Now we have to pay for remote access? Disappointing if true
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I’ve worked in network security for 20 years, trust me folks you don’t want to open ports for this device. The internet is full of compromised bots, and it’s only a matter of time before someone writes an attack for these old and unmaintained rain machine devices If they haven’t already. There’s nothing safe about putting these on the internet. If you have weak or default passwords, you don’t stand a chance, you are a sitting duck
You could setup a home vpn, that would protect these while giving you remote access. Just make sure your vpn software on the server side will automatically update itself.
And no, unfortunately just choosing another port won’t stop bots, they can be made to scan all of your ports, and there’s only ~65k total ports.
If you don’t believe me, look at this security talk that someone else already posted in this thread: https://youtu.be/tW4ux9YwEgA
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This bait & switch is disappointing and troubling how support tries to gaslight you in support tickets!
Those of us who bought multiple devices in some cases and supported the company early on should be grandfathered in or offered a heavily discounted subscription for the life of the existing devices. $30/yr it's not worth the 2-3/year that I need to connect to the device and I cannot believe it costs that much to run the remote service and use a few mobile notifications every 3 days.
Disappointing also that mobile notifications stopped working completely on Android.
Time for an OpenSprinkler!
https://opensprinkler.com/ -
@drmm8 they can’t grandfather prior customers because they don’t have any future customers. They haven’t sold these products for some time now and support has been nonexistent even longer. This company is going under. Whether they can keep the lights on for support via subscription remains to be seen. Skydrop couldn’t and I doubt RM will either—but maybe they can pull it off. If they follow the skydrop model, which I anticipate, premium support will be sporadic, bugs will multiply, and finally they will just announce an end to the entire mess. Others threatening lawsuits, not recommending them ever again, not buying ever again etc seem oblivious to the fact that this company is going under and has been for the last two years
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I’m the last one to trust in picking a new controller—I had skydrop before RM. In my defense it was highly rated by consumer reports. Part of me thinks choosing one made by a big company rather than a startup gives some assurance they won’t fold—but recession looming means even a big company might jettison some services/products, esp ones requiring tech support.
Also noting back in the day I bought a zune. I’ve also bought every version of iPods and many versions of iPhones/iPads so occasionally I pick a winner
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Well, as I promised, I found a new controller, which allows remote access, with no annual fee. The timing of the Amazon Prime day was convenient for this. When it arrives I will be replacing my RM controller. I will try seeing if i can sell it to another person, making sure I don’t mislead them to the capabilities of the remote access. Still a shame this had to occur but here we are. I would expect the mass exodus to continue. Good Luck to all involved!
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Really disappointed with this premium service demand. I am trying to setup the Direct access, but still unsuccessful. Can some one help?
I did following:
1 . I selected DHCP IP address (one of them from reservation lis) to associate with MAC address of my Rain Machine device
for eg: 192.168.0.58 >> RM MAC address which i found on RM device settings
2. Port forwarding setup: I used above IP --> 192.168.0.58 and Ports forwarded to 8080. I selected TCP or UDP protocol.
3. I went to https://www.whatismypublicip.com to get my pubic IP.
5. On Android Phone RM App-> Direct Access- > Add device and added following entry
https://MyPublicIp:8080
When I try to open it, It just spins and comes back to device list
With browser as well, i could not connect to https://MyPublicIp:8080 . It just spins and gives message 'This site can't be reached'
Where am I making mistake in above configuration?. Any help appreciated.
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We're fuming about this ransomware bait-and-switch, withholding features we paid for as part of the initial purchase to extort more money from us. We use the interface quite frequently when setting up and testing irrigation in the spring and summer, and when adding new irrigation like we are right now when we discovered we were being blocked out of the interface (after spending a couple hours yesterday trying to figure out why we couldn't get to the system). The ease-of-access with no subscription costs was an important feature that led to us buying this system, and we expanded our wifi network to ensure we had network access in the gardens specifically to access the Rain Machine. FTC complaint? Class action lawsuit? We'd be interested in joining others who want to take formal, group action.
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@Deborah S, I share your aggravation at RM (believe me) but I’ve seen this coming for over a year as products stopped being sold and tech support was less and less supportive. I’m not sure there’s legal recourse as they give instructions for port forwarding that would allow remote access—many are choosing not to do that (me included). These actions could (and should) have been rolled out better, starting with a humble apology and NOT timed with summer heat and vacations as a lever for extortion to sign up. But it is what it is.
This company is clearly going under. I don’t think lawyers would be interested in a lawsuit but I could be wrong.edit: best option: start looking for a replacement and hope they stay in business
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@Dilip
You MUST setup the Port Forwarding in your router. Search how to setup Port Forwarding in your router brand name, no all routers have the same interface how to do this, but the concept is the same.
Do not use UDP, UDP is one-way communication, think how your TV works. You cannot interact with your TV other than change channels, that’s it.
TCP is two-way communication. You are able to interact with other machine in a remote distance. Chat comes to my mind.
The Direct Access is working fine on my iPhone, so it works.
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you might want to look at :
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/penalty-offenses/bait-switch
file a complaint with the FTC. this is pure bait and switch
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@sterling gee This company is going under—and they’ve given users instructions on how to arrange free remote access (at their own risk) or pay RM; they will justify the charges bc they are going under, cannot sell any new products, so the only way to maintain the system is find alternative money source for those providing that service. It sucks. RM has sucked for years. But I don’t see legal recourse here
They deserve punishment—perhaps Karma is going out of business during a recession.
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I'd still file a complaint. it would prevent them starting up again should they find a supply chain that works for them. I agree that they suck they killed features on their gen 1 products with updates. I liked the features that I could manage multiple controllers thru one app and see that watering took place. This works for me as we have rental properties, and part of the lease stipulates that the renter provide Internet access for the irrigation system. I can also tell when it is offline or the tenant unplugs it from the power source
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Unfortunately, I stayed away from the smaller companies. The economy right now is not good and I believe it will be hard for them to compete with the Rainbird, Hunter, etc. My research shows that most of the major irrigation companies have similar options as the RM and Rachio that I want. It seems like they are quickly adapting to what customers want and are now offering options that RM and Rachio once only offered.
- I went with the Hunter PRO-HC. It has remote access and the weather-based program adjustments. These were the two most important features I wanted.
- It doesn't offer the programing flexibility that RM has but that's way about my pay grade...lol. I just need my sprinklers to run when I want and not water if it's pouring down rain.
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I will take the wires off of the Rain Machine and short them together to turn on my sprinkler before I pay any company for access. I bought this thing to replace a garbage quartz display rain bird system because of its ease of use and remote access. Now 4 years later they want to charge? Screw you RM. I will not pay to access my own sprinkler system.
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This is absolutely ridiculous. RM had a great product, they dropped the ball and now find themselves removing features that were included with the purchase of the device, and charging us to get them back, just to stay afloat. This could've been executed alot better and perhaps you could've gained some subscribers, but again you dropped the ball. Shame on you RM. I will happily switch my device to another that can actually honor and support the features they include and offer with the device.
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Well, I guess that I am late to this 'crisis'. When I skimmed the original announcement I misinterpreted that the web access that we are used to was included in the new Basic. As I needed to go in and make some changes today I learned that it is not. I understand that people are disappointed to not have it continue to be free but I also watch and read the news and I realize that a lot has changed over the last several years. As I think back to when I bought my unit several years ago, I recall that RainMachine said that remote access at that time was not charged for but I don't recall them guaranteeing that it would always be free. So I went through the same exercise as many of you have to look at other options. It seems to come down to going back to 1990's technology with Hunter or Rainbird or staying with contemporary technology with RainBird or Rachio. I'm staying with RainBird and paying the annual fee. I did a detailed spreadsheet with trend line analysis and linear regression and figured out a solution: If I have one less beer, EVERY OTHER MONTH, I can cover the annual fee. Phew!
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I completely agree with the comments here. It is just unacceptable to delete functionalities paid by current user when they buy the product. The high price of the product is totally connected to this remote functionality. Not at all happy with where this is going, especially as i purchased my device with the specific feature of being able to remote into it from outside my own lan. Really hope RM takes a step back on this decision and continues to offer the services that the product was advertised with for those that purchased it before this new premium service came to be. Those that bought this product based upon the advertising of remote access and some other features should be grandfather in.
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I got my RM app to remotely connect to my home Mini-8 without having to pay for the $30/yr service. I'm an IT guy and can try help answer questions, but in the meantime, here's my steps:
- Set up my router to forward any requests on port 48080 to my internal ip address of the Mini-8 on port 8080 (192.168.1.110:8080)
- Set the IP of the Mini-8 (192.168.1.110) to be permanently assigned to the Mini-8
- Enabled SSH for extra security on the Mini-8 (https://192.168.1.110:8080)
- In the RM app I set up a remote device to connect to my home IP to connect with SSH using port 48080 (i.e. xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:48080)
- Confirmed on phone's mobile browser w/mobile data (not on wifi at home) I could connect to my Mini-8's web page (https://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:48080)
- BINGO! Web access is working and so is the app - no more yearly fee!
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