Onboarding and Troubleshooting your B-hyve XR timer

 

In this video, we will be onboarding an 8-station Orbit B-hyve XR sprinkler timer to the Orbit B-hyve app. You will want to connect your valve wiring to 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 common wire.

 

If you have not done so already, you should 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 in to 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 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 continue by selecting this is a new device. You will now want to select the device we are trying to add. This is the B-hyve XR, so we will select that option. If you have not powered your timer on yet, you will need to do that before moving forward. After plugging in your timer, the center B button should start flashing blue and there will be basic information in the top right hexagon screens indicating it is in pairing mode.

 

Here is a still image of the hexagon displays, as it can be difficult to capture on video. If your timer is not indicating it is in pairing mode, try unplugging and plugging the timer back in to power cycle the device. You may need to perform a factory reset if you continue to experience difficulty entering pairing mode. This will be explained in the troubleshooting section of this video. 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 hex display during device power up and also to the left of the bubble level when the front panel is removed. 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. Please be patient while the B-hyve XR retrieves available networks.

 

The B-hyve XR is capable of using 2.4 or 5 Ghz networks and will sort by the strongest networks found. It is recommended to use a 2.4 Ghz network if possible, as it offers a better range compared to 5 Ghz networks. If your network uses a single, matching network name for both 2.4 and 5 Ghz networks, the B-hyve XR will use the most appropriate connection on its own. 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. Please be aware that this timer can use either a 2.4 or a 5 Ghz network and that you may need to purchase 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 the 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.

 

The firmware installation process takes a few minutes and you may see your device restart multiple times. Please wait for the app to indicate that the installation has completed.

 

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 can 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 in manually. On the zone connect screen, we will tell the app what zones we want to set up. In this example, we have only wired in three zones under terminals one, two and three. If your timer has more than six zones, you can scroll left and right to access all zones in the app.

 

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 the test 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 for zone two. And we are given another opportunity to select an image for the 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. The timer will show a flashing yellow B and more information regarding the rain delay can be seen in the hexagon displays. This is due to the weather delays feature being on. Your device should now be on your B-hyve account and ready to use. If you remove the front panel from the XR timer, you will find a list of basic commands that can be run from the XR’s physical interface. You are able to manually water all zones, run a program manually, or run a single zone. With the exception of running a program, the runtimes are adjustable. In this example, we will show how to water all zones that we had set up during the first part of this video.

 

Press and hold the B button down until manual appears in the hexagon display. As the white ring around the B button counts down, this is the amount of time you have to change your selection. Each button press will cycle through your selection options. Let the white ring count all the way down while the left hexagon displays water all zones.

 

You are now able to adjust the amount of time that the zones will run. A single button press will increase the amount by one minute and holding the button will increase the amount by five. The maximum runtime per zone is 6 hours and will roll over to zero if you overshoot your desired runtime. We pressed the button twice to set the runtime for 3 minutes and let the white ring count down completely.

 

The manual event will now automatically start with zone one running for 3 minutes. While an event is running, a single button press will skip to the next zone and holding the button down will stop the event entirely. If you run into a situation where your timer has lost access to Wi-Fi due to a password change or a wireless network change, you will see a solid red B in ring with more details in the hexagon display.

 

If your timer has lost Wi-Fi access, the top hexagon display will alternate between showing the time and a Wi-Fi symbol with a slash through it. If your timer has Wi-Fi access but is not able to reach out to the B-hyve server, then the top hexagon display will alternate between showing the time and the text “No server”. The XR timer will keep trying about every 30 seconds to reconnect to Wi-Fi on its own.

 

So if your internet is down as an example, it will reconnect automatically once it 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 navigate to 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 button on the timer will now be 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 show as solid white if connected 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 enter 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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