The app constantly drops the shades. Helpfully it tells me “Error. Internal error.” I unplug the MyLink device and plug it back in. The device/app then work, but only once, then the error and the process repeats, endlessly. The layout and functionality of the app are subpar, design you would have seen 10 years ago. I so wished I hadn’t listened to my window treatment people and gone with Lutron instead. This system feels like a rinky dink poor man’s retrofit. I’m very unhappy. UPDATE: I had submitted a support ticket on the Somfy web form online and received no reply, part of the reason I wrote this review. In response to the manufacturer comment on here I sent an email to the address mentioned and received a call back within a day or two. What we learned on that call is that the instructions online for establishing a different network connection for the MyLink are not correct and we had to follow a different procedure. It would help if the instructions online were correct. My system appears to be working now. Updating my rating to 4/5 - please provide your support email on the website or respond to web form requests and please update your instructions for the myLink.
Integrates very well with Alexa. I have 6 shades connected that I can raise, lower, or stop with 3 words! Plus I have the scenes embedded in Alexa routines, “Alexa, movie time”... tv on, lights dim, shades down... awesome. BUT, saving my remote programming was tricky. I would go through the steps to program certain shades, save the channel settings, and would NOT get the desired shade to respond. Weird combinations of shades would be linked that I didn’t program together. And since you can’t delete channels, I now have like 8 channels that are useless. I finally did get a channel to accept all 6 shades at once. If I didn’t get that to work, I’d be giving 2 stars. Overall I’m happy. Still confused why programming channels has a mind of its own though.
Great system, works flawlessly,… Could be improved…
We have this system installed on 5 hurricane screens in Southwest Florida. The system is working great. We relocated the transmitter a few times to find the perfect location. The rebar on our lanai was interfering with the signal to one of the screens, but relocating the transmitter solve the problem. We have set up five individual screens, scenes depending on the time of day and the sun's location, and a scene to close up everything at night. To make it a five star system, I would love to be able to DELETE SCENES we are no longer using AND PLEASE, please, please… INTEGRATE this app with the IFTTT App so that we can have an automatic message sent to the system to close the screens if the wind kicks up, say 15 mph or it starts raining in the area. Currently, I have Weather Underground send me a notification if either of these situations occur, and then we activate the appropriate scene to close the screens. Overall, a great step toward the automated home. I am sure it will only get better with future updates.
This app has become impossible to use. When opened, it takes forever to connect to the Shades/Screens. When you execute a command, it takes even longer for them to respond. Have tried disconnect and reconnect, delete app and reloading, same behavior. Have tried downloading logs, and continuously get an error. Called customer support, and after waiting on hold for 30 minutes and then over two hours for a call back, support rep could only say that he has never seen that before. Asked me to send in logs...which as stated above, I can not do. Totally worthless app. At least my remote still works, and about 1 out of 20 times I can still use Alexa to control. I have over 100 “smart home” devices in my house which all work flawlessly, except those controlled by this crap app. At least the Zwave version of their product works well and directly integrates with the rest of my home so the 12 shades I have work well. It’s just the myLink app that is trash so my porch screens have to be managed by the tiny remote. Avoid this, or suffer the headaches!
I’ve been living with and using the MyLink and the associated app since it was introduced. When it works, it’s pretty good. Unfortunately it is very inconsistent in when it chooses to work and how it chooses to work. Trying to update the MyLink is a nightmare. The app will tell you to update. When you try, you inevitably get the message that you need to move the MyLink closer to the router. When I move it closer, meaning right next to or on top of the router, it still doesn’t work. After many, many tries, I’ll give up. Then at some point the MyLink will update itself. The communication between the MyLink and the app is often odd. You can think you deleted the app and got rid of all the old data then individually connect and program 18 roller shades, only to find that lowering the shades in the dining room now mysteriously lowers the shades in the bedroom. Or, as happened today, the shades go down right in schedule - a schedule I deleted a year ago and certainly haven’t used since then. The app itself is fairly straightforward to use. The instructions aren’t always as clear as it should be. But even if the app was awesome, which it isn’t, it wouldn’t matter when it’s part of such a poor system.
I purchased the base station and paid for installation, to control one awning and one shade. For the first six months it was fine. I could manage the settings from my iPhone and my ipad. Around June 1, 2017, the app said an update was available and accepted the update. After the update the app did not work. The distributor has been awesome. The sent reps out twice. After three calls to support, Somfy authorized a replacement base station. The distributor sent an installer out immediately and got the awning working but not the shade. That is not acceptable. The support rep at Somfy was very nice. The real problem is the wait. Over three calls to Somfy my average wait time on hold is 35 minutes. Once connected to a support rep another 20 to 30 minutes is required. In retrospect, Somfy management has hamstrung its support team and distributor channel. Bottom line: cool product, but support effectiveness is poor due to limited support staffing and poor response times.
I integrated my Somfy myLink shades via Smart things. Works well and can automate the shades to whatever times I want. Even close them automatically when I start watching a movie on my home theatre. The app is great and I never have issues with it. I just wish you can use the myLink app outside of the network l, where you can open and close the blinds directly through the app when away. I had to integrate smart things to do that and I feel the app should be able to do the same thing as well with a few updates. That’s why I gave it a 4 out of 5. Over all well done.
I have a lot of smart home products, so when I say this is one is trash, you better believe it. When I tried setting it up to control multiple shades at once, it simply wouldn’t do it as programmed. During the programming, all the shades would move up and down slightly, but once I saved the app would forget about one of the shades. No matter how many times or ways I programmed it, it would never control all the shades that were programmed into the channel. I even move it around to different outlets, distance didn’t make a difference, it had a strong signal everywhere. Also, on the app there is no indicator if the shades are actually up or down. I didn’t notice it hadn’t raised one of my shades until the next morning. The physical remote works fine, app is trash.
Buggiest app ever. If I didn’t own the hardware I would give up and delete. What a crappy system. The shades and motors work fine, as does the standard remote. But any attempts at controlling the shades through the app have been pointless and frustrating. At one point we tried a hard reset of the WiFi link, then spent hours trying to reconnect without success. On a whim I reset again today (after like 6 months of defeat) and wow I was so excited that I was able to complete the setup! Alas, my excitement was premature as I still cannot control any of my shades or “scenes” that I programmed. I’m still hopeful (or possibly just incredibly stupid lol) that the shades will rise tomorrow morning per my programmed schedule. If so, I’d maybe say 1 star is due. But overall what a horrible experience.
Poorly designed, old system that has poor integrations with Google Assistant / Google Home (doesn't work half the time and is really slow and makes you use separate IFTTT system) Get the Somfy Tahoma instead, it supports the same devices like the Somfy Shades and the same Somfy-only radio standard RTS just like Mylink but it's so much easier to use and set up. The problem is many shade installers in the US are not technical and don't have the Somfy Tahoma yet as they are not trained on it. But you can just buy the Somfy Tahoma Gateway yourself and pair it with your shades in like 10min, super easy. Tahoma is so much faster, responsive and the Tahoma Gateway is also a home automation zigbee hub :)
Easy install, connection, setup and operation. After a few months no connection losses, like you might expect from what is essentially a wireless access point. The #1 improvement the app should add is a feature showing the current position of each connected screen. This would allow for safe remote operation, if away and weather requires safe positioning. Yes, I know, if the screen is operated locally with lost connection then position would be Unknown. However, the app could report that and require a Home calibration to return to normal. Simple, right?
I spent more than $200 on a Somfy bridge to deploy my awning at noon on a schedule. It has worked well for a week and stopped working all of a sudden. Tech support seems to be fully aware of it, and the answer is to delete and add the schedule again. Except for one little detail - if I created a schedule, it is to have the piece of mind that it will happen automatically, without having to delete and recreate the schedule at some point in the future. And since there is no way to know whether the awning is opened or closed when you’re away from home, it makes the whole product pointless. I am returning this product tomorrow, since it looks like it is well known at Somfy but no one cares to fix the issues reported by customers.
I’ve been enjoying our roller shades for about 2 weeks, very easy to program and use, however, it would be nice to have an option to program adjustments between open and close.
I'd give this company zero stars if I could. I bought a house with 4 somfy shade units, and they just don't work. The app can't be programmed, because despite however many times I follow the on screen instructions, the app will program the wrong shade. I've had successfully programmed schedules for a few days here and there, but the application will delete programming, and eventually, some of my shades don't respond. The physical units are also horrendous. They lose their programming with the physical remote regularly, then I'm stuck with a completely open shade and no privacy. The company is an absolute nightmare. I'm shocked that they continue to sell products. They make the worst quality products I've ever used.
MyLink worked well for two years. Then suddenly, the app would shut itself down when trying to connect to the MyLink unit. Singh support attempted one round of troubleshooting, with no results. They then informed me that across their entire customer base, three other customers were experiencing what I was experiencing—I guess that was t show me this issue wasn’t going to be a priority to them? I have emailed them three times since and received no response. End result: I have no automation for my blinds. I spent $10k in motorized blinds for my house because they could be scheduled — and they no longer do that.
I had never heard of Somfy before until Dr. Shade came through for us. Dr. Shade consulted with me with meticulous detail on how the blinds will be electric, powered and motorized by a touch of a button from one’s smartphone by using the Somfy app. Not only did Dr. Shade provide a high standard job with my shades for my apartment, but Dr. Shade also provided an easy solution, of the highest quality, for my blinds, simplifying my life. I would recommend Somfy services for motorized blinds and shades as it gives considerable gain in time, but, most of all, comfort.
Also, the RTS does not work well. Every so often, a shade or two does not respond because it times out. I have numerous repeaters and rooms in a large house, but the home screen has a fixed number of zones that you could put in it, and the screen will not move, so if you have one more icon that does not fit on the screen, you can never use it you can never find it difficult becomes difficult to recommend for that purpose also the RTS does not work well every so often a shade or two does not respond because it times out
This application is absolutely worthless. Spent hours trying to get it to connect to shades just so I can TRY to integrate. Support basically admitted that it is difficult to use and has to be done perfectly and you may have to try multiple times to get it up and running. (I spent over 8 hours just trying to get 3 devices to work with the shades and then had to do it all over again when WiFi password changed…) Then when you do get it up and running, integration is spotty at best. If you are considering buying Somfy STAY AWAY! Wish I had known before I dropped $25k on shades that only work marginally at best. Absolute garbage.
Not sure what I did differently the 7th attempt linking the phone, controller, and WiFi but inexplicably it decided to work. It works great as a remote but it could be so much more. This could finally be a way to easily customize and program these blinds. Instead once you finally get it set up you are left with pretty much 2 options. Do I want it up or down? I can’t get it to stop anywhere in between. Grouping and scenes are nice but would be better if they connected with Apple Home. Really hoping future updates fulfill this system’s potential.
I bought mine and after many hours of being unable to install I spoke with the technical service (most friendly) and was told about a temporary upset with the latest IOS update...that I should wait a few days, as they were working on it!!! That was more than a month ago....no new version....and obviously it does NOT work!!!!
I have been using this unit for three years. The frustration that I experience with connectivity every morning is extremely annoying! I have two units, one for the kitchen and one for our great room. Both of the units never connects the app and when the app does finally indicate connection the app regularly reports an “Internal Error” with no other explanation. I have tried resetting the units, the router and placement. All without any improvement. By the way manufacturers, yes EVERYTHING is updated. If you would like to avoid frustration, find yourself another product to cover and control your windows coverings! If not, Happy frustration to ya!
The device works but you can’t tell if the screens are open or closed. The app doesn’t have indicate whether the screen are opened or closed. What’s the purpose of having an app that can remote control shades but there is no way of knowing the status of the shades? Also, setting schedules permit the screens to open but you program a schedule to open and close at different times.
So difficult to set up and keep running. In theory, it’s all super easy and has a super wonderful user-friendly app. In reality, it comes un-programmed frequently, requires additional setups, scenes going away, and often simply doesn’t work. I think the problem is that there is no decent alternative, so people hoping for home automation with blinds and screens in particular are left with no other choice. If there were any other alternative, I would absolutely recommend against this product. We’ve had it for two years and hate it.
Day one and its connection to Wi-Fi is unreliable. I am an IT guy and have an exceptionally well set up Wi-Fi network. Even placed the Somfy unit 3 feet from the access point and it loses its connection every few minutes and the green light on it starts blinking. Once in a while it'll come back online on its own, then go back to blinking... Seems to be unreliable at best. The app rarely connects since the unit is rarely connected to the Wi-Fi. The only good thing i can say is that setup was pretty straightforward, and it does work when it manages to stay on the Wi-Fi.
Not help instructions online for trouble shooting problems.
I have received error messages for a while when trying to use this app. MyLink app was set up and worked opening and closing two sun shades remotely but then I had an internet reset and the app gave error message that not internet was found. The app does not have clear instructions for resetting the internet for the zoo:
This app, and the entire Somfy system is horrible. They must have a lot of friends, or all employees at Somfy are rating the app because there is no way this deserves 4 stars. The app crashes regularly. It randomly works, and the programming interface is horrible. Changing anything takes literally days of trial and error. I assume there whole goal is to only make this accessible to professional installers so they can protect their dealer network, but I know way more than my installer about tech, so that route was not helpful. I can’t believe MyLink was released on the world. Alpha at best.
Had to have one of my college grandsons hook it up. The installer could not nor the salesman he called in the area. Have had it over a year not operational. I hook up most things myself even my easy chairs. Now both Samsung and iPad are connected. Nobody assisted in getting it operational. It took an Air Force Pilot in training. 🤣 Come on guys it has to be simpler. I followed the directions several times to a tee. Then the installer then the sales area manager. Nope not simple. It was $250 for the added feature. Rich Kirby
I’ve tried time and time again with no success. When setting the app up, everything goes smooth until it’s time to add a shade. I select the channel I want, press the program button on the remote, that shade jumps up and down... then I press the program button on the app, the same shade jumps up and down to signify it’s paired. Then when I test the up/down button in the app, it controls a totally different shade! Very annoying, and I’ve tried setup many times. Currently waiting on Somfy support. Will update this if support can fix this issue.
The roller shades and Wood shutters got from East Valley Blinds in Mesa Az. are nice..but the Somfy motor that is installed in the roller shades is noisy than advertised. Especially at the very end of the extending or extracting it will get this loud deep humming sound. My brother has the Hunter Douglas version and they make their own motors is very quite and smooth. So not too happy with upgrading the motor to a Somfy. Not sure now if I would get the Somfy patio shades now because of the sound it's making. I upgraded the motor to a Somfy because I wanted to match with one controller for both inside and patio shades.
An embarrassment of an app. I would be ashamed to release such an awful piece of software to the App Store. Slow, buggy, and almost nothing works properly. Even the first time setup needs to be run twice before it goes through! Also, good luck trying to update the network settings. I’ve been in software for 20 years, and I can’t figure out how to get this crap to work. I suspect that it doesn’t, and the developer never tested the ability to update the network on a myLink device. This app is total trash. The absolute worst I have ever used, without exaggeration. A total, total disappointment.
If I knew Alexa operation is this difficult and most of the time don’t work I would not buy this or I will not recommend this to anyone. First of all you have to ask Alexa to open myLink then other commands and it still doesn’t listen to the command correctly or work. I have everything you name it with Alexa operated and I just call the name and say the command and it works. I don’t have to say open certain app first. Also I can’t creat any Alexa button because Alexa app doesn’t see it. Anyway let me know if there is any other way. Very bad product
I received 2 of these units when I purchased 2 SunSetter awnings. I downloaded the Singh MyLink app and have now spent 2 days attempting to get this useless app to: a) update itself B) have the unit connect to the app and c) have the 2 awnings connect to the app. So far, after a dozen or more attempts, I have partially succeeded MAYBE 3 times, but then the app either cannot communicate with the device, or it can’t communicate with the awnings. There’s NO WAY that I can see to delete everything and start over. This entire app is garbage and I’m going to see if I can get my money back.
Application is extremely buggy and inconsistent. Programming works sporadically and is inconsistent. I used the app to program shades, tested those shades, and then it operates different shades when used in operation. The process of updating the MyLink controllers is also cumbersome and inconsistent. App repeatedly instructs me to do power resets, and then fails to update, asking for more power resets. Seems that there is no quality control. Minor point compared to everything else, but it is pretty basic to have apps detect and adapt to landscape and portrait orientations. This only works in landscape. Just another sign of poor app execution.
This app is functional but would be more helpful and valuable if it would indicate if my screen is open or closed after using it. I open my screen wall from my office inside my house but I don’t have a visual of that happening unless I’m looking at it. Incorporate an ‘open’ or ‘closed’ comment such as the myQ app offers for their garage door app. This would improve the ‘remote’ functionality of this app.
I have bought a house that had Somfy blinds in it and can not get Somfy support at all. I bought this product hopeful controlling through my iPhone would give me flexibility. I have now reached out to Somfy four times and one time I received a canned email response not helpful at all. I am rating this product a 1 and would a 0 if it was available. It does not easily link to Google Home but most importantly to me the start stop limits are not remembered. I have tried to get support on this product and again nothing...... I will now return this because Somfy will not help!!!!
There is no way to know your PIN unless you document it in advance. If you change your PIN there are times when the device does not change as well. The setup process is not easy and the device regularly does not work and setup needs to be repeated multiple times by resetting the device as well as deleting the app and reinstalling the app. The product and the app should function like most other modern day devices. Do not invest in this product nor the app.
Don’t waste your money on this. We got it thrown in because 3 Day Blinds screwed up our order so badly and I am so happy we didn’t pay for it. To control a blind you open the app, wait about a minute for it to find your hub, navigate through a totally unintuitive menu to control your shades then press one of the control buttons in hopes that what you want to happen does and about 25% of the time it does; the rest of the time you just get a spinning wheel for a minute or so then nothing. I have Wink, Nest, Phillips Hue, Lutron hub all integrated with Alexa and they work great. MyLink is absolutely the worst home automation product I have ever seen. Don’t pay for it. Oh ya and the Alexa commands to activate it are hilariously arcane - you will not remember from one time to the next how to get anything to happen through Alexa. Terrible product.
First this product works ok with their app. Their website gives the impression there is an api you can use for greater automation. This only means you can buy more hardware or third party hardware that can talk to their api. If they opened their api to be like the Nest api then this product’s value would be amazing. It is obvious that it’s been hamstrung to push a multitude of half measures and other products. I can control lights and thermostats easily but a shade has been over engineered to the point of uselessness.
This is actually a good app overall, but I am upset that the onscreen instructions that supposedly help connect the device are both full of jargon and wrong. It told me to press a programming button to change the channel of my remote, even though the remote has no programming button and does not support channels. It referred to my awning as an “RTS device” and by not knowing what an RTS device was, the instructions made no sense. In reality, it wanted me to put a pin in the hile of the back of the remote to put it in pairing mode. Why did it not say so? It would have been easy to say put a pin in the hole, but they did not. When asked to press the non-existent program button to change the non-existent channel, put a pin in the hole to put the remote in pairing mode. The awning will respond by moving a little.
Avoid this if you want a real smart home experience
Unfortunately we went with this budget shade system, which does not support any modern WiFi smarthome system (e.g., Apple HomeKit, Lutron Caseta)... and instead requires you to use radio frequency remote triggers that only work if they are in the same room and 5 feet within your shades. Avoid. This also app purports to link the RF shades to a WiFi system, but by the time it opens and syncs you are minutes later and frustrated enough to walk up to the shades to manually operate them. Avoid.
I’m still astonished how quick and easy it was to install all my 4 roller shades in different rooms in my brand new Somfy MyLink. I though I would need to hire a professional but it’s really not necessary. It’s a real plug&play device. I’m sure I save some buck doing it myself. So far, it worth the value.
This company produces absolutely useless product. It disconnects itself and it needs trouble shoot every step along the way!! Red light doesn’t stay still! Network doesn’t show up or stay! Can’t find the device during the search! Finally got to type in your network details? Just kidding, still fails at configuring network!! I really have no idea how dare anyone make a product like this?? As a team, aren’t you ashamed of yourself to make something like this? Wow mind blowing
Great device to open and close Sunsetters awnings automatically. It works flawlessly. We have it set to open at noon and close at sunset. We also created scenes to open and close all awnings with one click. No more looking for three different remotes to open and close the awnings. Simply amazing.
The setting for lowering the shade a specific number of minutes before sunset is great because it adjusts as the time of sunset adjusts. But the limit is two hours ahead which is not useful enough for my windows. It should be capable of at least 3 hours ahead or more.
Got a new phone and had to start from scratch to reset the hub, so of course it constantly freezes and refuses to finish the set up process. When it did work previously the app was slow, frequently missing the command when you wanted to stop the shades at a certain point, and heaven help you if your technician didn’t help you label the shades well, because there was no process to go in and rename them. It’s a good thing the manual remote works or I would’ve returned the entire set up.
I like how my drapes open and close automatically. However, the app is a mess. I've been trying unsuccessfully to update the firmware. I have some kind of warning indicated by an exclamation point but I can't open it to see what's wrong. I have a time set to open my drapes and they open, but not at the right time. Alexa, Smart Things, and IFTTT integration is not ready for prime time. Somfy was late to the Smart Home party and hasn't quite caught up.
Needs major improvement in the following areas: 1) make it easier to add new devices to the remote app screen without having to reset the unit. 2) be able to reorder the icons on the screen 3) be able to reorder which function starts first in a given scene. 4) be able to resize the icons or font. Not everyone needs huge buttons! Lots of scrolling is a negative. 5) frequently get errors when trying to use the system 6) needs to show activate state
Very basic app. It does allow me to control the screen at my porch but that’s it. It will not tell u whether the screen is open or closed etc. No notification as well if screen is opened when integrating with some sensor. Overall no advanced feature.
Since I always have my phone with me there is easy access to the shades. I can even put the shades up/down when I am nowhere near my house based on weather predictions….
Frustrating to set up, but works fine once you do.
This is one of the more frustrating home automation device to set up. Plan to spend a few hours setting up your MyLink devices. However, once you do, the app works great. I wish it had HomeKit integration and it would let you change the icons after initial setup.
Control your Radio Technology Somfy® (RTS) motorized products wherever you are! The Somfy myLink™ app provides simplified control of RTS motorized blinds, shades, draperies, awnings, rolling shutters and screens from the convenience of your iOS device for convenient sunlight management anytime, anywhere. With the Somfy myLink app, you can: - Control up to 16 channels of RTS motorized products per myLink WiFi to RTS Interface - Create Scenes for easy control of multiple motorized products - Link with Amazon Alexa for convenient voice control - Create Schedules to automatically activate your motorized products at a certain time of day, day of the week, or by sunrise and sunset - Add more myLink WiFi to RTS Interfaces for multiple zone control - Control your RTS motorized products both at home and away - Easily share access with other users - Integration of RTS products with Crestron, Control4 and Savant control systems - Demo mode: includes an integrated demo mode for users to experience the app before purchasing the myLink interface - iPad view includes drag & drop scene and schedule creation, quick access toolbar and dashboard-style home screen - English, French and Spanish language The Somfy myLink app requires at least one Somfy myLink WiFi to RTS Interface and existing RTS motorized product(s) with at least one programmed RTS hand-held, in-wall or table top control.
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