Yes there is some control of how long a zone runs in HomeKit.
The only reason I bought this controller was due to advertising it had HomeKit support.
I can’t believe rachio is still advertising HomeKit support when clearly it is broken.
After two years of promising a fix stil not fixed so at this point I and only summarize that it is not fixable. They have even removed the forum support from the app so it’s harder to find.
It’s time to organize a class action lawsuit unless rachio would like to take back and refund everyone that bought this for its HomeKit support.
For me, my HomeKit functionality works perfect with very occasional disconnects at power losses… (and I never use it).
As the original poster of this thread I am aware of how long this issue has been around. I also know that Rachio is still trying to fix HomeKit compatibility. As long as they are trying, I will wait because I still think Rachio is the best irrigation controller on the market - bar none. Irrigation is the primary function for me…
You can do one of the following:
• Wait and watch
• Ask for a refund?
• Buy another controller
• Start a class action
The different zones water my yard and planting beds for 5, 10 or 30 minutes… Then they shut off. From my Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. That’s about it. The Rachio app is on all these devices (minus the Watch & Mac) and has much more granular control.
I have had a Rachio controller since the v1 was made available. I specifically ordered v3 for HomeKit support, I feel you!
Not sure about that, I believe them when they say its fixable. I do think its not a priority, the posts above make clear the priority is the “Spring update”.
bah! This is not Microsoft, if you win you may get a $1 check + a refund. Only winner in this would be a law firm and likely kill our beloved Rachio.
Bingo!
I think we are all looking forward to that despite the repeated comments that HomeKit integration is useless.
You are indeed fortunate! I have only about a dozen HomeKit-compliant devices. The iHome smartplugs are more than a little “iffy” at best, and nothing is rock solid by any standard, even my AppleTV streaming devices. Using an eero mesh network with 8 eeroPros throughout the house and detached garage.
I have all Apple airports.and very rarely I’ll have a homekit device drop off and recycling its power puts it right back online. Everything is hardwired if that device can be hardwired.
I have a bit over 50 HomeKit devices and the only device I have issues with is the rachio.
Oh how I wish Apple would have stayed in the router game… They were all I would use for many, many years of trouble free operation. I still use a few as employee department routers and I have kept all my time capsules (in dumb bride mode) for wireless backups of 6 MacBooks at my office.
They just never sold enough of them to continue and have fallen far behind the capabilities of Mesh systems today…
I have switched to Synology routers for work and home. There are other good mesh systems but I don’t think any of them compared to the capability and customization of Synology Routers. They are a Geeks delight very secure and easy to use.
*As a added bonus, Synology routers can do Time Machine back ups just the way the time capsules always could AND my Rachio controller always stays connected and working well with all my Apple devices in the home app with HomeKit (with an occasional drop out after a power outage). The Rachio is always easy to reconnect afterwards… It’s not me, I think it is the Synology that is always able to sort things out for the Rachio.
So many posters stating things like “Why do you need it?”
Here is the real concept here - some of us bought this because of HomeKit integration. And at least once a week, it disconnects from Homekit. This is the ONLY device I have doing this. Clearly something needs updating here. Please Rachio - get this done and let’s be done with this.
And to everyone else, stop derailing with useless comments about how “you don’t need homekit”.
I agree this is not about why do you need homekit, it is about a product supposed to work as advertised. I am blown away that Rachio has been aware of this issue for ages and still has not rolled out a solution. An update from @franz would be nice.
You don’t need HomeKit. You need oxygen, water, food, shelter and a few other things.
Except for a couple of users who have created sophisticated automations, HomeKit won’t even make your grass greener, or significantly reduce your water bill. It just makes life a little more convenient.
There are two common applications:
Hands-free control, e.g. when cleaning or adjusting heads, so the phone need not be touched with wet and dirty hands.
Simple interlocks, e.g. don’t water on days when the gardener is scheduled, or don’t start the robot mower until the grass has dried.
Although it would of course be best if Rachio would fix the problem, there are (at least) two ways it could be greatly mitigated without their help, using the collective brainpower of the community:
Document how to easily implement these functions without HomeKit.
Discover why HomeKit connections are lost, and find easy ways to minimize these events.
For example, you can easily set up Google Assistant, then tell your iPhone “OK Google, please water ‘front west’. … OK Google, stop watering.” Unfortunately, that doesn’t work via Apple Watch. I don’t have one, but surely someone with this watch could find a simple and reliable way to turn zones on and off by voice, which many users here would appreciate.
I don’t believe that his Synology APs have a secret sauce that maintains connection. If we understood the pattern better we could prescribe a fix, e.g. “assign a fixed channel” or “set up this $25 AP dedicated to Rachio”.
Finally, I would think that
is not only a great solution, but Homebridge adds many capabilities to HomeKit that many users would want. Why is it not well accepted?
Very well said Stewart! The other day I drug out my hose’s and watered in my beds (with liquid miracle grow) due to the drying out that occurred from the brutal Texas freeze we just endured. I really sort of enjoyed it… Hahaha
I first had problems with Rachio / homekit back when I started this thread. I purchased a Synology router (for other reasons) for home, then another to create a mesh network at home to reach distant wifi cameras better… (I then did the same thing in my 12,000 sq. ft office building / business).
Anyway, regarding synology. This router is crazy good and is the only reasonable explanation I can come up with as to why my Rachio works 99% perfectly with homekit and the home app on my Macs, iPhones, iPads and apple watches for my wife and myself.
**I can dig into my sinology settings and relay any information that may help but I don’t think there is a constant channel involved. I do know that it uses tri-band technology and I have it wired via ethernet for backhaul. You can pretty much get as granular as you desire in settings… I have noticed that the Rachio can be on the 2.4 GHz network and sometimes it will be on a 5 GHz network while other times it will be on 5-1 GHz network (this I believe is a synology thing)… Typically it is on the 2.4. If I simply turn off the secondary network node it joins the primary immediately and vice versa.
**We just don’t use the home app to water, that’s all. Not saying others shouldn’t want to use it for whatever reasons they have…
I will say that when the Rachio beta came out recently and it bricked my controller, Franz had a new brand new controller here within a week. I connected it to my network and it “Just Worked” just like the last one did… I think my controller was out of warranty (If I recall). That is great support AND I think the Rachio is the best controller out there. I literally don’t need to touch it and it does it’s thing based on weather, moisture content, skips for wind and freeze etc, etc, etc… Better than I ever could.
I’m not sure when I started this thread. 2 years, or so ago I think… I do hope they get this Homekit sorted out for all that want to use it and I think they will.
How about they just fix the feature they advertised the unit as having instead of looking for work arounds or rationalizing Rachio’s painfully slow reaction to fixing this problem?
very secure and easy to use.