Generation 2!

Is the hardware included with the Gen 2 capable of offering HomeKit? I understand the software is a separate issue. Like others have said its the only reason I would have to upgrade my Gen 1.

Alex

Hey @magictoaster,

Apologies, but our store currently does not take orders to Canada. However, please email orders@rachio.com and someone will get back to you shortly.

Will there be a similar upgrade discount offer for the 8-zone version? I’ll have an easier time selling my old one and upgrading for cheap/free if it costs me even less than $149. (BTW, thanks for the generous upgrade offer!)

All I can say is Gen 2 does not currently support HomeKit.

:cheers:

Thanks Franz. That last bullet is often reason enough for me! The flow sensor capability is potentially the most interesting - any chance you’re able to share roughly how this would work? I’m guessing that it allows a more accurate view of water consumption, and the flow sensor would need to be plumbed inline with the main water line into my sprinkler system.

That said, I might hold off for the 8-zone unit (unless buying the 16-zone unit at a discount now is likely to be cheaper than buying the 8-zone unit later, if it’s not likely to have an equivalent discount? I realize you may not be in a position to answer this one on a public forum!).

I don’t know the specifics yet sorry.

:cheers:

Same here, would be great to get some formal announcement that the discount will be extended to the 8-zone.

Yes, it will provide you extremely accurate consumption data. It will also allow us to completely dial in the precipitation rate for each zone, which in turn will make our run time calculations better. There are a whole slew of possibilities once we can measure flow. Water budgets, notifications, etc.

Yes regarding the inline plumbing, and directly wired to the controller.

:cheers:

OK. May want to take Alarm.com integration out of the marketing literature then! I will look forward to that when it comes as I control a lot of my house through that app.

Do you happen to have any example flow sensors to reference? I would like to direct bury the cable before I do some work in the area where it would go.

We will announce all of the 8 zone information once we are ready :sunny:

:cheers:

Great! I’ve sent an email.

http://support.rachio.com/article/459-flow-sensors

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Hey @alexrodriguez, jumping in here. The discount on the 16 zone Gen 2 is the only one we have planned.

@NickT, thanks for the interest. Our Alarm.com integration will be part of their spring release.

As a PSA to all those who would like this to mean that Gen 2 will get HomeKit turned on at some later date, be warned that this wishful thinking has caused disappointment for other products.

See, for example, some level of outrage when ecobee released a new HomeKit version of their thermostat six months after hinting at possible HomeKit support for the original ecobee3 at CES 2015 (in vague, NDA-inspired-ish language), among other places.
http://www.smarthomehub.net/forums/discussion/489/homekit-enabled-ecobee3
http://www.smarthomehub.net/forums/discussion/539/early-production-e3-dumping

Though I can’t blame Rachio for being vague, either (assuming their might be something there), since Chamberlain’s MyQ Garage apparently has HomeKit-capable hardware and customers were promised a HomeKit-enabling firmware upgrade over a year ago (again, at CES 2015) which has still not materialized.
http://www.smarthomehub.net/forums/discussion/519/myq-garage-to-be-homekit-compatible-with-just-a-firmware-upgrade

Anyway, I’m still hopeful for Rachio HomeKit support in the future, but I’ve learned that I should be patient and wait for full announcements before I count on it. I realize that Rachio has to keep their proprietery business information to themselves and should not over-promise anything - that just leads to customer frustration and disappointment. And, of course, dealing with Apple means signing non-disclosure agreements and limited information-sharing.

From what I’ve seen, Rachio is a great, incredibly responsive company and I love their product. Thanks, Franz, for offering as much info as you can!

I’m just putting this out as a warning that a non-promise should be considered a non-promise, nothing more. :slight_smile:

3 Likes

I just bought the Rachio Gen1 on Amazon cause it dropped in price finally. But today just as it arrived Gen2 is released. From what I read thus far on improvements it seems that I will be just as happy right now with Gen1. But my question is will I still be happy in a year? In other words, @franz do you anticipate the software and updates in the future to work on both generations? Or would it be smart for me to return this and get Gen2?

For both gen 1 and gen 2, any client software updates (mobile/web) or cloud-to-cloud integrations (Alexa, sensors, etc.) will be fully supported.

:cheers:

Will the Gen1’s sensor inputs support the flow sensor as well (assuming I have nothing else hooked up to it)?

Will there be any differences in linking multiple gen 2 clocks?

@Munch, no, there won’t be any differences in linking multiple Gen 2 clocks. This is often requested feature and something we’re looking at doing, but I don’t have a timetable for it currently.