the tension is correct at install.
Very easy to install – it only took us 10 minutes to install & set up. There is a good selection of cogs for different bead size & spacing on the cord. A tip: if you are installing on a new blind make sure you pull the cord taught when marking the installation position otherwise the cord will be loose & flap against the wall when operating the blinds.
Currently (November 2021) these blinds are not supported by Home Assistant, so you will need to buy an Aqara hub if you don’t already have one. I bought one of these drivers with the hub included as, at the time of purchasing, it was 10 cheaper than buying them separately.
Very easy to install – it only took us 10 minutes to install & set up. There is a good selection of cogs for different bead size & spacing on the cord. A tip: if you are installing on a new blind make sure you pull the cord taught when marking the installation position otherwise the cord will be loose & flap against the wall when operating the blinds.
Currently (November 2021) these blinds are not supported by Home Assistant, so you will need to buy an Aqara hub if you don’t already have one. I bought one of these drivers with the hub included as, at the time of purchasing, it was 10 cheaper than buying them separately.
I’m using this with Home Assistant with ZHA. Works great. Just need a few more features from ZHA.
So, after fiddling with that for frankly far too long, and already having the bits to build a new Zigbee hub, I decided to build a Zigbee2MQTT hub instead of deCONZ (which I’m still using) and the device was added to that and shows up in Home Assistant perfectly fine and fully controllable.
So, for those of you using roll-your-own Zigbee hubs, prefer Zigbee2MQTT over deCONZ for this device, but it might work with a beta version of deCONZ – I just haven’t tried.
As for the device, it’s pretty chonky but clearly has good torque – I’m only using mine to tilt some vertical blinds so it doesn’t have much of any hard work to do.
Given its shape and length, you will need either a good 20cm between the bottom of your roller chain and window sill for the motor to fit in, or your window’s recess will need to be at least that deep to allow you to mount the motor horizontally.
For me, I’m happy with the device and, although expensive, it does the job I want it to and does it well and it integrates with Home Assistant.
So, after fiddling with that for frankly far too long, and already having the bits to build a new Zigbee hub, I decided to build a Zigbee2MQTT hub instead of deCONZ (which I’m still using) and the device was added to that and shows up in Home Assistant perfectly fine and fully controllable.
So, for those of you using roll-your-own Zigbee hubs, prefer Zigbee2MQTT over deCONZ for this device, but it might work with a beta version of deCONZ – I just haven’t tried.
As for the device, it’s pretty chonky but clearly has good torque – I’m only using mine to tilt some vertical blinds so it doesn’t have much of any hard work to do.
Given its shape and length, you will need either a good 20cm between the bottom of your roller chain and window sill for the motor to fit in, or your window’s recess will need to be at least that deep to allow you to mount the motor horizontally.
For me, I’m happy with the device and, although expensive, it does the job I want it to and does it well and it integrates with Home Assistant.
et fonctionne trs bien. Attention qu’un pont est ncessaire pour compatibilit HomeKit.
Works fine with zigbee2mqtt. Battery level not shown, but that may be an issue with zigbee2mqtt.
Great battery powered device with usb-c input to recharge.
I will buy some more when they are back in stock.
Great battery powered device with usb-c input to recharge.
I will buy some more when they are back in stock.