B-hyve XD Hose Faucet Timer

This 4-port Orbit timer is excellent. Setup was quick, it linked to the hub right away, and it has never missed a single scheduled watering. I like that it tracks water usage and lets me fine-tune each zone exactly how I want it. The app is simple to use, programming is flexible, and the build quality feels solid. For the features and reliability, it’s a very good value.

Not sure what other users problems are but for me it has been a pleasant experience. I bought the wifi version that comes with a wifi gen 2 hub. The only issue that I faced was the mesh washer. That washer needs to be redesigned. I used a standard rubber washer and on top of it used the mesh washer to stop the leak. The B-Hyve 4-port wifi smart hose watering system timer gives you the option of either using the wifi or the bluetooth feature. Most of the time the wifi signal outside the house is pretty weak so you can’t blame Orbit for not connecting to the wifi. Try connecting the unit first inside the home and if it works then it’s good. Overall I am happy with the performance.

In general, this 2-port unit is an excellent item. Expensive, yes. But does what it is advertised to do, and does it with a relatively intuitive interface, either manually via controls on the device directly or via a Bluetooth-connected app. (I don't have the supplemental Wi-Fi unit, so cannot speak to that connection capacity.) I am giving it a 4-star rating rather than 5 because the first unit I received failed on the first battery change after about 9 months of use (would not boot up). Happily, the company replaced it under the warranty with no hassle (and no fees) whatsoever, so 5 stars for that customer service. Will update this review after another year or so of use. Note: I have another similar unit, 4-port rather than 2, which so far is functioning fine; but again I want to give it more time before a final review.

You have three options when you start adding new plants to a yard: you can water manually all the time, you can do a ton of digging to add zones to your sprinkler system, or you can do one of these. I moved into the B-hyve ecosystem a few years ago when my old Rainmachine died and it was obvious that the company wasn't coming back. I've very glad that I did. - Easy to set up. Attach to your faucet, attach your hose, turn on the water, and use the app to set and forget. Each of the four valves can be controlled separately, but not at the same time (not enough water pressure). - The Bluetooth-WiFi bridge is a must if you don't yet have one. Otherwise it can only be programmed and monitored when your phone is in range. It also means no persistent data access. You can easily set this up standalone with the controls on the device should you so choose. - When the instructions say "don't leave this outside in freezing weather", it's serious. I had one valve crack because of this. When you have a freeze warning, turn off the faucet and disconnect it to prevent damage. - A pair of AA batteries lasts the entire season. It's nice to not burn through a ton of them. - The application has improved with time. It used to be a lot less intiutive. Even so, the software has some learning curve if you need to make manual adjustments. It's also frustrating that each device is managed completely separately rather than from a unified console. The web interface has been quite broken for some time and is basically unusable, but the mobile app is good enough that this is an annoyance rather than a barrier to use.

I guess I got lucky with my single tap bluetooth/wifi faucet controllers. That luck ran out with the 4 port XD. A big part of the problem is Orbit HATE you. There's really no excuse for why their documentation is so bad, other than they truly despise you, the user. As a first example, the manual for the B-Hyve XD Bluetooth Hose Faucet Timer has a components diagram on page 1. Absolutely nowhere do they bother to show where the battery drawer is. The very next instruction is, "Insert two AA (1.5V) batteries (not included) and replace the tray." So what tray would that be? They couldn't be bothered to show you, anywhere, in their documentation. If you try pulling on the black rubbery parts, that might be a tray seal, you'll damage it. You're supposed to guess that the tray is the thing hidden on the back. In their defense, they did use two point text, yes, it's really that small, inside a recess, to label "1.5V AA Alkaline Batters Only" if you tilt it to the light just right, and have perfect vision. Otherwise, absolutely, and I do mean absolutely, no effort whatsoever was made. Then you get to pairing. Oh, who am I kidding. They made so little effort there, it's a crapshoot as to whether you'll ever pair it to anything. I got it in a bundle with the wifi hub v2. Well, I say that. They tossed some bits in a box, shrugged, and called it good. Amazingly, the XD's manual makes zero mention whatsoever of WiFi and the Gen 2 Hub makes zero mention of how to set anything up, other than to use the app. Not wholly true, they do say to press the B-hyve button to put it in pairing mode, where it will flash every five seconds. Except, turns out, it doesn't. In the app... which was apparently designed by the same people who wrote the manual, good luck finding anything much. If you eventually find your way to My B-Hyve, then Devices, then you might find the + button. Upon clicking it... It manages to find the XD. At which point it goes to a Connecting Bluetooth screen and fails out. The only way to get past that is to go to the Off menu on the XD and hold it for five seconds to reset it. Then, suddenly, everything connects. Except you're now in Bluetooth connection and none of those web features you bought it for work. And there's slightly less than zero mention about how to get it on to wifi. As far as I can tell, you were supposed to connect the hub first. So go hunt for Remove Device, as you're repeating everything all over again. Oh, except adding the hub also fails on the add to WiFi network. But if you quit the app and reopen it, it comes back saying it did connect, it was just kidding with that crashed screen. Awesome. So now we can connect the XD. Not so fast! It does now offer a connect to wifi option. Except, even sitting next to the Gen 2 hub, it tells you they're too far apart. Quit the app and reopen it and, as if by magic, it claims they found each other. Except they didn't. If you try connecting via WiFi and telling it to manually water, nothing happens. Disconnect WiFi and change to Bluetooth and nothing happens. Reset the XD and the bluetooth connects and now you can manually water, getting a loud clunk as it switches. Back to WiFi and it's given up. And, the whole time, the Devices screen tells you everything's happily connected. Even if you unplug the Gen 2 hub from power, it'll still tell you everything's happily connected. Their app is deep, deep garbage. To go along with their awful manuals. Their products sometimes work, sometimes don't, but the app has no useful tools to help you figure out why, regularly lies about status, and the manual's so brief as to be of absolutely zero use. Sorry Orbit, but you've failed to hit the bar of "utterly lazy" and managed to plow straight into We Despise Our Customers territory. Fire all of your app folks. Fire your manual writers. Then put the device in front of people unaffiliated with your company, watch the misery they go through, then build and app and write manuals that explain all of the many, many, many problems you confront users with.

I needed to keep my new sod alive on 1/2 acre, so I set up 2 hubs and 4 controllers. I'm giving this 5 stars despite having a technical issue with one of the controllers (the 4-port) 15 days after the return window closed🙁. I like my system so much that I bought a new standalone controller and paid an additional $10 for a 3-year warranty this time, and I did it with a smile😊. Last summer, I tried the Insoma WiFi Sprinkler Timer (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BWHGHSY8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1), which uses 4 AA batteries that last about a week. In contrast, these Orbit controllers use 2 AA batteries, and I haven’t had to change them all summer. Here’s a bit of technical insight for fellow geeks! The battery life difference is apparently due to how each system handles a "running out of battery" scenario. I noticed in the Orbit documentation that checks the battery level before watering. If there’s enough power to perform both the turn-on and turn-off actions, it only energizes briefly to "turn the spigot" in either direction. It would seem that the Insoma keeps a solenoid continuously energized while watering (leading to shorter battery life) but running out of battery would cause the solenoid to close ensuring that it won’t be stuck watering indefinitely. I actually develop apps similar to the B-Hive app used to control this system. I can confidently say that this is the most reliable, intuitive, and visually appealing mobile app I’ve ever used. It’s the whole package. This is also my first review, and I’m writing it because I got everything I wanted, which is a rare occurrence for me.

Worked very well for watering my new yard. I love the app and being able to control from my phone when weather changes! Highly recommend this

I have a garden and a job that has me traveling in the summer. That’s not really a good combination so my husband and I installed a drip irrigation system and two different timers. This one is the best, hands down. The app lets me set up schedules to water different zones at different rates and times. I can water from my sofa or from across the country. I can check watering history to know what and how much has been watered. I can turn programs on and off or change them temporarily or permanently from anywhere with the convenience of the app. The only real complaint I have is the rain delay. You set the nearby weather station the app will use for forecasting. Or rather, it sets it but you can change it. Unless you set the allowable percentages quite high, it will set a 24 hour rain delay for a small chance of light to moderate rain during one hour of the day. Here in Florida, we have forecasts that include potential pop up showers which may or may not happen, so rain delay is useless in those situations. I experimented with it a while and finally just turned it off. I determine my own delays manually. Speaking of manually, you can attach a handheld hose to a port for manual watering. Because your tap is already open, you’ll need to deal with the timer box to open the port and get your water flowing. Read the instructions and follow the five steps and you’ll get used to what you have to do each time. One thing to keep in mind about the design of this, or really any timer unit, is that it can be difficult to attach hoses if your water tap is very low to the ground. Mine are traditionally low, and I have just enough clearance for the box to hang off the tap and for hoses to connect without crimping, but my husband plans to extend the faucets and bring the pipes up several feet, to match the design of taps we’ve added throughout our yard. This makes the timers and hoses so much easier to deal with. All in all, I’m a big fan of this timer. But honestly, I found nothing comparable in this price range with these features to compare, so I’ll be a fan unless and until something better comes along. The build seems solid. I have yet to notice any leaks, and I use all 4 ports daily. The display is large and easy to read and use. We’ve been using it for months and haven’t had to change batteries yet. It’s an electronic device that’s made my life easier. In fact, I could not keep a garden without a device like this and this unit was best value for money to fit my needs. I now own three of them and can’t wait to get the other two into action.