Leave a Review RainMachine
Excellent Unit
I’ve had two Rain Machines and they keep getting better. Very easy to set up and easy to operate. I even included a valve to remotely add water to my Koi pond. Since the unit is in the garage I did add a Wi-Fi booster for a stronger signal. You may consider that unless you have a Wi-Fi 6 mesh system. The weather download and algorithms have saved me about half on my water bill and my grass and shrubs are looking better than ever. I’ve had other brands but they don’t compare. Rain Machine is the best in my book.Show lessfly.cast
App is good, company is trying to survive
Love my RainMachine irrigation controller. The app is very good - only issue I’ve had is the watering history taking some hours to update and show me the details after a watering day. I totally understand and agree that it stinks that the company is no longer offering free remote connectivity, but their most recent email explains that they’re having a hard time in the current environment, as are so many people, services and companies, and I appreciate that honesty. I subscribed for premium today - I’m glad to do what I can to support the product, and, thankfully, it’s not a big expense for me. We’ll see how this goes. If the time comes that the company can no longer support the product I sincerely hope they’ll make information available to the enthusiast community so they can enable SmartThings or some other home automation support. Hope to continue using my RainMachine for many more years. I don’t think the competition quite measures up.Show lessCrrink
No longer works without subscription
They now want you to subscribe for remote access. Terrible, but somewhat understandable if the policy is applied to new purchasers. Now, the App claims to have the ability to work locally, using direct access. Well, it does not work. It does not scan locally for the address. I had to go on the unit and look at the wifi setting for the IP address. With that, I entered it. It did not connect to the unit.
The only way to access the unit is using the web browser. I entered the IP address in in the browser and it comes up. Unfortunately, the browser has bugs with the window size (on the iPad.) For example, I can not hit the save button on the edit program screen. You have to use another browser and or computer.
BTW, I can access the unit remotely by setting up a VPN server on my router and I can connect to all the devices on my local network including the rain machine. Unfortunately, without the app, there is no notifications.
BTW, my unit work great for the first year, then I had to manually monitor it or else my grass would die since then.Show lessach1302
Bait & switch !
After having a rain machine for 7 years they all of a sudden decide that I should pay $30 for the 3 months where I actually use my irrigation. I very rarely accessed the irrigation remotely but have always been able to. It is one thing to ask for customers to pay for remote access, but it’s a whole other level of low to go out of your way to block even VPN access to the rainmachine. By using a VPN you wouldn’t have to use any external infrastructure that they pay for.
Shame on you Green Electronics (the company behind rainmachine) for being so greedy and going out of your way to block customers who don’t pay your ridiculous high annual fee that you’ve all of a sudden decided to impose.Show lessSimonSaysTruth
Hold on people…to get it to connect locally for free
You CAN still have it connect locally while in your home/yard. Granted, you will have to have a good Wifi signal if your in your yard but… I wish the company would simply tell people how to do it: 1. Open settings on your IPhone 2. Find the RainMachine app 3. Select “Local Network” and then switch it on It should connect again when in your house and connected to Wifi. Agree-you're not going to be able to be at work or on vacation and do it, but at least from your own home you can which is all most people want. If you want to access while on vacation then premium is an option but you can still access it via your home completely free.Show lessBSting0976
Starting to look like bait and switch
App used to be fantastic. While a bit cumbersome in some areas, the app and controller are a very powerful combination in both maintaining a well watered lawn and conserving water. But recent changes to the app that require a monthly fee to monitor watering if you aren’t on your home network is significantly irritating. I was sold on the device because it didn’t require a monthly fee, now if I even want to just check in on the device when I am away on vacation, I can’t do that anymore without now paying for a subscription. Extremely poor customer experience after RainMachine advertised their product not needing a subscription. Smells like bait and switch to me.Show lessMCHImages
Now charging for previously included features, plus my grass is dead.
I bought one for my previous home and now another for my newer home. All of a sudden, I have to pay a fee to use features that have always been included in the purchase price. If that is even legal, it is super shady. The developer says that the alternative is to connect directly or use port forwarding. However, direct connect does not work if you have 2 WiFi SSIDs. Well, I have 2 - I don’t want my IOT devices on my same network. Port forwarding only works if I’m outside of my network. So, I’m pretty much forced to pay.
Also, my grass looks like crap because the algorithm skips watering altogether rather than pushing it out a day. So, say I water every 4 days. If the forecast is for rain on my watering day, it skips watering. Then, if rain is in the forecast on the 8th day, it skips again. If there’s rain in the forecast on the 12th day, you got it - skipped. I’m the mean time, my grass is dead because it only rained a tiny bit on the 4th day. I guess if I lived somewhere like Florida, it might be ok. Where I live, the weather is finicky. Forecasts are rarely right, and almost always suggest rain that either doesn’t happen, or is much less that what they thought. Maybe I should just get a moisture sensor and forget about the forecast feature. But then, what’s the benefit of having a Rain Machine?Show lessShiveringBear
Just got scammed
After doing a lot of comparisons, I purchased the RainMachine based on many facts including being able to login remotely. Now they have changed the playing field and want to start charging for it. This is not Netflix, this is an irrigation app. Obviously they got a new CEO who only operates at one speed and that’s to make money of their existing client base. You need to grandfather existing clients into the premium service and only charge new clients for it. Way to damage a brand!! Big fail.Show lessPauliepaulie123
Was Great For First Year
I bought my rain machine about 1.5 years ago. It was fantastic with remote access from my phone. I could stand at every head and make need adjustments on the fly and not have to run back and forth to the house.
Fast forward to 2022. They’ve decided to revamp their software. They’ve also decided to start charging for remote access from your phone. The new software updates and the ability to purchase remote access do not function. The menu options lead you in endless loops with no resolution. Unless you have wifi around your entire property you cannot manage local connection to operate zones from your phone. Again, there is no ability to purchase the “Remote” option.
The current status is stuck at 75 days premium access. According to their info regarding current users the premium trial period ends June 30, 2022. Given “Remote” doesn’t work, this option is not available to you.
You took a perfectly great product and made it one of the worse products around.Show lessBowExtreme
Bait and switch do not buy
Hey Apple remove this app before more people fall for the bait and switch business practice from this company which is most likely going under. They sold consumers an expensive irrigation controller with the premise that it will work remotely via your mobile device and now they have stopped that function essentially making the hardware useless unless the customer pays a yearly subscription fee. This is highly illegal and unethical in all shape or form. It’s like buying a car and then suddenly the manufacturer says pay us a fee or we disabled your vehicle via the DME. I own many smart and wifi devices in my home and not one single company has done what this company is doing to its customers. I am sure the a re having revenue issues but to hold customers hostage is unheard of. Apple must do something or else more people will be swindled out of this new fee while RainMachine is going bankrupt. I hope there is a class action lawsuit over this practice and I for one will participate on principal.Show lesssheistheki
