I love that i can be outside and manually turn and turn off any zone. Great for troubleshooting. I sometimes only need to run a zone for a few seconds (like when troubleshooting a sprinkler head). So i pick a zone, press the manual button, set the time (default is 3 minutes), and start. I may only need it in for five seconds. In the past, the timer status bar had a stop button so I could stop it anytime during the manual cycle.
I noticed a number of weeks ago that the stop button is now gone. So now there is no way to stop it before the timer stops (minimum is one minute, which is an eternity if there is a broken pipe but you can’t stop it).
One of the big reasons i got this controller was the ability to turn valves on and off quickly while at the valve location. Now that won’t work.
Please advise what i have to do to get that feature turned back on. Maybe it’s just a setting that i can change myself
Thanks Stewart. I tried app.rach.io and yes, that works. I don’t have Google home; I have Alexa. But I have an android phone; it would be nice to say 'hey google, start watering…". Of course, that means remembering which zone is which (I have pictures for each). I have 13 zones. I would like to know why Rachio screwed up their app since I was used to using it.
I’m curious why you chose it over the website. I think of the website as the primary means of interaction for anything complex; it’s much easier to do it on a big screen and with a physical keyboard. Then, when using a phone to adjust heads or whatever, I prefer the website because it works the same (layout on the mobile site is of course different, but the same options are present).
I also use Alexa for most voice input. Unfortunately, the Alexa app on a mobile has no option to stay listening; you must tap before speaking. You can install Google Home and set it up just for Rachio. You can use it whenever no-touch control is desired. It won’t break any of the functionality you have now with Alexa.
I prefer to use the app on my phone, it is designed for a smaller phone display. I use the web browser on my laptop while in the house, not while outside testing.
I just updated to the new iOS app, as I am getting my irrigation system ready for the watering season, and I am manually running zones while testing and checking them. After starting a manual run, I have to navigate back to the zone display, pressing the circle with 3 dots brings up a page with a stop button.
I am able to stop the manual run sooner than one minute of duration, but it does take more interactions to find the stop run button. After starting a manual run, the app should remain on a manual run page, with options to stop or skip to the next zone available with a single touch.
As for the app vs web, I used the app to initially set up my Rachio and just assumed that was the way to access it (didn’t realize you could do the same things on the web version).
I do like the idea of using Google Home so I can speak to the phone when I want to start or stop a zone. I used to have 10 zones but did some additional irrigation and added three more and switched a few things around. So I don’t what is what after zone 7. I’ll learn them eventually so I can speak to my phone. Thanks for the tip.
