Gen. 1 FM Single White E-Wand for Slatted Blind Motorization (E Wand) - Motorize and Automate Existing Blinds- Retrofit Motorized Blinds

Who wants to go through all of the trouble of reprogramming? No one...but you may have to in order to really get these dialed in.These are really straightforward; however, you have to be familiar with how they're programmed and then understand how your particular blinds work. My suggestion is to follow the directions and use them as intended. It isn't difficult but reading the directions and trying to learn the series of beeps is annoying, at first.I set my blinds up and played with them and all was good. I purchased them because I don't like reaching behind the couch to open and close 3 different blinds. After a short period they began to either not open or close all the way. They weren't uniform and I set them in a group so if I turned one all would move which created more of an issue. I read in the directions that you could reprogram them but who wants to do that? I was ready to return them because I wasn't going to go through that every other week.I purchased more that sat in the box and I was ready to return them all. I decided to give it one more try. Well with the understanding of what happened and what I didn't like I was able to program them again with more clarity. I was also able to remember commands that would be helpful if they were out of alignment such as just adjusting one in the group which is really easy if you focus on what you want to do instead of trying to remember all of the commands.This time when I set them up not only do they not go out of alignment as quickly, I can quickly (in seconds) adjust one of them and everything is good. I was also able to get them to open and close more reliable with the sunrise and sunset.I have central AC so I didn't think I would need the temperature feature, but I accidently left it on. One day the sun was particularly bright and shining in at the right angle which made it hard to see the television. It made enough of a difference that they closed the blinds which was awesome so I'm keeping that feature one. It doesn't initiate everyday because it doesn't need to, but it's pretty awesome when it does.So they are truly automated now.

Loved the idea of automating my existing blinds, so I thought I'd take a chance on one of the e-Wand since they're a little cheaper than the MySmartBlind solution before I automate 11 blinds in my house. But the unit I received did not even turn on. :/After arriving, I read the instructions and watched the company's YouTube setup videos (twice) to make sure I installed the unit correctly. First step, install the (6) included Panasonic AA batteries, but the unit never responded by chiming and beeping like the videos and instructions indicated it would. Tried two other sets of new Duracell batteries and triple checked installation direction of the batteries, but the unit still wouldn't come to life. Sigh. I really hoped this would work as I want to automate more of my blinds without breaking the bank.My review may change based on the customer service response to my DOA unit; I will update my review based on their response.

I really like this product. It does exactly what I need it to do. It opens up my vertical blinds in the morning, and closes them in the evening every day. If I could change anything, I would like the ability to adjust the times that it opens and closes, but for the most part it does exactly as it should. The only thing I did not like about this product is the battery life. The batteries last for less than three weeks. That’s six double A batteries and they are not cheap!!! So I replaced the batteries with a battery elimination kit (see pictures). Now I absolutely love it! I am now looking to get another one for my other vertical blinds. I can’t believe this is the only DIY vertical blind automation kit that I could find at this price point, and I’ve been looking for some time. All others I found are in the thousands of dollars and are part of a proprietary set of blinds. I am very pleased with this purchase, will buy again.

Physical installation was fairly easy. Programming instructions were adequate but I followed them precisely and could not get the wand to open the the blinds automatically. I noted there was a discrepancy in the written programming instructions and the online programming instructions. I tried both ways several times with the same result. In the end I could get the blind to close automatically at sunset but it would never open at sunrise.The biggest annoyance with the product is that there is a big written notice that comes with the box that says you can call or e-mail them for product support. I tried e-mail but never received a response. That's pretty annoying. I haven't tried calling because I am just too busy during their business hours. They shouldn't put a notice in the box directing you to e-mail them for support if they are not going to answer.Don't but this product if you are going to need support.

I finally got the wand programmed. The confusion is the instructions are very poorly written. Iit says to move it to the closed position, the open position and the closed position at points during programming. Every time I tried to move it to the closed position the second time it would beep error. Eventually it occurred to me that a lot of horizontal blind will close completely at each end of the rotation. Mine only closes at one end so I programmed it for open to be in the middle and the second close to be all the way open. Then I was able to successfully program it.Also, the top slat kept hitting the wand and jamming. I had to made some cuts to prevent that.However, still waiting for the remote. There is not much advantage to having this in my case without it. No way to open or close all the way without holding it which is not much improvement over just turning the original plastic rod.