Product Library / Blinds, Shades & Curtains

Protocols: ZIGBEE^[1][10]

Plans and ongoing costs^[2][9]

✓ Works without a subscription: Yes.

Vendor account required: Yes — you must create a vendor account to use it.^[7]

No subscription is referenced on any of the three Aqara surfaces read for this product. Blinds and shades are a category where nothing is sold by the month — no maker in it charges a recurring fee to open or close a window covering — so "no subscription" here is the category's normal answer rather than a gap in what we checked. What would change it is Aqara naming a plan, tier or fee that gates something this motor does. Aqara's paid tiers cover camera and doorbell video storage, which has no bearing on a motor.

Maintenance and offline use^[3]

• Batteries: built-in 6000 mAh lithium-ion, not user-replaceable, charged over USB-C — manufacturer-stated 12 months per set
• Works without the internet: Inconclusive — we read the vendor's own material and it does not answer this either way. It does not mean the product fails without the internet.
• Aqara rates the 6000 mAh pack at 'up to a year' between charges and, to its credit, states the test basis and the variables rather than leaving the number bare: the figure refers to opening and closing a curtain on a 5 ft track once a day, and 'The actual battery life may vary depending on curtain weight, track length, and friction.' The USB-C port can also power the driver continuously, with the caveat that the cable must be routed so it cannot tangle. Motor pull is rated at a maximum of 12 kg (26.4 lb) and travel at 12 cm/s; rated torque 0.2 N.m at 100 r/min, rated input 5 V, 7.5 W, 1.5 A. A built-in light sensor allows brightness-based automation. IP20, operating range 0-45 C and 0-95% RH non-condensing. Track fit is specific and worth checking before ordering: U-rail needs a bottom slotting width of 8 mm (0.31 in.) or less, I-rail a bottom width of 10 mm (0.39 in.) or more, extendable rods are not supported, and 'U-rail gliders without wheels are not supported'. Dimensions 145.7 x 96 x 46 mm, weight 461 g; model CM-M01, FCC ID 2AKIT-CMM01. The box holds the driver, a USB-C to USB-A cable and two track gliders.
• Security updates: Aqara declares security updates for this model until December 31, 2026 (UK-declared — the maker's legal commitment is filed for the United Kingdom). After that date the product keeps working; the manufacturer simply has no stated obligation to keep issuing security fixes.^[6]

The catch

The hub is not optional and it is not yours to choose freely. This is a Zigbee 3.0 device with no Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth and no Matter radio, and Aqara states both halves of the dependency on its own store: an Aqara hub is required, and hubs from other brands are not compatible. Budget for one before budgeting for the motor. The second thing to check is the track, because this is the rare smart-home product where the wrong measurement makes it useless: the Track Version fits U- and I-rails only, U-rails need a bottom slot of 8 mm or less, I-rails need 10 mm or more, extendable rods are not supported, and U-rail gliders without wheels are not supported. The Rod Version costs $10 more and fits more things. Third — and this is the finding a buyer cannot get from any single page — Aqara's own surfaces disagree about which ecosystems this works with. SmartThings and Home Assistant are named in one section of one Aqara page, and omitted from both the ecosystem section on that same page and the US store listing that sells the product. Matter is described as something that 'will be rolled out as an OTA update of a compatible Aqara Zigbee 3.0 hub' rather than as a shipped capability, which means the Matter answer depends on which hub you own and what firmware it is running. Finally, the good news is unusually well documented: Aqara rates the 6000 mAh battery at up to a year and, rather than leaving that bare, publishes the duty cycle it was measured at and the three variables that will make your result worse.

Who it's for

Someone already inside the Aqara ecosystem — a hub on the shelf, sensors on the walls — who wants existing curtains to open on a schedule, at sunrise, or by voice, and whose track matches one of the two mounting versions. The 12 kg pull and the year-long battery make it a genuinely low-maintenance choice for ordinary household curtains. It is a poor first Aqara purchase, because the mandatory brand-locked hub means the real price is the motor plus a hub. It is the wrong pick if the window has slatted blinds rather than draw curtains, if the track is an extendable rod or uses gliders without wheels, or if SmartThings or Home Assistant is the intended home and a firm answer matters — on those two platforms Aqara's own pages contradict each other, and this catalogue records the contradiction rather than picking the flattering side.

Sources & method

Numbered sources below back the facts marked with the matching number above. This is a research profile: compiled from manufacturer documentation, certification registries, and published testing — we state facts, not verdicts, and we have not physically tested this unit. How we work →

Compatibility and lifecycle information reflects the last-verified date above and can change without notice (firmware updates, cloud-service changes, discontinuations). It is provided as-is, for information — verify with the manufacturer before purchasing. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it. Full terms: Terms of Service.