SwitchBot 3 Curtain 3 evaluation: Overcomplicated

I am as a lot a fan of the internet of things (IoT) as the following tech geek, which, to be clear, is a membership I proudly contemplate myself a member of, however the web of issues and the race to automate and connect something and all the pieces (I am you, smart toaster) has spawned merchandise whose use circumstances are extra area of interest than common. The SwitchBot Curtain Opener 3 is one such product, and on this evaluation I will be going over my impressions putting in, testing, and utilizing it, in addition to the area of interest use circumstances I may see this product addressing.

Helpful however area of interest

SwitchBot Curtain 3

The SwitchBot Curtain 3 is an costly gadget that serves a couple of area of interest situations effectively however suffers from cumbersome set up for sure curtain varieties.

Compatibility

Rod, U Rail, I Rail

Energy

Rechargeable by way of USB-C

Battery

8 months2 or limitless with Photo voltaic Panel

Cons

• Time-consuming to put in
• Cumbersome
• Noisy

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Worth, availability, and specs

The SwitchBot Curtain 3 retails for $90 for one unit, although contemplate that any center cut up curtains that open from the center out would require two models to work correctly. This automated curtain opener will be discovered on Amazon and straight from the SwitchBot web site. The SwitchBot Curtain 3 is mainly a small motor on rollers that attaches to your curtain rod. It’s out there in three types that embody your fundamental curtain rod, U-shape curtain rods, and I-shape curtain rods. The gadget expenses by way of USB-C and as soon as charged SwitchBot says the battery ought to final months relying on frequency of use.

What I favored in regards to the SwitchBot Curtain 3

It features precisely as described

It would sound like faint reward, however the redeeming high quality that caught out essentially the most to me was that the SwitchBot Curtain 3 labored precisely as described. I used to be a bit skeptical if I am being trustworthy, as area of interest house automation units just like the Curtain 3 are usually extra gimmick than perform. After connecting the gadget to the SwitchBot app (extra on this later), the software program walked me by the calibration course of, which as soon as accomplished, allowed me to open and shut my curtains from the app.

Talking of the app, it permits for an honest stage of automation, principally by using schedules. I used to be in a position to set the curtains to open within the morning after I usually start working after which to shut every night as soon as the solar goes down. The app additionally permits actually tremendous management of the open and shut course of. I used to be in a position to open the curtains as a lot or as little as I needed, measured in % closed inside the app’s UI.

What I did not like in regards to the SwitchBot Curtain 3

The juice wasn’t well worth the squeeze

SwitchBot claims that the set up of Curtain 3 ought to take as little as 30 seconds, however the actuality for me was starkly totally different. I like to contemplate myself a typically succesful individual, and tech-savvy at that, however putting in this factor took me nearly an hour. I can see how as soon as you’ve got carried out it earlier than, subsequent installations would take a fraction of the time, however the directions are unclear, the guide’s photos barely useful, and the set up unintuitive at greatest. As soon as the gadget is put in on the far finish of your curtain rod, maneuvering the rod itself turns into extraordinarily cumbersome as the burden steadiness is totally tilted to 1 facet.

If this catches you off-guard because it did me, you would possibly find yourself scraping your wall and ceiling as I did, so be careful for this or set up it with some assist. Set up directions fluctuate wildly by type of curtain, and should embody using stand-alone clips, or clips related by beads to perform correctly, all of which is defined in little element with photos that may be arduous to decipher at first look.

After a cumbersome set up, I lastly acquired to begin testing the bot. Because it started opening my curtains for the primary time, I used to be met with a whiny, rickety, and customarily noisy operation. Within the promoting supplies for this product, SwitchBot exhibits a setup the place you utilize the Curtain 3 to open your curtains within the morning, peacfully waking you up as daylight is steadily let into the room. In actuality, the noise of the operation would wake you up sooner and extra aggressively than the light morning gentle. As well as, the sound instantly conjured issues about whether or not the SwitchBot Curtain 3 would harm a high-end wood curtain rod or whether or not it was going to break my window shutters over time by rubbing towards the wooden end when transferring.

Finally, I could not see how, for me personally, this could ever be value it. I measured that it could take me 5 seconds to stand up and open or shut the curtain manually, whereas the set up alone took me about 45 minutes. Even when I generously dropped that all the way down to Half-hour, it could take 360 open or shut cycles simply to interrupt even on my set up time, and in my eyes, the purpose of automation is to save lots of me time and power, not value me extra.

Do you have to purchase the SwitchBot Curtain 3?

Even with my very own expertise being removed from superb, I can positively see how the SwitchBot Curtain 3 may show helpful in some area of interest circumstances. Firstly, this could be a tremendous product for enhancements in accessibility for any customers who’re in any other case unable to simply open and shut their curtains. It additionally is perhaps well worth the set up on extraordinarily tall or lengthy curtains which are in any other case a slog to open and shut, although keep in mind you’ll need to stand up there to take the centerpiece of the Curtain 3 down for charging a few times a yr, relying on use. Consideration also needs to be given to how you want your curtains set when open, as a result of in the event you safe them with a tie or hook, the SwitchBot Curtain 3 can not try this for you, and guide interplay along with your curtains will nonetheless be wanted in the long run.

If the curtain state of affairs in your house is pretty common, which means you open and shut them occasionally, and it takes you 5-10 seconds to take action, then I battle to see how a $90 expense, 15-Half-hour of set up, plus charging when wanted, all to exchange such a easy job is justifiable. If, nevertheless, you might have a really area of interest state of affairs that is perhaps served by the SwitchBot Curtain 3, then by all means, decide one up, as a result of it definitely does what it is designed to do, and I by no means skilled a malfunction.

Helpful however area of interest

SwitchBot Curtain 3