Anyone tips on being able to get a Hunter X2 irrigation wifi controller working?

[MrChip72]

I'm South of 44, home was built in May 2022.

I bought the wifi add on module off the internet in the summer. I tried everything in the instructions to get it working and then returned it and ordered a 2nd one. I'm still facing the same issues. I feel like maybe my specific Hunter irrigation controller has something disabled or something like that. I have the one with the blue buttons, I know that the one with the green buttons is not supported. I have not found any way to go into some sort of settings menu on the irrigation controller.

Here's what I've observed:

When inserting the wifi module I'm not seeing the wifi light go on at all. It's supposed to be amber according to the instructions.

When I try to connect it to the Hydrawise app, it advised to press the button on the module twice and then the light should go on, it doesn't.

This module supports Bluetooth, but fails to connect even though I can see the device in my Bluetooth settings.

When I contacted Hunter, they just send me a PDF of an updated installation guide.

[villagetinker]

There are 1 or 2 local hunter dealers/installers I hope they will see this and give you a hand, or someone else knows who they are so you can contact them.

[MikeSarokin]

I am also south of 44 and successfully installed the X2 wifi module and am able to use the Hydrawise application. My home was built around the same time and has the same Hunter sprinkler controller. The X2 wifi module (per specs) only supports WiFi 2g and not the latest wifi 5g. My Spectrum provided wifi supports both 2g and 5g. You might want to check what your home wifi supports.

If you are still stuck installing I can stop by.

[NoMo50]

Try contacting Hunter Tech Support at 800-733-2823. I have found them to be very friendly, and most helpful.

[Papa_lecki]

More than likely, your wifi signal is not strong enough in your garage. For some reason, it seems to need a stronger signal at set up

[Altavia]

The Hunter is very non-intuitive, designed to be set by professionals.

Replace it with a consumer grade controller like B-Hyve, much easier to setup and use.

[bragones]

Many smart devices require a Bluetooth connection to setup WiFi. I suspect the fact that you can’t connect via Bluetooth may be the root of your issue.

[William MacEntee]

I am a villager, and I bought the beehive wifi controller and installed it myself, and it works fine. I bought it at Lowe’s on 466 the villages.

[Bill14564]

Four things I would check:

- Is the dial for the X2 in the Run position?

- With the WAND module installed, does the display on the X2 change at all? Several of the functions of the X2 are not available with the WAND installed. If the screen displays have changed with the WAND in place then you have some acknowledgment that the X2 sees the module.

- If you remove the WAND module and "forget" that Bluetooth device on your phone, does it still show up in the listing of available devices? (Is it possible you are seeing your neighbor's device?)

- Try connecting to the Bluetooth device from another phone; perhaps it is your phone that is having issues.

[rsmurano]

I'm South of 44, home was built in May 2022.

I bought the wifi add on module off the internet in the summer. I tried everything in the instructions to get it working and then returned it and ordered a 2nd one. I'm still facing the same issues. I feel like maybe my specific Hunter irrigation controller has something disabled or something like that. I have the one with the blue buttons, I know that the one with the green buttons is not supported. I have not found any way to go into some sort of settings menu on the irrigation controller.

Here's what I've observed:

When inserting the wifi module I'm not seeing the wifi light go on at all. It's supposed to be amber according to the instructions.

When I try to connect it to the Hydrawise app, it advised to press the button on the module twice and then the light should go on, it doesn't.

This module supports Bluetooth, but fails to connect even though I can see the device in my Bluetooth settings.

When I contacted Hunter, they just send me a PDF of an updated installation guide.

The hunter Wands are POS! I bought 2 of them and got 1 working for a week then failed. Got a replacement and couldn’t get it to work. I spent an hour with Hunter support and they told me to send it back.

I’ve put multiple orbit b-hyve controllers in my prior house as well at friends here and prior place. Takes 5 mins to install, 15 mins to configure with your iPhone. So now it works with Siri and apple HomeKit.
I also use a local weather station so the controller knows when it needs to water and when it needs to put itself in delay mode. The b-hyve is installed in the same location that the hunter was installed and the b-hyve has no problem connecting to the wifi signal nor Bluetooth. You do need wifi access, and since I have my garage doors automated, they already had wifi access but the Hunter Wand couldn’t connect or keep connected to wifi.

BTW, I sold my hunter controller that paid for the b-hyve, which costs around $60 compared to the cost of the Wand which was over $100 alone

[JMintzer]

Any comment on how the b-hyve compares to the Rachio controller?

[sasman29]

I had trouble as well but finally got it to work on WiFi. Now it is great
You can link 2 ways. With WIFI or Bluetooth.
I would be happy to assist
ping me @sasman29

Mike

[brakey]

If you have the actual Hydrowise wifi controller and you installed the app on your smart phone You should be able to generate the zones you want to control and the start and run time on the app.
We have had it for 2 years and have had 0 issues with it.
It does communicate on 2.4 ghz not 5 if your router uses both.
Make sure you put in the pass word for the router in the Hydrowise unit.
We replaced the klunky mechanical unit with the Wifi unit.

I have had good luck contacting Hunter both by email and phone. If you have questions they have the answers.

Our watering bill went from almost $200 per month to about $20-30 per month.
It also checks on the weather and will not water if not needed.

[Ski Bum]

The Hunter is very non-intuitive, designed to be set by professionals.

Replace it with a consumer grade controller like B-Hyve, much easier to setup and use.

Yeah, have to agree with this advice. I am a 40+ year professional. I use BHyve at home. The last thing you want is another thing to go wrong.

[Notsocrates]

I'm South of 44, home was built in May 2022.

I bought the wifi add on module off the internet in the summer. I tried everything in the instructions to get it working and then returned it and ordered a 2nd one. I'm still facing the same issues. I feel like maybe my specific Hunter irrigation controller has something disabled or something like that. I have the one with the blue buttons, I know that the one with the green buttons is not supported. I have not found any way to go into some sort of settings menu on the irrigation controller.

Here's what I've observed:

When inserting the wifi module I'm not seeing the wifi light go on at all. It's supposed to be amber according to the instructions.

When I try to connect it to the Hydrawise app, it advised to press the button on the module twice and then the light should go on, it doesn't.

This module supports Bluetooth, but fails to connect even though I can see the device in my Bluetooth settings.

When I contacted Hunter, they just send me a PDF of an updated installation guide.

Maybe that wifi light is key!
Check your network on your pc to see whether your Hunter device is included in your network.

[bark4me]

I'm South of 44, home was built in May 2022.

I bought the wifi add on module off the internet in the summer. I tried everything in the instructions to get it working and then returned it and ordered a 2nd one. I'm still facing the same issues. I feel like maybe my specific Hunter irrigation controller has something disabled or something like that. I have the one with the blue buttons, I know that the one with the green buttons is not supported. I have not found any way to go into some sort of settings menu on the irrigation controller.

Here's what I've observed:

When inserting the wifi module I'm not seeing the wifi light go on at all. It's supposed to be amber according to the instructions.

When I try to connect it to the Hydrawise app, it advised to press the button on the module twice and then the light should go on, it doesn't.

This module supports Bluetooth, but fails to connect even though I can see the device in my Bluetooth settings.

When I contacted Hunter, they just send me a PDF of an updated installation guide.
I had the same problem and tried many of the suggestions below. Even had TCL come by to try to get it working, they too were unable. I had enough and took it back. People rely too much on modern technology.

[brakey]

Unfortunately The X2 is a stand alone controller like all the ones that come with your new villages home.
The way to get wifi is with the wifi module which you purchased.

Never had much luck with the stand alone controllers. We purchased a "Hydrowise" Hunter Hydrawise 12 Zone HC-1200i Wifi Irrigation Controller HC12 off of amazon 2 years ago.

Cut your losses and get the real thing. Easy to program and set up with the app for your smart phone.

Trouble is with the X2 its being adapted for wifi use.

The Hunter Hydrawise 12 Zone HC-1200i Wifi Irrigation Controller HC12 does not need a professional to set it up. Takes a few minutes to install (transfer zone wires) and use your smart phone to install the app to set up to 12 zones. We have 9 zones and after 2 years it works great and I can check my system from Michigan When we are not here.

[Joecool]

One of the best purchases you made hunter is far superior to most of the junk out there. I live in Saint Catherine's and you are more than welcome to come over and see how mine is possibly it's not pushed in all the way or like one other poster said you might have to pause 5 g's momentarily until the Wi-Fi hooks up. We could even plug yours into mine and see if we could get it working

[lpkruege1]

I'm South of 44, home was built in May 2022.

I bought the wifi add on module off the internet in the summer. I tried everything in the instructions to get it working and then returned it and ordered a 2nd one. I'm still facing the same issues. I feel like maybe my specific Hunter irrigation controller has something disabled or something like that. I have the one with the blue buttons, I know that the one with the green buttons is not supported. I have not found any way to go into some sort of settings menu on the irrigation controller.

Here's what I've observed:

When inserting the wifi module I'm not seeing the wifi light go on at all. It's supposed to be amber according to the instructions.

When I try to connect it to the Hydrawise app, it advised to press the button on the module twice and then the light should go on, it doesn't.

This module supports Bluetooth, but fails to connect even though I can see the device in my Bluetooth settings.

When I contacted Hunter, they just send me a PDF of an updated installation guide.

Make sure your router is set up for 2giga hz. Buy a Racio 3 that has the WIFI embedded in it.

[gail swanson]

Nice person 👏

[maistocars]

I installed the Hunter and the bluetooth wi/fi was really spotty. I returned it and went with the Rachio - best on market.

[mjr0773]

Wi-Fi signal strength is definitely an issue with these units. Lots of good advice here so I won’t repeat. But I will add one thing that worked for me at 2 different locations. When you do the initial config, do it right by your router so that the signal strength is super strong. It will do a firmware update so be patient as that can take some time - maybe 10 minutes or so. No need to have the clock wired to your valves for the original install. When original install is done, move it to the garage and wire it up to your zones. Provided you have halfway decent signal strength there you should now have no issue reconnecting to the internet. Then go ahead and configure your zones and schedules with the Hydrawise app and you should be good to go.
Hydrawise is a very good system and is endorsed by many irrigation pros. The x2 is a good clock. But can be a bit finicky in the initial install.

[polirudb]

I purchased a Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler controller several months ago and installed it myself in less than a half hour. It has almost paid for itself in the 3 months that I've had it. I can set it to work off a schedule or control it from the app. Highly recommend it.

[deej012160]

I just set my Hunter X2 wifi up last weekend. It took me a while to get it up & running (not all intuitive but pretty straight-forward). I can now see when it did not run, can re-set durations, etc using the Hunter Hydrawise app on my phone. The Hydrawise app also shows you how much (in percentage) you saved on water usage--the unit does not run when rain is forecast (mine set at default >80% probability). Based on other posts here I figure the other brands can do all that stuff too, but my wife & I decided to keep the Villages-installed Hunter unit and I am pretty happy with the setup and getting it up & running. The wifi unit is not inexpensive, but I'm figuring it will probably pay for itself this year.

[sasman29]

I agree totally. Mine works great too

[deej012160]

Sorry to add to this older post, but does anyone have experience getting the hydrawise wifi to "work" automatically? I changed the settings a few weeks ago from TU-TH-SA-SU to odd days and I must have done something wrong saving the settings or something because now the controller refuses to run in automatic. I know everything is working, the wifi works, etc because I can run it in manual using the hydrawise phone app. I downpowered the controller once to see if that would help, but that did not make any difference. I have checked and the current setting is saved on the phone app. As I am typing this I have been waiting on the Hydrawise help line for over 30 minutes so I'm thinking they are just not going to answer. TIA!!!

[Triker]

Took the Hunter down and installed a Rachio. Easy peazy and saving money every month!

[ilmike15]

I too got the Wi-Fi card for the new hunter controller. I too had issues getting the card to connect to the Wi-Fi. What finally worked was using the Bluetooth setup via the phone to help me connect to the Wi-Fi. It has worked fine with the Hydrawise app since then

[MrChip72]

I ended up giving up and switching the whole controller to a Rainbird model. I've worked in software for 30+ years and the Hunter user interface is like something from the 90's and is very much not plug and play. Spent hours troubleshooting it and decided to move on since it's important for me to be able to adjust and monitor my system when I'm away.

[birdiebill]

As some others have done, I installed the Rachio 3. Easy install. Works great.

[part-timer]

Another vote for Rachio!

The cost for the Hunter wi-fi module was about the same as the 4-zone Rachio (Home Depot with a 15% off coupon.) I already had a Rachio in use at another location so it was really a no-brainer for me. Really simple install too.

[Snowbirdtobe]

I replaced the Hunter controller about 4 years ago in my home and last year in my sisters place. I used a Rachio for both replacements. We both love our Rachio controllers. I control my system with an app on my phone and love the rain skip from upcoming rain.

[Villagevip]

Yeah, have to agree with this advice. I am a 40+ year professional. I use BHyve at home. The last thing you want is another thing to go wrong.
Ski Bum, just googled Orbit BHyve,(new to me) shows several models...Which model do you recommend? Hope for a response, so I can jump on it : ).. Thank you in advance....

[Bilyclub]

The Rachio works well. Just wish there was a closer weather station to my house. Village Tinker, hint,hint, hint.

[deej012160]

After holding on the HydraWise help line for just over an hour, I clicked off 1/1/1 for them to call me back when I hit their queue. They called about 10 minutes later. Fix was quite simple; he got me there in about 2 minutes! If you are choosing even or odd days, you have to click all seven days "on" in the program settings menu. Will see tomorrow if that worked; I have it on even days so I should see auto irrigation tomorrow morning. Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the "I went away from Hunter" replies, but we decided to stick with the Hunter equipment.

[Packer Fan]

Any comment on how the b-hyve compares to the Rachio controller?

I have B-hyve and it is perfect. You can buy for like $105 on Amazon. Rachio is $199, can't imagine any way it could be better. B-hyve has everything you need at about 1/2 the cost. It takes about 1/2 hour to put in, and the APP is excellent.

[Packer Fan]

Ski Bum, just googled Orbit BHyve,(new to me) shows several models...Which model do you recommend? Hope for a response, so I can jump on it : ).. Thank you in advance....

Orbit 57946 B-hyve Smart 6-Zone Indoor/Outdoor Sprinkler Controller, Compatible with Alexa, 6 Station,Grey
Now it is $99 on Amazon. Love it. Easy to install and use.