Smart Irrigation, Always Connected
The Worry-free Wireless Warranty for WeatherTRAK controllers is designed to ensure that the connection your irrigation system uses to receive ET weather data and system updates will always work – even as cellular technology changes.
The Worry-free Wireless Warranty helps you maximize your ROI by ensuring your WeatherTRAK controllers never require unplanned expenses or hardware upgrades due to enhancements to local cellular technology.
When a telecom provider phases out cellular technology in your area, HydroPoint will deliver new modems and antennas for the affected controllers.
You can either install the equipment yourself or work with a certified installer to ensure your irrigation system maintains its connection to the cloud.
It’s standard with new controllers or add as an upgrade to WeatherTRAK LC, ET Pro3, and OptiFlow® XR controllers activated before December 2017.
2G, 3G, LTE, 5G…
AND BEYOND
There’s no reason you should need to know what cellular data technology your irrigation system uses, much less keep it up to date. The Worry-free Wireless Warranty lets you focus on irrigation, and HydroPoint ensures technology transitions are a non-issue.
Information about 3G Cellular Connectivity
Some of our WeatherTRAK controller models communicate via 3G cellular service, which will begin shutting down soon, with an anticipated full discontinuation by February 2022. To continue to realize WeatherTRAK’s proven benefits, we have options to make the transition as easy and affordable as possible.
Here are answers to Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What is the situation with 3G communications?
A: As was the case with 2G cellular connectivity, national cellular service providers are evolving to support new technologies and moving away from older technology. To date, there are no alternative carriers that have announced any continued support for 3G. When a 3G network is taken offline, devices with a 3G modem will no longer be able to connect to the network or to the internet.
WeatherTRAK smart irrigation controllers that have a 3G modem will begin losing connectivity even prior to those dates listed above, as those are the very final dates the 3G network will be supported for each carrier. When a 3G network is taken offline, a controller with a 3G modem will no longer be able to connect to the WeatherTRAK server.
Q: What WeatherTRAK controllers are affected by this?
A: This will affect all WeatherTRAK controllers with a 3G modem. That includes the LC+ (6-36 stations), the ET Pro3, and possibly a small handful of OptiFlow XR controllers. Wondering if your controller will be affected? Email Us!
Q: Why does continuing connection to the WeatherTRAK server matter?
A: In order to take advantage of all of the WeatherTRAK features they need to be connected to the server. If they don’t upgrade their 3G modem they will lose all communication to controller by February 2022. Once that happens they can’t use WeatherTRAK Central or their mobile device to manage their controller causing way more time and headaches to manage it.
Q: What are my options?
A: Customers can purchase a Worry-Free Wireless Warranty directly from HydroPoint for $313 or from an authorized WeatherTRAK distribution partner. The warranty will cover the upcoming cellular modem upgrade and LTE upgrade kit will be sent as the signal gets turned down in their area. Customers instead can also purchase a LTE Upgrade Kit directly from HydroPoint or from an authorized WeatherTRAK distribution partner.
Q: What happens if you don’t upgrade the modem in my controller?
A: The controller will not be able to connect to our server and will show up as “offline”
- This means all of the convenient online programming features are not available — they will have to set up all stations, programs and run times at the controller by hand
- WeatherTRAK’s industry-leading ET Everywhere watering engine will no longer work and your controller revert to a “standard clock”
- Any manual watering operations will have to take place at the controller itself, not via a computer or mobile device
- Our industry-leading reporting tools will not update
- Text or email alerts from the controller will no longer work
- Tools such as Budget manager or SiteMap will not update
- The mobile app will no longer be able to communicate with the controller so no alerts, status updates, or manual operations from their phone