Initial setup without wiring

Hello All,

I’m getting an irrigation system installed soon. I already have my Rachio 3. I was wanting to power it on, setup the WiFi, setup my account, and generally make sure there are no hiccups as much as I can.

Obviously I don’t have any zones to wire up until the irrigation system is installed.

Is this a bad idea for any reason?

TIA

I don’t see any reason to not do this. You can set it up to connect to WiFi in the comfort of your home and know it and your Rachio account is ready when time to install. The WiFi setup of Rachio can be fickle. Just be sure there’s a decent WiFi signal at your final install location. Once the Rachio is on the internet, technically it’s possible to setup zones and schedules without wiring. But if you choose flex scheduling, I’d disable those schedules until the Rachionis Wired and you know it can operate your sprinklers.

Exactly what I did, no problems at all. Unrelated, but if your default firmware is less than 631 (I’m still at 615), I’d suggest NOT upgrading until later (possible HomeKit related issues). Love the Rachio 3 and the Flow Meter I purchased last summer. I’ve had the unit in Standby since late last fall. Will be starting my irrigation system back up again soon when I know it won’t freeze again here in CO (ironic since it’s supposed to be near 90° tomorrow).

Thank you both.

I won’t be using home kit. Any other reason to not upgrade?

Thanks