B-hyve 12-Zone Indoor/Outdoor Smart Sprinkler Controller, Works with Amazon Alexa

I can say Amazing and easy to use

Decided to upgrade from a 19 year old Rainbird controller without a rain feature, to help control water usage to keep water bill down and save money. Talked to my local sprinkler guy and this was the one he recommended. I have 7 zones so had to buy the 12 zone controller. I took the advice of the instructions and took a picture of my old wiring before dis-installing and that made zone hook-up simple and kept the same zone numbers . Orbit App was simple to download, which i did first, and then set aside pending the hardware install. The Orbit unit is quite heavy and I hope the 2 drywall anchors are sufficient (time will tell). Of course the old hole wouldnt work and the wiring was a little different so I had to lower the new unit because the wire screws were at the bottom of the old unit and are in the middle of the new unit. Programming the zones was the only hiccup. I used the App and it crashed on zone 7, so I had to reinstall the first 6 zones-then save, then manually add zone 7 again, then it worked. While doing the zone check the App lets you name or add pictures of the zones, I have my own map, so I didnt do that, but it might be nice for some people. I did all my programming through the App and wonder if I’ll ever use the control box on the wall???

I have had 2 of these controllers for 3 years now. I can easily check, modify program or do manual watering on the box or remotely using the smartphone while in my backyard or overseas. It needs a strong WiFi signal to connect remotely. Mine are located in the garage. Afters I installed a WIFI booster nearby they have worked flawlessly. The Android app is superb; It is stable and easily lets you add pictures of your zones for quick recognition. The unique advantage of this model versus so many others is that the programming information is saved locally on the box itself. not just in the cloud. I will continue operating with the current program if Wifi is down. Power cuts and other outages can stop WIFI. WIFI router can hangs and need to be rebooted. This has happened a few times while I was traveling abroad with no way to reboot WiFi remotely. As for programming, you need to understand the methodology of setting up to 3 named 'Programs, (time and frequency-scheduled events) and 'Zones' collection of distinct irrigation areas associated to a watering port on the controller. You name and save Zones (watering port on the controller) but program them by opening a 'Program' and assigning the Zone to it. In the "Program" interface you can set the irrigation duration for the Zone. While looking up a 'Zone', you can only do supplemental manual watering (Start/Stop 'Test') for any length of time, but that will not alter the programmed feature recorded in the 'Program' is is linked to. This feature is great not just for testing while hooking up the irrigation but also for some supplemental watering during a heat wave.

I am working a few Bugs out of it, had to reset it this Tuesday Morning,6/23/20, and sometimes Alexa gives it a command, and the Sprinkler does not start up.

I was very exited to get this wifi-enabled sprinkler timer, but was quickly disappointed as it kept disconnecting. Finally one day it disconnected from my WiFi and customer support could not help. So they shipped me a new one as they said the first one was dead. The new one worked for a few months and then started shutting off one of my zones. I deleted the zone and reprogrammed it, but nothing fixed the problem. It would turn off and not alert me, so I missed watering our grass several days. Then the other week stopped working completely. Of course, this happened while we were out of town during a very warm week and all of my grass is dying. Now the digital screen simply says "No AC" when plugged into a functioning wall outlet. I have tested the outlet - I have confirmed it is hot and that other devices work when plugged into it. This product is great in concept, but the execution is awful. It has been so much more trouble than it was worth. I should have just gotten an old fashioned timer that does NOT connect to WiFi. I do no recommend.

This is a great product, with a great idea behind it! It's the perfect sprinkler controller, with capabilities of being controlled with one's smart phone, and taking rain delays from the local water company. The problem with this device is that it is somewhat unreliable. I have five of these in rental units around the county. At least once per week, one of them becomes disconnected from it's WiFi connection. Who knows why, it's not the WiFi's or router's fault. Usually, they reconnect themselves, but it is uncontrollable with a smartphone in the meantime. Also, they only use 2.4 gig signal, not 5 gig, and that is not mentioned in the set up instructions. That can be frustrating until one figures that out. Finally, there are so many features with this timer, that it can be confusing to use. I've been using them for two years, and I'm barely finding out features like notifications alerts (when B-hyve sends a rain delay), etc. All in all, I can't live without it.

I was not interested in another popular smart controller that once you add the outdoor rated enclosure pushes $300 or three times as much as the B-hyve. Decided to give the B-hyve a try, with great return policy from Home Depot not too much risk. Out of the box, the power cord is short. I actually spliced in my own custom cord so I could power the unit from within the garage, but mount it on the exterior, this of course likely voids any warranty but oh well, not a lot of money. The install was super simple, they even include a plastic screwdriver for the posts if you have no small head tools. Connecting my phone was a little bit of a mess. I installed the unit and then came back later in the day to do the setup. That required me to hit the reset button on the back of the panel to put it back in pairing mode. I was tripped up looking for the unit in my iPhone's bluetooth list of new devices to pair. Turns out just need to put the panel in pair mode and open the B-hyve app, it will be discovered and away you go. The instructions could be a little more helpful in the phone setup. Once installed and connected to the app, the setup and programming was super easy and intuitive. I used Smart settings to automatically adjust due to weather which is one of the major selling points of a smart controller for me.

Super easy to install and I can’t say enough positive things about the app. It is easy to use but contains a lot of useful information. You can take a photo for each zone to help you identify the zones. I love it!

So easy to set up. So convenient, saving me many steps. Most effective way to manage my irrigation system in dry desert climate on one-and-a-half property.

Worked great for 4 moths then starting giving me errors. Replacement part was more expensive the buyong a new one.