Product Library / Outdoor, Lawn & Irrigation
Research profile · last verified 2026-08-18Netro Spark Smart Sprinkler Controller
⚠ Similar names, different products: ⚠ Netro's two sprinkler controllers differ by zone count and price, and this is the bigger one. This is the Spark — 8 or 16 zones, $179.00 / $199.00, 1.6 in deep and 12.7 oz. The Sprite ("netro-sprite") is 6 or 12 zones at $99.00 / $129.00, thinner at 1.2 in and lighter at 8.2 oz. Everything else Netro publishes about the two — box contents, electrical ratings, operating range, warranty, ecosystems — is identical wording. ⊕ The published specification block describes the 8-zone unit ('Output: 8 zones + 1 master valve'), so the 16-zone variant's own figures are not asserted here.
Exactly which product this is[1]
- Model number
- Not established
- Generation
- Not established
- Region this page covers
- US
- Also sold or listed as
- Netro Spark · Spark-8 · Spark-16
“Not established” means we have not sourced that detail yet — not that the product has no model number, generation or regional variant. We publish the gap rather than filling it.
Compatibility
| Ecosystem | Support | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Alexa | WorksWorks with this ecosystem[1] | Named by Netro on the product page: 'Netro controllers works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home to make garden watering easier', with Amazon Alexa in the named ecosystem list. Platform stated; the command set that crosses over is not enumerated, so this records a documented path rather than a certified capability set. |
| Google Home | WorksWorks with this ecosystem[1] | Named in the same sentence and listed twice on the page, as both 'Google Home' and 'Google Assistant'. Same limit: named, not enumerated. |
| Apple Home | InconclusiveWe researched this and the evidence doesn't settle it — the catch explains why[1] | Not established. Apple, Apple Home, HomeKit and Matter appear nowhere on Netro's product page for this model. |
| SmartThings | InconclusiveWe researched this and the evidence doesn't settle it — the catch explains why[1] | Not established. SmartThings appears nowhere on the page, and no Samsung-owned page naming this product was read in this pass. |
| Home Assistant | InconclusiveWe researched this and the evidence doesn't settle it — the catch explains why[1] | Not established. Home Assistant is not named by Netro, and no Home Assistant documentation naming this controller was read in this pass. ⊕ The page does name 'If This Then That' as a supported ecosystem, which is a cloud automation service rather than a local one — context, not Home Assistant support. |
? Inconclusive means we researched that ecosystem and the evidence doesn’t settle it — the catch says why, and the sources are listed below. It is a statement about the available evidence, never a verdict on the product. A Setup Check researches your exact setup where the official sources don’t answer.
Protocols: WIFI[1]
What it can do[1]
You can tell it to
- Valve
- On/off
It reports
None documented by the vendor
Listed capabilities are what we could establish from vendor documentation. An ability missing here is unestablished — not necessarily absent.
Subscription reality[1]
✓ Works without a subscription: Yes.
Vendor account required: Not established — we have not sourced this yet.
Netro advertises 'Lifetime Cloud Service' as an included feature and names no plan, tier or fee anywhere on the product page. Recorded as "none" on that basis. ⚠ Read literally rather than reassuringly: 'lifetime' is nowhere defined, and the service it describes — weather-driven scheduling, water restrictions, remote access — is the intelligence the product is sold on.
Maintenance reality
- Works without the internet: Not established — we have not sourced this yet. It does not mean the product fails without the internet.
- 5.7 x 5.7 x 1.6 in, 12.7 oz, operating range '-4 to 122℉ / -20 to 50℃'. Wiring accepts '18 AWG to 22 AWG'; electrically 'AC Input: 24VAC, 50 / 60Hz, 800mA' with valve and master-valve outputs at 'max 10VA'. Box contains 'smart irrigation controller, AC adapter, wall screws, quick installation guide'. ⚠ No IP or weather rating is published — Netro sells an outdoor enclosure separately — so plan on an indoor or sheltered mounting point unless you buy one.
- Security updates: No security-update support date is on record for this model yet. We haven't yet checked whether Netro publishes one, so this is a gap in our research — not a statement about the manufacturer.
The catch
Same architecture as the cheaper Sprite, with the same two honest limits and one oddity of its own. The intelligence lives in Netro's cloud and Netro says so plainly, under the heading 'Lifetime Cloud Service' — free today, but 'lifetime' is undefined and the page says nothing about what the controller does when the internet is down. There is no IP or weather rating either, and the outdoor enclosure is a separate purchase. ⚠ The oddity worth a second look before ordering: the Spark's own specification line reads 'WiFi: 802.11 N, 2.4Ghz, EU' — the EU alone — on a page that prices it in US dollars, while the Sprite's line on the same store reads 'US / Japan / EU'. This catalogue does not know whether that is a certification difference or a typo, and it is recorded rather than smoothed over.
Who it's for
A larger yard than the Sprite covers — 8 or 16 zones instead of 6 or 12 — for a household that wants scheduling driven by weather and plant type rather than tuned by hand, and whose voice control is Alexa or Google. It is a poor fit for an Apple Home, SmartThings or Home Assistant household, for an exposed mounting point without the separate enclosure, and for anyone who wants a written answer about watering during an outage.
Sources & method
Numbered sources below back the facts marked with the matching number above. This is a research profile: compiled from manufacturer documentation, certification registries, and published testing — we state facts, not verdicts, and we have not physically tested this unit. How we work →
- [1] netrohome.com, Netro Spark product page — vendor-page research, verified 2026-08-18Backs: Product identity, Price, Protocols, Wi-Fi bands it can use, Power source, Installation, Required hub or bridge, Subscription, Capabilities, Batteries, Market availability, Service status, Research status, Amazon Alexa compatibility, Google Home compatibility, Apple Home compatibility, SmartThings compatibility, Home Assistant compatibility
- [2] netrohome.com, Netro shop page — the source this record cites, re-read 2026-08-19 — evidence read against sources this record already cites (BQ-191 provider-side backfill, D-7 bars) — no field changed, verified 2026-08-19
- [3] netrohome.com/shop/products/spark, read 2026-08-20. The page gives the controller's connectivity in full — "WiFi: 802.11 N, 2.4Ghz, EU" and "AC Input: 24VAC, 50 / 60Hz, 800mA" — and its outward integrations as "Amazon Alexa and Google Home, IFTTT". No pairing with Netro Whisperer sensors, valves or any other device is described, and Netro nowhere calls it a hub or bridge. — vendor-page research (BQ-191 provider-side backfill, batch 2), verified 2026-08-20Backs: What it provides to your home
Compatibility and lifecycle information reflects the last-verified date above and can change without notice (firmware updates, cloud-service changes, discontinuations). It is provided as-is, for information — verify with the manufacturer before purchasing. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it. Full terms: Terms of Service.