I would like to know if anyone can confirm or give me their experience(s) with SmartWings Motorized Blackout 'Levitate' Cellular Shades Nowa with my Hubitat C8-Pro Hub, with and without Smartwings' newest matter thread motor option. I really like Smartwings 'Levitate' brand for the 'top/bottom' 'up/down' dual functionality of their Levitate blackout cellular shades, but that might not be my only option to consider for blackout cellular top/bottom movable shades. The Hubitat 'List of Compatible Devices' specifies HE compatible with 'SmartWings Matter Shade' but does not specifically note the 'Levitate' brand that has the dual top/bottom up/down functionality.
Smartwings 'Levitate' brand' options for remote automation motor control are:
Smartwing's standard motor which can only be controlled via their remote. To achieve smart control, one needs to purchase Smartwings Smart Link Pro pictured below for integration/automation. Smartwings lists SmartThings, Alexa and IFTTT on their graphic so I am guessing that there is a HE supported/user developed compatible driver to connect and control, but the HE driver would have to allow the dual top/bottom up/down controls I desire, not just bottom shade control. The SmartLinkPro is $149 which I wonder why I need this device since I have a Hubitat Hub with Zigbee/Z-Wave/Matter? Is the Smart Link Pro which is ethernet connected SmartLinkPro like a 'bond' IR bridge or bluetooth controller? If you have one of these Smart Link Pro devices, please comment below.
Smartwing's Levitate brand latest 'matter over thread' motor option. As I understand it, from talking with Smartwings technical support, the current 1st generation Levitate 'matter' motor is only ready for integration with:
Apple: (Compatible devices include the HomePod (2nd generation), HomePod mini, and Apple TV 4K (2nd generation/3rd generation 128 GB). HomePod (1st generation) and Apple TV (1st generation) do not support these matter motors.)
Amazon: A 2024 Echo Hub, Echo Plus 2nd Gen, Echo Show 2nd Gen, Echo Studio, Echo Show 10, Echo 4th Gen (the spec of the Echo has to have a built-in Zigbee module). as a primary controller. I inquired about why Hubitat with matter compatibility would not be an option for direct connection, but it seemed like Levitate's 1st gen matter motor might not have the full compatibility for Hubitat to act as a primary controller and/or have the ability to have the dual top/bottom control. Smartwings said they had not tested on Hubitat.
I have read through many of the Hubitat Community threads on Smartwings and HE matter and I still get different opinions from whether or not Hubitat could control the dual top/bottom Levitate shades using their matter motor.
If there are other purchasing options for controlling dual control cellular blackout shades from Hubitat, please let me know.
It appears that Smartwings matter is HE compatible according to the 'List of Compatible Devices' with 'SmartWings Matter Shade' but the 'List of Compatible Devices' does not specifically note the 'Levitate' brand that has the dual top/bottom up/down functionality. Smartwings has several brands and I don't know if all their models are "HE Matter Compatible".
Thank you for helping and appreciate all you create and support for home automation!
I have one of the smartwings cellular shades that you speak of. At present Hubitat does not have a standard driver that supports two motors, but there is a workaround. More importantly for me, I am having connection problems between Hubitat and my thread border router, the Alexa echo 4th edition. It may be fine with a different thread border router.
I was beginning to think I was the only Smartwings "potential' user of the matter motors.
I saw your other Hubitat Community thread where you are getting help from others about connecting your matter shades using a workaround driver with separate child devices for dual control. I read that you are currently only using Alexa for routines since the Alexa → Hubitat seems to be missing currently.
A Few Questions:
Can you re-confirm that you purchased the SmartWings Motorized Blackout Levitate Cellular Shades Nowa which has two motors? Reason why I ask is that Smartwings support stated that not all their brands have the same matter motors with different firmware. This 'Levitate' brand of dual motor cellular shades with their matter motor is very new (1-2 weeks) according to Smartwings technical support staff . They recommended that I wait a few more months till another matter firmware version is released for better integration with Hubitat.
After my Smartwings purchase, which I am waiting a month or so to see what feedback I get from you, others or Hubitat Support, I guess I will have to either:
Use my Apple iPhone 13 with matter support in iOS 16 or later to scan the Smartwings matter setup code on each motor and iOS will return a pairing code and provision the accessory onto Wi-Fi or Thread. I can then proceed to set up its administrator fabric on the accessory via IP using the pairing code.
Yes, I have the Nowa Levitate shade with 2 motors. For now I only have a single shade, but it is working well enough that I will be buying 5 more very soon. I only bought the one to try it out. I find the matter/thread information online to be incomplete, confusing and contradictory.
You need a thread border router to connect with your shade. I am using an Amazon Alexa Echo 4th Edition. Other devices are also possible, but I have no experience with those. You use your phone to guide the connection process, but you cannot connect without a thread border router.
I bought a brand new Alexa. The connection process was very frustrating. It appears to be straight forward, but the smartwings would not connect for about 18 hours. Then, voila, it worked. There is no way to see what is going on or why it isn’t connecting, and no detailed error information. Others online have complained of the same thing, and others have suspected that the problem is some sort of software update issue with the new Alexa. I cannot confirm that.
I was able to connect Hubitat with the shades. But several hours later Hubitat disconnected. I fought with this problem for a few hours, trying various device reboots, driver changes, device reinstalls, etc and nothing has worked for me to restore the connection. I moved my control routines into Alexa, and it is working fine. I will not get back to this for awhile. I think Hubitat and/or Alexa need some time to clean up some software things before I’m willing to put more time into this.
So, in summary, I think the shades are fine, and they work with Alexa, but for now Alexa and Hubitat are not playing nice with each other.
I wish you the best of luck that the Smartwings → HE connection comes back. Certainly one can do some basic home automation and scheduling of the shades with Alex, but not having the HE integration is a deal breaker for me now.
You are on the bleeding edge. I had a gut feeling that 'matter using thread' would not be a as much of a smooth integration as the multiple announcements we read from the various providers of the architecture into their devices/routers. It will get better after a few generations of updates.
I do like the idea that at some point in the future, matter over thread will eventually replace the clunkiness of Z-Wave and Zigbee protocols, device drivers, etc. But for now, those are 'true & tested' household protocols that are working seemlessly in my 100+ device large household.
I would have elected for Zigbee or Z-Wave shades, but I like the dual motors of the 'Levitate' brand blinds and matter over thread is the only option that allows some option of home automation with that manufacturer. I will need a separate thread border router as you pointed out, which I'am not convinced that Amazon Echo or Apple Home is the way for me to go. Amazon's Echos are a closed device for troubleshooting/debugging and Amazon Technical support is less than minimal for matter over thread.
I am going to delay this window shade endeaver for the bedroom 3 windows until a clear winner emerges in the matter powered cellular dual motor shades and the 'thread border router' areas. I think that HE matter will be robust enough to integrate with matter, especially as more of their customer base starts purchasing matter enabled devices.
Again, thanks for your willingness to share your experiences and go before so many of us that are watching through your trials.
