Getting Started

Set up your Rain Cloud in a few minutes. This guide walks through connecting the device to WiFi and configuring your location.

What you need

  • Your Rain Cloud device, powered on
  • A WiFi network name and password
  • A computer or Android phone with a modern browser (Chrome, Edge, or Opera)
iPhone / iPad users: Web Bluetooth is not supported on iOS browsers. Instead, use the ESP BLE Provisioning app from the App Store. Set the security type to Proof of Possession (pop0) and select No QR code when prompted. The rest of the setup flow is similar to the steps below.

Step 1: Connect via Bluetooth

  1. Go to device.raincloud.eu on your computer or Android phone
  2. Click Connect to Rain Cloud
  3. Your browser will show a Bluetooth device picker — select your device (it will appear as RC_XXXXXXXX)
  4. Wait for the connection to establish

The device's indicator LED should be flashing blue slowly — this means it's in provisioning mode and ready to pair. See the indicator light guide for details.

Step 2: Choose your WiFi network

  1. The device will scan for nearby WiFi networks — this takes a few seconds
  2. Select your home WiFi network from the list
  3. Enter the WiFi password
  4. Click Connect

The device will attempt to connect. If the password is wrong or the network is out of range, you'll see an error and can try again.

Step 3: Open the device

Once WiFi connects successfully, the setup page will show your device's local address (something like rc-812b2d1c.local) and open the device's web interface in a new tab.

Device not loading? It can take 10–30 seconds for the device to appear on your local network, especially the .local hostname. Try refreshing the page. If the hostname still doesn't work, try using the IP address shown on the setup page (e.g. http://192.168.1.123) directly in your browser's address bar.

Step 4: Set your location

This is the most important step — Rain Cloud needs to know where you are to fetch the right weather data.

  1. On the device's web interface, go to the Settings tab
  2. Click or drag the map marker to your location (or type coordinates manually)
  3. Optionally adjust the brightness and weather update interval
  4. Click Save

Within a minute or two, the device will fetch weather data for your location and the raindrop LEDs will start responding to the forecast. If rain is expected, you'll see the drops begin to pulse.

Step 5: You're done

Your Rain Cloud is now set up. It will:

  • Automatically connect to WiFi on power-up
  • Fetch weather data every 15 minutes (configurable)
  • Animate the raindrops based on the forecast for your location
  • Report its status to the cloud so you can check it remotely at device.raincloud.eu/manage/rc-XXXXXXXX

Troubleshooting

The Bluetooth picker doesn't show my device

Make sure the device is powered on and the indicator LED is flashing blue (provisioning mode). If the device has already been provisioned, it may need a factory reset — press and hold the pinhole button for 5 seconds.

WiFi connection fails repeatedly

Double-check the password. The device supports WPA2 and WPA3 networks. It does not support enterprise WiFi (802.1X) or captive portals. The device uses the 2.4 GHz band — make sure your router has this enabled.

The device connected but I can't open the web page

The .local hostname relies on mDNS which can take a moment to propagate. Wait 15–30 seconds and refresh. If it still doesn't work, try the IP address directly. On some networks, mDNS is blocked — the IP address will always work as a fallback.

No rain animation even though rain is forecast

Check that you've set your location in the Settings tab. Without a location, the device can't fetch weather data. You can verify on the Status tab — it should show the current weather state and last update time.

raincloud.eu