We are big fans of motorised blinds here at Just Blinds. The benefits they offer when it comes to convenience and safety make them a really smart addition to your home.
However, we realise that some may be deterred by the ‘technology’. It can be extremely irritating when something goes wrong, and you have no idea how to fix it. At least if problems arise with a manual blind, it will be quite straightforward to work out what the problem is. Motorised blinds are a whole different ball game, right?
Though, in our experience, motorised blinds rarely have faults, we have put together this blog to outline some of the possible problems you could encounter with motorised blinds and how you can fix them! So you don’t need to worry….
Blinds Not Responding To Remote
You’ve had your new motorised blinds for a while now and have been enjoying the ease of controlling light levels in your living room. But one day – shock horror – you’re repeatedly pressing the open/close button on the remote, and nothing is happening! That’s it! They must be broken. And they’re going to cost a fortune to replace. What to do?
First things first – take a few breaths and check the remote batteries! As with all battery-operated equipment, batteries do need replacing at some point. With motorised blinds, this will be perhaps once a year.
If replacing the batteries doesn’t work, it may just be that your remote is malfunctioning and needs replacing. These can easily be replaced to get you back on track.
Finally, if neither of the above, it may be a problem with the motor. This is not such an easy problem to deal with, and we would certainly not suggest carrying out any kind of DIY on your blinds unless you are willing to risk electrocution and possible fire!
Luckily, if you have purchased your blinds from us here at Just Blinds, we offer a 3-year warranty – that’s 2 years more than the industry standard 12 months. So get in touch with us and leave the repairs to our specialists.
Broken Slats
This is not as common in motorised blinds as with manual blinds, simply because of the lack of physical interaction with the blind slats themselves. However, once in a while, you may find that a little person in your household has been playing hide and seek with them, or a pet has spotted something outside and managed to damage or break one of the slats.
But fear not – it’s actually very simple to replace slats on vertical blinds. It’s pretty easy to buy identical slats and simply click them into place. And ta-da! Your blinds have magically been transformed back to their original form.
Phone App Not Working
Motorised blinds are not only controlled with a remote but can also be set up and used with a smart device. So you can adjust your blinds remotely and schedule your blinds to open or close throughout the day automatically.
If you’re a fan of smart home solutions, it’s likely you already have other appliances, such as the fridge, TV or thermostat connected and operated with a voice assistant. With a smartphone app, you can create ‘scenes’ to move or switch on multiple appliances at once. So when you get home from work, you can close the blinds, turn on the tv and switch the lights on all at the same time using a simple voice command.
But once in a while, as with so many of these things, you may encounter problems with the app. More often than not, there will be a simple solution. Updating the app to the latest version should always be your first point of call.
If everything is already up to date, you need to check your connection. Are your blinds set up on the same WiFi network as your phone? Sometimes you may find the old classic of opening and closing the app is all it takes to reset everything and get your blinds moving.
Blinds Juddering As They Are Raised/Lowered
It may be that your remote and phone app are all set up and working perfectly, yet when you try to raise or lower your blinds, they are juddering and vibrating. Not quite the smooth, seamless transition you were hoping for.
Once again, there may be a very simple solution to this problem. First, check if there is any dirt or debris on the railing edges. They may need a simple wipe-down to clear anything causing an obstruction.
Secondly, it may be that the blinds are too light and need more weight added to the bottom bar. This, again is a simple fix – simply contact your installer, and they should be able to get it sorted and get your blinds back on track.
Blind Doesn’t Stop In The Correct Place
If your motorised blinds are not stopping where you want them to, they may need a simple reset to adjust the upper and lower limits. Adjusting the limits will depend on the make of your motorised blinds, but you should be able to find a simple guide either online or in the instruction manual. Once the limits have been set, your blinds will automatically open and close to the points you’ve saved.
Don’t Be Scared
The moral of the story (or blog) is that you don’t need to be scared. Though motorised blinds may feel like a step too far into the realm of technology, they really don’t have to be. After a few days of living with the added convenience of your new motorised blinds, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them.
Most of the problems that arise with motorised blinds are easily solvable, and for those that aren’t, we are here to help. On top of that, you can rest assured that as there is generally no need for physical interaction with your blinds, they are likely to last a whole lot longer than manual blinds.
If you’re having problems with your blinds, you can request a home visit from us, and we’ll see if we can fix it.
