I just received a pair of “Coastal Roman Shades” from SelectBlinds. They came pre-programmed to a single remote controller on channels 1 and 2. The physical remote works fine. Photos of the remote attached.
But I’m having a lot of problems making it work with the Bond Bridge (I bought it through SelectBlinds, so it’s technically the SelectConnect bridge).
First problem is that the connect code 765537 actually has three variants when adding a new device. See attached screenshot. Which one should I pick?
Second problem is it seems that none of those three options work! When the app test me to test communication by sending an opening or closing command, my shades don’t react.
I managed to use the “record command” feature in the app and I think I narrowed down the possible protocols to BY-305 and BF-305 (with a bit of reading on the internet). But I’m not sure. This leads to the third problem, which is that they seem to be able to open and close my shades, but the stop button down work!
My pleated shades from Selectblinds uses the BOFU motor. I had to pair the blind to the bridge using the pairing button on the motor. I selected the BOFU in the list for pairing, on mine it was the first selection, not the TDBU.
My remote is the BY-305, it is a 5 channel remote.
I still have occasional issues with the preset position. If youput the blind in a group by itself a preset button appears.
Yes, I seem to have a similar experience. It turns out to all be a signal strength problem. Once I moved the bridge to the same room, things were pairing correctly.
In the attached image, you see the bridge (with its blue lights) located in a hallway that is very central in the house. In the same picture, you see my “window” shades about 15 ft away. You can see the antenna on the shades is sticking as far out as possible. But the bridge does not work even at this distance!
My house is only 1200 sq ft, which is well within the bridge’s spec coverage of 2500 sq ft. By comparison, the physical remote control works from across the house, at least twice or three times the distance of the bridge!
I’m wondering if I have a defective bridge! Is there a way to verify the RF power it is emitting?
Both sales and support have ignored this observation of the limited range issue despite my trying to follow up for a couple of weeks now. It’s disappointing since I was hoping to outfit the rest of the house with motorized blinds.
Hey, @tinkerdad
I’ve found the very same thing with Roman shades and Bond Bridge. The remote tends to work perfectly because it’s prepaired at the factory, but the problem arises when syncing up with Bond or SelectConnect. The various codes you find (such as the 765537 varieties) are essentially protocol choices, and not all of them will talk correctly to each motor. That’s why you’re finding partial control — open and close functional, but not the stop functionality.
For me, re-recording the signal in the Bond app did work, but it took a couple of attempts because sometimes the remote sends slightly different pulses. If all else fails, it’s usually because the shade motors are working on a proprietary signal that Bond hasn’t completely replicated yet. Sometimes a firmware update will sort this out, so it’s worth trying.
When I installed motorized shades, I received some excellent advice from Homestead, FL’s Homes Direct Blinds and their staff sorted out a similar compatibility problem.
Hey, @tinkerdad
I had the same issue when attempting to pair my Roman Shades with the Bond Bridge. The pre-programmed codes didn’t work for me either, so what I did was use the record command feature on each button separately. It’s a little slower to pair up, but once recorded, the shades responded perfectly.
For the stop button, I also find it doesn’t always work. Some shade remotes send only “up” and “down” commands, so the stop signal isn’t understood. A simple trick is to press the opposite direction button (for instance, “up” while it’s coming down) and it will stop immediately.
If none of these repairs resolve, a call to SelectBlinds support may be the best course of action, as they can verify which protocol your specific remote uses.
I also experienced something similar when installing motorized shades in my house and learned a great deal testing step by step. The second time, when upgrading, I used a local business named DBS Window Treatments (USA) and had a nice experience with their customer service and products — just sharing in case it assists someone seeking a smoother installation.
Hey, @tinkerdad
I’ve set up a few SelectBlinds motors with Bond/SelectConnect and they can be tricky. The main issue is that the bridge doesn’t always recognize the exact RF protocol your remote is using, which is why the three variants under that code don’t work. Recording each button individually (up, down, stop) usually gets better results than relying on the preset device codes.
If the stop function continues to refuse, it’s usually because the remote sends “stop” as a toggle and not as a separate command. A workaround is assigning stop to either the pause function in the Bond app or copying open/close until you find a middle point.
If possible, verify the motor spec from SelectBlinds — whether it’s 433MHz or 315MHz really matters. From CV Floors & Blinds, we’ve experienced it so many times that we’ll generally recommend future-proofing with motors that offer direct smart home compatibility (Z-Wave, Zigbee, or Wi-Fi), as they pair more seamlessly without these remote idiosyncrasies.
Hi, (@tinkerdad )
I also had this issue when configuring Select Blinds blinds with the Bond Bridge. The problem is typically with the RF protocol — not every remote works with the same protocol, hence why the app lists different variants.
Couple of things that worked for me:
Utilize the “Record Command” feature rather than depending on the preconfigured device codes. That way the Bond app will be learning the precise signal from your remote.
For the stop function, attempt to record that button alone. Occasionally the auto-detected code will not catch it correctly.
Make sure your remote is turned to the correct channel prior to recording — or it will not sync.
If those don’t work, it might be a firmware conflict between your Select Connect bridge and your shade’s motor. Calling Select Blinds support while knowing the exact motor type (BY-305 vs BF-305) can be a time-saver.
For future installations, others opt for custom shutters or motorized shades from local companies (e.g., Colorado Shutters in Denver) because they can verify compatibility ahead of time.
Range of the Bond Bridge is determined by its output transmit power (which is engineered to be just under the legal limit for USA region) and by the receive sensitivity of the motor, which varies significantly between motor makes and models. For good receivers the coverage is indeed 2500 sq ft. — That’s about as much as I can share on the subject.
I agree with all your points except the hypothesis that my particular problem is dependent on the receiver design/sensitivity.
The OEM remotes must (and do) also comply to FCC output power regulations. Therefore, I can only assume that the Bond and the OEM remotes both emit about the same power, ie just under the legal limit.
However, the OEM remotes seem to work better ie it works at more than 15 ft away. And they are battery operated! It seems like a low bar for the Bond Bridge to beat! This is the disappointing thing for me.
The Bond Bridge is probably doing what it is spec’ed to do with regard to transmit power, I assume.
In my experience, the shade motors (receivers) are the biggest issue and reliability can be all over the place, due to the variance in receiver sensitivity & antennas. Our home has four shades from SelectBlinds, all some kind of roller blind. The initial two came with a dangling USB-A connector for charging and a stub of wire as the so-called “antenna.” The most recent two came with USB-C built in for charging and no external antenna–maybe it’s part of the receiver circuit board or at least it’s in a fixed location somewhere inside that frame! For the “stub of wire” antennas, I actually ended up taping one to the window glass, just to keep it hanging free of the metal around the head of the shade. At these frequencies, being in the clear matters very much.
My Bond Bridge is on top of our kitchen cabinets, sitting on a chunk of 2x4” lumber, rather central to the home and it literally took me days to find a suitable location where all four shades would respond to the hub! Moving is just inches in any direction would affect the results. Not only is signal attenuation due to surrounding objects, walls, insulation, metal stuff in the walls (read: pipes, wiring, air ducts, etc.), but also to multi-path signals reflections.
Just my experience, should it be useful to anyone…
Have you compared the performance of the Bond to the OEM remotes? I am well aware that the Bond is very finicky. If my experience with the OEM remotes were the same, I wouldn’t be disappointed. But that is not the case!
No, other than noting if I leave the room with the remote it might work and it might not the further I get from the target blind. I think the two newer remotes work better than the original two–probably a 3-4 year difference in when they were purchased.
That’s a great suggestion, @tinkerdad. I’ll try some experiments in the upcoming days and see what I can learn…
Someplace I read the Pro version has a “more powerful range.” Don’t know if that’s true or if it even can be true, given the nature of Part 15 devices. Yet, the bond website states the range of the original Bridge is 2500 sq. ft. and the Pro is 3500. Could that be true? The implication is either more output from the onboard radio or a better internal antenna…
My unscientific tests agree with yours. Carrying a remote for any shade to the other end of the house–roughly twice the distance from the Bond Bridge to said shade–shows the remote works just fine. Yet the Bond Bridge located in the middle of the house between the shades on ether end required a lot of positional experiments to make it work on all shades.
Thank you for posting your results! I feel somewhat vindicated that I’m not mischaracterizing the situation.
But I was pretty sure because I actually ended up buying a second Bond in order to cover the shades in a second room (even though I really shouldn’t need to based on the coverage claims).
It’s too late for us since we’ve sunk costs into the wireless shades, but perhaps this thread will guide future buyers. My experience has been disappointing. No well-reasoned technical explanation has been forthcoming to justify how a hardwired, app-enabled transmitter has poorer performance than a coin-cell operated handheld remote.
For some reason, your post was blocked for a while and I only noticed the content was available about a month after the post.
Your observations and detailed workarounds are appreciated! I would be interested in trying them out when I have time. But realistically, our household has reached a new, downgraded expectation of what the Bond can actually do and we’ve moved on from it.
In hindsight, going with the modern communication protocols you mentioned would have been a much better route.
For the “stub of wire” antennas, I actually ended up taping one to the window glass, just to keep it hanging free of the metal around the head of the shade. At these frequencies, being in the clear matters very much.
