April 27th
April 27th, 2026, has been a month and still no word on the app and when they will get it to work. The controller is now 100% useless due to the app. Bhyve not only does not stand behind their product but also does not support them as a company should. Sad. What a change in the company. I have used Orbit products from over 30-plus years, I switched to the smart controller so I could use all of the smart features that are very convenient back in March of 2021. Then, everything broke down around January of this year, thank God is was Winter. Back in January 2026 there was a system break down. Until then the app worked excellently with the controller. Now as of April 23, 2026 ( I have been awaiting for over 3 weeks now), the app still does not work to enable any of the smart features and I have to water each station manually because even the individual programs wont start, wont activate. I also had to replace the controller from 2021 because it died. Yes, it died! Not like the one I had for over 30 plus years. Like I said the timer has been hay wire ever since Orbit had a system breakdown. Yes a system breakdown. Do not buy, do not use! A company as big as Orbit (was recently bought out perhaps this is the problem) should know to parallel programs and systems if they are making a switch. It took 5 customer service agents and not even then was my problem resolved. They decided to replace the controller that is when support stepped in to tell me about the app. I am pretty tech savvy so one of the developers even called me. They appreciated all of my input an wrote back... a fix in two weeks time... still awaiting the fix. Customer service is also overseas now, and it was rather difficult to understand their instructions at times. Problem: The timer is not picking up on the algorithms and I am told it is the app and the phone. It also only access to two local weather station points one which is in Santa Monica (on average 10+ degrees lower than the Los Angeles basin) and the other in Burbank, on average 10+ degrees hotter than the basin), so the algorithm would always be off. It is a mess and the communications are a mess. Final advice: I don't trust Orbit, or Bhyve products. They are now braking down and no recourse (I have also have a gen 2 hose timer timer that replaced a gen 1 timer that broke down,) and they will not replace the timer because it replaced a timer once before. No it is not in an exposed environment, and even if it was, these are outdoor systems and should be made to withstand all sorts of weather (I live in mild weather Southern Cal). If your products are faulty, you replace them no matter if it is a recent replacement to a replacement. No quality. And by the way the Gen2 hub is also now dead (this one they replacing). Orbit does not stand behind their products. The heavyweights they used to make are no more. It seems they are in it for profits and not for the customer. DO NOT BUY.