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Frequently Asked Questions

General

What is TR7 Exalus Local?

A custom Home Assistant integration for local control of Exalus Home roller blinds via the TR7 control unit — no cloud needed for day-to-day operation.

Is an internet connection required?

For initial setup: the TR7 must have been configured via the Exalus Home app at least once, and the blinds must be paired.

For daily use: no. After setup, everything works locally. The TR7 can be blocked from internet access entirely.

What hardware is required?

  • TR7 Exalus control unit (connected via LAN)
  • EX-BIDI or SSR-BIDI roller motors (868 MHz bidirectional)
  • Home Assistant instance on the same network

Does it work with other Exalus motors?

Designed for EX-BIDI motors. SSR-BIDI likely works too. Unidirectional 433 MHz motors are not compatible.

Installation & Setup

How do I find my TR7 IP address?

Router admin: look under Connected devices / DHCP clients for TR7 or Exalus.

Network scan:

nmap -p 81 192.168.1.0/24

Tip: assign a static DHCP reservation so the IP never changes.

Why isn't my TR7 found?

  1. Wrong IP — try ping <TR7_IP>
  2. Port blocked — try nc -zv <TR7_IP> 81
  3. Different network segment — HA and TR7 must be on the same subnet (or routed)
  4. TR7 offline — check the LAN cable and restart the device

Authentication

What credentials does the integration use?

The integration uses the installator account, not your Exalus cloud account. You only need the serial number and PIN from the label on the TR7 device. The integration derives the credentials automatically — you never enter an email or password.

Do I need an Exalus Home cloud account?

Not for daily use. The TR7 must have been provisioned once with the Exalus Home app, but after that the integration operates entirely locally using the installator account (serial + PIN).

Are my credentials stored securely?

Yes — Home Assistant stores config entry data encrypted. The serial number and PIN are not written in plain text anywhere.

Control & Features

What commands are supported?

  • Open (100%) / Close (0%)
  • Set position to any value 0–100%
  • Stop
  • Real-time status (position, state, battery, signal strength)

How fast does control respond?

WebSocket push means command-to-motor latency is typically under 1 second. Status updates arrive immediately after movement.

Can I control multiple TR7 units?

Yes — add multiple instances of the integration, each with its own IP.

Are device groups supported?

Use Home Assistant's built-in cover group:

cover:
  - platform: group
    name: "Ground floor blinds"
    entities:
      - cover.living_room_blind
      - cover.kitchen_blind

Attributes & Automations

How do I use attributes in automations?

automation:
  - alias: "Battery warning"
    trigger:
      - platform: template
        value_template: >
          {{ state_attr('cover.living_room_blind', 'battery_level') | int < 20 }}
    action:
      - service: notify.notify
        data:
          message: "Blind battery low!"

How do I expose battery as a sensor?

template:
  - sensor:
      - name: "Living room blind battery"
        state: "{{ state_attr('cover.living_room_blind', 'battery_level') | int }}"
        unit_of_measurement: "%"
        device_class: battery

Time-based automation example

automation:
  - alias: "Open blinds at 7:00"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "07:00:00"
    action:
      - service: cover.open_cover
        target:
          entity_id: cover.bedroom_blind

Privacy & Security

Is any data sent to the cloud?

No. All commands go directly from Home Assistant to the TR7 on your LAN. The integration never contacts any external server.

How do I block the TR7 from internet access?

After initial provisioning you can firewall the TR7 completely:

  • Router firewall: block outbound traffic from the TR7's IP to WAN
  • VLAN isolation: put the TR7 on an IoT VLAN with no internet route
  • Pi-hole: block *.tr7.pl

Troubleshooting

"Cannot connect"

ping <TR7_IP>
nc -zv <TR7_IP> 81

If ping works but port 81 is refused: restart the TR7 (unplug, wait 10 s, replug).

"Authentication failed"

  • Verify serial number and PIN on the TR7 device label
  • Serial number is used uppercase; PIN is numeric only
  • Run python scripts/smoke_test.py from the repo root for a detailed diagnostic

No devices appear

  1. Check that blinds are paired in the Exalus Home app
  2. Reload the integration: Settings → Devices & Services → TR7 Exalus → ⋮ → Reload
  3. Check logs: Settings → Logs

Connection drops frequently

  • Assign a static IP to the TR7 (DHCP reservation)
  • Check DHCP lease time: increase to 86400 s (24 h) if it's short
  • Verify network stability: ping -c 600 <TR7_IP> — packet loss should be 0%

Updates

How do I update the integration?

Via HACS: HACS → Integrations → TR7 Exalus Local → Update → restart HA.

Manually: replace custom_components/tr7_exalus_local/ with the new version → restart HA.

Config entries and device assignments are preserved across updates.

Further Questions?

→ GitHub Discussions