I recently upgraded my master bedroom with seven IKEA smart blinds, each equipped with a button and a Zigbee extender. The setup has been a journey of discovery, and I’d love to share my experiences and insights with the community.
Initially, everything worked seamlessly. The blinds operated smoothly, and the buttons were programmed to perform various functions. However, after about six months, I noticed an issue with the battery life of the buttons. They started dying faster than expected, even with high-quality batteries. This was puzzling, as the repeaters seemed to play a role in the problem.
After some research, I realized that the placement of the repeaters might be affecting the battery life. Moving some of them closer to the hub improved the situation, but the problem persisted with the buttons that were further away. I also encountered an unexpected issue where one of the buttons reversed its up and down functions after re-adding it to SmartThings. This led me to wonder if there was a firmware update or a configuration setting I might have missed.
I’d love to hear from others who might have experienced similar issues or have tips on optimizing battery life for these devices. Have you found a solution to the button reversal problem? Any insights into adjusting the polling frequency or improving the range of the repeaters would be greatly appreciated.
This project has been a fantastic learning experience, and I’m excited to continue refining my setup. Let’s keep the conversation going and help each other make the most of our smart home devices!