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[Afterpay] Aqara Smart Home Roller Shade Driver $84.99 Delivered @ Aqara_Home eBay

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[Afterpay] Aqara Smart Home Roller Shade Driver $84.99 Delivered @ Aqara_Home eBay
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Public21 on 19/08/2022 - 12:24 ebay.com.au (1089 clicks)
Last edited 21/08/2022 - 12:34 by 2 other users
AFPAYDAY

Advertising blurb:

The Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1* is a retrofit roller shade controller that does not require a complicated installation and can work with your existing Roller Shade by operating the beaded cord. It does not require dedicated wiring and can run both wirelessly from the built-in battery or being plugged into a power supply via the provided USB Type-C cable.

I have one of these and it is much better than the Zemismart motors I also have.

Be aware it is Zigbee so you will need a Zigbee coordinator to make it work. It also does not come with a separate physical remote control (the Zemismart can have a remote)

Original Coupon Deal

This is part of Afterpay Day sale for 2022
Electrical & Electronics Afterpay Day Curtain Motor Xiaomi

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closed Comments

  • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 12:30
    +3

    i have 7 of these, ask me anything.

    i used to have basic tuya WiFi units that work very similarly to these aqara units. they would experience 'start and end point drift', whereby the upper and lower pre-set limit would drift after several successive open/close cycles. i am happy to confirm these units do not have this issue after now ~3 months of my ownership

    • impoze on 19/08/2022 - 12:33

      works fine with HA?

      How often need to charge or can get solar panel?

      Strong enough for a wide blind?

      • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 12:40

        sorry man, can't speak from personal about the first two. my blinds reach the floor behind sofas so i keep them plugged in. see below about width

        • impoze on 19/08/2022 - 12:43

          how long is the cable?

          • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 12:53
            +1

            @impoze: about a metre, but it's just usb a to c. only bummer is it doesn't come with adapters

      • bamzero on 19/08/2022 - 13:04
        +1

        Says 2 month battery life.

        Some talk about it on HA forums

      • Public21 on 19/08/2022 - 13:25

        I have it integrated into HA - no issues. It reports well and more consistently than the Zemismart models I have.

        The charge life depends on how often you use the motor, but a few months for me, with an average of two cycles a day. Can't help with the solar panel question.

        My blinds are 3 metres wide and 2.1 high.

    • InTheMarket on 19/08/2022 - 12:34

      Yes interested to know how this would go with a fairly big and heavy roller blind?

      • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 12:39
        +2

        it's decent. it lifts my 2.4m wide x 2.1m high fabric blockout (not just sheer) blind (link of the exact product), but is obviously noticeably slower than the same unit on my 1.2m wide blind.

    • KenZy on 19/08/2022 - 12:41

      Edit 2: Can you still open and close them manually?

      How have you found battery life?

      Edit: Oh I saw your other reply. All good.

      • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 12:59
        +1

        as in, by hand? no, the gear locks it in place. but you can click the buttons on unit to open/close. i just use voice assistant when i need targeted open or closing, but this is rare as i just leave it be on a sunrise/sunset schedule

    • allanocc on 19/08/2022 - 12:41

      Hi KeplersLaws,

      How does it work if you have a sheer blind on the inside on the window frame and a blockout on the outer side. Meaning you couldn’t have the motor mounted on its side for the blockout blind. It would have to be flat against the wall if that makes sense.

      Thanks

      • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 12:49

        the short answer is: if you can currently pull your cords in a way where they freely rotate around a point (e.g. this bracket here) without rubbing / getting caught on anything else, then these units will work on that same point as they basically do via motor what your hand otherwise would manually.

        just be advised that with the unit, the cords will sit a little further away compared to that bracket due to the size of the unit

        • allanocc on 19/08/2022 - 14:28

          Thanks soo much for your help

      • djz on 19/08/2022 - 12:57

        Yeah I have the same situation as well. I have 2 blinds on each window. A sheer inner one closest to the window and a block out one further out. I always wondered how any of these electronic would ever work with that setup as you would 1)need TWO mechanisms given there are 2 blinds and thus expensive and 2)how they would work given the pull cords are so close to each other.

        From the sounds of it I don't think these would work in our situation

    • ozssc on 19/08/2022 - 12:41

      Do you know if these will the Zemismart ZigBee hub work with these too?

      • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 12:55

        i'm not sure, sorry. i have them on an aqara hub and primarily operated in homekit.

    • hazzareth on 19/08/2022 - 13:09

      Most of my blinds the cord is against a flat wall, except one in my office where the 2nd blind is a bit out so the cord just dangles. Do you have any cords that is further out from wall? Or if not do you think putting the unit against the wall and having the cord come through it perpendicular would work

      • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 13:21
        +1

        you mean having the unit so the cords end up being twisted 90deg from where they were originally facing? i don't know about that, not sure whether it would get snagged. i don't have this issue as all my blinds are in-window, rather than on-window, if that makes sense. so the units just sit mounted within the window architrave

        • hazzareth on 19/08/2022 - 13:44

          yep that's right, thanks anyway - its just one blind out of 6 so that's fine
          Another Question - which aqrara hub do you have? I'm looking at the Aqrara E1 (usb looking device) just wondering if that's sufficient

  • Bob129 on 19/08/2022 - 12:57

    How's the noise levels? My Zemismarts are fairly noisy, biggest complaint from the missus. They all open/shut at the same time via automations, but it's hard to hold a conversation in the living room while the blinds are in motion.

    • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 13:02
      +1

      my house has poor dampening and a high amount of reverb, and i don't find them noisy at all. i have 5 in my open plan kitchen/living area and can definitely still hold a conversation while they operate. you can also adjust their operate speed in aqara app (low,med,hi). honestly more noticeably i hear the blinds themselves creaking, rather than the motor.

      i can say with confidence though that they are far superior to soma's smart shades, which are basically mini-RC cars

    • Public21 on 19/08/2022 - 13:28

      The noise I get is from the blind rollers squeaking - the motor is pretty quiet.

  • bargainshooter on 19/08/2022 - 13:00

    Would these work with non beaded cords? I have vertical strip shades that pull open and close using a non beaded cord and flips/rotates each strip using a beaded cord - so two cords. Anyone have any suggestions on how to automate something like this?

    • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 13:23

      can you show us a photo or similar product online?

    • Astronaut Joe on 19/08/2022 - 13:33

      They really only work with beaded cords. The non-beaded cords rely on friction to move them, and they also have the heaviest load needing to drag the entire weight of the blind across the window, so while technically would might be able to use this, I'd be amazed if it didn't just either sit there and spin, or burn out.

  • fault on 19/08/2022 - 13:14

    Assume these will work with a ConBee II & therefore no need for an Aqara specific hub?

    • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 13:19

      probably? i've seen stuff on reddit about people getting it onto that open source zigbeemqt thing - haven't dabbled as i just went aqara and homekit and it's been working no hitches

    • Public21 on 19/08/2022 - 13:28
      +1

      I'm using a Sonoff dongle, so it should work with the Conbee.

  • paddyo on 19/08/2022 - 13:28
    +1

    I like the concept, but reading these posts and the other site posts has me VERY confused.
    In simple terms, if I buy two of these, what else do I need to buy to pair them, set up automated open/close functions and monitor them.
    I do not use any Home assistant tools at all at the moment but do have Wireless cams and doorbells.

    • Public21 on 19/08/2022 - 13:35
      +1

      You will need a Aqara hub. It links the blind motors (zigbee) to your phone or PC via wifi. You only need one hub for multiple blind motors.

      You can then operate the blinds with the buttons on the motor or via your phone, say using Homekit. That will allow you to automate things, such as open or close at sunset.

      Zigbee is another form of wireless communication (similar to wifi) but operates in a slightly different (but adjacent) part of the wireless spectrum and uses much less power than wifi or bluetooth.

  • Astronaut Joe on 19/08/2022 - 13:28

    I newver knew that Bing Lee sold Aqara stuff.

    https://www.binglee.com.au/products/aqara-roller-shade-drive…

    • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 13:32

      i never knew that some apple stores abroad sell aqara stuff too. they don't seem like a company going anywhere any time soon

      • bamzero on 19/08/2022 - 14:12

        Aqara is Xiaomi so wouldn't expect them to be going away any time soon. Strange that Apple would stock it tho being a subsidiary of one of their competitors.

        • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 14:14

          agree - the stores are Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and S Korea

  • InTheMarket on 19/08/2022 - 13:47

    Does anyone know if compatible with Alexa? Doesn't seem to mention this on the ebay listing.

  • HotPie on 19/08/2022 - 13:47

    Is this the hub
    Aqara Hub E1 Smart Home Hub

    • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 13:52

      any aqara hub will work, so yes, that is one of the useable hubs

      • HotPie on 19/08/2022 - 13:53

        Thankyou

  • Mucchan on 19/08/2022 - 13:48

    Does this also work with the Mijia hub in place of the Aqara hub?

  • impoze on 19/08/2022 - 13:48

    any recommended solar panels to pair?

  • RichDad PoorSon on 19/08/2022 - 13:50

    How this compared to Brunt Blind Engine? I have a couple of them and they either drifted or just decided to die. put me off auto-blinds to be honest.
    Does it work with Google Home?

  • impoze on 19/08/2022 - 14:01

    bulk discount is gone since it's now only showing 1 remaining

    • Public21 on 19/08/2022 - 14:04

      Yep - says 29 bought in the past hour. Wish we got commission!

      • impoze on 19/08/2022 - 14:05

        friend was about to buy 4x, hopefully they add more stock

        • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 14:33

          more than 10 available at bing lee with 15% afterpay but no multibuy discount

          i can't see stock count for wireless_1 but look into them too because they do express auspost rather than standard, which is rocket speed for me.

        • bamzero on 19/08/2022 - 16:29

          More stock has been added

      • KeplersLaws on 19/08/2022 - 14:34

        i know right. oh well didnt have much better to do as work VPN was having an outage

        • impoze on 19/08/2022 - 14:37

          yeah,

          was a significant discount though as 4x units after discount brings it to $76.49 each

  • salem on 19/08/2022 - 14:04

    If only it wasn't after-pay….

  • HotPie on 19/08/2022 - 14:10

    Bugger too late

    • impoze on 19/08/2022 - 14:12

      wireless1 & binglee listings are still available, but no bulk discount

      • HotPie on 19/08/2022 - 14:12

        Cheers

  • Tyrannosaurus Rex on 19/08/2022 - 14:46
    +2

    They've re-stocked

  • nightelves on 19/08/2022 - 15:38

    Do these work for vertical blinds?

    • impoze on 19/08/2022 - 16:09

      does it have a beaded cord?

      • nightelves on 19/08/2022 - 16:14

        Yes it does but can you automate the pulley part?

  • wisepage on 19/08/2022 - 21:08

    So I just bought a bunch of these not realising I need an Aqara Hub. I don't fully understand this part. The E1 looks fairly cheap and simple. Like a USB dongle. But what does it actually plug into?

    All I want to do is set all my blinds to close by timer. Or possibly, by asking my Google Home to ope/close everything. Will the E1 do that for me?

    • KeplersLaws on 20/08/2022 - 00:18
      +2

      it plugs into any USB port. the selling point of the E1 is that it's pocket-sized and can just go into a port on your computer (but make sure it's constantly powered) or more ideally, a port on your router. the more expensive hubs just have extra functionality as nice-to-haves, like IR blasting/ethernet port (M2) or nightlight/loudspeaker(M1S), or double as an indoor camera (G2H Pro) etc. but if you're just after barebones control the E1 is your go to.

      the answer to your question is yes, the e1 will do that for you. the reason you need a hub is because these roller units dont have wifi or bluetooth in them - they use zigbee to operate. your phone and google home don't talk in zigbee, so you need a zigbee hub as a bridge. the e1 serves that purpose of being that bridge. it, and it alone, is then the one that talks to your wifi network, which is how you get smart phone or smart assistant access. you then go through the motions of adding it to google home app which I'm sure aqara app will handhold you through.

      trust me, if these were on wifi you'd have a slew of other dramas — I hated waking up seeing one random blind having failed to open with the sunrise routine.

      see also op's comment: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/12562151/redir

      • wisepage on 20/08/2022 - 09:17

        Awesome! Thanks heaps!

        So I just need 1 then? Despite the fact I will have the blind motors at opposite ends of the house? The house is brick with many brick internal walls. But my understanding is the hub just enables my eero mesh wifi network to talk to the blind motors. The eero blankets the whole house, so I'm all good yeh? Thanks again!

        • KeplersLaws on 20/08/2022 - 09:51
          +1

          Hmm, not sure about that. Your hub creates its own network and each roller needs to be reachable by the hub, not the eero.
          Your rollers don’t talk directly to your eero so having best in class mesh wifi doesn’t do much for the Zigbee network, which is its own mesh. Unfortunately these rollers aren’t themselves routers (another perk of Zigbee networks is permanently powered devices act as repeaters just like your eero network).

          The aqara app will tell you what the Zigbee signal is — ie excellent, acceptable, etc. get one hub first, see if it can reach all your spots, if not, you’ll need to use an aqara device that acts as repeater i.e. an aqara smart light. I believe they’re pretty cheap.

          Another hub won’t work, as each hub is its own Zigbee network.
          Thread, which is the ‘new and improved’ Zigbee, solves this, but unfortunately it’s relatively new and aqara is only now rolling out thread devices (no rollers yet)

          • wisepage on 22/08/2022 - 13:35
            +1

            @KeplersLaws: Ok good to know. I think I will just get a single E1, set it up fairly central to the house, and then go from there. Fingers crossed 1 device will cut it!

            If not, looks like the smart lights are only 20 bucks, so not the end of the world!

  • HunterBargainHunter on 20/08/2022 - 22:32

    Does it work with smartthings hub?

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