Don't Kill the Rachio Web App - Product Suggestions - Rachio Community
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post by RickyO on Jul 25, 2022
RickyO
It appears they just replaced it with a disaster of a new version. TERRIBLE.
post by tlight on Jul 25, 2022
I don’t see anything new or ground breaking in the web app… Was there an update?
post by RickyO on Jul 25, 2022
I have no way of knowing except that both the phone app and the desktop app are uniquely screwed up showing a different UI and behaviors, as noted.
post by tlight on Jul 25, 2022
I don’t see anyone else having the issue. I just updated the app on my iPhone 12 pro. Looks the same and works the same. Checked web app on an old Win7 PC, a Win11, and MacOS laptop and all looked the same and worked the same. Possibly something is corrupted or broken on your controller. Had any power surges lately? I’d call support and see what they say.
post by dane on Jul 25, 2022
Hi RickyO! I have sent you a DM to try and help with your app issues.
post by Treekiller on Jul 26, 2022
I agree keep the web app.
post by RickyO on Jul 27, 2022
How did you send it?
post by tlight on Jul 27, 2022
Dane said he sent you a DM. Click your avatar (or initial) in the upper right of this page and click the envelope.
post by dane on Jul 28, 2022
Note: I have deleted some messages on this thread that were off-topic and unproductive.
post by rstelting on Aug 4, 2022
Here is another vote to keep the web app.
post by kwolson59 on Aug 8, 2022
Agree here - keep the web app! Nothing beats a large, high quality monitor. Except for rare “on the fly” changes, who wants to squint at a small phone screen when you don’t have to? Not me. Unfortunately, I have noticed that the current web app is sluggish and poorly responsive to update, perhaps because Rachio doesn’t care about it. I have complained multiple times about this but never got a satisfactory reply.
post by rberteig on Aug 21, 2022
I see the web app as meeting a completely different need from the mobile apps. Today I’m trying to resolve an issue where my zones wires got moved around. So I need to update the configuration of nearly every zone. That would be impossibly tedious to do from the Android app. In Chrome, it is merely annoying. Rather than abandon the web app, I would like to see additional features that are only suitable for use from a full web browser, likely running in a full PC of some flavor. Today’s problem would benefit from a feature that summarizes all of the zones, showing its name and all of the settings including the Advanced settings and any hidden state like the moisture level estimate.
post by F4NavyPilot on Aug 23, 2022
yes, totally agree with those comments. I use both the web app and the phone app.
post by davebarnes on Aug 24, 2022
keep the web app bigger is better and I prefer to use my iMac vs my iPad
post by tlight on Jan 3, 2023
I started this thread in May 2022 and have not seen a response, or any additional information, from Rachio. I have seen in at least one other thread problems with the web app that are not being addressed in a timely manner. It is possible that Rachio is struggling as a company and having to make tough choices with regards to their programming resources. If that is the case, then I would make the following suggestions based on feedback in this thread and others:
- Focus resources on the WEB interface instead of the mobile app.
- Re-orient the PHONE APP to do only those things that it is most used for by users. Quick updates to timing, manually checking zones, turning system on/off, etc. In other words, REDUCE the functionality to reduce programming resource requirements for the mobile app.
- Focus WEB programming resources on a limited, or SINGLE, browser. The big challenge with programming for the web is doing so for all the different browsers and their different versions and extensions. "We recommend and fully support" would be fine with me. I would suggest Chrome as it seems to be the most hardened and my personal favorite, but I would install another just for Rachio if that is what it takes to keep the web interface going strong.
I hope we can hear back from drew_thayer or someone else at Rachio on this subject. I bought a new property and hope to be able to feel comfortable with buying another Rachio controller…
post by tmcgahey on Jan 3, 2023
Not sure how you equate their desire to sunset the web app as the company not doing well, but I find it hard to believe. IoT, whether you like it or not, is an app-based world. I think of the MANY IoT devices I have, and Rachio is one of the few holding on to it better than others (for now), but they are all very clunky in comparison to the apps, and are basically just an on-screen version of the app.
post by Thomas_Lerman on Jan 3, 2023
If they retire the web interface, I would hope that it would be available for self-hosting purposes and the API most open, plus better integration with Google & other things. I know that is all rather unlikely.
post by franz on Jan 3, 2023
Hey everyone, thanks for the passion! We do not have any plans to enhance the web app on our roadmap, but we are also not planning on winding it down. As we release new products (looking at you 2023!) unfortunately it won’t support them, but should continue to work for the irrigation controller for the foreseeable future. There are a couple known issues that we have not fixed (i.e. some newer crop types are not supported) and do not have a timeframe to work on them. Hope this helps address at least some short term questions around the web app, here’s looking towards a great 2023!
post by tlight on Jan 4, 2023
Does this mean the users here are in the minority when it comes to preferring the web app? Those in this community I would assume are among the most passionate supporters of Rachio products, but that does not mean we are in the majority…
PS: no plans to enhance the web app = winding it down. Large programming of Rachio controllers (especially multiple) just got a whole lot harder… IMO
post by Thomas_Lerman on Jan 4, 2023
You keep getting my curiosity up franz!!! Looking forward to the goodness and announcements.
post by franz on Jan 4, 2023
We are not winding it down. The web app will continue to run. There are no plans to enhance it, or wind it down. We are announcing tomorrow at CES, stay tuned!
post by tlight on Jan 5, 2023
If you have no plans to enhance it, and no timeline for fixes, you are winding it down by default. If not, I have some brand-new Windows95 install CDs I’d like to sell you… Not being disrespectful. I truly love your product and recommend it to friends all the time. But losing the web interface- albeit slowly over time- takes away from a big reason I recommend it.
post by Monstergerm on Jan 5, 2023
Completely agree with everyone here. We need a functional web app in addition to the mobile app. It is so much easier to make changes to settings on a larger screen. I have a hard time recommending Rachio after running into quite a lot of issues after just a few weeks of testing. In addition, make the iPad OS app available to run on M1/M2 Mac Silicon. This should not be too difficult to accomplish.
post by DominikHoffmann on Jan 10, 2023
I don’t know, whether I am old-school, only, but the screen on my MacBook Pro is about 7× the size of my iPhone’s. My only iPad is an absolute mini. Therefore making edits to zone boundaries on my iPhone is very tedious. Being able to do it with greater precision on a browser screen would be a great improvement. There is good reason for this being important, too. The Rachio system calculates watering parameters based on the square footage of individual zones. Positional errors from inaccurate zone boundary definitions can enter into the watering schedule with a square law.
post by tmcgahey on Jan 10, 2023
Not true at all. The area settings have nothing to do with watering adjustments calculated by Rachio. That information only goes to calculate an estimated water usage/savings. It takes the precipitation rate of the zone (inches per hour) and calculates it by the area, spitting out an arbitrary number that really doesn’t mean much, or do anything. Putting the area value at 0 will be no different than 1,000,000sq ft.
post by DominikHoffmann on Jan 10, 2023
Thank you tmcgahey for the clarification!
post by Treekiller on May 29, 2023
I just want to add my voice and support to keeping and improving the web app.
post by johnny2678 on May 30, 2023
Although I’m a year late to this thread, I just wanted to express my concern as an almost 7+ year Rach.io user. Please keep the web app. At an absolute minimum, do not deprecate the ability to download history. It is critical to my monthly water savings workflow and I can’t get that data anywhere else.
post by residualimages on Jun 27, 2023
Hugely disappointing. Web app and (local) API were differentiators of Rachio products (had 3 homes with the irrigation controllers, and got caught with a bad assumption when I ordered 4 of the hose timers, expecting feature parity within the Web app and API access). I hadn’t been active on here because things were just working; now I’m passionately advocating for a course correction from Rachio’s team – please heartily reconsider support the Web app and (local) API for multiple homes, and all your devices (including hose timers). I am an active community member with a variety of smart home device manufacturers, and listening to customer feedback + bringing requested features to both consumers and professionals, is the number one driver of repeat business, and has a track record of even opening up new device categories that companies weren’t even considering, with higher margins… Food for thought.
post by chris on Jun 27, 2023
API access coming soon for the hose timer: API support for Smart Hose timer? - #53 by chris No planned support for it through the web app yet.
post by residualimages on Jun 27, 2023
Hence my call to reconsider. I am following that other thread as well, and it was good to see the recent post mentioning API access was suddenly on the roadmap (even though initial responses from Rachio were more likely to be taken as a “not planned but we’ll keep tabs on the requests” approach).
post by DominikHoffmann on Jul 9, 2023
I second that. Lately a lot of manufacturers of networking equipment have resorted to only providing access to configuration of their hardware through a dedicated smart-phone or tablet app. A lot of IoT home automation never ran an http server. To me it is an unwelcome trend. The number of apps required to handle all the different brands is getting out of hand. I troubleshoot networking issues with my MacBook Pro. It has a 16-in screen, which allows me to see so much more information at once than I can on my iPhone. App-count: 1 (Safari). Most of the Linksys Velop, Netgear Orbi, TP-Link deco, etc., or IoT apps don’t run on Macs. What would I have to do, if my laptop were a Linux machine.
So, I second the appeal to Rachio to continue making http(s) interfaces for their devices.
post by julianm on Jul 9, 2023
Please also heart/comment/bump the product suggestion. I’d love to have the iPad app available on Mac even if there are a few limitations.
post by ryanbuckner on Jul 10, 2023
Unfortunately it doesn’t appear that the founder / CEO weighs this group very heavily when considering the product’s future.
post by tmcgahey on Jul 10, 2023
Not sure that franz and chris would agree with you on this one. I’m sure they have reasoning behind not maintaining the web interface at this point...
post by chris on Jul 10, 2023
Yep, we’re here and listening. The web app is an expensive company property to enhance and we’re looking for opportunities to do what’s best for both our web app users and our company. We’ll know more soon about its future, and will share our reasoning behind it. Current state of it: nothing has been taken away to date and we also haven’t added new functionality in the last 4+ years.
post by residualimages on Jul 13, 2023
Consider again the aspects of a local API, and then the community can make their own webpages and controls. Yes, it’s an investment, but it’s more of a heavy initial lift and then just maintenance / expansion only when new products or features are added.
post by NoTwitch on Apr 5
Hi Chris, It has been nearly three years since this July 2023 update. The assertion that ‘nothing has been taken away’ is no longer factually accurate. Due to recent backend server migrations, core frontend components of the web application—specifically the History logging and calendar scheduling interfaces—are now completely non-functional. Furthermore, this systemic degradation has been allowed to occur without any proactive communication to the user base. The absence of email notifications or a basic deprecation banner on the web portal itself represents a severe failure in standard IT change management, leaving users completely unaware of critical monitoring blind spots. Speaking from the perspective of a retired IT Infrastructure Engineer, the decision to abandon a web portal creates unacceptable operational risks for users managing these systems. While parallel codebase maintenance was demonstrably expensive in 2023, the software development landscape has evolved significantly. The widespread integration of AI-assisted development tools has drastically reduced the engineering overhead required to refactor and maintain legacy code. It is time for Rachio to leverage modern development efficiencies to restore support for the web interface, rather than allowing a critical management dashboard to structurally decay in silence.