Yoolax Customized Motorized Outdoor Shades, Smart Blinds Compatible with Alexa Google, Remote Control Waterproof Blinds for Patio Porch Windows Outside (3% Openness Beige)

I installed this in the vestibule of my front entryway to protect the front door from getting blasted by the sun in the late afternoon. The door is chestnut and I want it to look nice for the long haul. So far for 12 years I have had to lightly sand and recoat the varnish every year. I am getting tired of that routine and I think this shade will allow me to pare that back to maybe once every three years.My interactions with email customer service were informative and prompt. The product installed easily (I didn't install the wire guides or magnetic clips though because it is dead calm there - hence the heat build up issue I have in that vestibule) and it is performing well. I can still see through the front door windows because the fabric allows some light transmission but protects from almost all of the blazing sun. Would recommend.

The media could not be loaded. I am SO impressed with these outdoor shades!!I have now purchased eight indoor shades, and for outdoor shades from Yoolax.I am really impressed with the ease of pairing this with Alexa and how well they work with voice control. I can lower them 10%, 50% or all the way I ordered the whitest shades I could and lined them up next to each other to cover a large panoramic screen, it blocks the sun just perfectly without entirely blocking the view.Their customer service is awesome and they came totally perfect to the half inch of what I ordered. These are a totally different material than my indoor shades, and they are lightweight, match my cage, perfectly, and are totally hidden when rolled all the way up.I highly recommend you lax. The value cannot be beat.

The media could not be loaded. Seemingly very good quality and great customer service. Purchased one as a trial and then two more for glare and heat reduction in my living room.Instructions for installation was very specific and easy to follow. The remote-not so much. In fact, my only problem was with the original remote. Called a lightwhirl by Yoolax and supposedly controls up to 9 shades. Instructions for its use loses something in translation and was difficult to follow. Mine would not function after a couple of days. Customer service provided a much more intuitive remote that works flawlessly. Thanks Simon.I ordered shades with Zigbee motor and solar panels for each. The solar panels are designed to clip on the front side of the housing and are equipped with a short cable. I bought USB C extension cables so I could relocate at bottom of window maximizing sun exposure. Cables are tucked in behind window frame and not visible in attached video.Window height inside is19' and for that reason, plus my age(82), I chose outside application which I could access without using a ladder. I can access the roof from an adjacent window.The shades are a little pricey but they do provide exactly what I was looking for and I recommend them completely.

Update Dec 2022:Still happy with the outdoor blinds and have ordered some of their interior shades as well.I do live in a windy area and have learned a few things I should share with others in similar situations.1) if you are in areas that have wind I highly suggest you use the steel guide wires provided. Even a small wind (<10mph) can easily grab any shade and whip it like a loose sail. Anything stronger and the shade will likely be damaged. It’s nothing about the Yoolax shades. Any unsecured shade would do that.2) make sure the steel wires are taut with minimal slack so the shades won’t get caught by the wind as much. I actually got them cut and attached at the top and adjusted until I got the bottom buckle hanging above my deck about an 1/8th” with the wire tight and screwed them down to pull it tighter and down to the deck. They are definitely tight this way.3) Don’t assume the wires are all you need to keep the shades from having wind-related issues. There are two improvements I’ve made that were easy and help keep things working well below.4) if you have the Zigbee wireless control (there are two white antenna wires coming out of the motor on one end, one is for the remote, one for Zigbee integration with Alexa,…), you need to make sure those wires stay completely clear of the roller at all times. They don’t move with the roller but sit very close to it ( less than 0.5”) and can very easily get caught in it. If that happens, the Zigbee antenna (the thicker of the two) can easily get caught in the roller as it turns and completely pulled out. Zigbee won’t work after that. I had two units have this happen before seeing what was happening. It’s very tempting to just tuck these wires in behind the end cap but chances are it will get caught. Better to drill a small hole in the end cap and fish the wires thru it. That way there’s no way they can get caught in the roller. You’ll probably get a bit better reception on them that way too. Yoolax was good about giving me replacement motors and I suggested they add a barrier of some sort to keep the wires out of the roller or even just clip them safely to something inside the valance. This can happen without wind if you aren’t careful with the wire placement when installing but the wind adds to it happening. When the guide wires are in place, if the wind pushes the shade sideways, it makes the shade slide along the bottom weight bar. There’s only an inch or so of the bar exposed on either side of the shade but the shade can easily shift sideways on the bar and stay there. When this happens and the shade is rolled up, it will close crooked. If it’s crooked toward the end with the antennas, it can grab the wires if they are close at all.5) To keep the bottom bar centered where it should be I drilled a small hole in the bottom bar (in the bottom where you won’t see it) through the shade and locked it in place with a screw. Glue is also another option but I like the mechanical strength of a metal screw. It’s basically invisible but keeps things where they should be no matter what the wind does.You still need to pay attention to closing the blinds when the winds are strong even with these changes as you can still get kinks and folds if the wind catches it as it’s rolling up. The nice part if you’re doing home automation control, you can set up rules to close the shades when there’s no wind.I still strongly recommend the Yoolax shades. They work well, seem durable and look good. But pretty much any outdoor shades will have to deal with wind issues. The main challenge is to protect the antenna wires from getting caught in the roller.By the way these work great to cut down the bright outdoor sunlight but still give you a very nice view from inside during the day. You can’t see thru them from outside in daytime which gives you great privacy. At night, if you have lights on inside, you can see in a bit but it’s still a reasonably good privacy screen even then. Not for bathrooms or other places requiring full privacy but general living areas.—————Love that I can order exact sizes of motorized smart shades. Hanging them was easy with the included brackets and screws. My shade was 73”+ and outdoors so I used all 4 brackets to make sure it was solidly up on the wall.I charged it before hanging it with supplied usb cable. My only complaint is that the charging port and buttons is part of the shade roller and the fabric had wound over them before shipping. At first I thought I had a bad order but saw the remote antenna wires and figured it out. The manual makes it look like the port and controls are more prominent than they are. Let it charge overnight before hanging. The maker was wise to put a small sticker saying “do not cut” on the antenna wires. They look like loose threads that someone might trim off.Where I live has unexpected high winds now and then so I used the side cables to keep it from getting blown to pieces. Not too hard to install, just took some fiddling to get right.I asked the seller if the Zigbee motor reported battery level percentage (so you know when to recharge it). They answered no but I’m happy to say it does report the battery level as any good battery operated smart home device should.I am using this shade with Alexa, a SmartThings hub and HomeSeer automation without any issues.Can’t speak to durability yet as they just went up but the shade material seems sturdy and knocks down the really bright sun well.Cons: these come from China so the manual is pretty basic in explanations and the diagrams hard to see. But they include a lot of instructions to set pretty much everything about the shades if you are willing to wade thru them. Low budget paper, stapled together but ok. I’d rather not pay for better manual materials but the instructions and diagrams could stand improvement.

This outdoor shade is exactly what I was looking for. It’s well made, sturdy, and holds up perfectly against sun and wind. The material feels durable and high-quality — definitely not flimsy or cheap.It works just as it should, providing plenty of shade and making our outdoor space much more comfortable during sunny days. And bonus: it looks great too! Clean, stylish, and adds a nice touch to the patio.

I had problems with the wheel version of the remote, but Yoolax was very attentive and after communicating a few times and trying different things that didn’t solve the problem, they sent a replacement bar remote which works well. The quality of the shades is really great and they look great in the windows.