I have bought several of these for use in my office and I have to say despite a few hiccups they work great and have lasted almost a full year. year.BALL & SOCKET: Out of the box I thought I had the same issue as the other reviewers where the ball joint ball didn't fit. In the end we found out that the socket actually has an internal part that you have to remove first, insert the ball and then replace. The instructions weren't entirely clear, but we got it right. Later units came with all of that pre-assembled, so I think someone at iKlip is listening! here. I contacted the manufacturer and they said it was an apple update issue causing the remotes to stop working properly and sent me updated blinds for free. I hope that new devices will come with this new closure. I will update my review if I need to purchase more of these devices in the future. Overall the units lasted almost a year and once I got the issues resolved they have been very helpful - our team use them for tutorial videos and trade shows and it's nice to have all the potential accessories we might need in one unit .