Push Button Blind Control
The Push Button Blind Control smart rule lets you operate motorized blinds using physical push buttons. You assign buttons and blinds, choose how button presses are interpreted, and the smart rule adjusts the blinds in response — position, angle, or both.
Four button modes are available, from a simple short-press toggle to continuous movement while the button is held down. You can use two buttons (one for up, one for down) or a single button that alternates direction automatically.
Getting started
Setting up push button blind control takes three steps:
- Choose a button mode — how button presses are interpreted.
- Add blinds — select the blinds you want to control.
- Add buttons — assign push buttons for up and down directions (or a single button).
Basic example
You have motorized blinds in the living room and two wall-mounted push buttons — one for up, one for down. You want a short press to adjust the slat angle and a long press to move the blinds fully up or down.
- Create a new Push Button Blind Control smart rule.
- In the Mode section, select Short and long press (this is the default).
- In the Blinds section, tap Add blinds and select your living room blinds.
- In the Control Buttons — Direction up section, tap Add Button and select your “up” push button.
- In the Control Buttons — Direction down section, tap Add Button and select your “down” push button.
- Tap Save.
Now a short press adjusts the slat angle in steps, and a long press moves the blinds fully up or fully down.
Button modes
The Mode section determines how the smart rule interprets your button presses. Four modes are available:
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Short and long press | Short press adjusts slat angle in steps or stops movement. Long press raises or lowers blinds fully. Default mode. |
| Short Press | Short press raises blinds fully (up button) or lowers them fully (down button), or stops movement if already moving. No angle adjustment — no distinction between short and long press. |
| Move while held | Initial tap adjusts slat angle one step in the button’s direction. Holding the button moves the blinds continuously. Releasing the button stops the movement. |
| Single Push Button | A single button controls both directions. Short press adjusts angle one step — direction reverses when the slats reach an extreme. Long press moves position — direction alternates each time. |
The first three modes use two buttons — one for the up direction and one for the down direction. The last mode uses a single button that alternates direction automatically.
The same button cannot be assigned to both the up and down direction. If you select a button for one direction, it becomes unavailable in the other.
Blinds
Tap Add blinds to select one or more blinds. All button presses apply to every blind in the list simultaneously.
You can add blinds, shutters, awnings, and other window coverings. If your blinds support slat angle control, angle adjustments are available. If they only support position (level) control, angle-related features are automatically skipped.
When you control multiple blinds with different capabilities (some with slat angle, some without), each blind responds according to its own capabilities.
Control Buttons
Two-button modes
In Short and long press, Short Press, and Move while held modes, two separate button sections appear:
- Control Buttons — Direction up: Buttons that trigger upward movement or angle adjustment toward open.
- Control Buttons — Direction down: Buttons that trigger downward movement or angle adjustment toward closed.
Tap Add Button in each section to assign one or more push buttons. You can assign multiple buttons to the same direction — for example, buttons in different rooms that all control the same blinds.
Single-button mode
In Single Push Button mode, a single Control Buttons section appears. The button alternates direction automatically — short presses reverse when the slat angle reaches an extreme, and long presses alternate the direction each time.
Allow only change of slats angle
When enabled, button presses control only the slat angle — the blind position (level) stays unchanged. This is useful when you want to adjust light and privacy through slat tilt without raising or lowering the blinds.
This option is available in Short and long press and Short Press modes only. It is automatically disabled in Move while held and Single Push Button modes.
Enable Allow only change of slats angle when your blinds are at a fixed position (e.g., fully lowered) and you only want to tilt the slats to control sunlight.
How each mode works
Short and long press (default)
This is the most versatile mode, giving you fine angle control with short presses and full position control with long presses.
Short press:
- If the blinds are currently moving: stops the movement.
- If the blinds are stopped: adjusts the slat angle by one step in the button’s direction. The up button tilts toward open, the down button tilts toward closed.
- If all blinds are at the same angle extreme and cannot tilt further: a brief position movement (1.5 seconds) in the button’s direction is performed instead.
Long press:
- Moves the blinds to the fully raised or fully lowered position — up button raises the blinds with slats fully open, down button lowers the blinds with slats fully closed.
- If the blinds are already at the target extreme: a force movement command is sent to ensure they reach the mechanical end position.
- A long press always initiates position movement, even if the blinds are currently moving — it overrides the current movement with the new target.
The force movement command compensates for the positional drift — the reported position may say fully raised despite the blinds being slightly off due to drift or manual adjustment. Most modern blind motors have built-in end-stop detection that stops the motor at the mechanical limit.
With Allow only change of slats angle enabled:
- Short press adjusts the slat angle by one step, or does nothing if the blinds are currently moving (no stop action is generated in angle-only mode).
- Long press moves the slat angle to the extreme (fully open or fully closed) without changing the blind position.
Short Press
A simpler mode where only short presses are recognized. Long, double, and triple presses are ignored.
Short press:
- If the blinds are currently moving: stops the movement.
- If the blinds are stopped: raises or lowers the blinds fully — up button raises with slats fully open, down button lowers with slats fully closed.
With Allow only change of slats angle enabled:
- If the blinds are currently moving (and no recent adjustment): no action — the blinds continue moving.
- If the blinds are stopped or within the adjustment window: adjusts the slat angle by one step.
Move while held
This mode gives you direct, physical-feeling control — tap for fine angle adjustment, hold for continuous movement.
Initial tap (button pressed):
- Adjusts the slat angle by one step in the button’s direction.
Button held down:
- Continuous movement starts in the button’s direction. The blinds keep moving as long as you hold the button.
Button released:
- Movement stops immediately.
The Allow only change of slats angle option is not available in this mode.
Single Push Button
This mode uses one button for everything. The direction alternates automatically based on where the blinds are.
How direction works: The smart rule tracks the current direction separately for angle adjustments and position movements. When the blinds reach one extreme, the direction flips so the next press moves them the other way.
If the blinds are currently moving, a short press stops the movement.
For blinds with slat angle support:
- Short press: adjusts the slat angle by one step in the current angle direction. When the angle reaches an extreme, the direction reverses.
- Long press: raises or lowers the blinds fully, alternating direction each time.
For blinds without slat angle support (position-only):
- Short press: raises or lowers the blinds fully, alternating direction.
- Long press: no action.
The Allow only change of slats angle option is not available in this mode.
Angle adjustment
When a button press triggers an angle adjustment, the slat angle changes by 20% (on a scale from 0% fully open to 100% fully closed) in the button’s direction. The up button tilts toward open, the down button tilts toward closed. The adjustment snaps to a grid — if the current angle is between grid points, it snaps to the nearest 20% increment first, then adjusts from there. When the angle gets close to an extreme (within 5%), it snaps to exactly 0% or 100%.
The 20% step size gives you 5 distinct slat positions plus the two extremes — enough for practical light and privacy control. Press the button repeatedly to step through the positions.
Examples and scenarios
Two buttons with angle and position control
Goal: Use two wall buttons to control living room blinds — fine-tune slat angle with short presses, fully raise or lower with long presses.
Configuration:
- Mode: Short and long press
- Blinds: living room blinds (with slat angle support)
- Control Buttons — Direction up: wall button “Up”
- Control Buttons — Direction down: wall button “Down”
Behavior: Press “Up” briefly to tilt the slats slightly more open. Press again to tilt further. When the slats reach fully open, a short press triggers a brief upward movement instead. Hold “Up” to raise the blinds all the way. Press “Down” briefly to tilt slats toward closed, or hold to lower the blinds all the way. If the blinds are moving, a short press stops them.
Angle-only control for lowered blinds
Goal: The blinds stay fully lowered. You only want to control the slat angle to manage sunlight and privacy.
Configuration:
- Mode: Short and long press
- Allow only change of slats angle: enabled
- Blinds: bedroom blinds
- Control Buttons — Direction up: bedside button “Up”
- Control Buttons — Direction down: bedside button “Down”
Behavior: Short press on “Up” tilts the slats more open in steps. Short press on “Down” tilts them more closed. Long press on “Up” moves slats to fully open in one step. Long press on “Down” moves slats to fully closed. The blind position never changes — only the slat angle is affected.
Hold-to-move for direct control
Goal: You want continuous movement while holding the button — similar to a physical roller shutter switch.
Configuration:
- Mode: Move while held
- Blinds: kitchen blinds
- Control Buttons — Direction up: kitchen button “Up”
- Control Buttons — Direction down: kitchen button “Down”
Behavior: Tap “Up” briefly to tilt the slats slightly more open. Hold “Up” and the blinds start moving upward continuously. Release the button and they stop immediately. Same for “Down” in the opposite direction. This gives you precise control — move the blinds exactly as far as you want, then release.
Single button for a simple setup
Goal: You have only one button and want to control blinds in both directions.
Configuration:
- Mode: Single Push Button
- Blinds: office blinds (with slat angle support)
- Control Buttons: desk button
Behavior: Short press adjusts the slat angle one step at a time. When the slats reach one extreme (fully open or fully closed), the direction reverses — the next press moves them back the other way. If the blinds are moving, a short press stops them. Long press raises or lowers the blinds fully, alternating with each press. If the blinds are raised, a long press lowers them. The next long press raises them back.
Multiple blinds with one pair of buttons
Goal: Control all blinds in the room with the same pair of buttons.
Configuration:
- Mode: Short and long press
- Blinds: left window blinds, right window blinds, door blinds
- Control Buttons — Direction up: room button “Up”
- Control Buttons — Direction down: room button “Down”
Behavior: All three blinds respond to the same button presses simultaneously. Each blind adjusts its angle independently based on its own current position. A long press moves all blinds to the same target position. If you need different behavior for different blinds, create separate Push Button Blind Control smart rules — one per group of blinds.