Working directly with unit ( no cloud)

Hi
I understood that in case the unit has no communication it will still run with existing scheduled programs.
What if there is no internet connection - can the unit be programned to addtional scheduled programs ?

@Cozzmo - There are some schedules built into the Rachio that can be activated with no internet connectivity -> https://support.rachio.com/hc/en-us/articles/115010541108-What-are-Limited-Schedules-Generation-2-

Thanks for the info .
I understand this processs is done on the unit itself.
Is there any ability to work with the application while programing the unit via app?

@Cozzmo - currently (V2) there is no direct interface from the device to the app over a local network, one has to use the cloud to send the program down to the device. The Rachio device pulls very little data, so one could use a MiFi hotspot with a minimal service plan to provide internet connectivity for a Rachio until a more permanent internet connect is available - if that is the issue.

The Iro is not an internet appliance. You can’t ‘talk’ (connect) to it directly. It will have a local IP address, but, there’s no internet server internal to the Iro to ‘communicate’ with.

If you were making a list of pluses and minuses of the Iro as compared to competing controllers this (not an internet appliance) would go on the minus side. It won’t work without a WiFi connection. And the product immediately becomes useless if Rachio goes out of business.

On the plus side would be (probably substantial) lower cost (not trying to do as much locally, less R&D) and greater capability (all the ‘heavy lifting’ (algorithms, tracking per zone) can easily be done in the cloud). Internet appliance or not is many times a market and investment driven (irreversible) decision.

As another example my WiFi thermostats are internet appliances. They each have a local IP address that I can ‘talk’ to without having a WAN connection. I won’t get some things like outside temp or forecast, or be able to adjust them remotely, but, they’ll control the A/C or furnace just fine during any periods of lost internet connectivity.

As a further example my WiFi hot water heaters are not internet applieances. They work just like the Iro does. I change the hot water temp on my smart phone, the change goes to the cloud, and down from the cloud is the changed temperature. Very simple, and at not much cost.

Best regards,

Bill

Thanks Bill,
For your detailed answer.
I think that since it has IP it could work as standalone server acting without the cloud.
From my perspective this is a huge minus that the Rachio cannot be remotely communicated.
If for instance I have 6 scheduled tasks and rachio decides it goes to seek other ventures …will those scheduled tasks be operational .
If I need ti change it I assume I have to reset to default and work with predefined ones ??
i feel that the product could have given much more with its HW capabilities but its a matter of marketing and strategy decisions.

there is not a tremendous amount of compute or storage capacity on board.

when you start doing things like flex schedule, you need quite a bit of both. personally im not worried about rachio going anywhere right now, they are in it for the long haul.

there has been a thread lingering on here for some time, it would be cool to “know” that if they go under, they would release the code, i would have no problem standing their stuff up in my aws account and push button go rocket.

my only worry is what happens when my controller is 4 years old, i mean, at that point im not a profitable customer, im now a liability when looking at the balance sheet. it will be interesting to see how they handle this…

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You are absolutely right !!!
I had my old controller running for 10 years !!!
I think that working with mimimal schedule requires almost none computer efforts ( Basic Arm/ Arduino/ Raspi …have much more computational power than needed )
So basically I think that Rachio should open this ability and I do hope they will do so in next versions.
At the time being I am enjoying the controller although almost everywhere I touch I get application crash .

So, this is extremely disappointing that I cannot access the device using its IP address. I just replaced my old WaterPoint system with a Rachio3 and reading this is a bad surprise. When the company making my previous controller, OnPoint, went under, their server was shut down but all I lost was authentication. I connected their unit to a fixed address on my router, and I configured it to map an external port to the unit’s http port and I could access the device: my-DynDNS-address:port-number. I am a Linux/Unix geek and I normally stay away from anything that is not open. I hope it was not a mistake to get a Rachio. I am definitely keeping my old OnPoint system, just in case…