Are you a Rachio Wireless Flow meter user? Wondering what's going to happen now since you still have your accessory although it's no longer manufactured by Rachio? The good news is that we're still providing assistance for it, check this article!



note
All R3 controllers manufactured after November ’21 are not compatible with the Rachio Wireless Flow Meter.

General Troubleshooting

Are you encountering issues with your Rachio Wireless Flow Meter? We’re here to help! The information below will help target and solve any problems you may be experiencing. 

Trouble pairing your Wireless Flow Meter with Rachio 3?

Make sure your controller is online

If your Wireless Flow Meter is having trouble pairing with your Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller, first check to make sure your Rachio 3 is online.

If your controller is offline, follow these troubleshooting steps. 

Test Flow Meter Lights 

After confirming your Rachio 3 controller is online, you'll want to check the light status on the faceplate of the flow meter. 

First, flip the flow meter to look at the face and check the LED light: 

1. No light
   
   

   Note

   After the flow meter successfully pairs with the Rachio 3, the green success light will remain solid for about two minutes before turning off to conserve battery.

   If there is no light displaying, test the batteries. Using a flathead screwdriver, remove a single battery from the flow meter, wait a couple of seconds, then put the battery back in the flow meter, wait a couple of seconds, then put the battery back in (this will restart the pairing process). As soon as the batteries are in, flip the flow meter over to check for lights. If there is no light displaying, replace the batteries with 2 new AA batteries. If there is still no light displaying after batteries have been replaced, contact Rachio Support through the Help Center.

2. Blinking green light 

   If the flow meter displays a blinking green light, with blinks approximately every 3 seconds, it is in pairing mode and attempting to connect to the controller. If the LED light goes from blinking green to solid green, the connection was successful! Continue with installation, and be sure to screw the battery cover on securely so that it is waterproof. 

3. Continuously blinking green light 

   If the light does not turn solid green and continues blinking green, revisit the app and note any error screens. The flow meter may be too far from the controller, or there may be obstructions (such as objects, walls, soil, etc.) preventing pairing. Take the flow meter to the location of the controller. Remove the batteries, then put them back into the flow meter, and check the Rachio app to see if pairing is successful. If it pairs at this point, the flow meter installation site is too far from the controller, or there is other interference. If there are objects between the flow meter and controller, move them and try to pair again. If there are no objects, the controller may be too far from the controller and they will not be able to use a flow meter with their system. Contact support. 

4. Solid green light
   

   If the light turns solid green, you have successfully paired your Wireless Flow Meter with your Rachio 3 - congratulations! Continue installation using the installation manual, and be sure to screw the battery cover on securely so that it is waterproof. 

5. Red light
   

   If the light is red, contact Rachio Support from within the Rachio app.

False Positive Notifications

High or low flow notifications, but no sign of an issue?

Most notifications for high or low flow are the result of a leak or other issue with your sprinkler system. However, there are a couple of circumstances where your system may report a false positive. We recommend treating every instance of high or low flow reporting as a potential issue until proven otherwise. 

Low flow alerts

• For low flow, check out the affected zone during watering and look for decreased water pressure, sprinkler heads not popping up, and other physical issues. Fix any issues, or contact your irrigation professional for help. 
• If the user is receiving frequent low flow notifications, there may be high neighborhood usage (if, for example, all surrounding yards are watering at the same time) or a spike in household water usage (if showers, washing machines, or dishwasher are run at the same time). You can decrease flow sensitivity and alerts by lowering your low-flow threshold by 5 GPM. Continue to lower by 5 GPM (gallons per minute) until notifications stop. 

High flow alerts

• For high flow, check during watering for geysers, bubbling water around sprinkler heads, partially broken heads, or overly moist earth. Fix any issues, or contact your irrigation professional for help. 
• If there are no signs of high flow or leaks and believe you are receiving a false positive, you can increase your high flow threshold to decrease sensitivity. If the notifications return or your water bill increases from previous months with similar usage, there may be an underground leak - contact your irrigation professional for help. If you would like to continue monitoring without missing watering in the affected zone, you may disable auto shut-off within your settings.  

Inactive Flow alerts

• If you receive frequent alerts detecting Inactive Flow, you may be receiving false positives - this can happen if your sprinkler system takes longer than normal to depressurize and your Settle Time is set to the default of 3 minutes. To help your Flow Meter to recognize this depressurizing time as normal, edit your Settle Time. In the Rachio app, go to the "Settings wheel" icon, then select "Controller Settings", then "Flow Settings", then "Settle Time" to increase the amount of time your system will settle/stabilize before checking for inactive flow. Settle Time can be customized from 1-10 minutes. 

Usage reports no gallons or minutes on the Home screen

Rachio Wireless Flow Meter

If your Rachio Wireless Flow Meter is not reporting flow, your controller may be offline (which will cause the flowmeter to lose connection in turn). 

If you have a wired flow meter and the usage graph on the Home screen is reporting 0 gallons of flow, your flow sensor may be broken. Rachio cannot detect issues with any flow meters other than the Rachio Wireless Flow Meter. If you’re experiencing issues, please contact your flow meter’s manufacturer for troubleshooting help. 

Frequent lost connection

Have you received multiple notifications about your flow meter going offline? Follow these troubleshooting steps to bring your controller back online. If your flow meter frequently falls offline, make sure there are no obvious obstructions between your controller and your flow meter (such as large objects, walls, soil, etc.) which could interfere with the signal. If possible, remove any obstructions to prevent further loss in connection. 

Battery level low? 

Check out this support article for step-by-step instructions on battery replacement.