SwitchBot Curtain overview: Rework dumb drapes into good curtains

Choices abound for motorizing and smartening up blinds and shades, however what when you’ve got curtains? Rendering these hanging panels of cloth into good window coverings presents such a specific problem that solely a handful of choices exist—and most of these require you to put in a particular motorized monitor.

SwitchBot is the one exception I’ve seen. It’s an add-on machine that (with some caveats) guarantees to show any current curtains into good curtains with minimal quantity effort and setup. As good tech goes, SwitchBot isn’t essentially the most elegant of merchandise. It’s a squat, egg-like machine that hangs beneath your curtain rod (it helps rods measuring between 15- to 40mm in diameter) and nestles between the tabs, rings, or grommets of your curtain. A mechanical wheel presses up towards the underside of the rod and permits the SwitchBot to maneuver left and proper, dragging the curtain together with it. Whereas the usual model is designed for cylindrical curtain rods, different variations can be found for I Rail and U Rail tracks.

To get began with SwitchBot, you create an account within the SwitchBot app, then add your SwitchBot Curtain to it. It’s a Bluetooth-only machine, so wi-fi setup is pretty fast. What takes a bit longer is when the app walks you thru questions on your {hardware}, the design of your material rods, and the model of the curtains themselves. Lastly, you’re instructed to position the controller on the rod, a course of which couldn’t be less complicated. A small button removes the highest piece from the unit’s two arms. When you align the machine on the rod, you merely slide that prime piece again into place, gripping the rod between the 2 halves because it locks into place routinely.

Christopher Null / IDG

SwitchBot claims a 30-second setup time, which is true in case you’re solely counting the time that final step takes, and not one of the different setup work. My curtains significantly took some additional effort, as they cling from the rod by way of cloth tabs. These needed to be bolstered with small plastic clamps (included within the field); basically, so the SwitchBot wouldn’t run over the material because it moved forwards and backwards.

As soon as configured, I discovered the product to work properly. After a calibration step, it’s straightforward to manually open and shut curtains precisely to the purpose you need, arrange timers to routinely shut at night time and open within the morning, or open/shut the curtains based mostly on a countdown delay timer. The system presents two pace modes, however I discovered the “silent mode” to be way more invasive than the sooner “efficiency mode,” which was significantly made worse due to how lengthy it took to finish the circuit. The SwitchBot additionally detects exterior motion. The “contact and go” characteristic understands in case you’re trying to manually open or shut the drapes and, when you get it began, it finishes the job for you.

Christopher Null / IDG

SwitchBot gained’t work completely for everybody; when you’ve got very heavy curtains (greater than 17 kilos), its little motor gained’t have the ability to sustain. It additionally doesn’t work properly with the telescoping form of curtain rods which have a thinner rod nested inside a thicker one, although an adapter within the field is offered to assist it throughout such transitions.

The machine features a rechargeable battery that costs by way of the included USB-C cable. Should you don’t need to periodically recharge it, you may assist it keep topped up by including on a small photo voltaic panel ($25) that stays completely plugged in—though this may actually stand out in case your curtains (like mine) don’t precisely cover the SwitchBot {hardware} (as you may see within the picture above. The advertising and marketing picture up prime reveals the SwitchBot hanging in entrance of the curtain, however that’s simply so you may see it.)

As a Bluetooth machine, the SwitchBot is a short-range affair out of the field, which means you may actually solely function the curtains from throughout the identical room. If you wish to function the curtains remotely, you’ll want to put in the SwitchBot Hub Mini ($39), a small Bluetooth-to-Wi-Fi bridge. This bridge can be required for connecting the SwitchBot to Alexa, Google House, or Siri providers, do you have to need to use voice instructions. The SwitchBot Distant ($19) is an alternative choice, a small button you may preserve on the bedside desk that permits you to function the curtains with out having to make use of the app.

SwitchBot isn’t good. It’s loud and it’s merely not enticing, however it does do the job it guarantees to do, and it does it properly at an affordable value. I haven’t had a second of bother with the SwitchBot since I put in it, and regardless of some minor complaints I can fortunately suggest to anybody who hates getting off the bed on a chilly morning to let some mild in.