Short answer: it is almost always the battery, the remote pairing or an obstruction, in that order. Work through the checks below before assuming the motor has failed, because the motor is the least likely culprit.
Start with the battery, even if it seems fine
Battery motors fade before they die. A shade that moves slowly, stops partway or responds only sometimes is usually a low battery behaving like a fault. Charge or replace, run the shade through a full cycle, and most problems end here.
Then the remote and the pairing
A remote that does nothing at all usually needs its own battery. A remote that works standing next to the window but not across the room is losing signal, not pairing. A remote that operates the wrong shade, or several at once, has a channel problem: each shade lives on a channel, and it is easy to nudge the channel selector without noticing.
App and voice control drop for their own reasons
If the wall remote works but the app does not, the shade is fine and the bridge is not. Power cycle the hub, confirm the home network did not change name or password, and reconnect. Voice control sits on top of the app, so fix the app first and the voice assistant usually follows.
Check the path before you blame the motor
A shade that starts and stops in the same place is often hitting something: a latch, a plant, a stack of books on the sill. Motors are built to stop on resistance rather than fight it. Clear the path and run it again.
Scheduled shades that stopped keeping schedule
Schedules live in the hub or the app, not the shade. A power cut, a time zone change or an app update can quietly clear them. Rebuilding the schedule takes minutes and fixes what looks like a midnight mind of its own.
When it is actually the motor
If the shade does nothing on a charged battery with a paired remote and a clear path, it is time for a service visit. If we installed your treatments, our four-year service guarantee covers us coming out at no cost. Factory defects are covered for life under the manufacturer's limited lifetime warranty, and the warranty transfers if you sell the home.
What to have ready when you call
Which shade, what it does and does not do, and whether the remote, the app or both have stopped. Those three answers usually let us arrive with the right part instead of a second appointment.
