Getting started
What do I need?
- An iPhone running iOS 16 or later
- A Rain Bird® controller with an LNK Wi-Fi module installed and connected to your home network
- Your LNK device password (set when you first paired the LNK module to Wi-Fi via the official Rain Bird app)
How do I find my controller's IP?
Two easy options:
- Open Sprinkler Studio and tap Find controllers on my Wi-Fi on the setup screen. It scans your local network and lists likely candidates.
- Or check your router's admin page for "LNK", "RainBird", or a similar device name in the connected-devices list.
I forgot the LNK device password.
If you set up the LNK module yourself, the password is whatever you chose during initial Wi-Fi pairing in the official Rain Bird app. If you can't find it, you'll need to factory-reset the LNK module (hold its reset button for ~10 seconds) and re-pair it through Rain Bird's app. Then enter the new password in Sprinkler Studio.
Common questions
Does it work when I'm away from home?
No — Sprinkler Studio talks directly to your controller over your home Wi-Fi, so your phone needs to be on the same network. There's no cloud relay. For remote access, the simplest path is a VPN to your home network — Tailscale on a small always-on device at home (an old iPad, a Raspberry Pi) is the most popular setup.
Why can't I edit my schedule from the app?
The LNK module's read protocol is well-documented (so we can show you what's scheduled), but its write protocol is not — the official Rain Bird app pushes schedule changes through their cloud, which uses certificate pinning that can't be safely intercepted. Set the schedule once on the controller's face panel; Sprinkler Studio handles day-to-day control. Use Settings → Schedule backup to save a readable copy of your full schedule for reference.
One of my zones isn't showing up.
The controller reports all hardware-supported zones, even ones you haven't physically wired. If you see "phantom" zones, open Settings → Manage zones and tap Hide unused zones — that auto-hides every zone that isn't part of any program. You can also hide individual zones manually from the same screen.
The Zones screen shows HTTP 503 / "controller is busy".
The Rain Bird LNK can only handle one in-flight request at a time. Sprinkler Studio queues requests with retry-and-backoff; usually a 503 self-resolves in a few seconds. If it persists, check that no other Rain Bird app or device is hammering the controller at the same time.
Will the rain delay also pause my manual zone runs?
No — rain delay only affects scheduled programs. You can still start a zone manually from the Zones tab while a rain delay is active. (Useful for that one stubborn dry patch even though everything else is fine.)
Why does the next-run estimate sometimes look wrong?
Cyclic-frequency programs (run every N days) need a reference point that the controller doesn't fully expose, so the calculation can be off by a few days until calibrated. The estimate also doesn't model seasonal adjust factors (which can shorten effective runtimes). For Custom (days-of-week), Odd, and Even frequencies, the estimate should be exact.
Reporting bugs / feature requests
Email derek@loasoftware.com with:
- Your iOS version and iPhone model
- Your Rain Bird controller model (e.g., ESP-Me3)
- What you tried, what you expected, what happened
- A screenshot if it's a UI issue
Response time is typically 1-3 days. This is a small project; thanks for your patience.