OmniaBlinds - Custom, Simple Smart Blinds Made For You!
Happy Holidays!
In the holiday spirit, we have a new product that was gifted by OmniaBlinds, yes Blinds!
Over the last week, I have been testing out smart blinds by the Swedish company and I'm never looking back! Made to fit blinds with the ability to choose fabrics and have great smart control of 1 or 30 blinds!
Ordering,
The process of ordering your blinds is simple! Be sure to measure your windows correctly before ordering, to help OmniaBlinds offer a easy quick guide to make sure your new blinds fit perfectly.
Start by measure the depth of your window frame to make sure the shade will fit. You will need a frame depth of at least 8 cm / 3.15 inches for a snug-fitting.
Measure the width of the window on three points as shown in picture 1. Choose the smallest measurement of the three and write it down, for example, "width 100,5 cm / 39,57 inches. The fabric is 4 cm / 1.58 inches narrower than your total width measurement.
Measure the drop or height of the window on three points as shown in picture 2. Use the largest measurement of the three and write it down, for example, 172 cm / 67,72 inches. If that would be your measurement you choose the 185 cm drop/height when ordering your motorized roller shade.
DEDUCT 0,5 cm / 0,2 inches from the exact measurement so that the shade will fit your window, operate as intended and that you are able to install it correctly. For example your exact width from step 2 was 100,5 cm you type in 100,5 cm - 0,5 cm = 100 cm when you place the order.
Double-check that your measurements follow the Width by Height/Drop format.
Once you have your measurements you can start the process of choosing your binds. Omnia offers both blackout and transparent fabrics with many colour and fabric options for both styles. I personally went with a white fabric blackout blind as it fits the room aesthetic and if you're unsure you can request a free sample of some fabrics before you make your order. The biggest width is 259cm and the drop is 285cm so they will fit a wide range of windows!
Price and Smart control options
The blinds start at $260 with standard pull control, but the price will vary depending on size and fabric you choose. For remote control, Omnia offers a 1 channel remote for $29 with functions to open, close and stop the blind mid-run. They also offer remotes with options to control multiple blinds if you have multiple windows.
If you are looking for Smart Control and hopefully that is why you are here then the purchase of the Motion Hub mini is needed. The hub cost $189 and gives you access to control up to 30 blinds simultaneously, perfect for a full house installation. The Hub gives you access to the app Motion on your smartphone which is where you can set up your blinds and connect them to Siri Shortcuts, Google Home, Alexa and IFTTT. While the Blinds don't natively support HomeKit, I did manage to find a workaround but found it to be a little buggy but more on that later.
Setup
The blinds come well packed in a double tube box to make sure nothing is damaged during shipping. The blind comes with 2 brackets to screw into your wall and they can be wall and ceiling mounted depending on your setup.
The brackets have a quick release feature made for charging the blinds when needed. If you have a large installation I would defiantly recommend looking for Micro USB solar panels or a run a cable system to each blind if installing in a new home. I do recommend giving a full charge on each blind before installing to get the maximum usage. While I don't have an exact figure on battery life, I've been using the blinds for a week and started at 100% and have only dropped 3% unusual usage for testing.
Without smart control, setting the open and closed position of your blinds is easy. Pair the remote by pressing the button on the blind to start the process, the blinds will start jittering, press down on the remote until you reach your desired length and press the middle button to stop the blind. Holding down the middle and up button on the remote will set the position. now repeat this step for closing the blind and press the button again to stop the setup.
If you have the smart hub then the setup is a little easier. First, download the Motion app for the app store of your choice. It will ask you to create an account and add the wifi bridge. Once in the app, you will be able to add your blind by pressing the pair button on the blind. Once the bridge picks it up, you'll be promoted the set the drop of your blinds and place them in a room. The setup is so quick and simple and I had zero issues.
Smart Control
OmniaBlind work with Siri Shortcuts, Google, Alexa and IFTTT. Alexa and Google are very simple to set up just by linking your Moton account and downloading the skill. Siri Shortcuts is available for iOS devices, but keep in mind if you want to control your blinds via a HomePod you will need to enable "Personal Request" for the HomePod to get the shortcut from your phone;
- Go to the Home App
- Go to Home settings
- Tap persons
- Enable personal request
*A quick note with Siri Shortcuts and home automation, because the command runs from the phone, each person will have to have the shortcut set up on their phone and have the motion app in order to control the blinds through Siri.
Voice commands are basic and easy to use.
"Alexa, open blind"
"Hey Siri, close blind"
"Okay Google, set blind to 50%"
In the Motion App is where you can set timers and scenes. This will allow you to open or close selected blinds at a set time of day or if you need a countdown to wake up. With Siri Shortcuts you'll have to set an open and closed scene for Siri to collect the information.
Control is easy and simple to use. I have my blinds set in Shortcuts for my morning and evening routines. This allows me to control my home with HomeKit and have
my blinds open. I'll leave an example of my Shortcuts app so you get an idea!
Alexa and Google both allow you to make routines within their native apps and can add to your routines. Functions work the same and reliability A grade and the blinds never failed in testing.
HomeKit + IFTTT
I love HomeKit and I wish for a full HomeKit home one day but in the meantime, I find workarounds. IFTTT isn't my best friend at the moment with its new subscription service but I was able to add a button into the Home app using Webhooks and Connector. This made the blind show up in HomeKit as a button instead of a blind and was very temperamental. If you are interested in having a look I recommend looking at Shane Whatley's video here. The process is the same for OmniaBlinds, but again I found it buggy.
Pros
- Easy setup
- Great Smart control
- Installation and quick release for charging
- High-quality material with full blackout options
- Great for Large installations
- Remote and pull tab
- Customer service
- App control is clean and tidy
- Fast shipping
- Made to order fit
Cons
- No HomeKit support (this would be a great option or a Homebirdge plugin)
- Bridge price is a little high for a smaller order
Overall experience
I have fallen in love with OmniaBlinds and will most likely be installing them into my next home. Just from the easy guides on the website to installation it was all a breeze. Scenes and timers work as expected and I haven't experienced any dropouts. The hub mini has a 20-meter range, so placing it on the other side of your home shouldn't be a problem. I see OmniaBlinds perfect for people who are deep into smart home automation or for homes with hard to reach windows.
I would give OmniaBlinds a 9/10 for satisfaction on the overall product, usability and features!
Link to the website is here
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