Automatic irrigation

This page describes the automatic watering logic of the MIYO Cube (Cube series). The Cube decides locally and regularly for each zone whether to water and for how long.

The full automatic watering logic is not yet enabled for the LoRaWAN series. LoRaWAN valves are controlled manually or on a schedule in the app; see the LoRaWAN section for details on the current status.

Manual watering (app or magnet) follows its own logic and is mentioned here only where it affects automatic mode.

Basic principle

Automatic watering only runs when all of the following levels are met:

Basic requirements for the zone and devices
Time window (configured watering times)
Need and protection conditions (Sensor, weather, pauses, …)

If a condition is not met, the Cube generally does not start, or stops ongoing automatic watering. For the time window, an already-open cycle may run to completion; a Valve that missed its start during the window may make it up shortly afterward (see Time window).

Without a Sensor, the zone behaves more like an intelligent irrigation controller (time window, optional evapotranspiration and weather). With a Sensor (typical MIYO operation), soil moisture and other sensor readings are added.

What an irrigation zone is

A zone groups together:

one or more valves
optionally one soil moisture sensor
Settings such as automatic mode, winter mode, time window, moisture thresholds, pauses and durations

The Cube checks the zones continuously (including after weather updates and device changes).

Decision process (overview)

For each zone, the check roughly proceeds as follows:

Are the devices / system ready?
  → is winter mode off?
  → is automatic mode enabled?
  → not blocked by smart home?
  → within the configured time window (or grace period / ongoing cycle)?
  → (with Sensor) is the soil dry enough and are the protection conditions OK?
  → has the pause since the last cycle been observed?
  → (with Sensor) has the current cycle's opening duration not yet expired?
  → no forecast rain / no lockout due to wind, mower, …?
  → then start or resume watering

1. System and devices

Automatic mode does not start, among other cases, when:

the radio channel is currently being switched
the Cube is in pairing/setup mode
the zone is in winter mode
the (only) Valve is not initialized, unreachable, has a low battery/charge, or is currently undergoing a firmware update

If a zone has multiple valves, an affected Valve can be paused while the others continue. If there is only one Valve, the error blocks the zone.

If manual watering is in progress, the automatic system won’t run at the same time on the same zone (the manual session ends after the set duration).

2. Automatic mode and external block

Automatic mode off: No automatic watering takes place. Valves are not opened automatically; the soil may still be dry (a notification may appear in the app).
Smart home block (extern block): An external system (e.g., IFTTT/API) can block the automatic system. Manual intervention remains separate, but the automatic system won’t start.

3. Time window

The automatic system generally starts within the watering windows set for the zone (for each day of the week). Within the window, the other conditions determine whether watering actually starts.

Two additions apply after the window ends:

Letting an ongoing cycle finish: If the automatic system has already opened the valve, the cycle continues for the scheduled opening duration - even if the time window has ended. Without a Sensor, this is the length of the window (optionally adjusted for evapotranspiration); with a Sensor, it is the configured watering duration for the cycle. No new cycle starts afterward.
Making up for a missed window: Valves sleep between radio messages. If the Valve hasn’t reported in during the time window and hasn’t opened yet during that window, the automatic system can still make up the start: for as long after the window ends as the valve’s current sleep duration, up to around 15 minutes. The scheduled opening duration remains the one set for the window or cycle. Soil moisture, weather, and the other protection rules still apply.

The Cube calculates the next scheduled start/end time of the window from your schedules (even across multiple days).

4. With Sensor: moisture requirements

If a Sensor is assigned to the circuit, the soil is only considered in need of watering once the moisture drops below the lower limit (border bottom) - and this is confirmed:

First drop below the limit: "possibly dry" (not yet cleared)
Further measurement below the limit and a short wait: dryness confirmed → automation may water during the time window

Moisture is cleared again or the automation is stopped when:

the moisture exceeds the upper limit (border top), or
the moisture rises back between the limits without MIYO having watered (e.g. rain) - the soil is then no longer considered "approved for watering"

As long as MIYO itself is watering and the moisture is between the limits, watering can continue during the window (in cycles) until the upper limit is reached or other stop conditions apply.

Without Sensor, moisture checking is skipped: during the time window, watering is generally considered necessary (subject to the other protection rules).

5. Duration, cycles, and staging

Without Sensor (during the time window):

The opening duration is based on the time window (optionally adjusted by evapotranspiration if enabled). If the cycle starts late or during the grace period, this scheduled duration still runs in full (see time window).

With Sensor:

Cycles with the configured watering duration and pause run as long as the soil remains dry and the time window applies. A cycle that has already started may finish its duration after the time window ends (see time window).
The pause between two cycles must be observed - only then may it open again.
The watering duration limits how long the Valve stays open continuously in one cycle; once reached, it closes (even if the time window is still running).

Staging (multiple valves on one circuit):

If several valves are assigned to one circuit and staging is active, they open one after another, not simultaneously:

First, the first (main) Valve for the scheduled duration
then the next Valve for the same scheduled duration
and so on, until all staged valves have run through or the automation ends

This keeps the water pressure stable and supplies the zones one after another. If a Valve in the chain fails (e.g. becomes unreachable), the others can continue running where possible.

6. Evapotranspiration (optional)

If evapotranspiration is enabled, the scheduled duration can be adjusted downward (e.g. less in cool/wet weather, more with high evaporation – within limits). This shortens or extends the scheduled opening time, but does not replace time windows and moisture clearance.

7. Weather, surroundings, and optional lockouts

Additional conditions depend on location, irrigation type, Sensor, and zone settings in the app:

Condition	When it applies	Effect
Rain forecast (rain in the next approx. 15 hours)	The zone setting Consider the weather forecast is enabled (can be turned on/off for each zone in the app)	No automation
Rain (current rain signal, e.g. external)	Location open (covered area / greenhouse: rain signal is not considered)	No automation
Wind too strong (external wind signal)	Mainly Sprinkler / pop-up sprinkler; for other irrigation types, only if the location is not a greenhouse	No automation
Robot mower active	The zone setting Consider mower is enabled	No automation
Brightness too high	Sensor in the zone and irrigation type Sprinkler / pop-up sprinkler (drip and similar systems ignore brightness; greenhouses do too)	No automation as long as it is “too bright”
Temperature too low (below approx. 4 °C at the Sensor)	Sensor in the zone	No automation
Insufficient battery charge	The zone setting Consider battery charge is enabled (can be turned on/off for each zone in the app); mainly affects valves with low solar charging	Affected valves are not opened, or automation for the zone is blocked

In the app (zone settings), you can specifically turn off:

Consider the weather forecast – this prevents the rain forecast from stopping automation
Consider battery charge – this prevents insufficient solar charging from blocking automation (devices can still be offline or depleted for other reasons)

You set the location and irrigation type for each zone; these control the hardwired rules for rain, wind, and brightness (see table).

8. Safety: Moisture does not change

When using a sensor, the Cube checks after several cycles whether soil moisture has increased noticeably. If it remains practically unchanged, automatic mode is blocked as a safeguard in case, for example, the Sensor is no longer in the soil and would otherwise cause endless watering.

The first cycle in the time window and the first few cycles are more lenient; the lockout mainly applies when repeated cycles continue to have no effect.

Why automatic mode often "doesn't run"

Common, easy-to-understand reasons:

Automatic mode is off for the zone
Winter mode is active
Outside the configured time windows (with no cycle in progress and no grace period after a missed window)
Soil is not dry enough yet or dryness not confirmed yet (moisture above the lower threshold)
Soil is moist enough again after rain/watering (upper threshold / moisture approved)
Rain forecast (next approx. 15 h, if the weather forecast is taken into account) or detected rain (location unavailable)
Pause between cycles not over yet
Too bright (sprinkler) or too cold
Valve or Sensor offline, battery/charge critical (if battery charge is taken into account), or device updating
Smart Home is blocking watering
Cube in pairing or channel change mode
Automatic mode locked because moisture is not increasing despite cycles (safety)

In the app, the status, next time window, moisture readings, notifications (e.g., dry but automatic mode off, smart home lockout), and zone settings help you understand what's going on.

In short: with and without Sensor

	Without Sensor	With Sensor (recommended)
When during the window?	Yes, as long as the protection rules are OK	Only if the soil is approved as dry
Duration	based on the time window (optional Evapo)	Cycles consisting of duration + pause
Stop	scheduled duration reached (even after the window ends), weather, devices, …	also upper moisture threshold, moisture safety limit

How it differs from manual watering

Manual (app/magnet) watering can be done independently of the automatic mode and often independently of moisture levels and time windows (with its own duration and device limits). Automatic mode is the rule-based control running in the background - it is intended to save water and only water when the zone, time, and (with a Sensor) the soil allow it.