RAINPOINTWiFi Water Timer, Smart Hose Timer with Water Usage-Based and Soil Moisture-Based Watering System, Sprinkler Controller with Wi-Fi Weather Station Hub for Garden Irrigation

Works as advertised

I will start off and say that this is a fancy water hose timer that mostly delivers on what it promises. It came very well packaged without a lot of plastic, which was appreciated. Through the mobile HomGar app, you can attach and control the water hose timer. The application allows you to configure multiple "irrigation plans" that range from simple time based to interval irrigation where it turns on and off at a set cadence. The application also has charting so that you can monitor your water usage over a period of time. It also allows you to connect it to Google Home/Assistant and Amazon Alexa so you can control the device with your voice. Overall it does not add a whole lot of load on the network as I was seeing around 1.3 MB/day probably pulling in weather data and sending telemetry data back to the mothership. All of these features worked as design. The smart water hose timer also has a big manual button on the front that allows you to turn it on and off fairly easily. Once I got over the first few issues, everything has been working fine.The biggest issue with this unit is the initial set-up to connect it to the home WiFi. I didn't figure I was going to have much of a problem because I already had a separate 2.5Ghz WiFi network for my IoT devices that I planned to hook this up to. I had to use the alternative method to attach to the WiFi. After a few times through the scan process, I figured it out and everything just connected. Connecting the outdoor weather sensor and the water hose timer were a piece of cake.The other issue I have with it is that the thermometer is a few degrees off. The outdoor weather sensor seemed to be more accurate than the one reading the indoor temperature. This isn't a big deal for me since I am not using it to track the weather.The last issue I have with it is that I expected it to be a smart watering solution. Meaning that it would download the weather forecast and determine if it should turn on the irrigation or not. This is not the case. In the HomGar app, there is a toggle that you can select to add a 24 hour rain delay for any plans that you may have. I would have really liked this to automate that part of my life. However having the option to delay a planned irrigation over the phone is a lot easier than running outside to a manual timer and turning it off.Overall, I have been pleased with the device as it has automated the irrigation system for my peppers this year. For the price, I think this is a great device. To be fair I think the smart watering features I want are a few years away (at least at a price point for average consumers).

It took me some time to read the setup instructions and familiarize myself with the signs on the panel and the related app before I could configure all the settings I needed. The installation and pairing of the Wi-Fi timer to the hub were straightforward. The panel of the hub displays a lot of information. After setting the schedules, the system waters at the specified times accordingly. The app works well and it is responsive. It includes all the necessary features like irrigation records and rain delay, similar to other Wi-Fi water timers that I have used.I particularly appreciate that there are two watering modes to choose from: Normal Irrigation and Interval Irrigation. I've used several Wi-Fi timers before, but this is the first time I've seen a timer with the interval irrigation feature, which sprays water intermittently and helps save water. Another useful feature is the display of water usage for the last watering event, and there are options to set the watering schedules either by duration or by water usage. The hub is compatible with additional sub-devices like a rain sensor and soil sensor, which I can add later if needed.So far, this timer and hub have worked well, and I have no complaints. They are recommended.

I wanted to like the RAINPOINT WiFi Watering System.Unfortunately, I am left wanting.The setup was simple: Insert the batteries after starting the app's setup wizard. They connected to my Ubiquity Unifi IOT 2.4GHZ WiFi channel without issue. Of note, these items use the “Homgar” app, NOT the “Rainpoint” app. For whatever reason, “Rainpoint” branded products are incompatible with the “RAINPOINT Homgar Series” product line.The included “WiFi Water Timer” works as designed.The “Wireless Outdoor Sensor” works but is bizarrely not waterproof(!) and must be deployed away from rain and direct sun.I previously owned the HCS021FEF Water Sensor, which was successfully paired with the WiFi Water Timer for up-to-date moisture-based irrigation plan control.As to the “WiFi Weather Station Hub,” it leaves much to be desired.The “WiFi Weather Station Hub” can ONLY display the weather and humidity inside and outside your home.This “Hub” CANNOT display ANY of the RAINPOINT innovative watering timer system functions. One can’t control a timer, see if it is on or off, see if its battery is full or empty, or calculate the amount of water a timer has used. It pairs ONLY with the “Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Sensors and the soil and moisture sensor.” RAINPOINT could have given the user a simple status page on the "Hub." “The Water Timer is On” or “The Water Timer will run tomorrow at 8:00 AM.” Using the buttons on the back of the “Hub,” we could have been allowed to turn on a “WiFi Water Timer” if we selected it on the screen.I know what you are thinking; an app already exists for that. To that, I say EXACTLY. There is an app that exists on state-of-the-art touchscreen displays where one can see the weather in beautiful hi-definition and control the RAINPOINT watering system down to the minute.I own a few other RAINPOINT products. Overall, I have been happy with their performance. Once set up, one can go about their day and only occasionally look at the app to check the battery strength of the timers.I honestly don’t see the use case for the “WiFi Weather Station Hub.” It should be the Hub for a wonderful gardening experience where one can control every aspect of the RAINPOINT ecosystem.There are many other ways to get the weather in the twenty-first century.I cannot recommend it.