Rachio - Iro 16-Zone Wi-Fi-Enabled Sprinkler System Controller - White

This is the first purchase I've ever hated enough to leave a review about (as far as I remember). Anyway, I installed a new irrigation system in my yard and was looking forward to using my new Rachio Iro and hoping no unforeseen issued would arise with my new-age controller. Unfortunately for me, it's been a non-stop disaster. Turns out it wasn't compatible with my iPhone's iOS, so I had to upgrade my iOS, which of course froze up, caused me to lose phone service for 2 days, and permanently erased ALL of our family photos, since I don't back up to iCloud or iTunes. They were priceless to us and irreplaceable. Not directly their fault, but it sucked nevertheless. Then I had to upgrade my Mac's operating system. It says it works with various wireless rain sensors, so I bought a $70 one they recommended, only to realize there was no electrical outlet close enough to make it usable. Not their fault, but I wish I would've known to look out for this stuff beforehand. I would exchange it but the irrigation place doesn't give refunds or exchanges where I bought it, so more money wasted. Then the antenna on the Rachio Iro was weak and couldn't pick up my wi-fi signal, which was strange since it was strong on my iphone and ipad. So I had to buy a $65 range-extender...which didn't work, so now I have to return it and hope the next one does. I'm having to miss work to do this as all of my expense new landscaping is dying as we speak. They didn't bother putting any buttons on it, so there is no way around this nightmare. I now hate Rachio, I've wasted my money, my yard is half-dead, and I've lost way more than an irrigation controller would ever be worth. My irrigation helper gave up and left me to handle it on my own as it was way too time-consuming and too much of a hassle. Nice idea but everything definitely can go wrong.

We tried this and couldn't be happier. At first I bought it just to have a way to control the sprinklers from my cell phone but it has turned into a far more useful tool. This unit is cloud based and receives weather updates including forecast. Your conventional rain sensor will only turn off your sprinklers after the rain has fallen and tend to be less effective with time. This unit will monitor that sensor as well as the weather forecast for your area. In the past two weeks I have received both text and emails letting me know that my sprinkler schedule is going to skip a day based on the weather forecast saying that rain fall would exceed my scheduled watering levels. If the rain forecast is determined to be wrong the unit will make up the difference once the rain event has passed. You also have the ability to override the schedule skip if you prefer. This unit will definitely save you water. My only feedback to Rachio would be to update the included documentation to mention that 5Ghz wireless is not possible. I attempted to connect 3 times before realizing it may only work on 2.4Ghz. Other than that love it.

Unlike the reviewer that had a lot of issues not related to the IRO, I check my WIFI at the location (added a hub to get great WIFI there) and had a power line ran. The setup was just as easy as the instruction video showed. Well thought out design on the unit and the wiring connectors. The "flash-up" to link it was pretty cool and fast. After the link up it walked through setting up all the zones, naming them and picking out the grass, water heads, soil type, and hill topography if any. Then it set up an auto schedule based on the weather for my zip code. Not sure if I will join this with my WINK system as it appears to work very well on its own and WINK is still working their development. So for an early review I would say that it is a home run!

I originally purchased an irrigation caddy and returned it after 3 hours of frustration trying to connect to my network. So I decided to spend the extra $90 for a 16 zone Rachio. WOW, I mean WOW; what a great decision! Followed the SIMPLE directions and was connected to my router in less than 5 Minutes. Ripped the old Rainbird off the wall and had the Rachio wired and mounted in 15 minutes. Spent the next 10 setting up my zones - FINISHED. Now I'm enjoying exploring all of the cool features such as remote access and flex zones (only waters the zones that need it based upon sun exposure, soil type, grade, grass type and the weather report/history). Of course you can still configure to run as an "old fashion" zone controller. Can't say enough - worth every penny! I've already recommend to friends at work.

I upgraded my Hunter Pro-C controller to the Iro. The Iro is in an entirely different class in terms of ease of use and water efficiency. Anyone with an old, 'dumb' controller should consider upgrading. Instead of relying on just the rain sensor, it knows how much it rained and how much rain is expected and will skip cycles to save water. I found it easy to self-install, but fairly complex to configure the zones. Rachio tech support was responsive and generally helpful, but did not have the technical expertise to advise on zone and nozzle settings. After having my sprinkler guy check the settings, we were able to reduce the watering times from a crazy ~13 hour to a reasonable 3-4 hour cycle.

I was tired of my old dial controlled irrigation time and wanted to switch to something a bit smarter. Once I found out that I would get a rebate from my water company, it made the upgrade a no-brainer. This Rachio device installed quickly and easily - I took a picture of the wiring on my old timer and then removed it. Attached this one to the wall, put the wires back in the same order, and I was up and running. The longest part was programming the zones, but once those were done, the Rachio took over. It has worked flawlessly ever since. One thing - I would recommend going with the 2nd generation version of this timer...it has some improvements that make the operation of the device even easier!

I actually like and own this product. What I dislike is the overall attitude of the company and its staff. Numerous people have asked for and expected a very simple and trivial enhancement to be able to NOT turn on the pump for certain zones. As a software developer with my own software company, and more that 30 years of experience with automation and industrial process controls, their weak excuses that the "Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease" would indicate they have selective listening, and would much rather work on much more elaborate features with a high "Nifty" value rather than getting the basic feature set compete. This was such a basic request, it almost should have been treated as a oversight or even a bug. Maybe try Rain Machine instead.

I purchased this to replace an old analog sprinkler control that was very hard to program. I hesitated on installing this because I was not sure that I would be able to get it to work. After looking at the box for over a month, last weekend I decided to do the install. I couldn't believe how easy it was to install. Then once it was hooked up to my wifi, it was even easier to program. I realize that the unit I installed was the 1st generation of the product, but it really does everything I need to do. I like that I receive text messages after the sprinklers have gone off, or alerting me to the sprinkler skipping a watering because of local rain. All in all, this is an easy to install and use sprinkler control.