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Ikea smart blinds hit by ‘technical issues’ two weeks after HomeKit support

Ikea smart blinds are experiencing “technical issues” with the HomeKit support that arrived in the US just two weeks ago…

Background

Ikea HomeKit support hasn’t exactly been the smoothest of rides with either bulbs or blinds.

Ikea first launched its own smart light bulbs in May 2017, promising then that they would get HomeKit support by the summer. That didn’t happen, and the company then promised it for the fall. It finally arrived in November.

Things were even worse with its smart blinds. Ikea first announced the budget-priced blinds in September 2018, with approximate pricing revealed in November of the same year. In January 2019, we were told they would launch in February in Europe and April in the US, with HomeKit support. Neither happened.

In June 2019, Ikea said the product would launch in August. That did happen, but not the promised HomeKit support. In October, Ikea said that would be added by the end of the year, and in December that it would be 2020.

HomeKit finally started rolling out in the US this month, with an early hands-on giving it the thumbs-up.

The IKEA smart blinds can also integrate with HomeKit scenes and automations. For instance, you can have the blinds automatically open and close at sunrise and sunset everyday. By integrating the IKEA blinds with HomeKit scenes, you can have them automatically close during a “movie night” scene, for instance.

All in all, HomeKit Authority praises IKEA’s smart blinds integration with HomeKit and says that performance with the Home app is much better than with IKEA’s own Home Smart app for iOS. You can read the full hands-on post here. IKEA’s smart blinds area available with limited availability at retail stores.

Ikea smart blinds latest

However, it appears that the problems continue. When one British owner asked Ikea why HomeKit support had not been added in the UK, the company said this was due to ‘technical issues’ with the US rollout.

No details have been provided on the nature of the problem, and the company is unable to say when it will be fixed.

If you have Ikea smart blinds, have you experienced any problems with controlling them via Siri or in the Home app? Please let us know in the comments.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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