I installed two Netro Sprites to replace the previous controllers. The installation itself went fine, and I was able to verify that the first one waters the zones fine.

However, the second one does not water any zones. All the status indicators are fine, I hear the water getting turned on, and everything but no watering. What could be wrong? The wiring seems pretty simple. One common wire, 4 zone wires, and the power. All the wires are securely in. What are the ways to troubleshoot this?

Thanks in advance!

Select suitable plants for slope

Growing plants in some area with slopes may be more difficult than level gardens. A lot of challenging factors should be taken into consideration, for example, the different soil conditions, the sunlight condition, the slope condition, etc. Netro's smart watering would take care of these factors. Please go to Settings->Zones , select your zone and choose your soil type, slope condition and other settings.

The top priority is to evaluate the pitch and runoff. If the pitch is more than 30 degrees, it might be a good idea to terrace the area to prevent topsoil from eroding and all moisture evacuating every time you water or it rains. Once you have solved any moisture retention and erosion problems, it is time to evaluate the site further for exposure and zone, and plan what plants grow on slopes. The types of plants you choose will depend not only on your visual preference and vision but also the needs of the area. Deep rooted plants help stabilize soil, trees add dimension and shade to prevent excess evaporation, and low growing ground covers cover up unsightly areas with ease of care.

Although growing plants on a hillside can be a challenge, once established they can transform the area and help keep soil from slowly weeping down into the flatter parts of the terrain. Taller shrubs and bushes add many seasons of interest and will help give the area a sculpted appeal. Just remember that young plants will need additional moisture, staking and training as they establish. To keep maintenance down, choose plants that produce very little mess which would otherwise require extra work to clean up annually. Some plants that work well on slopes include:

Burning Bush 

Fragrant Sumac 

Japanese Yew 

California Lilac 

Creeping Juniper 

Dwarf Forsythia 

Snowberry 

Siberian 

Carpet Cypress

Read more at Gardening Know How: Choosing Plants For Sloping Areas – What Plants Grow On Slopes https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/slope-hill/plants-that-grow-on-slopes.htm

My phone broke and when I tried to connect my new one to the sprinkler, I get an error message saying that our Netro is linked to another device and must be deleted from it before it can connector to my current phone. Is there anyway to reset the controller? 

My water turns on then about a minute into the cycle it will suddenly shut down. The app says it is still going but water is not coming out of the sprinklers. Help  

Hi I was wondering if we could get an update on where Netro is with an EPA rebate? We're aware Netro has applied, but any word or ETA on getting certification for rebates?  Thank you

Live in Hawaii and yesterday we had flood level rains and to my disappointment Netro watered this morning even though I have it set to skip if it rained the previous day. Anyone have this happen?

Listen.  This timer is really bad.  How do I let a service man run my timer I don’t want to give him my phone at least with the Rachio I can grant temporary access this is not worth the money at all

I have this fern area in a desert climate. Is there a way to do short spirt misting multiple times a day?

My controller is blinking. Hasn’t done that before. Ideas?

Hi: i am having issues connecting to wifi.. i have been using the Netro for more than one year..still having issues with connecting to wifi. it gets connected for some time and disconnects. it is been happening. is it issue with Netro it self or something i have to do. i see all the bars on my phone at netro.. 

Customization->set rain/temperature/wind threshold to skip watering

Netro automatically creates dynamic watering schedules according to local weather, so if you turn on the smart zone feature for your zone, season adjustment will be made with smart watering schedules according to weather.

There are different types of weather restrictions: rain, temperature and wind.

By default, If you turn on the smart zone feature, Netro will skip the schedules (including manual schedules from user programs) when there is a chance of significant rain(>0.2inch).

The default threshold to skip watering when temperature is too low is 0 Celsius degree (32 Fahrenheit) for all the Netro controllers.

You can now customize rain, temperature and wind threshold through Settings->Preferences.

My controller shows that it’s online but the app is saying I’m offline. How do I correct this?

I would like to be able to share this account with my wife and my landscaper so they have access to turn things on and off when needed. Especially when I'm going to have my landscaper do work on my sprinkler system to fix the heads he needs to be able to test it easily without me being there.

Here in ocean city NJ, when we seed for new grass we need the water to come on twice daily to start germination. When I set my Netro to “new plant” and the soil type to “sandy clay” which is the top layer, the controller had only been watering every 2.21 days. The soil is dust dry. I don’t want to have to make gross adjustments. That is why I bought Netro. What’s wrong?

It’s winter, I have manual zones and 3 sprites. Is there a way to disable the sprites? There has to be. A simple switch I’m missing. 

How best to winterize system

The app crashes on android phone (S8) when attempting to set rain preferences. This is annoying. None of my messages regarding this have been answered by tech support. Perhaps I should return the device and get a Rachio?

Frequent, shallow watering encourages a shallow root system. A shallow root system means a lawn is under drought stress when the top inch of soil dries out.

Conversely, deep, infrequent watering during hot, dry weather is important to maintain a healthy lawn. Deep watering encourages the turf to develop a deeper, more extensive root system. The denser root system will make your grass less susceptible to periods of drought. A more dynamic root system will also offer the fringe benefit of discouraging competition from weeds.

To determine how long you have to run your sprinkler or irrigation system, take a flat-bottomed container such as a coffee can and mark off half-inch increments. Place the can or cans where it will be hit by the water, and time how long it takes to gather a half-inch of water. Then run your sprinkler twice as long. You may need to apply water even slower to steep slopes to avoid wasting water to runoff.

Netro's motto when it comes to watering: slowly, deeply, infrequently. Netro's algorithm is based on expert gardening knowledge, one of which is to avoid watering equally everyday and instead to water less frequently but deeply. Netro waters your garden only when the soil is dry enough in order to draw more oxygen into the roots, leading to a lusher landscape. By default, we allow the moisture level to deplete to a lower level before next watering and that is why you might see longer watering duration than the original settings on your old controller.

Netro smart controller gives your lawn the right amount of water, assures that your garden is getting its required amount of water – no more, and no less.

Resources:

Water infrequently, longer for better lawn

http://www.post-gazette.com/life/garden/2009/09/19/Water-infrequently-longer-for-better-lawn/stories/200909190132

It would be great to have a feature that runs the sprinklers three times a day for 7 days when I put down new grass seed. I can build a program for this and it does not take very long. It would be a nice feature to have this built into the app. 

Hi, my Sprite does not run any program on any zone following a power outage.  The zones are scheduled, I can see them in the calendar, but they don’t run.  Anyone seen this problem?