B-hyve Smart Hose Faucet Timer

This version of timer is much easy to setup than Gen. 1 version. The Gen. 2 hub was "found" by the app in no time and firmware update time was very short too when comparing with Gen. 1 hub. I hadn't setup the timer itself using the knob on the timer yet, I used the app to do the manual watering. Again, firmware update of this timer itself was fast too when comparing with Gen. 1 timer. The whole setup worked immediately after timer finished firmware update. The only complain that I have is the packaging of the timer when I received from Amazon. It did not come with original packaging. Timer was wrapped in bubble warp and hub (2 pieces) were in 2 separated sealed bags. All 3 pieces along with the 2 user manuals were in a cartoon box, very loosely. All pieces were rocking around inside the cartoon box ! Update (6/18/2024): the timer itself was locked by the App once I used the App to control the timer (manual & auto watering). Clock in timer also displays the correct time as my cell phone. No need to setup the clock in timer. One thing about Auto watering, I setup to water for 1 hour and 45 minutes. However, the App finished the watering after 2.5 hours. It never happened to Gen. 1 timer. It turned out that in the App's Program Watering setup, there was a new option called "water budget". Mine was set to 139% such that the programmed water time would multiple by 1.39. That increased the my water time by another 25 minutes. After I changed the "budget" back to 100%, programmed water time became the exact time I needed.

Bought this to add to my other timers. The WiFi hub allows smart watering on my hose sprinkler. No more watching the weather.

I originally purchased Hunter’s Hose Tap Timers, just to have the app stop working with the Apple iOS platform. After reading a lot of the reviews, I ordered Orbits B-Hyve hose tap timer system and was so happy with the reliability and its functionality that I ordered more to replace the rest of the Hunter Tap Timers. If the WiFi goes down or if the app stops working, I can still manually run and adjust the program directly from the interface screen on the timer itself. The WiFi capabilities have allowed me to manually run, monitor and make the necessary adjustments from anywhere in the world with just the click of a computer button or tap on the phone screen. If Orbit could 1) add interval timer with at least 8 start times and 2) have all of the tap timers communicate with each other to operate and monitor as one system like the LinkTap, then I would give 5 stars.

I like this timer a lot. The B-hyve app is getting better all the time and it can be used to remotely control the watering or to automatically create a watering schedule based on the weather. I love using it with my raised vegetable garden as I can set the smart watering and then I don't have to keep adjusting things as the summer progresses. The screen and buttons are great when I just need to set it up for a manual cycle for a couple of days. It uses the 2nd generation hub (the black one) instead of the older one (older one is gray), but I have found that the new hub gets better range than the older timers. The batteries easily last a full season for me. So far this has been a great smart timer that can still function as a digital timer when I don't want to mess with my phone. It looks like it comes in a 2-port and 4-port version as well, I will give those a try later and report back how they work.

Practical and nice, but: 1. the battery replacement is at the back. Once we mount some buried pipe adapters to it, it is not possible to turn it around to access the battery. The battery holder should be on the front. Bad design. 2. the wifi thing is a separate part, it should be built-in. It is hard to make it connect as a 2 piece.