We have a lot of sprinkler valves. We had an older Orbit controller that would do 5 stations in our front yard and another controller for 8 stations in our backyard. Both controllers were in my garage/workshop but mounted on opposite walls. The one for the backyard was always blocked by my woodworking equipment so it was a hassle to get to when we wanted to run a station manually or test a station for whatever reason. Additionally, if we were in either yard working on a sprinkler or planting new plants and wanted to test it, we'd have to go all the over to the controller, push through the buttons and run it. I know, i know, first world problems. We've been considering this B-Hyve unit for a while and now that we finally pulled the trigger I can't believe we waited so long! Wiring the sprinklers into the unit was easy. I recommend having a small flathead screwdriver and needle nose pliers handy as these might make it easier to get the skinny wires into their slots. Programming the unit was very straightforward and our phones were connected to the app in no time. It's so nice to be able to name the stations AND associate a photo with each station. The most helpful thing on the planet is to be able to be working at the far corner of the yard and be able to just run a specific sprinkler within about 8 seconds. Just open the app, click "water manually", select the station, the duration, start! This B-Hyve makes it so easy to run the sprinks. Inside the panel cover you can find instructions for running the stations in old school manual mode in the event that you may be having wi-fi problems at the moment. The print is very small though, so keep that in mind. *ONE CONCERN* After the first week of using the B-Hyve we noticed the button lit up RED and said we had a fault at station 5. We did a quick search online and came to the conclusion that it could be our solenoid at that station was bad. After testing the solenoid we found that to be the culprit. We replaced it with a spare we already had and we were back in business. About a week and a half later we had another RED fault, this time for station 7. I thought okay, i'll take care of that this weekend. A couple days later I noticed the RED fault for station 8 as well. So now I e got faults on 7 and 8 at the same time. One day later I noticed the fault for station 8 simply disappeared. So I replaced the solenoid on station 7 and it was all good. It's been a couple weeks now and no new faults have shown up. I was concerned that the B-Hyve was perhaps sending too much electricity to the valves and blowing the solenoids but I also realize solenoids go bad and maybe it was just coincidence. Time will tell. I don't use the water saving feature...i don't really care about "saving the planet" and I have my program set to run on a schedule that works best for the beauty of our landscape. The B-Hyve supposedly shows your local weather info but even after entering my 92026 code during setup, i've noticed the weather it tells me is FAR from accurate. No big deal because I have eyes and an actual weather app. *MY ONLY COMPLAINT* While this B-Hyve can do 16 stations, it still can ONLY have 4 programs (A,B,C,D) which has caused me to adjust the schedule of a couple of my stations and I have to run them at time when I wasn't running them before with my old system. ORBIT...if you read this, PLEASE do a software update that allows us to add more programs....like at least A,B,C,D,E,F,G. That would be SO SO SO HELPFUL!!🙌🏻 All in all, very happy with the B-Hyve. Wish we would've gotten this thing a few years ago!

Loving the control I have from my phone. No more running to garage to turn off unit when raining or to test sprinkler heads. I replaced the Orbit unit my house came with. Wiring was simple. WiFi setup was simple as well. The rebate offered by my city was a great incentive. Currently using the smart watering program. We’ll see how that works out. The unit uses weather forecast to trigger delays and you can adjust the percentages of the prediction to account for tricky forecasts.

I replaced a 25 year old RainBird 16 zone controller with the Bhyve 16 Zone Controller. It has been active for a couple of weeks and I will follow up periodically with additional comments. I can say, today, that the installation, integration and configuration of the system was intuitive and well documented. The instructions were a bit sparse at first glance but soon became secondary as the device self connects, via the iOS application on my phone. The configuration of the device and the programming of irrigation strategies was very straightforward. The system was operational about 2 hours including securing the device to my brick wall and adding a GFi receptacle. I have an outside, "Access Point", for my WIFI that is very robust and had no difficulties finding and maintaining a good connection. I suspect there could be challenges if your WIFI connection is not strong. Connecting the old wiring to the Bhyve is vey straightforward. Requiring only stripped wire ends, each connection is made by pressing a pushbutton, inserting a wire into a small hole under the pushbutton and releasing the button. Please note the "common" connections, one on each bank of 8 control outputs. Typically this is where you will connect the white wires in the wire bundles coming from your valves. Having made the connections, I used the App to test each zone. Being able to walk around the yard and start and stop the various zones is VERY useful. I then programed the device, again via a very good user interface on my phone. 16 zones completed in less than 5 minutes. The system automatically located and integrated the local weather forecast to monitor for rain forecasts. on several occasions the system has, "pushed", the day's irrigation because of rain being forecast. Note that you can always force the delayed irrigation with one click. I like getting the updates on my phone informing me of the start of the day's schedule, it's completion or its delay. There is a certain Kool factor for me in seeing this sort of update. I had a bit of a challenge integrating the Bhyve with my ALEXA account, not realizing you have to add the, "Alexa Skill" to your home Alexa Account. When I added the skill everything connected seamlessly. Note to Orbit: A bit more in the instruction sheet about the ALEXA connection would be helpful. I have not used the, "Smart Watering", programming capabilities built into the software. There are no restrictions in the use of water for irrigation in Auburn, Al. All in All, the Bhyve System was a easy install, and has performed as expected. I wanted to share my experience and will update this in 6 months to share my longer term take on its performance. Bill... Southern Smoke.

Love it, extremely easy to install, did it myself, instructions on YouTube. It’s amazing, wifi and bluetooth connectivity, choice of 1-5 schedules, manual or automatic, senses rain and soil wetness percentage. Can delay if rain or wind automatically, the app is very user friendly, it’s just awesome

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 stars) Orbit has truly upped its game with the B-hyve XR Smart 8-Zone Indoor/Outdoor Sprinkler Controller. As someone who has used a previous version of this product, I can attest that the improvements in this latest iteration have made it a standout choice for managing your irrigation system. It's not just a sprinkler controller; it's a reliable and user-friendly solution that has addressed the disconnect issues of the past. Seamless Connectivity: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the standout features of the B-hyve XR is its seamless connectivity. It smartly switches between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks, ensuring a stable connection even at longer ranges. This improvement has significantly reduced disconnects, making it a reliable choice for managing your sprinkler system. Enhanced Reliability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Orbit has clearly worked out the kinks from previous products with the B-hyve XR. Its improved technology and enhanced reliability give users confidence that their irrigation system will work flawlessly, even in challenging conditions. User-Friendly Interface: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The user interface of the B-hyve XR is a joy to use. Its DIY-friendly menus and easy-to-navigate options make it accessible for homeowners of all skill levels. You don't need to be a tech expert to set up and manage your sprinkler system effectively. Upgrade-Worthy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you've used an older version of Orbit's smart sprinkler controllers, the B-hyve XR is a worthy upgrade. Its improved technology, reliability, and user-friendly interface make it a standout choice for managing your irrigation system. I was so impressed that I even rewired parts of my system to integrate them with the B-hyve XR. In conclusion, the Orbit 57985 B-hyve XR Smart 8-Zone Indoor/Outdoor Sprinkler Controller is a game-changer in the world of smart irrigation. Its reliable connectivity, enhanced technology, and user-friendly interface make it a top choice for homeowners. Orbit has clearly listened to feedback and delivered a product that addresses previous shortcomings. I wholeheartedly recommend the B-hyve XR to anyone in need of a dependable and easy-to-use sprinkler controller. It's a five-star winner that has earned its place as a reliable solution for managing your irrigation system.

We had to replace a 14 year-old irrigation timer when the electro-mechanical switches started to get flaky. Three valves were already installed, with wiring already in place from the valves to the timer location (in the garage). I was really unsure how to replace the old timer, and did a fair amount of research and dithering, but finally decided on this unit. I'm happy to report it turned out to be a good choice! First, it was a snap to install--I just hooked up the wires from the valves (one wire per valve, and one "master/common" wire), and plugged it in. The "hardest" part was attaching it to the wall, which just required all of two screws. After that I downloaded the app to my iPhone, created an account, and the rest was a piece of cake. The unit asked me for permission to connect by bluetooth, after which it detected our WiFi; I logged it in, and then set up the watering schedules. You can have up to four; I created three (normal, hot weather, and REALLY hot weather...). You tell it when to start and how long each valve should run for each such schedule (you can choose specific days of the week, odd or even days (viz., dates), etc., all pretty standard for irrigation timers). Then you (typically) choose which schedule to run, and that's it, you're done. I think this whole process took me about 15 minutes, if that. The thing I did not realize in advance is how much easier setup and operation is with a well-designed app as your interface! Our other timer worked basically the same way, but you had to perform all operations physically on the unit itself (and you can get such timers for $40-60 less nowadays, if you want to save a little money). Besides setup, the app tells you what schedule you are using, when the next watering will happen, and allows you to change to a different schedule, run a valve manually for x amount of time, and so on. Status information is also displayed on the unit, as well as in the app, which can be handy if you don't happen to have your phone on you at a particular moment. Part of this is simply about having a timer that's capable of connecting to the internet and is controlled by a phone app, but I want to add that if the app were poorly designed (which is often the case when companies that used to just make gizmos suddenly find themselves wanting to produce smart gizmos, but they lack the engineering expertise!), or connectivity did not work well, or whatever, then even a well built piece of equipment could be a disappointing pain in the ---. So I congratulate Orbit for designing a nice, clear user interface that works exactly as it should. I should add that the unit has an "automatic" feature that I have not tried yet; I guess that feature actually monitors the weather (which it can since it's online) and decides whether to water based on that, at least in part. I might check that out later. It also can handle up to 8 valves, which is way more than we needed, but who knows, we might add more zones in the future. Finally, I must confess, I was delighted by the way the panel that hides the wire connection array comes off--rather than some kind of plastic tabs or something, it clicks out of and into place *magnetically*! That probably reveals my truly geeky nature...ahem...but, well, I just thought it was a cool touch, and maybe indicative of some uncommonly thoughtful engineering.

It took about 3 weeks for it to arrive. Set up and installation were not hard. Download the Orbit app to your device (phone/tablet) and create an account, attach the timer to the device with the app via Bluetooth, set up WIFI network, setup the zones in the app, and connect the valve wires to the unit. Setting up the zones in the app took the longest time, but it was not difficult. This whole process took about 30 minutes. I did run into an issue with the Bluetooth connection. I decided to change the device which I used originally to connect to the timer after everything was completed. I was trying to change the WIFI setup from 5G to 2.4G since it had issues keeping the connection on the 5G wireless. I guess this is an issue with the router more that being an issue with the timer. However, I was not able to connect the new device to the timer via Bluetooth, no matter what I tried. It only allowed one Bluetooth device to attach to it (which is good and safe), even after I removed the Bluetooth connection and the app from the original device. I tried to reset the timer from the app, but that did not clear the Bluetooth data. So finally, I pressed the hexagon button, on the timer, five consecutive times to reset the whole unit (I had to repeat this process a couple of times before it worked). Then, I was able to connect to the timer with the new device. That did not clear the data (zones, manual programs, stats, etc) which was set up in the account. It only cleared the timer’s internal memory (Bluetooth and WIFI data). I did have to set up WIFI on the timer again, which was what I was after anyway. Anyway, it was installed on 9/1/2021. About 3 weeks later, it still has not watered the lawn on its own (automatically or the smart way). Every day, it postpones the watering because of rain which we have not really had that much. I had to water the lawn manually a couple of times since it looked half dead. Finally, I had to manually change (from %100 to %20) the soil moisture level, for each zone, to force the smart watering for tonight. It does not seem to be too smart, and the data it receives is obviously incorrect. I have changed the weather station source a few times, but that did not help. The only good thing I can say about it, so far, is that I can manage the manual watering from inside of the house instead of going to the garage. So far, that has been the smart part of it. It can only be as smart as the data it receives from the weather station it is connected to, and the programmer who wrote the app. I have not tried the Alexa integration yet. Update: It does not stay connected to the WIFI at all. It keeps dropping connection. A mesh WIFI is about 4 feet away from it (with a wall in between), It was better before, but the last couple of weeks, it does not even connect to the WIFI. Router shows it is connected and active, but device itself says it is offline. So, it is basically a useless smart device since it has no idea what the weather is like, and it cannot record its activity.

My municipality was offering up to a $250 rebate for a smart sprinkler, so getting this was a no brainer. We went from a "dumb" controller to this. Take the time to set up the zones, plants, and soil type and let it operate in smart mode. Our plants are looking better already and our water use is down significantly over the course of a month It was easy to set up, register, and get connected. BONUS: these sync with Flume 2 smart water monitors, allowing you to get a fuller picture of your water usage. Overall, very happy with this

So far I love this controller. I’ve had it for a few weeks now. I am setting up micro-sprayers on the drip system this is controlling. I can turn it on and off from my phone, which saves me running over to the controller to turn on the zone, running back to look, and running back to turn it off again. Since I have 30 micro sprays, that’s a lot of running I don’t have to do. I like the smart watering so far. It’s easy to set up and runs on its own. I haven’t tried making any adjustments to it yet. There are a few things I am hoping they will modify in how it works; 1. You can choose “drip” as the sprinkler type but then you can only have up to 99 drippers on a zone, which is way to low if you are using regular drip line. It seems to be clearly based on a standard spray coverage; it doesn’t as for the are of the zone nor the output of the drippers, so I’m pretty skeptical of its soil moisture calculations and generally any output information. 2. It has me name each zone with words like: North Tree Lawn. I also can take a picture which shows up in the app. But, when I go to set up the zone, it only gives me the NUMBER of the zone. I have to do back, back, back in the app to figure out which number my named zone is. These issues are minor, I am hoping Orbit reads reviews. I’ve never used such an easy to set up controller. I really love it.

This B-hyve controller is one of my best purchases I have made in 2024. It took me an hour to do the wiring, 5 minutes to get the app connected to my network and about 15 minutes to get it programmed. I live on acreage and every time I had to make a repair to a sprinkler head, I’d have to walk all the way over to the old controller turn it on, walk all the back to the repair to ensure it’s working properly and then walk all the way back to turn off the system. With this unit, I just pull out my phone and turn on the system and turn it off when I’m done. Great product!!