RAINPOINT Sprinkler Timer, WiFi Hose Timer, Smart Water Timer for Garden, Drip Irrigation Controller System with Wi-Fi Hub Automatic Manual Watering, Alexa APP Voice Control, V2, 2023 Release Patio, Lawn & Garden

2.0 out of 5 stars Clunky App; Limited Control; Leaky Housing *Update 7/25/23*I called RainPoint customer service and they sent me a new unit. Good customer service.I decided to take apart the defective unit (photos attached). I found that there is water inside behind the buttons where the PCB resides. This is no doubt the issue. I suspect that water leaked in around the buttons. I did have the unit flat on the ground at one point, so I wonder if that did it. With that, I recommend keeping the unit out of the elements as much as possible (which seems silly for an outdoor sprinkler timer, but it is what it is).*Update 7/12/23*So I found out recently that the water flow sensor for zone 2 doesn’t work. I was really hoping to fill up my Koi pond and find out the exact volume, but the flow didn’t pick up anything. Zone 1 still seems to be recording water usage, but who knows how accurate it is.Also, the device just stopped working for no apparent reason. The lights flash white and red. The app doesn’t show any issue. It says online and battery full. The help documentation in the app is useless (it’s not specific to this device). I put fresh batteries in and it didn’t resolve the issue. I guess I’ll be searching the web/contacting customer service now. Yay.Original reviewI purchased this to have some automatic irrigation on my garden beds as well as the auto filler for my Koi pond (especially the water usage function for that). The expandability was definitely a consideration. So far it works fine, but I’m not super impressed.The good:-WiFi/app control-Scheduling-Water monitoring (big plus)-The built-in smart plug (small plus)-ExpandabilityThe bad/disappointing:-The app is super clunky. The setup was not seamless and it took a few attempts to get everything connected. You have to click around a lot. It just doesn’t look good. It feels like the app was built by the lowest bidder in a foreign country. The quality of the app doesn’t match the quality of the device.-The water usage only shows in Liters, which is annoying as an American. I have a 1,000 gallon Koi pond have no idea how much X liters is of that off the top of my head. I’ve looked all over in the app and could not find an option to switch the unit to Gallons.-It doesn’t have an “on/off” type of functionality. The manual watering function only works for up to 59 minutes, which is not very long if you have it hooked up to a hose and you’re doing yard work. I wish it worked more like a WiFi valve or switch than an “irrigation timer” for more control. You can set watering routines to start at a certain time of day for a certain duration, but only up to 12 hours. I wish I could just have it turn on or off at a certain time instead. I’d like for it to just be on all day and off at night for my garden hose & pond filler, which are all plumbed together, to prevent any nighttime leaks.-It doesn’t seamlessly integrate w/ Alexa. Most of my devices are automatically detected. This one was not. I really wish I could just schedule everything via the Alexa app (turn on at X day at Y time; turn off at X day at Y time). That would really simplify my use of this device with my other home integrations.-You can’t trigger the valve to shut off after it reaches a certain water usage. Monitoring is nice, but it could be a powerful control/failsafe if you could trigger a cutoff point based on daily water usage. That would be so nice with my pond filler and hoses that are always on to prevent them from leaking hundreds of gallons of water if something happens (like if the pond filler gets stuck on or a hose bursts).-The build quality of the device itself seems ok, but I wish the fittings were metal. I feel like it needs to be babied and it would be easy to break off a plastic fitting. This is especially true when hooking it up to a hose bibb that doesn’t point straight down or if you pull or trip on a hose that is connected. 10 people found this helpful