B-hyve XR 16-Zone Smart Sprinkler Controller

The weather status has a delay from a rainy day to a sunny day or it it pulling up the wrong info from the stations near me. Either case. It shows a rainy day when it is actually a sunny day. The other issues is the smart watering program thinks my soil is dryer then normal and it waters my grass 2 times at 24 minutes a day for some zones. I had to manually change some settings per zones to get it close to normal watering condition. I had spoke with technical support for this they are aware. Or I can buy the soil moisture device. Extra $$$$.

I have had this timer for a few weeks now. I love it. This is my second Orbit timer I've had in the last couple of years (since owning homes), and I have never had an issue with either. The setup on these is super smooth, easy and quick. In the box there isn’t a bunch of garbage you have to deal with either, there is the timer, the power cable, instructions and a wirenut (in case you need it). Once I had the old one off, the install for this one was super quick. Anybody can install and setup, you don’t need to know anything about sprinklers to start. I had one hiccup getting connected to wifi, where it just kicked me out of the app after saying it couldn’t connect, but got back in and it was connected. Once its installed, its super easy to use the app and set up schedules. You can have multiple schedules saved and toggle them on and off. The weather delays are awesome so you don’t water during the rain or bad wind. I know some other brands charge for the weather delay stuff but Orbit is free, and I like free. Easily do manual watering from anywhere. I haven’t set it up to the smart home yet, but excited for that. Overall, I definitely recommend.

I've had this controller for a couple years and just swapped it out for a new one from a different manufacturer. I found attaching the sprinkler wires to the unit to be very difficult. The tabs popped out on me, and I could not restore them to the original position. I started having a problem with one of my sprinklers, and couldn't find an issue at the valve. Eventually by swapping places, and testing, it was a loose sprinkler wire on the unit. Even placing the loose wire on other control points didn't work. As far as the app and WiFi connectivity, the unit is fine. For this amount of money, I'd rather have the screw connectors to tighten down the wires.

Internet of Things comes to irrigation controllers! Well-designed hardware and app. Hardware is well thought-out. The controller doesn’t require an external wall transformer, which makes for a cleaner power hookup. Under the hood, or the cover panel, there’s a built-in level to ensure the controller gets a level mount. The push to connect/disconnect design makes connection fast and easy. This is the first electronic irrigation controller I’ve used that is 100% self-contained for a clean install…no wall transformer needed. Bluetooth-assisted setup worked for me on the first try. I like the variety of operating modes. Timed and ground saturation. It took me some time to get the Smart Watering to work to my satisfaction, but a little trial and error should be enough for most users. I find that the sprinklers run fewer minutes than on the previous controller and the lawns still look great. Probably my favorite feature is the Test button. No more running between the controller and the sprinkler I’m fixing/adjusting. Now I just open the station I’m working on from the app and just touch the Test button. Manual operation from the controller box is done with one button that provides clear status display of what you’re setting up and then the status of the controller as it cycles through stations.

The Orbit B-Hyve is the center of our new sprinkler installation. Our old controller was your traditional dumb controller which let you set the zone times and leveraged a rain sensor to control the days it isn't raining. Moving to the B-Hyve has been amazing in what it adds to the experience. Smart control - Built in weather is nice, not only to be displayed as I walk through the garage, but to know the controller will dynamically control my zone outputs to control for rain and other weather. By programming in in soil types, slope, sun exposure, number of heads and various other parameters the controller will dynamically adjust the watering schedule to prevent over-saturation Multiple programs- It's much easier to build multiple schedules across my zones for different use cases. I just finished up a cycle for growing new grass and I'll switch to a regular maintenance mode in the spring. However - I can keep all schedules stored on the machine and change them as I go through needs (particularly with my shrubs and flower beds). App - Once I have things set... I can't imagine needing to get back into the app frequently. However the app experience is well guided, helps you setup your programming to either be a simple on/off or leverage the smart control. Even better - I can integrate it to an Alexa or Google voice assistants Device - The device itself is well constructed, displays key information on water schedule & weather, uses magnets to access the wiring compartment with instructions on basic operations and utilizes the logo to be able to manually turn on various different control options.

This sprinkler controller is much more complex than I thought when I ordered it. I did not realize that it needed to be integrated with an underground sprinkler system. It probably needs an electrician to hook it up properly. Therefore, it will be a while before I am able to install it, especially now that winter is almost here. B-hyve timers allow you to control your watering from anywhere in the world on your iOS or Android device or via the web app while saving water and lowering your water bill. WeatherSense technology uses advanced local weather data automatically creating watering schedules that deliver the right amount of water to your plants, avoiding any water waste. This sleek, indoor/outdoor smart timer is fully weather-resistant without the need for a costly additional weather enclosure. 3 full-color digital displays and a multi-color LED light ring allow you to see exactly what the timer is doing in an instant. Fully equipped with dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz) Wi-Fi, a long-range Bluetooth (BLE 5) radio, and an internal, plug-and-go transformer. The push-and-go wiring terminals and built-in bubble level make installation quick and easy.

As an older person that is not totally tech-saavy I was hesitant to utilize smart systems around my home. Slowly I have been updating the systems and this Orbit B-Hyve Smart Sprinkler controller was one I've been wanting to install. The controller came nicely packaged with a simple easy to navigate and read installation manuel and some installation hardware. The push connectors for the wiring made for simple and fast wiring. Since I was only running 3 zones it took me less than 5 minutes to finish the connections. The port to run the sprinkler valve wiring is the perfect size for up to 8 zones and has a tight connection that looks super clean. The port is expandable in size if running larger or additional wiring. Another really nice touch is the built-in level which made leveling the controller a breeze. Once the installation was done I downloaded the Orbit B-Hyve app onto my iPhone and pair with home wifi. The access plate for the wiring is held in place magnetically and has instructions printed on the inside if necessary. Customizing the watering zones was simple and straight forward. The app offers "Smart Watering" that could automatically set the time and frequency of watering by asking some questions of the soil, whether plants or lawn, number of sprinkler heads, partial shade or full sun, or you can set it up manually. Using the app I can track my watering schedules, do updates or modifcations and test individual zones. I am impressed how simple and intuitive the installation and programing were. Total time spent with installation and programing was about 45 minutes, which included testing each zone several times for functionality.

I'm coming from being a long time Rachio user. Needing some additional zones I opted to try something new with the B-Hyve. First impressions thus far are good but I do have some minor concerns.  First up the good - The software is very good. It's visually appealing and very easy to navigate around, set up programs, and toggle through any of the settings. I'd give the nod to Orbit over Rachio in this instance. The cable management is also very good with clear marking for the zones and quick push-button clamps for each wire. Next, a few things I was excited about but have actually changed my opinion on since: The actual unit is IP65 rated meaning you can mount it outdoors, which is where my controller is now. I recall being slightly annoyed that I had to purchase a seperate weather rated housing for the Rachio, but in retrospect it's probably a good thing. I admit the B-Hyve would probably be fine against dust and rain, but having the extra housing is nice to keep things clean and protected. This thing is pretty thick so I can't reuse the old house I had for the Rachio either.  As cool as the front little LCD displays I don't have much faith they can withstand years of desert sun exposure and heat.  In addition I've not met a rubber that can withstand that same heat so have some concerns the rubberized button will stand the test of time. On the topic of the button I thought it would be cool to have some basic controls right on the unit and to an extent it is, but it's hardly intuitive and by the time you look up the command you might as well just have whipped out your phone. Not to mention when trying to toggle through I actually reset the unit which was certainly annoying.  Last but not least the unit actually got quite warm, much warmer than the Rachio under ambient temperatures. I hope that's just part of the engineering but in my experience heat tends to kill electronics over time. Mix that with my concerns of the desert heat in my area and it's certainly something to look out for. So is it good? I think so, and so far so good from what I've experienced. If I had an indoor mounting spot I'd be even more enthusiastic. Rachio has provided me with 6 years of flawless service - so I'm hoping for much of the same here. 

This is a great unit. It is an inside/outside controller enabling you to put it in weather that other smart controllers can't handle. It also has a nice display with manual control options. I have owned another brand controller that did not allow you to control manually; this is a great feature. It also allows you to control by Bluetooth instead of just wifi, so if your network is down, you can still control it with your phone. However, the online program that you use to set the timing does not allow you to run two zones at once. That kind of bummed me out and made it so I had to switch my whole watering schedule around. Other than that, easy to use, great features, and durable.

We choose this b-hyve product thinking we could use it to help water our vegetable gardens but it didn't work out. This is meant to be a controller for a lawn sprinkler system. The panel measures approximately 9" x 6 3/4" x 2" deep. It has a 5' cord. It will easily mount on a screw or nail in doors or outdoors. It needs to be hard wired. We tried to download the B-Hyve app on our phones but were unsuccessful because it requires ios 13.0 or later and we have iphone 6's but will try again once we get a newer phone. Great concept to be able to control your sprinkler via your phone as well as with a timer but needed to give it a lower review since we were unable to get it work!!