SwitchBot Curtain Smart Electric Motor

The SwitchBot Curtain motor is a small unit that clips onto the curtain rod you already have and drags the curtain along it. No track to install, no wiring, no drilling: it clamps to the rod in about half a minute and hooks onto the first curtain ring. Give the curtain a gentle pull and the motor takes over and finishes the job, which is the feature people end up using most.

• Measure your rod: the SwitchBot Curtain motor needs 15 to 40mm
• Your curtains have to hang from something that slides
• A pair of curtains needs two motors
• What works without a hub, and what does not
• Rod clamp or a proper track

It has a light sensor built in, so it can open at sunrise and close at dusk without being told, and it runs schedules and moves on command from the SwitchBot app. It charges by USB-C and lasts months between charges.

Three things decide whether it will work in your house, and all three are covered below. Read them before ordering.

Measure your rod: the SwitchBot Curtain motor needs 15 to 40mm

The SwitchBot Curtain motor clamps to the rod itself, and the clamp only grips between 15 and 40 mm. Thin decorative rods fall under it. Heavy timber poles go over it. Both are common here, so take a tape to the rod rather than guessing from the look of it.

Telescopic rods, the extending kind, are their own problem. The motor jams at the step where the thin tube meets the thick one, so unless that joint is smoothed out it will stop there every time.

Your curtains have to hang from something that slides

Rings, eyelets, grommets, tab tops and back tabs all work, because the motor grabs the first one and drags the rest along the rod.

Rod pocket curtains do not work at all. Those are the ones where the rod threads through a sewn channel in the fabric, and there is nothing for the motor to pull. They are cheap and common in Dar, so check yours before ordering rather than after.

A pair of curtains needs two motors

One unit pulls one panel to one side. SwitchBot say this themselves, plainly. Most sitting room curtains here are a centre-opening pair that meets in the middle, and that arrangement needs one motor per panel.

Budget for two, or accept that one side stays where it is. It is the single most common surprise on this product.

What works without a hub, and what does not

Over Bluetooth alone you get app control while you are in range, the pull-to-start gesture, on-device schedules and the built-in light sensor that opens at sunrise and closes at dusk. That is a lot for no extra hardware.

What needs a hub is reach and voice: opening the curtains from outside the house, and Alexa, Google or Siri. We stock the SwitchBot Hub Plus for that.

Rod clamp or a proper track

Buy this when the rod stays. It goes on in half a minute, needs no wiring and no drilling, charges by USB-C and runs for months, and it leaves the room exactly as it found it. For a rented flat that is often the only option worth considering.

If you are willing to change the fitting, a motorised track is quieter, carries far more weight and handles a centre-opening pair on one motor. Our 4 metre track kit is the usual starting point. SwitchBot publish the full rod and curtain compatibility list on their product page, and it is worth two minutes before you order.