How do I edit a watering schedule?

Last Update:Sep 20 2024 2:07pm • Est. Read Time:Est. Read Time: 8 MIN

Summary

So, you've got that schedule but you're thinking, "How do I edit it?". Making adjustments to your existing schedules is now easier than ever. Follow the guides below for some scenario examples, step-by-step instructions, and more details.


Click on the device you are using to go to the app instructions:

Smart Sprinkler Controller

Smart Hose Timer


Need to create a schedule from scratch? Start here: How do I Create a Watering Schedule?


Note

Please note that editing a watering schedule will cause it to clear any scheduled skips and the calendar to be recalculated and reset. If you're experiencing unexpected behavior, check the Common Scenarios section below to determine if one of these applies to your situation.



Smart Sprinkler Controller


  1. Select "Schedules" tab

    Go to the Rachio app, find the navigation bar at the bottom, and select the "Schedules" tab.

  2. Select the schedule you wish to edit

    Select the schedule you wish to edit by tapping to open it.

  3. Make edits

    Tap the fields you would like to edit, then make your changes on the next screen. Tap "Done" to save. 



Adjust Watering

You can tap Adjust Watering right under the schedule name on the Schedules tab to make some adjustments to it.


From there, you'll be able to edit duration (both in minutes or percentage) and interval (based on your primary Interval option - the days the schedule will run if you opted for Specific Days, for example. Click on the tabs at the top of the screen to navigate between the two menus.

For Flex Monthly and Flex Daily schedules, adjusting the interval will affect the allowed watering days, which the controller will use as a reference to calculate when to water based on each of the schedule type's specificities.

Enable/Disable

Turning a watering schedule on and off is simple - toggle the "Enabled" between the on (blue) and off (white) positions. This is valuable if you want to keep a watering time that you have created, but do not wish to run the schedule. By disabling a schedule, you can turn it off or on as needed without permanently deleting it. Please note schedule limits if you're creating multiple schedules.

Name

You can change the name of your schedule - this can be helpful if you have multiple schedules and want to know exactly what schedule is running. Just tap "Name", update, and click "Done". 

Duration

Edit your zone durations quickly. You can increase or decrease the amount of watering duration (minutes) for each zone as needed.


You can edit watering durations directly from the Schedules tab by tapping Adjust Watering under the schedule name. From the sub-menu, you can adjust durations either by setting a specific duration down to the second, or percentage. Both options are available from the dropdown menu at the top of the screen; "by time" or "by percentage". 


When I adjust by percentage, do I adjust the total duration or individual zones?

Adjusting the percentage adjusts the percentage of the total duration of all zones in the schedule. Individual zone durations can then be further adjusted as needed by tapping the dropdown next to a specific zone.


What is the maximum percentage that I can adjust?

You can adjust a schedule’s total duration by 60%. You can either increase by 60% or decrease by 60% of the total duration.


What sprinkler controller models is this available for?

This update is available for Rachio 3 and Rachio Gen 2 controllers.


Order of your zones

You can change the watering order of your zones. Simply tap and hold the three lines icon (☰) beside each zone to move the zone up or down the list.

Zones

Zones can be easily edited within a schedule. Select "Schedules" at the bottom of the screen, then tap the schedule you wish to modify before selecting "Zones", and then tap to select or deselect desired zones; click "Done" to save your changes. 

Tip

To add a new zone to the schedule that wasn't previously added, a new watering schedule will need to be created.

Schedule Type & Watering Interval

It is important to determine what schedule type and interval type you want to use as you cannot change them once the schedule has been created. If you decide you want to change these features later, you must delete the schedule and create a new one. See Delete Schedule in this article.


For example, if you choose Specific Days as your interval type, you cannot change to a different type of interval, but you can change which days to run the schedule (Fixed schedules) or which days you're allowing the schedule to run (Flex schedules).

NOTE

Changing the watering interval via the Schedule Settings (Schedules tab > tapping the three vertical dots > Edit schedule) could affect the watering duration of the zones in your schedule due to Weather Intelligence features. If you want to adjust the interval without changing duration, you should instead use the Adjust Watering function mentioned earlier in this article.

To learn more about schedule types, click the links below.

Start Time

Edit the time the schedule starts watering. The schedule creator defaults to 5 AM.

NOTE

The option to “end before a specific time” can only be applied to one schedule per controller; this is to prevent multiple schedules from being stacked and eventually moving out of the 24 hour period of your selected watering day. As a result, once this option has been applied to a schedule, the option will not appear when creating additional schedules. To change which schedule makes use of the "end before" option, go to Schedules > Choose the schedule > "Times" > and adjust to meet your needs.

Start & End Date

Rachio allows you to select the date a schedule will start, and when it's going to end (Never is also an option!), while also offering the possibility to set them to run every year on a specific period, which can be very useful for seasonal watering and locations with watering restrictions.



There is also an optional checkbox that can be used to notify you one week before a schedule is set to start or end.



Smart Cycle/Cycle and Soak

Smart Cycle splits the total schedule duration into a number of cycles with the goal of eliminating run off. The zone's soil type, nozzle type, and slope impact if and when Smart Cycle turns on. Smart Cycle cycles zones to ensure each zone will get at least 30 minutes between the end of one cycle and the beginning of the next. For more info, please see  Smart Cycle FAQ. The schedule creator defaults this setting to Enabled.


To update, select "Cycle and Soak" and then make your selection (Rachio recommends "Smart Cycle").

Weather Intelligence

Weather Intelligence consists of 5 different features that act as weather triggers to skip the watering schedule or adjust watering durations. The schedule creator defaults all of these settings to enabled. Learn more about weather intelligence here, or visit our Weather Skip FAQ for details on all of our Weather Intelligence features listed below. 


  • Seasonal Shift. This feature will update your schedule durations on a monthly basis to offset seasonal weather changes. In short, durations increase from winter to summer and decrease from summer to winter. To learn more, please see our Seasonal Shift FAQ.
  • Saturation Skip. This feature will skip the watering schedule anytime the soil moisture balance of ALL zones will stay above the allowed depletion threshold between until the next scheduled watering.
  • Rain Skip. This feature will skip the watering schedule when it's raining; if the precipitation threshold is or will be met (looking back 24 hours and ahead 24 hours) at the time the schedule starts, the schedule will be skipped.
  • Freeze Skip. This feature will skip the watering schedule based on the observed temperature; if the temperature threshold at or below at the time the schedule starts, the schedule will be skipped.
  • Wind Skip. Wind Skip will skip the watering schedule based on the forecasted wind. If the wind speed is higher than the selected threshold, the schedule will be skipped.

Delete Schedule

If you want to change up your watering and create a new schedule, feel free to delete your existing schedule. But be warned - this action cannot be undone. To delete a schedule, tap the kebab menu (three vertical dots) next to the schedule name under the Schedules tab and tapping Delete Schedule.


Alternatively, you can delete a schedule by tapping the schedule you would like to delete, then select "Delete Schedule" at the bottom of the screen. Confirm that you would like to delete the schedule to make this permanent change.


Duplicate Schedules


By tapping the kebab menu (three vertical dots), you can also duplicate the schedule in question. Fore more information on schedule duplication functionality, go to the How to Duplicate Schedules article.

Common Scenarios


Are you having issues after editing your schedule? Below we'll cover some common scenarios you might run into. It's important to note that whenever a schedule is edited, it will be rebuilt from scratch, so all calendar dates will be reset.


Scenario 1


''My schedule runs every 4 days and since it ran yesterday, the calendar showed the next run to occur 3 days from now. After I edited my schedule to run every 10 days instead, I expected the next run to occur 10 days from now, but it's actually scheduled for tomorrow.''


Whenever a schedule is edited, the system will build it from scratch, which means all intervals are reset as if it was a new schedule. In this situation, editing the interval overrides the old schedule as if it was a brand new schedule. Some zone watering durations may also change when the interval is changed, especially in Flex Schedules. 


Scenario 2


''My schedule ran for much longer after I edited it.''


It's possible the schedule was edited while it was already running. In this case, when the schedule is rebuilt and sent to the controller, it starts the timer from the beginning, making it run longer than expected. If a schedule has to be edited mid-run, make sure to stop the run first.



Smart Hose Timer

To edit your schedule, simply go to the Schedules tab at the bottom right corner under your Smart Hose Timer menu and tap EDIT on the schedule's name.


You'll see the following options:

Enable/Disable:

Simply toggle it to enable or disable your schedule. Disabling will not delete the schedule; it will remain saved, but inactive. It can be enabled it to start running again anytime.


You can either enable/disable your schedule by going to the EDIT screen mentioned above, or by tapping on the kebab icon (3 dots) right next to the schedule name.

Name

Tap here to change your schedule's name.

Color

This will change your schedule's reference color. They will apply to both the Schedules and Events tabs, helping you to better identify them on the list.

Interval Type

This section allows you to change your schedule's Interval type between By day of the week and Daily interval. You'll also find their respective secondary options such as the specific days it will run, or how many days it will skip between runs.

Time of the Day and Duration

In this tab, you'll be able to manage the schedule's runs by adding, removing, or changing runtime.

Schedule Start and End

Edit the dates when the schedule becomes active and when it stops running.

Weather Intelligence


  • Rain Skip. While enabled, Rain Skip will prevent your schedule from running when its raining.
  • Weather Threshold. This options allows you to change how many inches of rain are necessary in order to skip the schedule. Please note that the threshold affects all schedules for your Smart Hose Timer on that property.


Do you still need help?

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