ARC8 App-Based Indoor/Outdoor Smart WiFi Irrigation Sprinkler Timer/Controller, 8-Zone/Station, EPA WaterSense Certified, Compatible with Alexa, Indoor/Outdoor 8-Station

It's very easy to connect and setup. The app is a bit over complicated but it works every time. This is so much better than running down to the yard to turn on the sprinklers. It runs various programs automatically but my wife likes to turn on certain areas manually and she can do this from anywhere in the world. Havent connected a rain gauge yet but thats next. Great buy and replaced a Toro.

I bought this product nine months ago to replace the Large Rain Bird system that was installed with our house 24 years ago. This was easy to install and operate! It has a great range for picking up your Wi-Fi to operate with your phone.

Easy setup even without reading the instructions. This is my third sprinkler timer setup, first one that can be controlled by an app. Setting up the stations in the app is a lot faster and easier than standing at the controller pressing buttons and turning a dial. I bought this particular one because my state offers a $100 rebate for a smart controller that will reduce watering times based on the weather if it rains. So, at the price I bought it at it was about $30 after the rebate. This smart controller will also water a little longer if it hasn't rained. I like that you can control it in an app and turn it on and off without going back and forth to the controller. It takes a few seconds for it to communicate but that's fine. I also like that you can name the stations and programs. Really the only thing I don't like is that it is only app controlled, there isn't much to control manually at the control panel it self, I don't see this really ever being an issue but could be just a minor inconvenience at times. I would buy this one again.

I had a perfectly good working Hunter X-Core sprinkler controller which was easy to configure & worked fine, but didn't have WiFi support. I'm lazy, & didn't want to go outside to change settings or pause the controller, especially in the rain. So, I bought the ARC8. Since some people have had problems with WiFi, I first connected the ARC8 to just power at the intended installation site, before connecting the zone wiring. Rain Bird recommends that somewhere, so you can find out if you have a good WiFi connection before proceeding with the zone wiring. They also recommend taking a picture of your OLD controller's wiring. Both good ideas. I searched for & installed the Rain Bird controller app on Google. Leave it to Google to only list the OLD, OUTDMODED Rain Bird app, but NOT the NEW one! Google also offered UNRELATED apps for my search, to please other app makers. Greedy **** **** ******s !!! Anyway, I spent 1/2 hour (in the rain) trying to configure the WiFi in the OLD app, to no avail. Then I found the new app ("Rain Bird 2.0"), & installed it. I set up my Rain Bird account (which did not appear possible in the old app). The controller wanted to do the upgrade immediately. Then the app just sat there for a couple minutes, before the firmware upgrade started (in the rain). After several minutes, the upgrade completed. The app indicated a signal strength of -58dBm which is excellent. The rest was easy. I mounted the ARC8 at my intended site & connected up the zone wiring from the picture I took, & went inside. Configuring my 7 zones & 3 programs in the Rain Bird app to be like I had with the Hunter controller was easy. The documented way to temporarily disable a program DOESN'T WORK! To work around this (as well as provide a program backup capability) is to first create a template for each program you want (including alternate programs). Then copy them as needed to your controller. Suggestions for users: Save the picture of your zone wiring in the app, where it allows you to save pictures of your zones. Suggestions for Rain Bird: #1: Adjust the colors in your WiFi icon in the app, so that good WiFi signals appear as green: -75dBm or lower should be red; -65 to -75 dBm is orange; -65dBm or better is green. -58dBm is excellent. #2: Have a separate place in the app to save a picture of the zone wiring diagram. #3: [This has been fixed] UPDATE #1: After 2.5 weeks, I decided to change the SSID in my WiFi access point, which means I have to replace the WiFi credentials in the ARC8. I had connection problems doing so & returned the unit. I have since come to realize that most of these were almost certainly the fault of a new phone. I have reverted to a prior phone (which solved all my connection problems), sent the errant phone to be RECYCLED, & changed my review from one star to four stars. UPDATE #2: I really liked the convenience of this unit, so after two months I decided to buy another at my local hardware store & give one another try. I set it up with WiFi, & then tried to change the WiFi setup. You can't change the WiFi setup using the documentation! You have to just get the blue Bluetooth light flashing (press the WiFi button until it turns orange) then delete the controller in the software, & then setup the unit from scratch. If the unit cannot find your WiFi network(s) automatically, you may have to tap "Can't Find Your WiFi Network" at the bottom of the screen, & enter your WiFi info manually (as I had to do). This process is not as robust as it should be! I repeatedly tried to get the unit to fail WiFi setup (which was easy), & then repeatedly used the above procedure to successfully set up a new WiFi configuration. THIS TIME, I did all the setup testing in the comfort of my house! Tomorrow I will wire it up to my sprinklers. That's the easy part! I also made sure I could return the unit if I had other problems,; the hardware store offers a 90-day return policy.

Like being able to access with phone app.

Had it for a year now. Going in the garbage. Worst operating app of anything I own. Connecting to your Wi-Fi is the most confusing and frustrating procedure. When you finally do get the app to work (after multiple connection lost warnings) it is extremely slow at connecting to the rainbird server which is extremely unresponsive. When manually turning valves on and off, the delay time is very frustrating. Usually over a minute after my on/off command while the app says connecting to server. Nothing wrong with my Wi-Fi. Everything else in my home that is connected has no issues. Don’t waste your money on this.

Easy replacement to old system. Once you get through set up, which was qwerky a bit, works flawlessly. Great controls, simple yet robust app. Good overall control.

I don't leave many reviews, but this one hit a home run. It's simple to download the app and works great.