@kenmcd - Thank you for the data point, I will make sure we pass this along to the team who are working on this issue.
Michael
Sorry if this has been asked 100 times already, but … can someone provide a list of Siri (and Google Assistant for that matter) commands that work with the R3 … or a link? Thanks.
I don’t recall that question ever being ask… Good question!
For me the only Siri request that works is: Hey Siri “Water Zone 1”… That works maybe 10-20 % of the time…
“Water Zone 2, 3, 4, 5…8 NEVER Works… That’s it so far for me…
That’s using Rachio Default Names: Zone 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… 8
Thanks @Macsterguy … I’ll do some testing this week (Siri and GA) and post results. My zone names are rather verbose, so this might get interesting! i.e. Zone 1 = 1: front yard (outer), etc.
Mine works perfect with Siri. At least when it hasn’t lost HomeKit connection again. Even when using my watch. I named mine by the area they are in. I only have three zones.
Don’t worry so much about the command list. Talk to Siri naturally and then adjust accordingly.
I just asked Siri “turn on the front yard sprinkler for 5 minutes” and it did exactly that. So referring to a specific zone by its alias and specifying a time seems to work. I don’t have enough zones to make more complex requests But I suspect anything more complicated won’t work.
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Thank you very much. I followed your advice and was finally able get the controller added to Homekit! So far, so good!
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Good morning everyone. Since I have posted the weekly update later than usual the last two weeks, I thought I would post a little earlier today.
The update for June 5th, 2020 is that we made slow, but steady progress this week. We are pursuing two parallel paths actively with our WiFi chip vendor while Apple continues to review logs we have sent them as well.
This week, we worked to reproduce the Homekit issue on our chip manufacturers test board. Our thought is that by removing our board from the picture, it is a diagnostic point to either help our manufacturer diagnose the issue on a system they are familiar with or we can prove the issue is with our R3 board. In parallel, we are also having a number of development boards being manufactured so we can share them with our chip vendor and help facilitate them to assist in diagnosing the issue. We do not currently have an ETA on when those will be received, they have been ordered.
The progress this week was mostly around making sure both our vendor as well as ourselves fully are on the same page with assumptions, requirements, and how the chip is meant to be used. We know there is a problem somewhere, and we are diligently working through the system to validate and test everything we can.
Thank you all for being Rachio customers and have a wonderful weekend wherever you are.
Michael
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Adding my issue here as well. My Rachio will not add to HomeKit. Firmware 632. On an Ubiquiti WiFi setup. iOS and app are both updated to latest version. It worked about a year ago and then stopped working. Hope to have a fix soon.
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I appreciate this thread, and guess I’m sort of happy to know it’s not just me. I have no issues using the Rachio app, I’ve tried the reset option but had no positive impact in getting things to work with HomeKit. Yesterday was a day I really could have used the interrogation as I was fixing sprinkler heads with dirty hands. So it’s motivating me to post and look for options.
My system is made up of a Linksys Velop Tri-Band, Rachio 3 12 zone, firmware iro3-firmware-hk-632, showing a RSSI value of -44.
Reading this thread it would appear one of the best options is to request a downgrade of the firmware, or have I missed another valid option? TIA
Just tried removing and adding again, we’ll see if it stays in the Home app for more then a day.
Good morning everyone and hope you all have big plans this weekend. This is the weekly Homekit update for the week of June 13, 2020.
We had achieved a milestone this week, our WiFi chip vendor was able to reproduce the Homekit connectivity issue on their training board. We now know where the problem is and are working with them on next steps. There are two paths forward from here, the first is they update their firmware to resolve the issue or we update our firmware to bypass their SDK to use Homekit and go directly against the Apple Development Kit (ADK) for Homekit functionality. We are working with them and my plan is to have a decision made by the end of next week on which path we plan to go down.
More steady progress this week, thank you all for your patience on this issue, and thank you for being Rachio customers. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Michael
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That’s great news! Really glad to hear you were able to identify the issue and now have an action plan.
I hope you go directly against the ADK. You would have more control over the HomeKit interaction and communication with your device, plus less layers and point of failures, and no need to involve external resources to troubleshoot this and the respective wait times.
Thank you @Michael_I for keeping us updated. This only adds trust on your product and team behind it.
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Great news. Thank you guys for taking all the time and effort to really get this figured out.
I hope this fix comes soon.
It worked great for a couple of weeks and then yesterday I had to reconnect it again. Then again. Then again.
We are having storms so the power has been briefly going on and off. Unlike my other HomeKit devices it often refuses to reconnect to HomeKit when power is lost.
Once in a while I’ll have to unplug and then plug it back in a HomeKit device to get it to reconnect after a power failure but it’s only the rachio that requires having its WiFi setup again.
Thank you for steering me in the right direction. Mine worked with a WiFi reset only.
- Held down the WiFi button on the Rachio until it flashed blue
- When the second quadrant began flashing amber color, I selected ‘Connect’ in-app
- Once it re-connected successfully to WiFi, it showed up as an accessory in HomeKit and was able to add it quickly.
Me too. It’s Friday update day so maybe we will finally having a working firmware fix. Neighbor has the new rainbird unit and his HomeKit is working flawlessly. He came to me yesterday and said “ Still not working? How many months has it been now?”
Afternoon everyone! I hope you all have a some good weekend plans for this upcoming Fathers Day Weekend. This is the weekly update for June 19th, 2020.
As we discussed last week, we had two choices and after working with our WiFi chip vendor, we have found our path forward. We are going to update our firmware to the latest WiFi firmware version as well as go directly against the ADK. We are engaged with a consulting firm that specializes in this type of work and we are expecting a quote next week with progress starting soon thereafter.
Once they get a working version that has been tested, I will be reaching out to those of you who have volunteered to Beta test so we can make 100% we get this firmware update correct while getting it to you as soon as possible. If anyone else would like to volunteer to Beta test, I be asking for more volunteers once we get to that point.
I should have more clarity on when we expect to have a Beta once our consulting firm gets back to us next week.
Thank you all for being Rachio customers and have a wonderful Fathers Day weekend.
Michael
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Sounds like a great plan. If I’m interested in being a beta tester who should I tell? Is this sufficient notification? 
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I volunteer to beta test
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