Graywind Motorized Dual Shades review – easy to install room transforming shades

REVIEW – After several years of use, the blinds and curtains in my living room had definitely seen better days. They were in urgent need of replacement. Fortunately, The Gadgeteer received an opportunity to review customizable motorized shades from Graywind, and I eagerly took the chance. Graywind offers a variety of blinds, and I decided to choose the Dual Shade option, believing it would closely resemble my current blind and curtain setup. Let’s see how the Graywind Motorized Dual Shades performed.

⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $310.99 Base price
Where to buy: Graywind

What is it?

The Graywind Motorized Dual Shades are customizable motorized shades that combine a blackout roller shade with a light-filtering, solar, or sheer roller shade. The front and back shades can be operated independently or together, allowing you to easily switch between privacy, light filtering, or sheer.

What’s included?

• 4 x motorized shades
• 2 x fabric wrapped valances
• 4 x fabric-covered mounting brackets
• 2 x remote controls
• 4 x 78.7″ Type-C charging cables
• 1 x 78.7″ extension cord (optional)
• 2 x mounting hardware packets

Design and features

Before getting into the blinds themselves, I want to tell you about the space they will be going into. I have four windows in my living room, two facing north and two facing west. The windows are very close together, so I decided to go with two larger blinds instead of four smaller ones. I thought that this would look better and make the install easier. Because each blind is covering two windows, I had to opt for the outside mount. The final measurements for the two blinds were 71 1/4″ wide x 58 1/2″ long.

The blinds arrived well packaged, with each set of blinds and accessories in its own box. When you order the blinds, you can customize everything, including size, fabric type, and color. Below is a list of all of the available configurations.

• Front shade fabric
• Back shade fabric
• Front shade hem bar
• Back shade hem bar
• Type of mount (inside or outside)
• Custom width up to 97″
• Custom  height up to 100″
• Type of motor: BLE RF: basic remote and app control, Zigbee Alexa motor: directly works with 7 Alexa devices, Matter: allows you to control your home devices via Alexa, Google, HomeKit, or SmartThings at the same time.
• Remote control 15-channel remote: wall mount or handheld

For my dual shades, I chose the light grey 100% blackout front shade and a sheer white back shade.  If you are unsure about which fabrics to choose, Graywind offers fabric swatches that you can order for assistance. Any swatches you purchase will be fully refunded upon your order.

The fabric on both shades is very nice, and the blinds seem extremely well-made. The blackout shade has a fabric covering on both sides and is 100% light-blocking. The sheer white shade is a light filtering shade that is considered 20% blackout. The mounting brackets and the valance are also fabric-wrapped, which is a nice touch.

You can also select the type of hem bars you want on each shade. For the front blackout shade, I chose the designed weighted bar in white, and for the back shade, I went with a fabric-wrapped hem bar.

The shades are powered by a rechargeable motor. Each motor has a Type-C charging port, an LED indicator light, a reset button, and two small signal receivers.

There are 3 different motor options to choose from. I decided to go with the BLE RF motor. This allows me to control the blinds with either the remote control or the Graywind app.

I also ordered the BLE hub. The Hub adds voice control (Alexa or Google Home) to the blinds. It also enables me to set timers and automations via the Graywind app.

Graywind recommends charging the blinds for over 8 hours before first use. So before installing them, I charged all four blinds overnight. Once fully charged, the blinds can be used for 3-6 months depending on the frequency of use. To make charging the blinds easier, Graywind includes a separate long (78.7″) charging cable for each blind.

Installation

Installing the Graywind Motorized Dual Shades is easy. The user manual provides detailed instructions, or you can watch the installation video on Graywinds’ YouTube channel. As I mentioned earlier, I chose to go with the outside mounting option. All I had to do was install the sturdy metal brackets and then pop each blind into place. The fabric wrapped valance clips onto the top of the brackets and is held in place via small magnets at either end.

Because the blinds are preprogrammed at the factory, I was able to control them with the remote without any further setup required.

Controlling your Graywinds dual shades

Once installed, there are three ways you can control the blinds. You can use the remote control, the Graywind app, or a voice assistant (Alexa or Google Home).

The remote control is a specially designed 15-channel timing remote that’s able to separately & group control up to 15 smart shades. The small triangular remote can be used inside the silicone holder or mounted to a wall using the included hardware. The backlit display shows the time, date, and day of the week as well as the channel number for each blind. The remote is also fully programmable. Below is a list of its functions:

• Clock setting
• Timing setting
• Set favorite position
• Adjust running speed
• Delete the top and bottom limit position
• Set the top and bottom limit positions

The blinds correspond with channels on the remote. The odd-numbered channels, 1 & 3, control the darkening shades, while the even-numbered channels, 2 & 4, control the sheer back shades.

Programming the shades via the remote is a tedious process that requires multiple steps and button presses, which is not ideal. This is where the Graywind app comes into play. The app not only allows you to control the blinds, but it can also be used to program many of the same functions. The app makes programming the blinds easier and faster, especially when it comes to setting up automations and timers, so IMO it’s the perfect companion to the remote. On the positive side, the manual does an excellent job of explaining how to use the remote to program the shades.

Overall, I found the app easy to use, and it has a clean and easy-to-navigate interface. My favorite feature in the app is the window animation, which lets you control each blind. It allows you to set the blind to whatever position you want simply by dragging an arrow icon up and down with your finger. And the small window blind animates to mimic the movement. Below are a few screenshots from the app.

The shades can also be controlled via a voice assistant using Alexa or Google Home. However, you will need to purchase the BLE hub separately.

Setting up the Hub is relatively straightforward, although I encountered an issue when trying to set up timers for the blinds to open and close. I kept getting a gateway error and couldn’t figure out why. After several minutes poking around the app, I found that I needed to go into the BLE Hub settings and set the blinds up in the BLE Sub-Device menu. Once I did that, I was able to set my timers without issue. Please don’t ask me how I figured it out because I still have no idea. The problem here is that there were no instructions to reference, and I was lucky to have stumbled upon the solution. It would be helpful to have more information in the Hub’s user manual beyond just basic setup.

As far as Alexa goes, it was easy to link my Amazon account to the Graywind app. From there, I was able to use Alexa to control the blinds. It works well, but since I already have the remote and the app, I doubt I would use it that often.

Performance

I love my Graywind Dual Shades! They’re easy to install, well-made, look great, and the blinds operate smoothly and quietly. Since installing them, they have worked perfectly. They absolutely transformed my living room in the best way possible.

One of my favorite features is the ability to lower the sheer shades while opening the darkening shades, filling the room with a lot of natural light – something that wasn’t possible with my previous setup.

And because the sheer blinds act similarly to a two-way mirror, I don’t lose any privacy. I can see outside, but passersby can’t see in. And since my windows face different directions, I like being able to remotely change the position of the darkening shades throughout the day as the light changes. No more physically opening and closing blinds or pulling blackout curtains.

My other favorite feature is the ability to set automations and timers with the Graywind app. Currently, I have the darkening shades set to open at 7:45am and close at 12:30am, and they have performed flawlessly each time. And you can even set up an automation to have the blinds open or close based on weather changes. I have yet to try that one out.

Final thoughts

The Graywind Motorized Dual Shades are fabulous. I was surprised by how much they transformed my living room. If you’re in the market for customizable shades, visit the Graywind website to create your own room-transforming shades. You can thank me later.

What I like about the Graywind Motorized Dual Shades

• Easy to install
• Well made
• Easy to use
• Look great
• Multiple ways to control the blinds – remote control, Graywind app, and Alexa
• Being able to control each blind independently
• Ability to set timers and automations

What needs to be improved?

• More detailed instructions for the BLE Hub

Price: $310.99 Base price
Where to buy: Graywind
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Graywind. Graywind did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.

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