I have some Yoolax (some Chinese brand) window shades from Amazon. They integrate okay with SmartThings, but I wanted more reliable control since the Zigbee motor doesn’t always respond to commands. The remote it comes with is an A-OK AC-140 (link below). It works reliably 100% of the time. It says it’s 433.92MHz on the back.
I bought a Bond Bridge and it learned the commands right away. The problem is that when I replay them, they work like 15% of the time. I have to send the commands numerous times for it to go. I tried manually changing the carrier frequency from 433.94 (which was apparently the default) to exactly 433.92 and various other frequencies from 433.90 to 433.95 but it may no difference until I went outside that range and then it just didn’t work at all.
The bridge is just a few feet away from the shades. The remote works just about anywhere in the house.
Question for Bond staff: Is it possible this is some sort of rolling code that doesn’t have that many variations?
@thx1200: are you able to determine with precision if the ~15% of the time corresponds to any repeatable pattern? As in, once a command works once, it takes 9 failed command attempts, and then on the 10th attempt, it works again?
There is no discernible pattern. It may work 3-4 times in a row, then not work 10 times in a row. Typically it works then there’s between 2-7 not working presses in my testing. If it was “every fifth press” that would be something interesting to go on, but unfortunately that doesn’t’ appear to be the case.
I should clarify too because I worded it poorly in the original post, when the Zigbee motor is connected, it is 100% reliable, but it’s just that it drops connection after some time (few days to a week) and the only way to get it to work again is to delete it and pair it again. It’s not a matter of moving it closer to the hub.
That doesn’t really apply to this case where the RF signal sporadically doesn’t work, but I didn’t want to paint the picture that the motor is just unreliable itself. The RF remote and the Zigbee mode work well, but the Zigbee won’t stay connected for some reason, which is why I thought Bond might be a great option (plus other integrations I can do with Bond).
“Motor & Smart Home: Durable quality motor, wireless, rechargeable (match our solar panel),remote control(RF433.92MHz,battery CR2450/3V), compatible with Alexa( if you have our remote control and a Broadlink or BOND’s hub at home).”
This is the first time we are aware of this brand marketing compatibility with Bond Bridge. – We’ve received one other support inquiry about unreliability of control of Yoolax shade motors, so there’s a pattern here.
@thx1200: You say that the RF remote works well, so that leads me to believe that it is not a problem with the motor receiver itself, but rather a problem with the raw recording of this remote control protocol. – We will need to add it to our “one click” database and then the control signal will be indistinguishable from the remote control.
This may take a few weeks as we need to contact the brand to obtain samples and then do the implementation. – But if you’re willing @thx1200 to hold onto the Bridge unit while we implement, you could test it out. Did you buy the Bond Bridge via our website? If so, no worries about return period. If you’re not happy with the integration we will still accept the return.
UPDATE: We actually just implemented this protocol, and I’ve pushed a beta firmware available now via the Bond Home Beta app, to be released early next week for all users.
I don’t want to see you return your unit, @thx1200 !
Wow that was fast. I bought a referb unit off Amazon so I have 30 days, so I have a week left. I’m willing to give it a shot, for sure, this is amazing customer service. How do I install the beta firmware? I saw elsewhere in the forums we need the Bond Home Beta app and I have Bond Home but don’t see a beta option anywhere.
Got the beta installed and upgraded the firmware. Confirmed the version 2.14.9. Unfortunately, it behaves the same. If anything, it’s less reliable (but that may just be coincidence). It takes 10-15 presses to activate, then it will seem to work maybe 2-3 button presses (close/open) then nothing will work like 20 times in a row. It’s really sporadic. The actual remote works 100% of the time. The Bond is about 8 feet away from the shades.
I purchased a Yoolax motorized blind a little more than a month ago. I had to add and delete the commands a couple of times do get it working just right (about 15 minutes). Scheduling took a couple of tries also, but now is working fine. Also have gone through the same process with blinds from SelectBlinds. I am not sure as to the possibility of a proximity issue. Our home is a little more than 3100 feet and I am controlling an exterior pond pump, various ceiling fans inside and out, attic fan, as well as the described blinds. The Bond is not currently in a central location.
Interesting, i’ve added and removed commands maybe two or three dozen times at this point. Maybe my Bond is defective? Unfortunately, I don’t have any other RF remotes/devices to test on.
@jarockford1959 - thanks for chiming in, Jim! were you using the beta firmware, or just what is considered “up to date” for the public firmwares via the default apps?
When I performed this I was using V2.14.3 and the Beta for scheduling. I just updated to the current version this morning. I will let you know if there are any issues.
I’m definitely open to trying more things, if anybody has ideas. I just checked right now have one week left before I have to return the item. I was wrong previously when I said I have a week left, I had two.
I got it off Amazon as I stated as a refurbished unit and the seller was Olibra LLC CR - not sure if this changes anything as far as opportunities to return/repair for an extended window. I’m guessing it’s just a third party seller.
I just set this up to use with my Yoolax blinds and it seems to be working okay. One thing I noticed is that the blinds get flakey when the battery is low. Try charging them up and see if that helps.
An update on this - I can reliably open and close the yoolax RF shades using the bond app. When I schedule opening using the Rule Machine it is very unreliable, even with the bond sitting 8 feet away. Has anyone else seen this?
Sdougall, are you using the Beta app or the latest released app? I’m thinking that Yoolax might be the same as used in SelectBlinds, and I’m still having a problem getting my SelectBlinds to reliably work. I haven’t downloaded the lastest iOS beta app, but I’ll do so in the next few days.
