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Broadlink RM4 IR Blasters: Mini $27.74, Mini S $29.99 OOS, Pro $44.99, Pro S $48.74 + Del ($0 with Prime/ $39 Spend) @ Amazon AU

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The range of Broadlink RM4 IR (and RF) blasters are on sale at Broadlink International Amazon AU.

The difference in the models is that the Minis are just infrared, while the Pros also have 433Mhz Radio Frequency. The S models come with a temperature and humidity sensor, which is useful for automating IR Air Conditioners.

They can be used to control and automate IR or 433Mhz RF devices and work with Home Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Google Home and IFTTT.

I am currently using the RM4 Pro S with Home Assistant and the SmartIR integration to control my Daikin Reverse Cycle AC in the bedroom. Just picked up a second one for the living room.

If you don’t need the 433Mhz, then the RM4 Mini S is a great price at $29.99 (sold out), a little cheaper than the last deal.

RM4 Mini (IR) - $27.74
RM4 Mini S (IR with Sensor) - $29.99 Sold out
RM4 Pro (IR + 433Mhz RF) - $44.99
RM4 Pro S (IR + 433Mhz RF with Sensor) - $48.74

Price History at C CamelCamelCamel.

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closed Comments

  • +6

    Feels like I'm living in the stone age asking Siri to set a timer.
    Hargain Bunter is living in 2035 automating temperature humidity all the while Siri orders tacos from Uber and heating up the Jacuzzi.

    • +1

      What's Siri?

    • +1

      Hahah I do love my home automation! No jacuzzi… yet.

    • +1

      If it interests you, Homebridge running on a cheap raspberry pi allows you to use this device - I have one currently and it works a treat. All runs through Apple Home and Siri. Its a bit of messing around but theres a heap of guides and it was kinda fun to do, once you get the hang of connecting everything up it all just runs no issues.

  • +1

    I have had heaps of issues with RF range on the RM4 Pros. 3 units, 2 houses trying to connect them to blinds and get inconsistent performance beyond a couple of meters.

    Changed over to the GridConnect ones and had a lot more success.

    • Thanks for this feedback.

      When I eventually ditch my amazing phone I need an ir solution.

      Which one did you end up with?

    • +1

      Interesting, thanks for sharing your experience. I have only been using IR, no RF yet, so can’t weigh in.

      With my second RM4 I am planning on using the RF with the Kogan blinds driver. Which blinds were you having issues with?

      • I have the ozsmartthings blinds drivers (essentially the same as the Kogan ones) and my mum has some outdoor electric blinds ones, unsure of the brand but whatever Victory blinds installed for her back deck.

        Range with the RM4 Pros a limited, would not reach 15m or so and much less interior (I have blinds drivers on 2 floors. The remotes work from much longer range. The GridConnect one is better without being brilliant - works maybe 95% of the time so my routines usually fire the command twice to compensate

        • Thanks for letting us know. I’ll keep it in mind for the placement of my new RM4. Glad to hear the Gridconnect is working well!

        • +1

          I setup the RM4 with my Kogan Smart Blind Controller and I agree with your assessment, the RM4 doesn’t seem to have a very powerful RF radio. I needed to place the unit a bit closer to the Blind Controller, initially tried ~6m away but settled on about ~4m away. Thankfully, my primary purpose is IR for an AC, and the RF was just a backup if the Wifi in the Blind Controller wasn’t working.

          It seems like if you primarily need it for long range RF the Grid Connect or other options are the way to go.

  • +1

    Bought a pro to use with my Kogan smart blind controller…only to realise the darn thing has rolling codes (iirc).

    What else can these 433MHz thingies control, and is there a way to test if it works before buying one?

  • +1

    Have one and its super handy.

  • I have 3 of these controlling the air conditioners. It is currently $26.54 with ebay and using the ebay Plus $5 off I can get it for $21.54. Might as well get it and complete the home setup.
    Edit: No I won't, it is out of stock at eBay. ☹️

  • Off topic, but does anyone know how to hook up zipscreen blinds?
    I purchased a Broadlink RM4 pro Smart Remote Control Hub Wi-Fi IR/RF Blaster, even though it said it support 433 mhz I couldn't get it to connect. Not sure if zipscreen have rolling codes.

  • Anyone got Foxtel iq4 working with the mini

    • I had a quick poke around in the app and it says that "foxtel" is supported. Whether the iq4 is, remains to be seen but if the remote is just a standard IR one, then yes, it should work.

    • +1

      I'm using a mini for iq4 but via home assistant.
      I have a dump of all remote codes if interested (inc some not on the current remotes (eg tv guide, seperate play/pause)

  • I have an 20yo garage door which works fine but the remote is scuffed. Could I use this as a universal remote to operate it?

    • +3

      This supports non-rolling codes. Modern garage doors use a rolling code, but old ones may use a fixed code. You would need to work out if it is rolling or not.

      • +1

        Thanks Hargain I'll look into it :)

        • +1

          You’re welcome. Also, I should clarify that this doesn’t come with a physical remote, it just sends signals out. But you can control it through your phone.

    • +1

      You can also buy a garage door remote control and pair it with your garage door opener

      • Yeah true, if you just need another controller, without phone/automations, they probably still make remote controls that you could get for pretty cheap.

  • I picked up a mini to control my Xbox, tv (half works) & Edifier speakers in my bedroom. The setup was a pain in the backside but once I got it connected to wifi and the app accepted it, all I had to do was program in the original remotes and it works fine (bloody Kogan TVs).

    • I had some issues when I first setup mine too. In my infinite wisdom I decided to setup a really long Wifi password 🙄. I eventually worked out it would only accept wifi passwords with a maximum of 32 characters, but it didn’t seem to be documented anywhere official. I ended up connecting it to another network with a shorter password.

      Also, when I installed a second Wifi access point, it also wasn’t keen on changing to the new closer one, so I left it on the old one. If I went through the Wifi setup process again, it probably would have moved over.

      • My issue was that the mini doesn't seem to work on 5ghz so after doing SO MUCH GOOGLING, I had to trick the stupid little thing by changing my phone's access point to match my house wifi & setting it up using my tablet.

        • +1

          Oh yeah, most non-media smart home devices don’t use 5Ghz. I have my 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands on the same SSID and it has been fine. Annoying yours had issues, but well done figuring out that hack!

  • @Hargain Bunter “ I am currently using the RM4 Pro S with Home Assistant(home-assistant.io) and the SmartIR integration(github.com) to control my Daikin Reverse Cycle AC in the bedroom.”

    Is this because the Broadlink app doesn’t support Daikin?

    • +1

      No, the Broadlink app does support Daikin, but Home Assistant is my preferred platform for all of my home automation. Connecting Home Assistant to Broadlink it didn’t seem easy to copy the IR codes out of the Broadlink app, so I used the SmartIR integration because it has a large library of Broadlink IR codes for a range of ACs (and Media Players).

  • @Hargain Bunter I am using with SmartIR too. With my MHI splits. Works pretty well. Just need to figure out if I can use both local control and the Broadlink App.

    Thanks for the post - needed three more.

    • I don’t normally use the Broadlink app, but I just tested it and there was no issues using both app and SmartIR. They won’t know each other’s state though.

      • +1

        Ah! Thanks for checking.

        SmartIR doesn't do a few things like Preset Mode, etc. I started working on some code to get it into SmartIR but ran out of time.

  • +2

    The Mirabella Genio equivalent is on clearance at Bunnings from $5-$25 depending on the store.

    I've switched from the Broadlink one above for improved integration with my Smartlife app.

    • +1

      Fair call, it is great to have everything working on the same platform.

  • A friend of mine has jone automation set up, it's in 'dial up' phase, way too slow to execute anything!

    • Wait for everything to switch to Matter. Should be a seemless process to connect anything to anything, at only ten times the price.

      • +1

        I’m looking forward to Matter becoming ubiquitous, so far the rollout seems slow and shaky. I have high hopes for the future of the protocol though!

      • I waited for Matter to switch some things out but the really slow rollout has made me fall back to Zigbee where I can and other protocols where I can't.

    • Mine is all pretty snappy, it all depends on what technologies you use. When used with Home Assistant these RM4s can be controlled locally over your own network. But if you are relying on the cloud, things can slow down.

  • +1

    If anyone is after a good zigbee option instead, particularly for use with HA, here is some discussion and review of a very decent alternative:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/11qb56q/i_te…

    I've got 3 of the battery powered ones sert up with z2m, they have a different format for learning codes, but I've only required minimal effort to set up with my cheap TV, aincent aircons and old logitech speakers

    • Oh nice, thanks for the share!

      For me, because I’m using them with Aircon units (which have a weird method of sending IR), the Broadlinks with SmartIR are handy so I don’t have to program in hundreds of codes in manually.

      • yeah fair. Rolling codes are a bit odd. My old aircons seem to use em but are pretty basic so I didn't have to learn many codes, just power, temp up/down.

        • +1

          Mine aren’t rolling codes, but they send all the settings each time you press a button. For example if you had warm mode, oscillate off, fan 5/10, 22 degrees, then you pressed temperature up, rather than just sending a temp up command, it sends all the settings again - warm mode, oscillate off, fan 5/10, 23 degrees all in one command.

          So if you want to use a few different combination of settings, you quickly get a huge number of combination of codes you need to program.

          • @Hargain Bunter: Ah I see. I might actually have to check something similar isn't the case with mine, as I rarely adjust the temp and my oscillation is busted.

            • +2

              @ilu: I think most ACs with an IR remote with a screen operate that way. As the remote cannot receive updates, it could get out of sync with the AC if a command was sent, but not received but the AC. To try to get around this, it just sends all commands every time.

              If the remote doesn’t have a screen, it doesn’t have this issue and just sends single commands.

              • +1

                @Hargain Bunter: I believe this is the case. A few years ago, I made my Logitech Haromy Hub control my industrial ducted AC.

                Imagine scouring the Internet to find schematics document in a foreign language, having no remote and taking a chance on a 6000 AC multi-remote then discovered that's how the IR codes work with AC's. Was a pain and Harmony not really made for it either, but hey it works now! I can turn on the AC away from home.

  • Can these be programmed to do a IR sequence.

    I have a TV that defaults to max brightness. So eveytime i turn it on I need to go into the menu and turn it down.

    Would be good to have a single button push do it instead.

    • +2

      Sure can! You can even add delays between items in the sequence.

  • Ordered one and it arrived today. Just spent the last hour trying to get it to work with my air conditioner.

    It only has one kelvinator unit and it’s not my one. So tried the matching function and during test it controlled the unit fine. Hit accept and it no longer does anything.

    Then deleted the a/c to try again and now matching mode doesn’t work. You can see the indicator light on the unit go out when you press the power button on the remote like the first time, but the app just sits there saying it’s waiting for a remote signal.

    Have to delete the unit and the a/c. But same result.

    Looked at videos etc but no joy. Probably send it back. If someone has seen and solved this, do tell.

    • +1

      Is your remote RF or IR? Just wondering if there is a signal issue.

      I also found during learning mode it sometimes required unreasonably long button presses to pick it up

  • Do any of these have motion sensor?

    • No, they don’t. I haven’t heard of a IR or RF blaster with a motion sensor built in, but with a smart home platform like Home Assistant, you could connect them with a separate motion sensor.

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