Rachio 3 Not Responding in Homekit (Again)

Troubleshooting Tech Support
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I’ve been following this thread for a year now. Being in the software development world myself, I can’t imagine having an outstanding issue like this in my product, especially one that has many displeased customers posting on the public internet about it.

Personally, at about the second month of this thread I moved my Rachio to Homebridge and have never looked back. I realize that Homebridge is not for everyone, and that Rachio is a consumer product that shouldn’t need that kind of “tinkering” to get an advertised feature to work, but it has been a good solution for me.

What it comes down to, in my opinion, is that Rachio is not a software company; they are a lawn/landscape care company that felt like they could make a IoT product and be early to market with a compelling feature like Homekit integration. Their reliance on third party code and consultations with Apple and their vendors to attempt to find a solution shows this, in my view. Since we know the first version that broke, and the last version that worked, doing a simple compare of the code differences between those versions should at least shed light on the issue, if not point it out explicitly.

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Hey everyone!

Thank you, as always, for the discussion, candid feedback, and troubleshooting. I assure you we are not ignoring you and are incredibly active on this thread (though lately as readers rather than posters.) Our new Director of Engineering, @Michael_I, will be a pair of fresh eyes on this issue to determine what else can be done without third party support. He does need some time to get acquainted with your reports, troubleshooting history, and setup, so we ask for your patience while he gets up to speed (I know, I know, I’m the worst for asking this again. We understand how long this is taking and sincerely appreciate the patience.)

I want to stress that this feature is not being neglected and we working to find solutions for everyone. We’re as frustrated by the experience as you are and hope we can take a new look to determine what’s happening with those having issues outside of mesh routers.

Please know that our Engineering team is committed to providing the best possible experience for our customers and we promise this is being worked on and not neglected.

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@laura.bauman please tell @Michael_I to revert to the previous firmware. At least then I could get a few days of HomeKit functionality before having to reboot it. I refuse to believe this is a 3rd party issue when the issue changed so dramatically between firmware revisions. I am not running a “Mesh” network either… so it aint that…

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Agreed @MaydayDarkhorse.

@laura.bauman and @Michael_I I too have followed all of the troubleshooting steps and even removed my entire mesh network and went back to a single router running 2 separate networks and STILL have this issue. I’ve spent hours troubleshooting and have basically given up now hoping that there will be a real fix posted in this thread which will hopefully resolve the issue and most likely result in a new fully tested and QA’d firmware for us all.

Like most of us on this thread, we’re eager to know what was even added to the most recent firmware that broke it all for us. Is there any way to revert?

I’m sure there would be a bunch of people on this thread who would even assist with testing a beta firmware for you if you wanted to go that route.

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It’s nice to know you have hired a new engineer with fresh eyes to look at this problem. Hopefully someone with experience in software and networking !!! We are all rooting for you Michael !!!

*FYI - with my Synology router and companion mesh router (the best and most versatile mesh system available in my humble opinion) it is easy for me to remove the companion mesh access point and go back to my original configuration. I tried this after the 631 FW update and no dice. 631 is broke for sure

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There’s a new 632 firmware update but apparently it doesn’t fix HomeKit integration:

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I updated firmware to 632 and reset my device.
Connected to dedicated non-mesh hidden WiFi network called “rachio” via Apple AirPort access point backhauled via Ethernet to main Eero network.
Have seven zones.
Only added 1 zone as a test so far, disabling the remaining 7 on the controller.
Was not able to add HomeKit accessory while phone was connected to the “rachio” Wifi, but was able to after connecting phone back to my main Eero WiFi mesh network, and keeping the Rachio connected to it’s own “rachio” dedicated WiFi access point.
Then unplugged the Rachio and waited for Accessory to go into “not responding” status.
After plugging the Rachio back in, the status returned to responding and seems still to remain controllable.

Will continue to add remaining zones. Will unplug and replug a few times as well to monitor connectivity and responsiveness.

Looks like some progress at least. I’ll be in touch.

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No Dice!
Rachio started showing “not responding”…
If I switched back and forth between the Eero mesh and dedicated WiFi on my phone, it would start showing responding for a few mins, but then go out again.
Last test was to disable the dedicated network and try and reset it and connect back to the Eero mesh… But while it connects and works, it will not add as a HomeKit accessory on the Eero mesh network.

So for me, even a dedicated WiFi network was unstable and relegated it useless.

I’ll give it 1 more season, then I’m trashing it and moving on to something else… I think I’ll set it up as a target for my gun range… at least that way I’ll have gotten some satisfaction from having had it.

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It was mentioned to delete home from homekit and re-add all devices to see if it un-bricks Rachio controller. I hate do that since I have so many Homekit devices to re-add.

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Deleting my home would take me months to reconfigure. I have hundreds of devices and very complex setups… It’s not worth a few hundred dollars to me to just get something else… And I don’t see them fixing this. They obviously are unwilling to purchase a mesh network to trouble-shoot in their labs…

Anyone heard anything about other HomeKit compatible units working reliably?

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Have a look at this:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.imore.com/best-homekit-sprinkler-controllers%3famp

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I’m on 615 still it seems and haven’t been able to get mine to work in months… I’ll start doing some deeper trouble shooting tomorrow…

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I ask this with the most respect. I understand why if something is advertised to work it should work. But the question I have, which is more important to you? That the Rachio connect with Homekit, or that your lawn gets watered when it needs the water and efficiently uses the water? Yes, Rachio has problems with Homekit and that’s not good. But from what I’ve seen using Rachio, if you take the time to set it up properly, it does a great job at watering. I’m a FlexDaily user, and it’s been basically set it up, take some time and effort to fine tune it, and then I just forget about it. I’m just another customer, but I would ask that you give it a chance to do what it does best. If the Homekit connection is the most important, then I would certainly look for something else. Just please don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Again, I respectfully ask this.

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I truly appreciate your stated respect and actually share your sentiment. And I will admit, although I have not started watering yet this year due to the amount of rain we’ve been receiving, the Rachio 3 did a great job last year… It’s an exceptionally fine product for its intended purpose. But principally, it’s the deception, that is the rub. It has been over a year, and it still specifies on their website and in marketing channels that this device integrates with HomeKit, while this is simply not true… they should remove this specification from their website and submit a formal statement…

I have 2 Lutron and 2 hue hub/bridges with hundreds of “physical” devices connecting to and integrating through them with HomeKit. I find it difficult to conceive as to why it is so hard to have 1 Rachio device to be configured as a hub/bridge for HomeKit with 8 or 16 “virtual” toggles accessible through it, so that when the valves open other automations within HomeKit can be triggered… Which is the “why” of what HomeKit users want the integration to accomplish…

As for myself, I am able to accomplish triggers this through Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT, or my Hubitat setups, so I can live without it. But it’s just that bitter taste when things don’t work as advertised/promised, especially after so long…

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I’m with @basilbabaa here. It’s a great product for its intended purpose. For scheduled waterings, adjusting based on weather, and adjusting for the season, it’s phenomenal.

BUT… there are other smart sprinkler controllers that do that too. Part of the appeal (for me at least) for HomeKit integration is the ability to use Siri via my Apple Watch to control zones while actively working in the yard.

If I’m doing a repair or adjustment on a sprinkler head and my hands are wet or dirty or I’m wearing gloves, I can just say, “Hey Siri…” and test the zone. I can then turn it off with my voice, make another adjustment to the sprinkler, and do it all again. I can manually run zones right before and after laying down fertilizer without getting fertilizer on my phone.

Sure, that’s not my everyday use case, but it was a feature that I paid for, and a feature I previously used regularly for at least one full watering season.

I definitely get where you’re coming from, and I think the vast majority of us in this thread aren’t looking to throw out or replace our Rachio. We’re just upset and confused that this issue (however minor) has been broken for SO long. On top of that, Rachio has given incorrect troubleshooting advice and pushed the blame onto mesh networks and Apple, and then even disappeared for a bit.

I also agree with another one of @basilbabaa’s great points - they’re still marketing it as compatible with HomeKit. If you bought one of these within the past year and HomeKit was on your list of reasons to buy this device - you were basically lied to.

I wouldn’t replace it now. It does a good job, and I couldn’t get a refund for my current unit. Hell, Rachio can’t even offer to replace it because that won’t fix the problem. However, if I had just bought one, installed it, and found this thread after not being able to connect the unit to HomeKit, I’d return it immediately. Furthermore, I won’t be recommending it to anyone if they ask. Sure, it does great when scheduled, and Homekit may not be important to them, but what if another bigger issue comes up? How long would it take to fix that problem when this issue has been present for a year?

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I agree with @taylorjg. I could have bought a connected sprinkler controller for less than half the price of the Rachio which would have performed to the same standard - But I wanted HomeKit for the same reasons @taylorjg mentioned. I work on my sprinklers a lot and the ability to have Siri turn them on and off from my watch was the killer feature I was willing to pay a (hefty) premium for.

Living here in Colorado the weather related features are pretty much useless except for seasonal shift. The weather is just too erratic for it to actually work. If it rains in Denver it certainly doesn’t here in Castle Pines, so I would never rely on those features.

In short I paid the premium for a premium sprinkler controller, but ended up with a run of the mill product with advertised features that are completely missing.

Anyone reading this thread looking for advice before purchasing - Just buy the cheapest alternative and skip the Rachio headache.

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4/24/20 HomeKit Update

Good afternoon everyone. As promised, I wanted to provide an update for you all around HomeKit connectivity issues that some of you have been experiencing.

We’ve been dedicating resources to resolve this issue since it was first reported. Unfortunately, we have had difficulty replicating the issue in our test environment and our Wi-Fi chip manufacturer has also not been able to reproduce it. Additionally, we have many HomeKit users that have no issues at all.

This week, we were able to reproduce the issue and we are collecting the logs. We will do a deep dive on the data and formulate next steps.

The team is also looking at a firmware update from our Wi-Fi chip manufacturer as a potential solution as they have made some updates to their HomeKit functionality. The challenge is that our firmware is something we absolutely have to get it right and we must be diligent about what is in those updates and perform a thorough testing effort.

Thank you for bringing this issue to my attention and I will continue to update this thread weekly.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Michael

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Installed my Rachio 3 and Flow Meter last summer (2019) and have had no issues, with the system or HomeKit. Just checked f/w and it’s still at 615 (iro3-firmware-hk-5-615), so it looks like I’m one of the lucky ones who never updated. Asus AC-RT68U router, Rachio controller on 2.4 GHz, home hubs (Apple TV4K and iPad Pro) both on 5 GHz, approx. 25 IoT devices. Will start testing again (weather permitting here in CO) and report back in a few weeks when system is back up (still in Standby from last fall).

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@Michael_I It seems there are a few of us in having these issues in the Denver area. Since you are having difficulty replicating the issue, I would be happy for you to come and take a look at my setup.

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Installed my Rachio 3 today and have the same issue - Appears as Not Responding in the Apple Home app. Google Nest WiFi mesh network with the same SSID for 2.4 and 5GHz. I have 2 wired (AppleTV) and 5 wireless (HomePod) home hubs. Rachio app says it’s connected to 2.4Ghz band. Phone and HomePods are on 5GHz pretty much always.

Have already reached out to support via email.