In this video, we will be onboarding a 12-station Orbit B-hyve Indoor/Outdoor Sprinkler timer to the Orbit B-hyve app.
This is for the second-generation indoor/outdoor timer, which can be identified by having the PROG ABCD button on the local interface. If your timer has a PROG, ABC button, that is a first-generation indoor/outdoor timer and will require a different process than shown in this video. If you have not done so already, you will want to download the free B-hyve app from either the Apple App Store or the Google Play store and create a B-hyve account.
When creating an account, we recommend that you use a valid email address to receive B-hyve alerts and it allows Orbit to contact you if necessary. Once you have created an account, you will want to log in to the B-hyve app using your email address and password. After logging in, you will be prompted to either add a new device or use a code to gain access to a timer that has already been onboarded with a different account.
In this demonstration, we will be adding a new device. If you have previously logged into the app and reopened it and currently have no devices on the account. The app will launch to the home tab with the option to add a timer. If your account currently has devices added to it and you’re adding more, this can be done by going to the My B-hyve tab at the bottom right corner. Then selecting devices and pressing the plus icon in the bottom right.
In this example, we can continue by selecting this as a new device. You will now want to select the device that we are trying to add. This is an indoor/outdoor timer, so we will select that option. If you have not powered your timer on yet, you will need to do that before moving forward.
Once the timer is powered on, you will want to check that there is a flashing Bluetooth symbol in the top left of the timer screen that looks as if it is broadcasting. This means that your timer is in Bluetooth pairing mode and is ready to be connected. If your timer is not showing this flashing Bluetooth symbol, try unplugging and plugging the timer back in to power cycle the device. If a power cycle doesn’t work, this can often mean that the timer is already onboarded to a B-hyve account. Please see the troubleshooting portion at the end of this video for more help in this situation.
With your device powered on and in pairing mode, you are ready to move forward. The B-hyve app will now scan for Bluetooth devices looking to connect. The initial connection is over Bluetooth, so it is advised to be close to your timer. You will now verify that the MAC address found by the app matches the MAC address on your timer. This can be found on the back of the front panel if the MAC address is correct, press “This matches my device”. If the MAC address is not correct, press “This is not my device” and the app will re-scan for devices.
The app will now start to connect the timer to the B-hyve servers and receive the available Wi-Fi network seen by the timer. At the Wi-Fi setup screen, you have the option of manually entering in your network information, or you may use the dropdown of networks returned from the timer. If your desired network isn’t found, try pressing the refresh button to re-scan for networks or try entering your information in manually by pressing “Advanced”.
You will want to check that your timer has a strong Wi-Fi signal. This can be checked by looking at the list of networks in the dropdown list from the app. Please be aware that this timer uses a 2.4 GHz network and that you may need to purchase a Wi-Fi range booster depending on the installation location.
Select your Wi-Fi network, supply the network password and press “Connect to network”. While the app and timer are establishing the Wi-Fi connection, you will see the Wi-Fi icon in the top left of the timer start flashing different Wi-Fi symbols as it connects. Once the Wi-Fi connection is established, the Wi-Fi symbol will turn solid and now be a display of the signal strength.
A Wi-Fi connection is not an absolute requirement to utilize the timer. You may use only Bluetooth and the local user interface if desired by pressing skip on the Wi-Fi setup page. Please be aware that if you do not set up Wi-Fi, you will need to be within Bluetooth range to control the timer with the app.
We can now give our timer a new name and also use or take a photo of the device. This can be helpful if you have multiple devices on your account to easily identify them. Once you have named your timer, the app will check to see if your device requires a firmware update. This will happen automatically and should only take a few minutes. While the firmware update is being installed, your timer screen may flicker and turn off. This is an expected part of the process that can take upwards of 15 to 20 seconds. Once the firmware installation has completed, the timer will reboot and now be running the new firmware.
Now we will enter in our location information. This information is used to identify the closest weather station to your timer to obtain forecast information. The only required field is postal code, although with a more accurate location, we could potentially find a closer weather station if there are multiple weather stations under one postal code. You may select “Use current location” to let the app autofill the data or you may enter the information manually.
On the zone connect screen, we will tell the app what zones have been wired into the timer. If your timer has more than six zones, you can scroll left and right in the app to access all the zones. In this example, we have only wired in three zones under terminals one, two and three. In the app we will select one, two and three, then click next.
If you are onboarding your timer to be Bluetooth only, it is advised that you stay within Bluetooth range during zone testing.If your timer has been set up to use Wi-Fi, there should be no range limitations, granted your timer and app both have an internet connection.
We can now test each of the zones selected in the previous page, starting with zone one. Pressing test will run the selected zone for one minute. You are also able to select or take a photo of the zone while it is running. Pressing stop will stop the zone test and we can continue to naming the zone. Here you are able to name the zone, update the image for the zone, and test the zone again if needed.
Now we will test zone two. This will be the same process that we went through when we tested zone one. You’ll be able to test the zone and update the image for the zone. Here we can update the name and image for zone two. We then repeat the same process to test and update zone three’s information.
All of the zone information can be adjusted later on, including adding more zones by looking under the zones tab after we have completed onboarding. After setting up and testing your zones, you will need to decide if you would like to use smart watering or traditional watering.
Smart watering requires a Wi-Fi connection and you will be walked through setting up more specific information for each of your zones so that B-hyve can create custom programs
specifically for you.
Traditional watering will let the user create their own custom programs as they see fit. Both smart watering and traditional watering are capable of using weather delays with the Wi-Fi connection and will default to using this behavior. This means that if your area is set to receive a weather event such as rain, B-hyve will automatically apply the necessary delay to prevent unnecessary watering.
In this example, we are going to select traditional watering. We are now given the options to either program my timer, which will direct you to the programs tab, set up another device, or start using my device.
At the moment, we don’t need to set up any programs or add any other devices, so we will continue by selecting start using the timer. Your device should now be on your B-hyve account and ready to use. Please note that while our timer is set to the off state, yours may be set to the auto state, which will not impact the onboarding process.
If your timer is in the off state, you may select enable watering to start using the timer. If you have not done so already, you can remove the battery tab on the back of the front panel. This battery maintains the device’s time through power failures and Wi-Fi interruptions so that programs can continue to run correctly.
If you are running into Wi-Fi connectivity issues, there are a few things that you can try to troubleshoot the situation. Start with looking at the Wi-Fi symbol at the top left of the timer. This symbol can be a very useful indicator that can potentially illuminate Wi-Fi issues.
When your timer has a Wi-Fi connection, the symbol will be solid and show the bars of strength. It is recommended to have at least three bars. If your Wi-Fi symbol is showing less than three bars and you are experiencing device disconnects, try to improve the signal strength of the timer.
If the timer has a Wi-Fi symbol that is flashing, this is an indicator that it is not connected to a Wi-Fi network. A few examples that can cause this are an incorrect Wi-Fi password entered into the app, an unstable Wi-Fi network, or the Wi-Fi network is down entirely.
If the timer has a Wi-Fi symbol that is flashing with an exclamation point, this is an indicator that the timer is connected to a Wi-Fi network, although there is an issue with transmitting data. An example of this can be that a timer is connected to Wi-Fi, but the network might not have Internet. In this example, I have purposely entered in an incorrect Wi-Fi password through the app. The Wi-Fi symbol on the timer is flashing, indicating that it can’t connect to Wi-Fi. The timer will keep retrying to connect to Wi-Fi about every 30 seconds. So if your network or Internet service does go offline, the timer will reconnect on its own when it comes back online.
To update the Wi-Fi password to be correct, we start by launching the app. When on the home tab of the timer that is currently disconnected, you’ll be given the option to update Wi-Fi settings or control via Bluetooth in the center of the screen. You may press this Update Wi-Fi Settings button, or you can find this feature by selecting the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth symbol at the top left.
This can be very useful if your device currently has a Wi-Fi connection, but you would like to change it to a different network. The app will now connect to the timer over Bluetooth. You can verify the Bluetooth connection by looking at the Bluetooth symbol on the top left of the timer screen. The symbol will change from having no bars to showing a Bluetooth symbol with bars once connected.
After a successful Bluetooth connection, the app will automatically retrieve a list of wireless networks from the timer. Once the app has populated the list of networks, you may select the Wi-Fi network you would like to connect to.
If your network is not appearing in the dropdown, try pressing the refresh icon in the app to scan for networks. If this is not successful, try improving the Wi-Fi signal strength to your timer. You may also try entering in your credentials manually by pressing advanced. If the desired network does appear, select it from the dropdown list and you are now ready to enter in your Wi-Fi password. After entering your Wi-Fi password, you can press connect to network.
The Wi-Fi symbol on the timer screen should update to being solid with the signal bars representing the connection strength, and the app will redirect you to the home tab automatically. Your timer should now be back online with Wi-Fi ready to use.
If your timer was successfully added to your account, but you were having connectivity or disconnection issues, please try the segment before this before a factory reset. A factory reset can’t be undone and will remove any information and programs stored on the timer so that you can try re-adding the device.
Begin by launching the app, navigating to the My B-hyve tab, selecting devices, and check to see if the timer is currently on your B-hyve account. If your timer is appearing under devices, we will want to remove it by selecting the timer and then pressing remove device and following the prompts. If your timer doesn’t appear under devices, you will not need to perform the device removal step.
You will now open the front panel. Find the reset button at the top right of the panel and hold this button for approximately 10 seconds. If you are watching the timer screen while holding down the reset button, it is normal to see all the characters on the screen illuminate and then the screen go blank. Your timer will turn back on shortly after the blank screen and be in Bluetooth pairing mode, ready to be added to your account.
Devices Covered: 57946 57950
Back to Support pageTags: B-hyve, B-hyve App, Connect, Indoor/Outdoor, Onboarding, Pair, Troubleshooting, Underground Timer