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DIY for Homeowners

7 Reasons I Love and Hate IKEA Smart Blinds

1/27/2021

7 Comments

 
text by Vicki     Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! ​
Steph has had a standard roller shade in the office for a long time. It's served well to darken the room and block the sun, but it's always been a bit temperamental.

More than once, it has unexpectedly rolled itself up tight to the ceiling necessitating a stool to get it back down into place!

Or, despite coaxing it to roll back up, it stubbornly refuses to budge! All, first world problems we know, but there had to be a better solution. 

Steph had been researching motorized options when she came across an Ikea version. The price was right and the width was almost right so she decided to give it a try.

​Follow along as she installs the new shade and reviews what she likes and dislikes. 

Materials/Tools:


  • IKEA FYRTUR Blackout roller blind, wireless/battery operated gray 48x76 ¾ " (IKEA)

  • IKEA TRÅDFRI Gateway (IKEA)

1. The Price

The Ikea FYRTUR blackout roller blind shade is reasonably price for a motorized shade.
The first "love" is the price of this shade. At $179 it was the most reasonably priced one Steph found through her research. Plus, delivery was only $10. Much easier than making a trip to Ikea in person!

2. Easy Install

Installing the FYRTUR Ikea blackout roller blind.
Like many of Ikea's products, installation could not have been much easier. 

Steph started by removing the old shade.

Trying out where to place the new Ikea motorized shade.
We were not sure where we wanted to hang it so we tried out a couple of scenarios.

We decided right above the window would be best. That way, it would be easy to reach and replace the battery without having to get out a step stool.
Adding the Ikea shade brackets to the wall.
The installation only required that these two brackets be screwed into place!
The battery for the shade can be recharged.
The rechargeable battery goes here.
The battery goes in the top of the blind next to the manual up down buttons.
Here the battery is put into place.

3. Simple Remote

The FYRTUR blackout blind is control via a remote.
It doesn't get much easier than a two button remote!

The remote can be stored on a wall via the included magnetic base. 

There are three ways to control the shade including the remote, the two buttons to the left of the battery compartment or with the separately priced TRADFRI gateway (see pic below) to be able to use your phone. 
Order the TRADFRI gateway to use smart products including the FYRTUR blackout blind.

4. It Works!

The FYRTUR blackout roller blind move ups and down smoothly.
No learning curve, no weird complicated set up--it just WORKS!

5. Ikea Customer Service

Ikea has very responsive customer service.
Initially, there was an issue which Steph brought to the attention of customer service. They responded quickly with a new set of components. Ultimately, Steph was able to troubleshoot the problem and the new parts were not needed.

6. Limited Manual :(

The Ikea manual for the shade would benefit from a little troubleshooting information.
Anyone who has ever put together something from Ikea knows the manuals are very succinct! Unfortunately, a bit more information could have easily eliminated Steph's call to customer service. 

She ended up researching the issue she was having on a Reddit thread to find the solution. 

Ikea could easily add a troubleshooting section in the manual or at least add a notation to the product page about known issues. 

7. Limited Sizes :(

The FYRUR blind we installed was the widest they sell at 48 inches.
This is the widest, at 48 inches, that Ikea sells. It works in this window, but there is gapping on each side. We'd like to see Ikea offer more sizes.
The battery comes with the charging cable.
This is the battery. It is rechargeable using the charging cable included with the shade. The shade has been in operation, at this writing, for three months and has not needed to be recharged.
The Ikea signal repeater is included with the FYRTUR blind.
The blind comes prepared with the remote and signal repeater which should be plugged in no more than 32 feet from the blind. The repeater is seen in this picture below the Wyze Dog Cam!
We have been enjoying the convenience of this remote control shade. This office gets a lot of light throughout the day and it's nice now to be able to stop the shade midway to control the amount of light that streams in.

I am wondering why Ikea calls this a blind. I would call it a shade as I think blinds are window coverings with slats. Interesting. What do you think? Is this a blind or a shade?!
​

Please note: This is not a sponsored post.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don't claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

FYI: Affiliate links are being used on this page. Purchasing via these links help support MDP!

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7 Comments
Loretta Champagne
2/18/2021 11:58:20 am

Yep, its a shade! I have been wanting one for my studio. Thinking about making it myself, you know getting all artsy LOL. Nice job ladies.

Reply
Steph
2/22/2021 09:34:06 am

Nice! Would love to see what you make!

Reply
Bella Flowers link
3/7/2021 09:47:43 am

Well she’s hanging up the IKEA shade she says that she had one problem that she would list below and how she fixed it but I don’t see it anywhere. Could you please tell me where the solution is if I run into this problem also, thank you

Reply
Steph
3/7/2021 10:47:25 am

I accidentally unpaired the remote and couldn't get it paired again. This fix worked that I found on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/tradfri/comments/dk7ibl/fyrtur_blinds_repairing_without_a_gateway/

Reply
Sean
5/31/2021 07:58:49 pm

I’ve experienced a high failure rate. Out of 20, 5 had to be returned (then purchase a replacement) Basically, they stop responding. Did the limited troubleshooting, e.g. switch batteries, restart the hub, reassign it to the up/down buttons, etc. I believe the motors start dragging and get stuck. Manually pulling down on the shade while pressing the down button works once in a while, but eventually it’s back to the store. I have two that currently need replacing, bringing the total to 7 out of 20 in a 2 year time. Customer support can’t help. They have no tech support at all. Everything else about them is great for the money.

Reply
Steph
6/1/2021 08:29:11 am

Oh wow. Thanks for sharing! I only have the one and hadn't had any issues, just had the recharge the battery once so far. Mine is 7 months old.

Reply
Trish
9/2/2021 10:55:26 am

I’ve also had 3 fails so far out of 10 bought 2 years ago. First one returned successfully but none in stock so no replacement, further 2 failed and long story but IKEA have been very unhelpful. So left with a credit for 1 and 2 broken blinds. Won’t buy again.

Reply



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