Summary

If your Rachio 3 will not advance past the second quadrant/section it indicates that your Rachio 3 is having difficulty connecting to your router or access point. This is typically due to incorrect SSID/Passphrase or a wireless interference issue like signal strength. This article will walk you through further troubleshooting and a way to contact the Rachio Support team.

Rachio 3 Light Section 2 Flashing

Rachio 3 Requirements

Wireless Frequency: 802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz), 802.11ac/n (5 GHz). Dual band (2.4 / 5 GHz) supported.

SSID: We do not support non-standard characters in SSIDs, or passphrases for wireless networks. This is classified as any emoji, not English letter symbols added from Unicode Revision 9.0.0 onward. (Ex: 😂女书↪)

Encryption: Only WPA2-Personal or WPA2-PSK is supported. Older WEP is not acceptable, and we do not work with enterprise-level encryption most of the time. We also do not support splash pages/captive portals, or MAC address filtering.

Troubleshooting

Before starting troubleshooting steps, it is very important to check the manufacturer date of the controller. You can find this by removing the faceplate and looking by the side of the serial number. If this is dated before June 2020, most likely is a one-time incompatibility issue with the device we are using to connect the Rachio.

For controllers manufactured before June 2020, please go here Rachio 3 WiFi Troubleshooting: Quadrant 2 Flashing Yellow

No recent network changes?

Check your network. Are other connected devices offline? Can you confirm that your network is running on 2.4 GHz (Gen 1/Gen 2) or dual-band (Rachio 3) (separated bands are recommended, while "blended" [2.4 / 5 GHz] networks are not recommended). 

The network must use WPA or WPA2 Personal security encryption, and have a password. Rachio cannot connect to open networks. This helps ensure your network and connected devices stay safe while online. Rachio will not connect or display without this.

If your controller was manufactured after June 2020, please follow the steps below:

Step 1.

Try restarting your router

The best first step in troubleshooting these types of issues is to try restarting your router. While most routers just need to be unplugged and plugged back in to restart them, we recommend referring to your router’s documentation for specific instructions. Once your router finishes restarting, test it by connecting to your Wi-Fi network with a computer or mobile device and visiting a popular website.

Step 2.

Check your controller's signal strength

Still, experiencing intermittent connectivity problems after restarting your Wi-Fi router? You'll want to check the Wi-Fi signal strength at the location of your controller. To test the signal strength using your smartphone, simply walk to the location of your controller and see how many bars your network connectivity has. We recommend at least 2 bars for the signal strength to be considered reliable.

Step 3.

Perform a WiFi Update

After performing the troubleshooting outline above, please follow the instructions in the video below to update the WiFi (the WiFi update should be performed after all troubleshooting)

If after all these troubleshooting steps, this does not work, we suggest you get in contact with our support team. 

If the controller is still blinking on the second light, please go to this Intermittent connection article. If your controller is flashing on the third light now, you can go to this article Light 3 troubleshooting.

Installing for the first time?

At the end of the connection process, the controller will go online automatically. However, if you are installing for the first time, the controller will keep flashing on the 4th quadrant like the image below:

But don't worry! Just reach out to our Support via the form below.

Submit a Light 4 ticket

Do you still need help?

We have a chat support team ready to assist you! You can submit a support request by selecting the chat icon in the bottom right of this page and a member of the support team will contact you live.

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Winter Hours (October-March) 

8am-5pm (MST), Monday - Saturday. 

We are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.