I’ve been setting up some cheap LY-1690 blinds motors from AliExpress. The model I have is the “External Wifi” version (i.e. it uses a separate gateway dongle - included in the package - for smart control).
The instructions are poor and incomplete, and setting the open/close limit settings using the Tuya app has proven awkward and unreliable. After some experimentation I found that it’s easiest to define the limit settings using the buttons on the motor unit as follows:
Ensure the blind is fully closed.
Press and hold both UP and DOWN buttons for about a second (until the blue LED starts flashing), then release.
Press and release either the UP or DOWN button depending on which way the motor wheel needs to turn to open the blind. (UP button makes it turn anti-clockwise, DOWN button makes it turn clockwise.)
Wait until the blind reaches the full open position, then press the STOP button. The blue LED should stop flashing and the limits are stored.
The blind motor is now ready to use. Test by pressing the DOWN button to close the blind, then the UP button to open the blind, and verify that the blind stops in the correct places.
If I discover any more about setting up or using the LY-1690 I’ll post it here.
Others have posted about successfully controlling the LY-1690 with SmartThings e.g. here. However, the comments there indicate that setting the blind motor’s limits is a grey area. Info elsewhere on the Internet is sparce so I thought a post here might be helpful.
I can delete this if it’s considered inappropriate.
I purchased some of these recently. I installed one and set it up through the app including limits. I fitted another 4 and I can pair them all to the same remote but can’t add more than one to the app. I tried using the instructions you supplied but when I hold down the UP and DOWN buttons I get the blue led flashing but it stops when I released the buttons. Tried holding them for various durations but doesn’t go into any “setup” mode.
My next step is to get a usb hub and fit a dongle for each one and see if I can set up each individually through the app.
I did find that each motor requires its own separate USB dongle, i.e. if you have 4 motors you’ll have to plug in all 4 dongles. It’s annoying. I experimented but couldn’t find any way to pair my 2 motors to the same dongle.
I can’t explain why you can’t set the limits manually. Hopefully you can use the app (although I found it a bit unreliable for limit setting).
Thanks for that. I used a two way usb hub as a test and got all the blinds paired with the dongles so have ordered a 6 way. Have paired with the Tuya app and set the limits ok. Next step is to get them integrated with Home Assistant and a Logitech multi remote. Thanks again.
Hi. When you set the motor up in the app could you press the “Start calibration” button? I’m having issues with mine. I can get the motor pop up in the tuya app but I can’t seem to get past the first setup stage and whenever i press the start calibration button nothing happens.
I found that trying to set the limits using that button (which in my version of the app is labelled “Start Learning”) is difficult. When I clicked the button the blinds would sometimes begin to open, at which point the button is supposed to change to “Stop” as per the instructions. Occasionally it would work, but usually the button remained “Start” and became unresponsive - the blinds just kept opening and I had to hit the stop button on the motor to prevent them going too far!
You could try clicking the gear icon in the top-right corner to open the settings menu, which should contain a “Restore initial state” button. I found that clicking that sometimes helped make things work, as did clicking the reset button on the bottom of the motor, but it was all very random and unpredictable. I suspect a bug in the Tuya app.
In the end I just set the limits via the buttons on the motor, as described in my initial post, and open/close the blinds via Alexa rather than using the Tuya app.
yeah i’ve tried hahah, been at this for about 2 hours now and i don’t know if i’m just stupid or if there’s something wrong with mine. I’ve reset the device around 10 times now and it’s still not connecting to my tuya app which i want so that i can set a timer on it to open when i wake up and close when i go to bed. I’ve tried different wifi networks and shut off 5ghz but nothing seems to work
Am i wrong or is the page that i’m stuck on just the setup stage for the motor? After you get past it there should be a “home page” for the motor right? so that you can lower and raise it from the app
Edit: just got it to work, apparently you need to manually pair the gateway to the motor first and then you can add it in the app. Don’t know why this is not written in the instructions but oh well
I agree, those motors and the Tuya app are very frustrating!
I’m a bit puzzled when you say “it’s not connecting to my tuya app” because in order to show that setup screen the Tuya app must’ve added the device? Also is your motor the “external wifi” model (i.e. with the separate USB gateway dongle)?
You’re right, once you’ve set the limits via the app that page you’re stuck on will change and become a control screen:
I had the same problem with the learning (or calibration) button not responding. Like you, tried many reinstalls and restore default state. Eventually it worked. There was quite a delay after pressing start learning and it actually doing anything. Once it had calibrated it appeared on my favourites page in the Tuya App. The seem to be reliable once set up but are somewhat sketchy to get working.
I also had that delay issue: when it did work it would sometimes take several seconds for the button to change from “start” to “stop”. Frustratingly you must set the limits via the app the first time in order to keep the app happy and make it show the control screen. Thereafter it’s easier to make any further limit adjustments using the buttons on the motor.
I’d like to experiment with it more but don’t want to mess things up now it’s all working well!
