Smart Curtains: Which Silent Gliss Systems Work with Alexa and Google Home

Someone stands in the kitchen, tells Alexa to open the curtains in the living room, and nothing happens. The curtains are motorised, the remote works fine, the timer opens them every morning at seven, so what's gone wrong. Nothing's gone wrong, the curtains just aren't smart curtains in the way the owner thought they were.

"Smart curtains" means different things to different people, and it's worth being clear about it before you buy. For some, smart curtains are anything that opens and closes on its own, whether that's a remote, a wall switch, or a timer. For others, smart curtains have to hook into the wider smart home, so Alexa or Google Home can control them in a routine with the lights, the heating and the front door. Both definitions are valid, but only one of them needs WiFi and a hub, and only one of them costs the extra.

We sell two Silent Gliss electric curtain systems, and only one of them is a proper smart curtain in the hub-and-voice sense. The honest answer below, so you buy the right thing for your house.

What makes a curtain "smart"

The cheapest route to motorised curtains is a track or pole with an RF remote. You press a button, the motor runs, the curtains move. Add a programmable timer and you can have them open at sunrise without touching anything. That's enough for most people, and it's what the Silent Gliss Autoglide 5100 offers out of the box, including the 11429 timer for daily or weekly schedules.

That's not what Alexa or Google Home are looking for though. Those systems need a bridge that speaks WiFi, so the voice assistant can send a signal to the curtain motor and get a confirmation back. Without that bridge, the curtains are electric but they aren't smart, they're just remote-controlled.

So when people search for smart curtains, they're usually after one of three things. They want voice control, or they want to pull the curtains into a whole-home routine like "goodnight", or they want to check and control them from their phone when they're out. All three need the bridge.

The Silent Gliss 5600 with Move 4.0 Server

Silent Gliss's answer to the smart curtains question is the Silent Gliss 5600 paired with the Move 4.0 Server accessory. The 5600 is the only electric curtain track in the Silent Gliss range that supports home automation, and the Move Server is the hub that makes it talk to the rest of your house.

Once the Move Server is plugged into your WiFi and paired with the track, you get a Silent Gliss app on your phone for manual control and scheduling, plus routines and scenes that tie into Amazon Alexa and Google Home on the residential side. On the commercial side it also speaks KNX, Control4 and Crestron, which matters if a specifier is writing it into a new-build spec. Many other smart home platforms are supported, and we'll happily check compatibility with whatever you've got, just ask. The residential integrations behave the way you'd expect. You say "Alexa, close the lounge curtains," she does. You build a Google Home "Evening" routine that closes the curtains at sunset along with dimming the lights, it runs on the time Google calculates from your location.

Apple HomeKit is the one platform that isn't supported on the Move 4.0 Server. If HomeKit is a hard requirement for you, the Silent Gliss range isn't the right fit, and we'd rather tell you that up front than let you find out after install.

The 5600 also handles the heavier end of what a curtain can be, so up to 65kg on a 10-metre straight run. If you've got floor-to-ceiling glass, a bay window you want to run an electric curtain across without a bend limit, or interlined blackout curtains that are hard work to hand-draw, the 5600 is the track you want. It has to be wired into the mains by a qualified electrician, and the Move Server is an add-on accessory, so it's the higher-cost option in our range, but it's the only one that answers yes when you ask if it works with Alexa.

What the 5100 and Metropole actually do

The 5100 and the electric version of the Silent Gliss Metropole share the same motor, and neither of them connect to WiFi. They're controlled by an RF remote, a wireless wall switch, or a programmable timer, and that's the lot. No app, no voice, no smart home.

That's not a criticism of either product. Most of the people who buy a 5100 want curtains that open and close on their own at set times, or with a remote from the sofa, and both of those jobs are handled. The 5100 plugs into a standard socket, fits in a day without an electrician, and costs considerably less than a 5600 with a Move Server. If "smart" for you means "not getting up to pull the cord," the 5100 is probably the right buy.

If "smart" means Alexa or Google Home, the 5100 is the wrong buy and you'll be disappointed. We get that enquiry often enough that it's worth saying plainly on the page, rather than letting someone find out after the install.

Choosing between them

Most of our customers fall into one of two groups. The first group wants convenience, a remote, and a timer that opens the curtains in the morning, and that group should be looking at the 5100 Autoglide or a manual Metropole pole with the electric motor option. The second group has already got smart home kit in the house and wants the curtains to be part of it, and that group should be looking at the 5600 with a Move Server, probably as part of a wider specification with an electrician already on the job.

If you're unsure which group you're in, send us a photo of the window you're trying to cover and a note about what you'd actually use, and we'll tell you which system fits. We've been selling Silent Gliss since the 1990s so the "which one do I need" question is one we answer most days.

You can see the full range of electric curtains and motorised tracks on our main category page, or call us on 01543 279996 during normal office hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make the 5100 smart by plugging it into a smart plug?

A smart plug only switches power on and off, so at best you could make the 5100 open when power is applied, but you'd lose the remote, the timer, and any sense of where the curtains currently are. It's not a workaround we recommend. If you want smart home integration, the 5600 with the Move 4.0 Server is the right system.

Does Silent Gliss have its own smartphone app?

Yes, the app is called Move 4.0 by Silent Gliss and pairs with the Move 4.0 Server to let you operate the curtains, set schedules, and create scenes from your phone. It's on both iOS and Android. The 5100 and Metropole electric don't connect to the app because they don't have a WiFi bridge. Note that there's an older "Move by Silent Gliss" app on the stores too, that one is for the previous Move generation, the 4.0 Server only works with the Move 4.0 app.

Do I need WiFi in the room with the 5600 curtain track?

The Move 4.0 Server connects to your home network either by ethernet cable to the router or by WiFi (2.4 GHz), and then talks to the curtain track wirelessly over Silent Gliss's own short-range radio protocol. The track itself doesn't need WiFi at the window, the radio link is built into the system. Anywhere you can reach your home network, the Move Server will work.

Can I control any Silent Gliss system with Apple HomeKit?

No. Apple HomeKit isn't supported on the Move 4.0 Server, which means none of the Silent Gliss curtain or roller blind systems we sell will appear in the Apple Home app. If HomeKit is essential for you, we'd rather tell you up front than have you find out after install. Alexa and Google Home are both fully supported on the 5600 with a Move Server.

Will the 5600 work with Matter?

Silent Gliss haven't released a Matter bridge at the time of writing. The Move 4.0 Server integrates with Alexa and Google Home on the residential side, plus KNX, Control4 and Crestron for commercial specifications, and many other platforms on request. If Matter support matters to you for future-proofing, call us and we'll check the current position with Silent Gliss UK.