I researched and bought the Switchbot Curtain to open and close the curtain on our front porch sliding door. In the winter, I'd like it to be open in the morning to get some sun and heat into the house but close after sundown to insulate for the cold coming through the aluminum frame. In the summer, it's the exact opposite. It would be a delight to have a home automation product that worked perfectly for this, which after ~ 1 week in early November, the Switchbot Curtain is going well.
The curtain we have are heavy, use grommets, and has a telescoping rod about 75" in length. These are each challenges for the automation bot, which required careful setup.
1) Heavy curtain - The bot does have enough torque in the wheel-curtain rod to move our blackout curtain. It slows at parts, and makes a bit of a whirring noise, but it's strong enough.
2) Grommets - There is significant friction with grommets and they get caught at the telescoping joint. To reduce the friction, you have to use this beaded, clipped twine to connect the grommets to each other. The twine had clips to connect to each grommet each 6 beads, which set a standard distance between the grommets when closed. This was a problem, because I bought a 100" wide curtain, and 6 beads between grommets was not enough. When the bot was in the "fully opened" part of the rod, the curtain only covered ~ 75% of the sliding door. The fix was to change the number of beads between the clips and extend the distance between the grommets. This was an absolute pain in the chickadees to change, but once I tediously set 8 beads in between grommet clips on some, and 7 beads per grommet clip on others, the bot is fully opening the curtain without issue. Too many beads per grommet clip and the grommets will rotate slightly causing additional friction, so care must be done.
Additionally, catching the grommets or the bot on the connection of the telescoping curtain rod is a known problem with a provided solution. Swtichbot Curtain comes with an adhesive piece of laminated metal to add to your curtain rod to ask as a less friction ramp between the two rods. It works, but care must be taken to install it correctly. There are three main concerns with the ramp fix for the curtain rod: adhesive UV resistance, ramp color, and reusability. I'm concerned that the adhesive will fail over time with the UV from the sun, and the chrome/stainless steel finish of the ramp does not match the antique bronze of the curtain rod. There are no other colors of ramp that can be purchased. And once the ramp is installed on a specific curtain rod, I cannot then move the Curtainbot to a different curtain round the house, or swap the curtain rod for that sliding door. The bot will not work as intended without the telescoping rod ramp installed.
To open my curtains, I can no longer operate them by hand. Think of the Curtainbot not as an additive to the use cases of the curtain, but as a replacement. There are a few options offered by the company - phone app, remote, NFC tag, wall switch, and Alexa with a hub. The only option offered out of the box is a phone app. I wish I could attend all the product management meetings when discussing phone apps - We do not want to add more things onto our phones. We have too many phones in the house, and now way too many separate home automation phone apps. There is a Tough&Go feature which allows you to pull open or closed the curtain slightly and the bot will respond and move the curtain the rest of the way. We've only just started using this feature, and I'm concerned that we'll either affect the calibration (where the bot stops for open and closed) or we'll affect the motor enough that it'll reduce the toque performance.
Therefore, we also bought a hub to control the bot via Alexa. After setting it up, it works as intended. The hub is also an IR remote, so this expanded the number of non-smart devices we can operate with Alexa: our box fan, our surround sound, our TV, etc. It's a bit nice, to be honest, though it isn't perfect in all use case. To control the curtain, it does a fine job. To increase the volume on the surround sound, it's not great.
Lastly, let's discuss this whirring sound. The app provides a "silent mode" which reduces the noise and the torque. However, on a telescoping rod with grommets with > 6 beads between grommets, you need all the torque that the bot can provide. So silent mode doesn't suit in this use case.
As an overall, after 1 week of ownership and about a month's worth of research, I'm happy with how the bot is operating. I'm glad that I didn't need to run romex in an exterior wall cavity for a different product, and that it doesn't need professional install with wholesalers. This was a very good option for me and my house.
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At SwitchBot, we know that sometimes the idea of transforming your home into one that is "smart" can be daunting. This is why we like to keep things simple. With our products, you can transform all your existing home appliances and make them interactive, fun, and more intuitive in a matter of seconds in a way that is more cost effective. So what are you waiting for? Make it simple.
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Product Description
SwitchBot is your simple switch to a smart home. With easy setup, we help you to create a comfortable home with innovative smart home products. SwitchBot Curtain Rod2 is upgraded to help make your curtains slide more smoothly.
An even more compatible fit.
Installation is simple.
You can get set up in just 30 seconds without the need for tools or other hidden costs, and just like that, your curtains will be smarter, more intuitive, and easier to manage. Installation is simple, you could directly watch the instructional video or read the manual for installation.
Range of adapted sizes for curtain rods: Curtain Track Compatibility Diameter:0.59inch-1.57inch; Circumference: 1.85inch-4.92inch.
Wake up with natural light
Set timed schedules
Automate your curtains to have them open or close and a time you set.
Stay wake up refreshed
Set up a schedule on your phone, your curtains will be automatically opened before your alarm goes off.
App smart control
Use our app to control your curtains whenever you want when at home.
Draw the curtains by hand
When SwitchBot Curtain senses your little pull, it will kick in and do the rest of the work for you.
Click anywhere to control
Purchase SwitchBot Remote (sold seperately) and use "Shortcuts" anywhere around your home.
Built-in light sensor
Set curtain open during the day time in winter, enjoy a warm room while saving on heating!
Helps push curtains that weigh up to 8kg
SwitchBot Curtain can push up to 8kg (17lbs) worth of curtain, now that's a lot of curtains!
If there is any question about the use of the product, please read the instructions carefully or ask us for help via Amazon/official website/APP Feedback.
Switch to a cozy smart home
Get a Switchbot Hub (sold seperately), use your voice command to control your curtains with Alexa, Google Home, Siri and other integrations. Set up a "Movie" scene on your phone, instantly transform your living room to a movie theater.
More fun with SwitchBot ecosystem
Connect all SwitchBot devices and home appliances to the Internet, enable the Cloud Service of your SwitchBot devices. Start building up your own smart home with SwitchBot!
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SwitchBot Curtain - Black Edition with Apple Home!
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Honest review and unboxing the SwitchBot
Stacie Anderson
Reviews with images
Better, quieter and more useful than expected
I was very curious to try these but skeptical, especially because we wanted to put them in our bedroom, and people said even the second generation was kind of noisy. They have worked far better than I could’ve imagined. Really easy to set up.They have been much more useful than I anticipated. I felt a little silly about automating curtains, but it really has made a big difference. Our bedroom curtains are not that accessible and now it is no bother to get them open first thing every morning and closed at night. It was easy to set up with Alexa. We have a time schedule and also frequently use the voice command. Works flawlessly in both cases.Yes, they make a bit of a noise while opening and closing, but we close our curtains before we go to bed and open them after we’re out of bed so cares if they’re a bit noisy when we’re already awake?This is one of those automation projects that has worked out way better than I had anticipated. The idea of opening and closing curtains by hand now feels tedious!Best of all, now I feel like I can get curtains instead of blinds for our living room. I thought that automating blinds would be easier and more successful but I really prefer the look of curtains. Now that I know these work really well, I am getting them for the whole house.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2022
Item Package Quantity: 1Color: WhiteVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2023
They have been much more useful than I anticipated. I felt a little silly about automating curtains, but it really has made a big difference. Our bedroom curtains are not that accessible and now it is no bother to get them open first thing every morning and closed at night. It was easy to set up with Alexa. We have a time schedule and also frequently use the voice command. Works flawlessly in both cases.
Yes, they make a bit of a noise while opening and closing, but we close our curtains before we go to bed and open them after we’re out of bed so cares if they’re a bit noisy when we’re already awake?
This is one of those automation projects that has worked out way better than I had anticipated. The idea of opening and closing curtains by hand now feels tedious!
Best of all, now I feel like I can get curtains instead of blinds for our living room. I thought that automating blinds would be easier and more successful but I really prefer the look of curtains. Now that I know these work really well, I am getting them for the whole house.
Item Package Quantity: 1Color: WhiteVerified Purchase
Better, quieter and more useful than expected
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2023
I was very curious to try these but skeptical, especially because we wanted to put them in our bedroom, and people said even the second generation was kind of noisy. They have worked far better than I could’ve imagined. Really easy to set up.Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2023
They have been much more useful than I anticipated. I felt a little silly about automating curtains, but it really has made a big difference. Our bedroom curtains are not that accessible and now it is no bother to get them open first thing every morning and closed at night. It was easy to set up with Alexa. We have a time schedule and also frequently use the voice command. Works flawlessly in both cases.
Yes, they make a bit of a noise while opening and closing, but we close our curtains before we go to bed and open them after we’re out of bed so cares if they’re a bit noisy when we’re already awake?
This is one of those automation projects that has worked out way better than I had anticipated. The idea of opening and closing curtains by hand now feels tedious!
Best of all, now I feel like I can get curtains instead of blinds for our living room. I thought that automating blinds would be easier and more successful but I really prefer the look of curtains. Now that I know these work really well, I am getting them for the whole house.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2022
Item Package Quantity: 1Color: WhiteVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
max payne
what a great product
Reviewed in Canada on October 24, 2023Item Package Quantity: 1Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Paul
works as advertized, easy setup
Reviewed in Canada on April 29, 2023Item Package Quantity: 1Color: WhiteVerified Purchase
Michela dipalma
apri/chiudi tenda
Reviewed in Italy on January 11, 2024Item Package Quantity: 1Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Philipp
Funktioniert super; Einfache Installation; Die meisten negativen Kritiken sind Quatsch
Reviewed in Germany on April 27, 2023Item Package Quantity: 1Color: WhiteVerified Purchase
Dossang adrien
Rapide d'installation et efficace
Reviewed in France on March 11, 2023Item Package Quantity: 1Color: WhiteVerified Purchase
