I made ALL my blinds SMART!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มิ.ย. 2024
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I attempted to add ALL of my EXISTING tilt blinds into HomeKit using the Soma Tilt 2. Today we'll discuss the process, everything I used, how I did it, and what I learned.
Purchase:
Soma Tilt 2:geni.us/SomaTilt
Soma Connect: geni.us/SomaConnect
Other Resources:
Soma Help Center:
support.somasmarthome.com/hc/...
fixmyblinds.com
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NOTE: This description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:33 Soma Tilt 2
2:12 How It Works
2:59 Solar Powered!
3:38 Price
4:00 What's in the Box
4:18 What about Pull Cords?
5:14 Installing the Soma Tilt 2
5:36 Hiding the Motor
7:02 The Smart Shades App
8:40 Paperlike
9:52 HomeKit Integration (Soma Connect)
12:54 Changing the Tilt Direction
13:54 Morning Mode
14:45 My Automations
16:34 Using a Physical Button
16:58 Final Result - Pros & Cons
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#HomeKit #SmartHome #Soma
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Nice automation and reverse installation!!
Good review Shane, will def look into this set up as I have been interested in automating my blinds. Thank you!!
Thanks for watching!
This just sold me on going with homekit. Thank you
Nice to see how others are automating their blinds. I had loads of issues with mine. 1 bay window with 5 separate blinds. I went the route of building servo motors into the blinds to hide the mechanism. Then a single 7 core wire down into a aurdino and into node red inside home assistant. Sounds simple but took months to get it right.
I'm tempted to try your way on a couple of my single upstairs blinds though
Thanks for watching Gavin! Would love to hear how it works out!
Very clever way to hide the motor. The temperature based automation is great to close the blinds if the heat in the living room creeps up. I'm sure when that sun is beaming in, the room would heat up quickly with all those windows. Congrats on the Paperlike sponsor, I'll have to pick one up to try for my daughter's ipad, she loves to draw with her Apple Pencil. Great video, as always, Shane!
Thanks Brad! Appreciate the support! Definitely check out paperlike. If she hasn't used a matte screen protector on the iPad before (and Paperlike is the best), she will love it. It's a game changer...I've been drawing on my iPad for years.
Dope idea - going to mention this (and your video) on Smart Tech Today this week 👌
Awesome, thanks Matthew! 😃
Really enjoyed this video, so much so that I’ve bought a Soma Tilt 2 to try out. In my case reversing the blind was not an option, as I need to be able to open and close them. My solution was to drill a small hole on the other side of the headrail and reverse the tilt mechanism. It all works really well.
Nice solution!
This is dope af!!! People are so smart. Thank you for sharing this. I didn’t even think it was possible.
Thanks for watching!😃
Thanks for making this video. I’m sold. Will be purchasing a few thanks to this review
Thanks for watching Alan!
Hey dude. Really useful. Love your channel. Have you figured out a way to leverage the daylight detection on the solar panel to activate other HomeKit devices?
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Great review!!!!!
Thanks for watching Curtis!
Hi. Nice video and setup. What brand of blinds do you use?
Enjoy your channel as I recently decided to go all in on Homekit for our “smart” home
Thanks for watching! And welcome to the club! 😃 Good luck building out your smart home!
Right now it consists of 2 Apple TV 4K’s (2018 & 2021), A bunch of smart plugs, Hues lights, 5 HomePod Mini’s, 2 EcoBee Thermostats and a Logitech Circle View Video Doorbell. The next step is adding security cams and powered window blinds. Really wish Apple would make a sound bar
Another great video, Shane. I really like how you pointed out all of the pros and cons, as well as the things that were bothersome to you (like the painful experience of calibrating the blinds). I have watched several videos of other products like roller blinds and all of the solutions I have checked out have been exceedingly expensive for my use case.
Question: Do you know if this other upcoming hardware controller hub that they are trying to get certified through Apple will have Thread included? Of course the blind's motor controller would also have to have Thread support as well. If they would support Thread, I would be all over that and purchase them for all of my windows.
I have 24 windows and 2 skylights. I have 8 windows with 2" wood blinds that have pull strings and I have 13 windows with 2" wood blinds with roller bars that open and close the blinds. That is a total of 21 windows with blinds and 3 windows with just curtains. I may not do all 21 windows but there are at least 11 windows, with possibly 5 more, that I would really like to automate.
I like the Soma solution except for the following:
1. It is not a HomeKit certified product (I could live with this though)
2. Finicky setup on calibration (I could probably get through this if I was careful)
3. Bluetooth (this one is the Deal Killer for me as I have blinds all over my house that I want to automate)
4. The large motor housing (but you did show a fairly ingenious solution of reversing the blinds so the controller is against the window)
What I really find appealing about the Soma solution is:
1. Much cheaper than anything else on the market by hundreds of dollars per window!
2. Can use a solar panel, which is included, to operate shades; so no batteries! (this is a huge plus for me)
3. I can retro fit my existing blinds without having to replace the whole thing. (another big plus as I hate to throw out perfectly good stuff)
So, I am still on the fence on automating my blinds but am leaning heavily towards the Soma solution.
Hey Frederick, thanks for watching. Those are some good notes. I haven’t heard any talk regarding Soma adding thread support. I don’t expect they will… if they are working on new hub hardware, I doubt it would have thread support. If the blinds used thread, technically they shouldn’t need a hub (one of the benefits of thread). Eve is supposedly partnering with another company to make some smart shades but we don’t know when they will be available or how much they will be. But they may be the first HK shades to support thread.
I would say this is probably the best option right now, that I’m aware of for automating blinds into homekit without completely breaking the bank, and you get to use your existing blinds. These have been great, but it does come with pros and cons, which you have noted very well.
When you add the wand mechanism, could you have made a cut out on the opposite side for it? then you would have up/down on the outside and tilt on the window side.
I get the no response error daily. ended up plugging the soma connect into a smart plug and power it down each night for two minutes and then start it again. its not perfect but it helps reduce the downtime.
Nice work on the blinds I have some Ryse motor blinds coming and we are building a new house so I’m trying to get Lutron Serena placed on the main windows and use Ryse for the other rooms
Thanks! The Lutron Serena shades are very nice.
Thank you Shane love the show, do you know any Home kit roller blinds motors that fit existing blinds I have seen Acura covered in a TH-cam show some years ago however searching the web I can’t find any info on them, Kind regards Paul in the UK,
Hey Paul, thanks for watching. I think there are some roller shade motors by Aqara, and maybe other brands, available in other counties like China. The only ones I know of available around here would be Soma Shades mentioned briefly in the video that control the roller shades by connecting to the pull cord.
Reversing the blinds is a good idea! And thanks for the comprehensive and honest review of the product.
[Off Subject Comment] Looking forward to your thoughts on HOOBS 4. Wondering about creating separate hubs for each plug-in … which requires setting up each plug-in from scratch.
Thanks Mike!
Looking forward to that full Homekit certification without the need for a hub, Soma.
Awesome video. 100% going to be doing this.
If I understand correctly, I can get the SOMA Connect software for free on the site, but the Pi needs to have Bluetooth for it to work?
Thanks! Yes, that sounds correct. Here is the site including a list of compatible devices:
support.somasmarthome.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035521234-Install-SOMA-Connect-software?a_aid=sw
G’day Shane, I’m trying to automate my roller blinds in my void area. What do you recommend to work with HomeKit? I do not have any zigbee products
Great video. The intro was clever. I like the detailed explanation since I have no knowledge of blinds 🤣
Thanks for watching Adam! I didn't know much either but found they were pretty easy to work with once I figured out how they work.
Do you need to have a soma 2 for each blind or can you use one for multiple blinds?
Great video Shane! Ordered a bunch during their back Friday sale. Is there a max limit to the Soma Connect? I just ordered 8 soma tilts 2. Will I have issues connecting all of them to the Soma Connect? Also, do you know the Bluetooth range of the Soma Connect?
Thanks! I'm not completely sure what the limit is but I connected 8 soma tilts to my Connect with no issues. The Soma connect just needs to be in bluetooth range, which could vary depending on walls and other factors. I think typical bluetooth range is around 30 ft or so.
Is this approved for outdoor use with patio blinds?
Brilliant overview Shane - I love that the Soma use solar panels to power themselves. I'm wondering, how sensitive are their panels? I know that SwitchBot offer solar panels with their curtain robots, but, they really need some strong direct sunlight to work... Hope that Soma improve their shipping to Europe soon, would love to work experiment with these!
Thanks! The solar panels have done very well for me. They stay close to, or right at 100% most of the time. But I do get a lot of sun along that side of the house each day.
Hey cool video! And especially because you mention me 😬! Surprised you remembered my name! I remember you weren't so wild about the soma tilt after your first video. But now that you no longer see the motor, you are actually quite satisfied with it! Especially glad I was able to help you make your curtains “Wife Approved”. What surprises me the most is that Soma still doesn't promote it that way.
Haha of course I remember! If it wasn't for that suggestion, this whole thing wouldn't have worked. So thanks again! I can always use some help getting "wife approved." lol
Great video as usual, Shane. Personally I prefer the roller blinds.
Thanks Tom!
i can't find these on amazon. Anyone know if these are still available?thank you
Awesome review as always. So I take it I will need to buy a controller for each set, or could I link 2/3 blinds on the same controller?
Thanks! You need on Soma Tilt for each blind. Only need one Connect Hub for connecting to HomeKit.
@@ShaneCreates I was hoping you would not say that lol
So do you have the hub plugged directly into your network, or is it connected Wi-Fi? I know when you were setting them up you had to have Bluetooth on to connect to the blinds I just want to make sure that if I put the connect in my network rack that I will still be able to control the blinds.
I have been using mine over wifi the whole time. I mentioned in the video that I do want to try to using them over ethernet to see if it makes a difference.
Hi 🙋♂️ Thanks for the Video, could you review some budget Homekit Products?
Let me know what you'd like to see. Thanks!
@@ShaneCreates i think homekit is great but expensive, can you show products that are cheap like the night lamp that you can turn on and off.
Why is this even here if it’s not a HomeKit product? What I like about this channel is that it reviews HomeKit products
You can add it to Homekit with zero issues. It just says it isn’t verified by Apple.
Will the automation still work if I wanted to pull up the blinds to any length that's not all the way up? Just bought my first home and looking to go crazy with smart home automation!
Great video btw Shane! I'm a subscriber! Keep it up!
Thanks for subscribing! You can set the blinds to any position in your automations.
What kind of range does the connect have? If it is bluetooth, then would I be able to do multiple connects to handle windows I have in another area of the home?
It should have typical bluetooth range... which does have it's limits. I haven't tested the limits but haven't had any issues with my windows way up hight, with the connect in the other room close by. I'm not sure if you can connect multiple connects in a single account. I would think so, but I haven't tried that.
Is that an HDMI port? What’s it used for?
I want blinds that close on the lower half , but open on the top half. This way I can walk around in my pajamas at home without the outside looking in . But at the same time, let in light to the house.
When is the onvis light strip video coming out?
Should be in the next two weeks.
@Shane Whatley ever since I upgraded to 16.2 a while back, all I get is No Response for all my blinds. Have you experienced the same thing?
Using Ethernet and make sure “disable” the wifi, you will get much better connection.
If you already enabled the wifi in soma, instead of remove you app and reset your all blind , you can disable wifi by connecting to a monitor via HDMI cable . Disable it through raspberrypi interface.
U cant enable wifi and connecting Ethernet at the same time, it will constantly drop out
Did you ever think of using the Serena shades by Lutron instead of Soma?
Yep. Coming soon to the channel. (Check out the very end of the video - 9:15)
How do you set the HomeKit scenes to get the blinds to close up? I cannot find the option in the Soma app to do this (I have a Some Connect running v3.0.4). Thanks!
I believe it's under the soma connect options in the app. There should be a place that shows your homekit scenes with some options for this.
@@ShaneCreates Thanks for the reply. I don't have that in my app. I am using the Soma Connect U1, so maybe that's why.
u can use aqara light sensor / homekit dummy switch with this blinds.....and it will be perfect
Nice!
This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the review Shane!
However, unfortunately they have very poor shipping to EU (or more precisely almost 0 countries in Europe), so I guess I'll have to look for another product or wait till it appears on amazon or similar site.
I’ve ordered from Soma before in the UK and it shipped from Eastern Europe - is there maybe a different site for European orders?
@@AaronAbernethy Thanks man, you are right, now when I looked closer there are EU and UK shops
How do you open your blinds manually? Don't always have my phone on.
I use Siri on the HomePod or smart buttons that will open the blinds.
How do you open the windows with the solar panel attached?
its really thin and my windows just slide past. I will say depending on how you use the blinds and how much motor usage you have the panels don't replace 100% so about 3-4 times a year I have to plug in each motor and charge it up by plugging it in.
If this company is using a raspberry pi could they replace it with the raspberry pi zero? It is a smaller profile Single board computer.
What is a good HomeKit security system
Depends on the features you are looking for. The Aqara hubs have some security features exposed to homekit. Abode is a good one for more traditional security system features that works with homekit.
Can you do a video on Homekit ceiling fans?
Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't used any fans yet with HomeKit support just yet (maybe one day?). But I have used the Lutron Fan controller to give HomeKit support to my existing fans. I talked about those some in the Lutron section of this video: th-cam.com/video/XcXUQRcMyPE/w-d-xo.html
Id love to see your take on this too Shane. Lutron switch is perfect when you have separate wires for fan and lights but not many great options in HomeKit for a single power line. I tried the
How heavy are your blinds? There’s been reviews that they struggle with heavy or large blinds.
I’d say they are typical 2” wood blinds. Not super heavy but not necessarily light either. Never had any issues with the motor struggling.
cool
Always well done Shane, thank you. I have 7 Lutron Shades in our home. “Flawless”.
Thanks Doug! Lutron stuff tends to be “flawless!” I’ll be covering the Lutron shades soon also on the channel.
@@ShaneCreates I look forward to your video on Lutron as with any HomeKit products.
Great video Shane, but the background music is a bit to high🙃
Thanks for the feedback
Does it work with vertical blinds?
It should work with anything with a tilt wand. They also sell the Soma shades which controls pull cords, which are probably more common in vertical blinds.
Just realized the issue is this vertical blind only has one wand for tilting and also for opening and closing. Not sure how to solve that issue 🤔
What if you already have a hoob hub?
I addressed that some around 10:48. There is a homebridge plugin out there that you can try out, but Soma recommends using the Connect.
With soma tilt, how would you pull the blinds up?
You can still pull the blinds up manually.
@@ShaneCreates is there a product you’re aware of that does it too?
@@samm9017 not for Venetian style blinds that I’m aware of
@@ShaneCreates ok, appreciate the response!
I would love to automate
hangings around my flat... But this is a bit more complicated and pricey
Damn! Initially I thought I had finally found a solution for string Venetian blinds but then you went and just swapped out the mechanism 😭
I was watching this with admiration, reaching for my credit card …. Then …. Bluetooth …. #facepalm
Whhhhyyyyyyy?!!!!!!!!!
$119 per window! Expensive.
Agree
Yea no thanks
compared to...? Blind motors are expensive but if you want to do it this is about the cheapest way. Maybe Ikea is less but you have very limited options there.
still waiting for aqara blinds motor E1
Is your ceiling fan HomeKit?
I like using the fan controller switches from Lutron to give my ceiling fans homekit support.
Please figure out how to do it with plantation shutters.
a switchbot and string would get you halfway there. lol
@@danoliver7161 yes but not all the way.
I don't want more hubs or apps in my home automation system. It must work either with Z-Wave or directly with Alexa (IP or Zigbee) for me to have any interest in it.
Accordion blinds?
if the have a cord loop you can use the smart shades
I know this was sponsored but you should have considered the sunsa smart wand... the wand itself is smart and requires batteries or solar panels.... no big clunky motors then
This video wasn't sponsored by Soma. And there's no HomeKit with the Sunsa smart wand, which is why I went with Soma... I can add them to my HomeKit setup.
Alright but what’s the price?
$120 for the Soma Tilt. “Price” is even a chapter title in the video - 3:19
@@ShaneCreates just reiterating that it’s per unit which dependent on how many Windows sets people have it gets expensive quickly
Someone is spending some quality time in the gym 😇
wifi approved. lol
Seems like they would sell more if the price wasn't so high. Most people have 15+ windows and wouldn't spend $1000 on this... Great video tho!!
Thanks for watching! It’s actually not too bad when you consider other options for smart shades getting way up to $500+ per window. I’m not sure there is a cheaper way to automate your blinds with HomeKit.
@@ShaneCreates Might just have to do one room at a time lol
Great product. But $120.00 each blind is way to much money. Since you got them free, you kind of forget how expensive this can be.
No, I think $120 is reasonable per window. Of course it will add up if you are doing a ton of windows… but consider using something like Lutron shades that would be well over $500 per window.
I can’t tell you how many products I have tried to use w/HomeKit and I’m very disappointed w/workarounds. That being said, this video’s thumbnail shows a ‘works with HomeKit and then half way thru the video, dude says it doesn’t. 🤔
$149 on their website not $119 … did I miss something?
Inflation? This video was published in July of 2021. Looks like they've raised their prices a bit.
$149???? That's crazy expensive. Can DIY for much, much cheaper.
Nice video and cool product. But this setup looks so ugly... At this point, why don't people just get smart shades? Lutron shades are really beautiful, and they work so well. No need for bulky motors hanging out everywhere...
I agree, Lutron shades are amazing. Look great and work perfectly. But to cover all the windows in this video with Lutron would have cost over $5,500. That's over 5x the cost it would take to use the Soma Tilts. So to answer your question: cost. If you can afford Lutron everywhere, I wouldn't argue with that. But if you don't have the budget, these present an alternative option that still works with HomeKit.
$150? 4 blinds $600 wowh
The pricing is ridiculous though. An average house has like 7 windows and each has blinds on them. That's over $700 on just smart motors not including the hub. This is such an expensive project and adds no benefit besides not having to do things manually. I could definitely be okay with $20 or even $30 dollar motors, but this company is just way too expensive for the not so premium products they offer.
I think pricing is reasonable. Of course it would always be nice if cheaper. But there are some smart shades that are $700 minimum per window. I don’t think you’ll find any that work with HomeKit much cheaper than these.
@@ShaneCreates interesting. I didn’t look into other options so I didn’t know this was cheaper out of other alternatives.
Good luck trying to find a motor less than $150. I sell blinds and buy them wholesale and you can’t buy them even from China for less than $120
Or even better, Alexa
😱
Bluetooth? Like our headphones 🎧? It’s 2021 headed fast to 2022. No thread? No wifi, no zigbee? Not even 22year old reliable z-wave? No thanks.
I would never put blinds on those top windows up to the ceiling absolutely no reason for it
We had so much afternoon sun that would beam through those windows (the ones up top). It would make the living room SO much hotter. The sun would beam onto the couches where we sit, literally warming up the couches like they were sitting in the sun. Plus it caused reflections on the wall and tv at other times. Window coverings of some sort were very much needed for those top windows.
If you never lived in the southwestern US you would have no idea about sun energy. UV indices over 10 are common. Sun heat is a serious problem for windows.
@@philiparonson8315 I’m in Florida buddy got an idea of sun. Lol
@@artieartya solar heat gain, and light control are two great reasons. shades aren't only for privacy. Glare on a tv would be another.
@@danoliver7161 no shit really.
I really enjoy your videos except please, please, please stop with the background “music”. It is an accessibility thing and for many people it is anxiety inducing and very irritating to have that boom boom boom in the background while you’re speaking. Your channel is an informational channel and only needs your voice when providing information. Please consider this. Thanks! 😊
Thanks for the feedback.