Have a look at this:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.imore.com/best-homekit-sprinkler-controllers%3famp
I’m on 615 still it seems and haven’t been able to get mine to work in months… I’ll start doing some deeper trouble shooting tomorrow…
I ask this with the most respect. I understand why if something is advertised to work it should work. But the question I have, which is more important to you? That the Rachio connect with Homekit, or that your lawn gets watered when it needs the water and efficiently uses the water? Yes, Rachio has problems with Homekit and that’s not good. But from what I’ve seen using Rachio, if you take the time to set it up properly, it does a great job at watering. I’m a FlexDaily user, and it’s been basically set it up, take some time and effort to fine tune it, and then I just forget about it. I’m just another customer, but I would ask that you give it a chance to do what it does best. If the Homekit connection is the most important, then I would certainly look for something else. Just please don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Again, I respectfully ask this.
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I truly appreciate your stated respect and actually share your sentiment. And I will admit, although I have not started watering yet this year due to the amount of rain we’ve been receiving, the Rachio 3 did a great job last year… It’s an exceptionally fine product for its intended purpose. But principally, it’s the deception, that is the rub. It has been over a year, and it still specifies on their website and in marketing channels that this device integrates with HomeKit, while this is simply not true… they should remove this specification from their website and submit a formal statement…
I have 2 Lutron and 2 hue hub/bridges with hundreds of “physical” devices connecting to and integrating through them with HomeKit. I find it difficult to conceive as to why it is so hard to have 1 Rachio device to be configured as a hub/bridge for HomeKit with 8 or 16 “virtual” toggles accessible through it, so that when the valves open other automations within HomeKit can be triggered… Which is the “why” of what HomeKit users want the integration to accomplish…
As for myself, I am able to accomplish triggers this through Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT, or my Hubitat setups, so I can live without it. But it’s just that bitter taste when things don’t work as advertised/promised, especially after so long…
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I’m with @basilbabaa here. It’s a great product for its intended purpose. For scheduled waterings, adjusting based on weather, and adjusting for the season, it’s phenomenal.
BUT… there are other smart sprinkler controllers that do that too. Part of the appeal (for me at least) for HomeKit integration is the ability to use Siri via my Apple Watch to control zones while actively working in the yard.
If I’m doing a repair or adjustment on a sprinkler head and my hands are wet or dirty or I’m wearing gloves, I can just say, “Hey Siri…” and test the zone. I can then turn it off with my voice, make another adjustment to the sprinkler, and do it all again. I can manually run zones right before and after laying down fertilizer without getting fertilizer on my phone.
Sure, that’s not my everyday use case, but it was a feature that I paid for, and a feature I previously used regularly for at least one full watering season.
I definitely get where you’re coming from, and I think the vast majority of us in this thread aren’t looking to throw out or replace our Rachio. We’re just upset and confused that this issue (however minor) has been broken for SO long. On top of that, Rachio has given incorrect troubleshooting advice and pushed the blame onto mesh networks and Apple, and then even disappeared for a bit.
I also agree with another one of @basilbabaa’s great points - they’re still marketing it as compatible with HomeKit. If you bought one of these within the past year and HomeKit was on your list of reasons to buy this device - you were basically lied to.
I wouldn’t replace it now. It does a good job, and I couldn’t get a refund for my current unit. Hell, Rachio can’t even offer to replace it because that won’t fix the problem. However, if I had just bought one, installed it, and found this thread after not being able to connect the unit to HomeKit, I’d return it immediately. Furthermore, I won’t be recommending it to anyone if they ask. Sure, it does great when scheduled, and Homekit may not be important to them, but what if another bigger issue comes up? How long would it take to fix that problem when this issue has been present for a year?
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I agree with @taylorjg. I could have bought a connected sprinkler controller for less than half the price of the Rachio which would have performed to the same standard - But I wanted HomeKit for the same reasons @taylorjg mentioned. I work on my sprinklers a lot and the ability to have Siri turn them on and off from my watch was the killer feature I was willing to pay a (hefty) premium for.
Living here in Colorado the weather related features are pretty much useless except for seasonal shift. The weather is just too erratic for it to actually work. If it rains in Denver it certainly doesn’t here in Castle Pines, so I would never rely on those features.
In short I paid the premium for a premium sprinkler controller, but ended up with a run of the mill product with advertised features that are completely missing.
Anyone reading this thread looking for advice before purchasing - Just buy the cheapest alternative and skip the Rachio headache.
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4/24/20 HomeKit Update
Good afternoon everyone. As promised, I wanted to provide an update for you all around HomeKit connectivity issues that some of you have been experiencing.
We’ve been dedicating resources to resolve this issue since it was first reported. Unfortunately, we have had difficulty replicating the issue in our test environment and our Wi-Fi chip manufacturer has also not been able to reproduce it. Additionally, we have many HomeKit users that have no issues at all.
This week, we were able to reproduce the issue and we are collecting the logs. We will do a deep dive on the data and formulate next steps.
The team is also looking at a firmware update from our Wi-Fi chip manufacturer as a potential solution as they have made some updates to their HomeKit functionality. The challenge is that our firmware is something we absolutely have to get it right and we must be diligent about what is in those updates and perform a thorough testing effort.
Thank you for bringing this issue to my attention and I will continue to update this thread weekly.
Have a fantastic weekend everyone!
Michael
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Installed my Rachio 3 and Flow Meter last summer (2019) and have had no issues, with the system or HomeKit. Just checked f/w and it’s still at 615 (iro3-firmware-hk-5-615), so it looks like I’m one of the lucky ones who never updated. Asus AC-RT68U router, Rachio controller on 2.4 GHz, home hubs (Apple TV4K and iPad Pro) both on 5 GHz, approx. 25 IoT devices. Will start testing again (weather permitting here in CO) and report back in a few weeks when system is back up (still in Standby from last fall).
@Michael_I It seems there are a few of us in having these issues in the Denver area. Since you are having difficulty replicating the issue, I would be happy for you to come and take a look at my setup.
Installed my Rachio 3 today and have the same issue - Appears as Not Responding in the Apple Home app. Google Nest WiFi mesh network with the same SSID for 2.4 and 5GHz. I have 2 wired (AppleTV) and 5 wireless (HomePod) home hubs. Rachio app says it’s connected to 2.4Ghz band. Phone and HomePods are on 5GHz pretty much always.
Have already reached out to support via email.
Was there an updated pushed out? I’ve included a screenshot showing my controller’s firmware version.
I’m asking because mine went offline yesterday and today I tried unplugged it for 30 minutes and when I plugged it back in the LED on it did the usual lights and then went back online without having to do the update WiFi PITA procedure.
@MaydayDarkhorse, thank you so much for the offer! Right now, we are looking at our WiFi chip firmware/SDK upgrade as our highest probability for success and problem solving path we are on right now. If that doesn’t work, I will see if there is a way we can use your set up to help solve the problem.
Thank you for helping contribute to us finding a solution, I truly appreciate it.
Have a great week!
Michael
@Michael_I Thanks for taking care of this situation and providing updates.
I wanted to clarify that while the HomeKit connectivity issues have been present for a long time, a quick workaround to it was always available (reset Wi-Fi, restart Rachio, etc).
But in this particular discussion there’s a very specific pattern that points to this specific firmware 631 update after which everybody started presenting major HomeKit connectivity issues and workaround no longer worked.
I’m a software engineer and work in software support and I know the drill. If we can help somehow by providing logs or any specific technical information, please let us know how and I‘m sure many of us would be happy to help to have this solved ASAP. I know I would.
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Thanks @WilliamPS, we may take you up on that offer if the WiFi SDK upgrade doesn’t address the issue. I think engaging you and others in the community to help us gather logging data is very much appreciated and a fantastic opportunity to help solve this issue.
On a side note, there are plans in place to start engaging you all more to help make our products better, stayed tuned. It has been great seeing how many of you are engaged and willing to provide feedback, support, and ideas to help make our product experience better.
Thanks William,
Michael
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When is the WiFi SDK upgrade taking place?
@Michael_I Appreciate your engagement and willingness to include the community in helping. Not knowing how long your SDK upgrade may take, is it possible to roll us back to firmware prior to 631 to provide some incremental improvement in the mean time for those of us who are affected?
@gizbug We have an engineer working on it now. It is unknown how long it will take as the WiFi SDK does require programming changes on our end. And when it comes to firmware, we have to very diligent about our changes to firmware as they affect all of our users.
Once the firmware update is done on the dev side, we will be putting the change through a rigorous QA process.
Once I have a target date, I will update you all in my weekly Friday HomeKit update.
Thanks!
Michael
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Hi @Michael_I is there a way those of us affected by the HomeKit bug could join a firmware beta to help you try this out with lower risk? I’d be happy to receive an alpha or beta candidate and do whatever logging, experimentation necessary to help you verify the fix!
@Darren, that would be very helpful! I will most likely be taking you up on that offer. It’s great to have you all out there to help us make this product better.
It is looking like we will get the SDK updated, perform our internal verification, then we can see if anyone on this thread would be willing to beta the fix for us so we can get feedback on the changes in a limited fashion before rolling out the update to the wider community.
Thanks so much Darren.
Have a great rest of your week.
Michael
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I’d be interested in beta testing as well.
Thanks!
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