Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1, Requires AQARA HUB, Smart Blind Motor with Schedule and Voice Control, Rechargeable with Long Battery Life, Compatible with HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT

Product Information

The boss lady voluntarily requests to install this review unit in her studio. If I am not mistaken, this is the first time she actually pays attention to an item I review. I am happy to see how easy it is able to find a place to go. Actually, isn’t it a great sign of the potential user demand on the market? Installation is seriously easy Event Timeline and Notifications**: With the G2H Pro, when your Aqara sensors are triggered by an event such as opening the door, it will be marked on the video timeline, and you will be able to see video notifications. All-Round Compatibility: Compatible with most popular ecosystems and can be controlled by voice. HomeKit, Alexa, Google, IFTTT, Alice, and Marusya are supported.

Disclosure: We were provided this product by Aqara free of charge to use and review. That does not influence our views.

One-Button Control: Thanks to the Aqara Home app ( iOS/ Android), the full operation of your roller shade can be done by pressing only one button such as the Aqara Mini Switch. Zigbee 3.0 Protocol: Enjoy the benefits of the fastest, most stable, and energy-efficient smart home technology. Better stability and compatibility (more standardized protocol), longer support and more features. The cover of the rolling plate has these plastic teeth that you need to brake off. These are not removed by default because some users might be installing the E1 in a horizontal position, so they would need to remove different two teeth. Setting Curtain Limits

Underneath the Open labelled cover, the bead rotating plate is placed on the motor axis. If you need to change it to accommodate different cords, it can be removed by simply pulling it upwards. Description Aqara Roller Shade Driver (Duo) Starter Kit – Your gateway to a smarter and more convenient home Zigbee 3.0 Protocol: Enjoy the benefits of the fastest, most stable, and energy-efficient smart home technology. Better stability and compatibility (more standardized protocol), longer support, and more features. In 2020, this was realised when I tested out and reviewed the Soma Smart Shades 2 (read the review HERE or watch the video HERE). I’ve been using the Soma product for over a year now, and generally, I’ve been very happy with it. I’ve really had no issues, except for a few minor, but insurmountable, details that I’d come to accept; One was that it wasn’t officially HomeKit compatible, and therefore the separate Soma Connect hub was needed. I’ve got no issues with using hubs, but to have one for the sole purpose of controlling one device, and it being a requirement to expose it to HomeKit – even uncertified – was a bit of an ‘ask’. Add to this the fact that the Soma blinds use Bluetooth to either connect directly to your iPhone or the hub, meant that quite often there would be an initial ‘no response’. This wasn’t as noticeable until I eventually started using a HomePod Mini, where I’d use Siri to open or close the blinds, whereupon I’d be greeted with the following response – “The Soma blinds failed to respond”. A second request would be successful, but it began to be all too predictable and a little tiresome. This is the fault of Bluetooth more than Soma, so even if they had official HomeKit support, I dare say the same issue would exist. The Aqara E1 Roller Shade Driver is compatible with ZHA and ZigBee2MQTT. Your coordinator must have the following minimum firmware version, for this device to operate correctly:Built-in Zigbee 3.0 Hub: Connect up to 64 Aqara sensors and controllers and enjoy home automation, remote control, and third-party ecosystem support. Standby Time: Two months (based on controlling a roller shade of 1.8m x 1.8m up and down once a day) What is in the box: Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1 × 1, Screw × 2, Expansion Tube × 2, Double-Faced Adhesive Tape × 1, Spare Rotating Plate × 3, USB-C to USB-A Cable × 1

This is my first experience with Aqara. After reading about some of their upcoming products showcased at CES 2022, I was excited to try them. I was not disappointed. Month Battery Life*: Thanks to Aqara battery-saving technologies, industry-leading battery life is achieved. You don't need to worry about charging the device every few weeks. User-Defined Opening/Closing: The user will be able to pre-set a number of desired open/close percentages and switch between them easily.To install the Roller Shade Driver E1, you will first have to remove the plastic cap at the top end. Underneath is the shaft of the electric motor, on which there is already a receptacle for the common roller blind bead chains. If your roller blind uses a different type of chain, you will find three more adapters in the box. I setup the Aqara roller shade companion E1 ( ZNJLBL01LM) on Z2M a couple days ago and initially everything seemed to be working properly. More recently, every now and then, the roller shade stops working with the error (Data request failed with error: 'MAC transaction expired' (240))' Adapters for Different Types of Beaded Cords: The majority of roller shades with beaded cords are supported due to a variety of included adapters. The buttons on the Roller Shade Driver could also react a bit faster in my opinion. Each time the button is pressed, it takes a second for the motor to start. If the roller blind runs practically autonomously via scenes and automations, then this is not noticeable at all. However, if you want to go out to the balcony right now, it should be a bit faster.