Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1 Plus Aqara Smart Hub E1, with Schedule and Voice Control, Rechargeable with Long Battery Life, Compatible with Apple HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT
| Weight: | 460 g |
| Dimensions: | 19 x 9.3 x 4.9 cm; 460 Grams |
| Manufacture: | Lumi United Technology Co., Ltd. |
We have vertical blinds that have the beaded cord for rotating them, and these work a dream. I don’t use the Aquara app, but instead have them integrated into Home Assistant with Zigbee
I’ve been interested in smart home tech for quite some time now, but never really branched out further than the odd light bulbs pr smart plugs, like most people. I purchased this item back in March, along with some other items to expand our, smart home, home and was really excited to get it up and running. I’ve had my eye on Aqara products for some time and this was a great item to get started with.
The E1 Hub is small and unobtrusive, running off a USB port in a twin socket in our living room. Once you work out what adapter you need for your particular blind cord, the install and setup process are rally easy. I chose to use the adhesive method of install, meaning I didn’t need to get any additional tools out the garage. Adding both the E1 Hub and Roller shade driver to the Aqara app were really easy, and then its a simple case of following the instructions to get it set up with the open and closed settings.
Using the buttons on the driver itself is simple, and you can press once to open in that direction, which will fully open or close the blind to its furthest point you set up earlier, or you can press it a second time to stop it in a position that suits you. If you integrate to be used with Alexa, she only has the capabilities to fully open or close the blind, so it would be a really good update if you were able to ask her to stop opening/closing the blind at some point, the same way you can with the driver remote itself. Another upgrade within the Aqara app itself would be an addition of more locations, as the nearest location setting to me is roughly 15-20 miles away, so when it comes to setting particular routines within the Aqara app, like wanting the blinds close when the temperature reaches a certain point in the day, its currently going off the temperature or an area a fare distance away from myself. This could obviously be worked around by using additional smart home products on a more advanced system to work better, but I’m not quite at that point yet.
I also purchased a small window solar panel, which has meant I have not had to charge the device at all, and so as I write this review, it is still at 100% battery (the app tells me every few days that the battery is low, but it is not. Again, this could be an issue with the firmware and may change in future).
Overall, I am extremely pleased with this system and plan on adding more around the house in future to control all our blinds. If you are interested in the solar panel I purchased as well, this is the link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08HLRH32B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Well I ordered this kit and can say it works very well using it on a Windows twice a day still on the first charge Just buy them easily set up
Have been looking for an easy to install roller blind driver for some time. Got this recommendation from a friend who had installed a few. It was simple to install and works like a dream. Blind is up in the morning to let sun in and closes at a scheduled time at night. App is easy use and both Google/Alexa integration are easy use.
Really great idea quite well executed. Bought with the e1 hub. Rock solid connectivity and by far the most reliable iot device I own.
The only critique I would make is that there wasn’t an obvious way to handle a connector with the joiner piece in it, but I was able to replace the cord entirely with a continuous one to get around tha
Took me a while to decide to buy this after reading reviews but so glad I did. It’s actually so easy to install, set up the app and connect to Alexa.
Now I don’t have to worry about opening or closing my kitchen blind. It just opens automatically in the morning and closes when it gets dark.
Just make sure your router has a separate or can split to 2.4GHz otherwise it might not work
Fast and easy to install, does what it says on the box. highly recommend
I have four of these and the E1 Hub. They work well and I now have automated my blinds to open and close at set times as well as closing in the heat of the day. Easy to install and setup. Motor seems very strong and although you can hear it running it’s not loud. Alexa integration was very straight forward.
I have all my windows use these. I have day and night blinds. They can be set to close , partly close etc.
Arrived on time – neat piece of kit
very quiet motor and Automation – set and forget.
I’m using them with Smartthings so I can’t comment on the app. Whilst not natively supported this is discoverable with smartthings easily enough though you do loose battery level readings and current position readings.
However, it Opens and closes the curtains with the Tv going off and on and I’m a child living in the future!! Always makes me smile.
Physical installation can require some adjustments to pulley length and the positioning of the bead joiner on the blinds but worth persevering with. Battery life seems great. Unlike some similar devices I don’t think this is is compatible with a solar panel charger but I wouldn’t want one of those stuck to my window anyway.
The E1 hub might arrive in “mi home” mode which doesn’t allow you to set up on their Aqara app. I went back and forth with the support and they were unable to help. If you google “aqara e1 binding failed” you will see tons of people on reddit experiencing the same issue.
Edit: customer service is not great. I was able to set this up by using an android phone I borrowed. I found this info on reddit, not from their support. After the initial problems with the setup, it works as expected and I am changing my review to 4 stars 🙂
These work very well indeed
others on Amazon don’t
So buy these
Nobody wakes up in the morning and looks forward to opening their blind, or enjoys waking up because the blind wasn’t closed in the morning.
Now you don’t have to! Nice build quality and the hub is extremely simple also which is just what I wanted. Tech is there to make your life easier and this takes yet another boring job off my hands