Gen 3

Ethernet (or more generally wired networks) will NEVER go away in favor of wireless – there will always be both. Wireless is often more convenient than wired (but not always), however that convenience comes with several downsides as well. I am an electronics engineer, and I work with both wired and wireless networks, both at work and at home. Wired networks are more restrictive than wireless? Absolutely not! Other than the convenience of not having to run a cable, which is not a big problem for commercial users, wireless is more restrictive than wired in every other way.

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As @ghctim says, wired over wireless…check! Since you have to run power to the Rachio (=1 cable) anyway then an option for an ethernet cable with PoE instead would be no more difficult (=1 cable) but dispenses with the need for mains electrical competence and will give a rock solid data connection. But I guess it adds to the cost of production for a fairly marginal benefit.

Obviously wired is more reliable than WiFi and will never go away.
I can see where Rachio is happy with their product, and wouldn’t want to spend a lot of money on a redesign just for Ethernet.
BUT how much would it have added to the unit during the design phase? If a new unit is designed then Ethernet should be included. Why limit your sales for such a trivial cost.
However, could POE actually provide enough power to run not only the controller but also the valves?

@WokingWounded - PoE 802.3at (AKA PoE+) delivers 25.5 watts to a device at 48 volts DC. So there would be additional issue of converting DC PoE power to the 24 VAC that is input into the Rachio and that the sprinkler solenoids use. Plus, I don’t think PoE+ can deliver as many amps as the existing Rachio power supply does (looks like about half, not counting conversion and distance losses).

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The transformer that came with the controller was a 1 amp 24VAC output i.e. a nominal 24W so I guess that broadly speaking lines up fine but I accept that introducing a 48VDC to 24VAC inverter would add cost (as would an Ethernet connection). I see that PoE has been spec’d up to 60 or 70W now although I don’t know if hardware is in production yet.

I have a rental property and I didn’t install Rachio because WiFi is not guaranteed. If Rachio has an option to use 4G/LTE sim and use data bandwidth for all its cloud communication, I don’t mind paying extra. Basically such device uses WiFi when available. If WiFi is not avaialable, falls back to 4G data sim.

That looks like it’s just a wireless router, it appears you still would need a 3G/4G device.

yes, you still need a 4g card that plugs into the usb port, but its cheap and you can attach the rachio to that sid.

I use Verizon, looks like this might work. I assume every carrier has something similar.

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Software update v3 will hopefully address this problem – where multiple controllers cannot be merged within the app to appear as one larger controller:

https://support.rachio.com/hc/en-us/articles/115010379827-How-do-I-control-two-or-more-Rachio-controllers-

My biggest gripe about the Gen2 is the wiring terminal blocks. Pushing wires in isn’t a problem, but releasing wires for service or test is a real problem. We had a couple of zones in the terminal blocks where they would not release the wires. Ultimately I have 2 zones now where the buttons are crushed in now as the wouldn’t release the wire and had to be cut off! Screw terminals would be better.

Rachio hardware team should buy few of Ring cameras and see how they packaged the unit and the tools that they packaged to make installation easier. Ring guys thought through everything.

There is lot of room for improvement with Rachio hardware like what you suggested above.

That is one more device to track. I would rather prefer an integrated option that the software understands and let you configure. Imagine a community HOA that wants to use Rachio to control sprinklers. Usually it is not easy to run a cable modem line to those corner closets where the sprinkler controllers are typically located. Now with 4G SIM option, the Rachio is live and useful. You can even use it in remote areas where cell signal is available, but not internet connection.

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I’m a programmer. I wanted to chime in about ethernet vs. wireless. The rachio gen 2 produces a bit of noise and when connected to the same channel as other components we have found some interference. We corrected the issue by creating a separate ssid and changed the channel. As far as the comment above about wifi being the newest latest greatest compared to ethernet , I beg to differ. I prefer hard wired over wifi any day. I feel that most techs feel the same

With this being said I feel like the new unit should offer both ethernet or wifi

Does anyone have the Technical specs of Gen 3 ? Does it now support Ethernet?

@sbarnhard

Here is a comparison sheet of our current products. R3 does not support Ethernet.

:cheers:

Clear, thank you.

Does anyone know when pre ordered Gen 3 will be shipping, website say April, its 15th now, still no idea on the dates?

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