Onboarding and troubleshooting your B-hyve Indoor timer

 

In this video, we will be onboarding an 8-station Orbit B-hyve Indoor Sprinkler Timer to the Orbit B-hyve app. Before plugging in your timer, you will need to wire in the power transformer using the provided flathead screwdriver. Do not connect the power transformer to your main power before wiring it into your timer first. You will also want to connect your valve wiring into the timer before we begin onboarding. It can be helpful to take a picture of your previous wiring if you are replacing your sprinkler timer. In this example, we have three valves wired in that share one com line. Once you have the power transformer and valve wiring connected, you may plug the transformer into your main power. Your B-hyve timer should power up and start flashing a blue P in the top right to indicate it is in pairing mode.

 

If your device is not in pairing mode, you may need to perform a factory reset, which will be explained in the troubleshooting section of this video. If you’ve 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. 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 into the B-hyve app using your email address and password. You will then 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 in to 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, pressing the plus icon in the bottom right.

 

In this example, we continue by selecting this is a new device.

 

You will now want to select the device you are trying to add. This is the indoor 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 blue P symbol in the top right of the timer.

 

This indicates the timer is in pairing mode and ready to connect. If your timer is not showing this flashing P 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 different 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 during this time. You’ll 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 available Wi-Fi networks 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 of 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. Please be aware that this timer uses a 2.4 Ghz network and that you may need to buy a Wi-Fi range booster depending on your installation location.

 

Select your Wi-Fi network, supply the network password and press connect to network.

 

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 you will need to be within Bluetooth range to control the timer with the app if a Wi-Fi connection is not used. 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. After the firmware installation is 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 we want to set up. 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.

 

During zone testing you are able to take or choose a photo for each zone.

 

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. Otherwise you may let the zone run for the full 60 seconds. 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 for zone two and we are given another opportunity to select an image for this zone.

 

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 onboarding has been completed. 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 a 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.

 

In our example, a rain delay was set based off the weather forecast automatically. A blue D and a flashing yellow B indicate that the timer is in a rain delay. This is due to the weather delays feature being on. Your device should now be on your B-hyve account and ready to use. On the back of the front panel there are instructions on running basic functionality from the timer’s physical interface. Anything more complicated than outlined on the back panel will need to be completed through the app. In this example, we will show how to start a manual watering for zone three from the device itself. To start a manual watering from the device, press and hold the B button on the center of the device until an A starts flashing in the top right.

 

This would water all zones if no additional button presses were performed. Pressing the B button will cycle through the full list of zones that the timer has. Pressing the B while the A is flashing will then change the selected zone to one. Each press of the B will increment which zone is to be manually watered at this point. We are planning on manually watering zone three, so we will increment until three is flashing and stop.

 

Zone three will start watering after a few seconds for 10 minutes, which is the default time interval for this timer.

 

You can then stop the event by pressing the B again, which will skip to the next zone or stop the event if it’s the last zone slated to run.

 

If you run into a situation where your timer has lost access to Wi-Fi due to a password change or wireless network change, you will see the B flashing blue and the top right light going in circles. This is an indicator that your timer is attempting to connect to Wi-Fi and not being successful. It will periodically retry to connect to Wi-Fi so if your Internet is down as an example, it will reconnect automatically once the Internet comes back online. This timer currently has the wrong Wi-Fi password entered in, which is preventing it from connecting to Wi-Fi. We are going to resolve this by updating the Wi-Fi settings through the app. After launching the app, we will want to select update Wi-Fi settings.

 

You will potentially have an update Wi-Fi settings button on the home tab. If there is no immediate option on the home tab, you can also find this option under device details or by selecting the connection icon at the top left. To update Wi-Fi settings, a Bluetooth connection is required to the timer, so you must be within Bluetooth range. After the app is connected to your timer over Bluetooth, the B button on the timer will now be a dark blue and a list of available Wi-Fi networks will be retrieved from the timer. Find your desired network by using the dropdown to view found networks. You may also enter your information in manually by pressing advanced. Enter in your new Wi-Fi credentials and select connect to network. Your timer will now use the updated credentials to reconnect to Wi-Fi.

 

The app and timer will automatically start using the Wi-Fi connection and the B button will be a solid light blue if reconnected to Wi-Fi. If you are having trouble onboarding your timer or need to perform a fresh install, a factory reset may need to be performed. Factory resetting the device will remove all information such as watering history and zone setups from the timer, so only perform this as a last resort.

 

You will first want to check to see if your device is currently on your account by pressing My B-hyve, then devices. If you see your timer in the list of devices, select that timer, scroll down to remove device, and follow the prompts to remove the device from your account.

 

You may now press the center B button five times quickly on the timer. The B will flash red and the timer will restart with factory default settings. After your timer has restarted with factory default settings, it will be in pairing mode and can be onboarded to the B-hyve app.

 

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