Is rain sensor really necessary?

TL;DR; Do I really need a rain sensor, or are the smart features of Sprinkler Plus enough?

I live in an area with clay soil,
My home came with a RainBird controller. I noticed the sprinklers ran even when raining,

I decided to upgrade to a Wyze Sprinkler Controller but here’s where the surprises started.
I found the rain sensor was powered but not connected to the original controller.

Out with the RainBird and enter the Wyze controller.

Everything worked fine with the valves, but when connecting the Hunter rain sensor receiver, the power supply for the Wyze controller produced a strong humming. Suspecting a short circuit, I reviewed the connection and even tried alternatives for other controllers, Finally tried connecting just to the 24v (no other wire from the sensor receiver) but the humming was still present.

So, I removed the rain sensor completely and my controller is performing well.

Before buying a new sensor, I would like to check with the community if it is really necessary to have one or if the smart features of Sprinkler Plus would avoid oversaturation.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

I can’t speak for individual needs nor am I a big expert in lawns by any means at all, but I don’t have have rain sensors. Sprinkler plus will calculate how much water you have and need based on data: What you input as the type of soil you have, what type of plants a location is watering, and the weather data for your area. So even without rain sensors, it can estimate whether you need the schedule to run, or skip a watering cycle because it is going to rain or just did rain and how much.

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True enough but in my experience the controller’s real world behavior is not as accurate. In FL at least we have enough discrepancies in predictions versus actual weather that I added a rain sensor. In the past year the external rain sensor has been more accurate than the Sprinkler Plus predictions at least twice a week during the summers.

In short, if in FL or any similar climate, I would say yes, the rain sensor is worth the investment!

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Thank you @carverofchoice and @SergL for your replies.

I’ve been monitoring the Sprinkler controller and Sprinkler Plus vs real precipitation, and while Sprinkler Plus is very close and the estimated saturation is pretty close, local showers can throw the controller off.

I will purchase the receiver for the Hunter rain sensor and will update once installed.

Thanks again.

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The humming of the power supply has nothing to do with the sensor in my case. Mine hummed right out of the box. Wyze is shipping me a new unit now.

Thank you, Jim