It’s been a little while. I hope you didn’t think we were ghosting you We’ve been hard at work on some super exciting projects. The launch of Rachio App V4 is one of them!
Read below for what’s new - we’ve added and changed some fun things based on your feedback. Plus, there’s more to come this season (it’s only January after all.)
If you haven’t automatically received the app update, head to your App/Play Store to manually update. As always, keep on sharing your feedback and get ready for an amazing season, more exciting features, and some reveals on some recent [super secret] projects.
TL;DR
The home screen has been updated to make way for some new features.
Our new Lawn Smarts section of the home screen shows you how to maintain a healthy landscape.
The calendar, weather widget, and upcoming watering sections of the app now include past waterings. They were also redesigned to better show when your schedules are running.
The inbox has been retired. Important messages will now live on the home screen.
The release includes bug fixes and performance enhancements.
FAQ
Why did you move stuff around?
Our Product and Development teams are always working to improve the user experience and add new features. We learned that many customers felt the previous app was a little cluttered. We listened to their feedback and made some updates.
What is so great about this update?
Yard tab was renamed to Zones in a move to make it easier for users to understand how to get to their zone settings.
The Calendar tab, Weather Details, and Upcoming Watering sections of the app now include past waterings. These sections were also redesigned to better show when your schedules are running.
The Calendar tab has been improved. You can see future and past waterings in the improved Calendar View. You can also easily set a Watering Delay and access Schedule settings.
Water Usage is now located in the More tab so it no longer clutters the home screen. The view has been improved to show total usage and individual zone usage.
Lawn Smarts is now featured on the Home Screen, giving you tips on how to maintain a great looking and healthy landscape.
The inbox has been retired. Important messages will now be right on the home screen.
What was moved? Where can I find it?
Flow Notifications are now in the More tab
Usage is now in the More tab
Schedules can now be accessed from the Calendar tab and the More tab
Standby mode is now controlled in the More tab
Water Delay feature is now controlled in the Calendar tab
Weather Intelligence and Weather Intelligence Plus settings are now located in More tab under Controller Settings
Will this do things like pop-up notifications “Hey, this is a common time of year to seed/fertilize/aerate/dethatch/lime/etc. in your area based on normal weather conditions.” It’d be slick if we could turn on/off items we like to do yearly and have this keep a log of when they were done and do reminders.
Nice! I can see waterings back in last season. How far back will you maintain/show history? I’d love to be able to enter other events like “Winterized” or “Opened for season.”
Thanks! Before someone suggests including going in/out of “standby mode” in the history covers those scenarios I’d mention there are additional times I may go in/out of standby mode in the middle of the season.
@laura.bauman@franz - Just an FYI, the Accessories tab in More has been moved under Controller Settings. I check this pretty regularly to see how my connection is to my WFM. An extra step isn’t the end of the world but it is less convenient. As for the other changes, I generally like the layout except for the removal of the water usage information from the home screen. Your lawn care information can be located elsewhere in the app as I don’t need to keep seeing it every time I use it. The home screen should only provide useful information that I need to see at a glance such as weather, when the system has run or will run and how much water has been used. I don’t know about the other users, but I found that information to be informative and conveniently located on the home screen. I may be wrong, but I thought monitoring water usage was one of the main features and reasons for buying the controller. Does moving the usage and accessories tabs “deeper” within the app have to do with the loss of the WFM? I would hope this is not the case as you assured the existing WFM owners that you would continue to support the product.
Thanks a ton for the feedback and suggestions This is just the beginning of V4 - our work in the usage area of the app is not done But your feedback here helps us with how we move forward through the season.
In regards to flow, you should already be receiving notifications when your WFM is disconnected - do you not get those? Or do you just prefer to check in via the app? Regardless, moving usage and accessories isn’t a sign of de-prioritization, it just gives us more space to expand on other exciting features to come.
Thanks for the reply and I appreciate that the development of the app is evolving. As for the WFM, I like to check periodically on the signal strength to determine if it is improving or degrading. No disconnections at this point.
Hi All - I am missing the start times for the upcoming scheduled watering. I see the durations for each of the zones in a few places. And I see the last watering time on the home screen. Would like to see the start times somewhere so I can check schedules to make sure I don’t have any unwanted schedules. I have a 14 zone yard with lots of trees (lots of long watering cycles).
We’ve been hard at work on some super exciting projects. The launch of Rachio App V4 is one of them!
And history will show 1 years worth!
This is just the beginning of V4 - our work in the usage area of the app is not done 
