Owner’s manual
The controller on your wall
Two buttons and a switch. This is what each one does, what the screen is telling you, and the few combinations worth knowing before you need them.
Updated September 19, 2026
Parts of the controller
The controls
- 1
Antenna
Cellular and satellite link.
- 2
Sun hood
Keeps the screen readable in daylight.
- 3
Status screen
The same reading as the app.
- 4
Left button
Wake · test run without foam.
- 5
Right button
Wake · test run with foam.
- 6
OFF / ON switch
Starts and stops the system.
The screen
One word tells you the state
The screen shows the same reading as the app, so what you see at the box is what someone looking at their phone sees. The colors mean: green is ready, orange means something is about to start or is finishing, red means water is running, and blue means the controller is updating or restarting.
- READY
- Armed and waiting. Valves closed, nothing running.
- PENDING
- Something has asked the system to start.
- With a countdown, that is your delay running down and you can still stop it. If there is no countdown, the system is already starting and will move on right away.
- ACTIVE
- Running a full activation, with foam.
- Shown in orange instead of red while a quick stop is in progress.
- NOFOAM
- Running a full activation, water only. No foam is being used.
- One word on the screen, exactly as printed.
- TEST
- A test run, with foam. Three loops through the zones, then it stops by itself.
- TESTNF
- A test run without foam — the same test, water only.
- ENDING
- Closing the valves and draining the lines. Not a fault; it settles back to READY on its own.
- UPDATE
- Downloading new settings from your account — zones, distance, delay, schedule.
- UPGRADE
- Installing new controller firmware.
- RESET
- A restart is about to happen. The controller usually reboots within twenty to thirty seconds of showing this, then comes back to READY on its own.
Around the word you will also see water pressure, flow, which zone is running, time remaining, and the distance to the nearest active wildfire. The screen dims itself when nobody is there; one press of either button wakes it.
Reference
Every combination, and what it does
Anything marked READY only is ignored while the system is already running — the controller will not interrupt itself.
| Control | Do this | What happens | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left button | One press | Wakes the screen. Nothing else — a single press can never start the system. | Any time |
| Left button | Two quick presses | Test run, water only. Runs through your zones so you can check that every sprinkler head sprays, without using foam. | READY only |
| Right button | One press | Wakes the screen. | Any time |
| Right button | Two quick presses | Test run with foam. The same test as the left button, with foam mixed in. | READY only |
| OFF / ON switch | Turn to ON | Starts a full activation, using whatever foam and zone settings you have saved in the app. | Any time |
| OFF / ON switch | Turn to OFF | Stops the system and closes the valves. | While running |
| Left button + switch | Hold the left button while turning the switch to ON | Starts without foam, for this run only. Your saved setting is untouched. | Any time |
| Right button + switch | Hold the right button while turning the switch to ON | Starts with foam and runs every zone, ignoring any zone scenario you have set. Use it when you want every zone to run, no matter which zones are selected. | Any time |
| Both buttons | Hold the left and right buttons together for three seconds | Emergency stop. Whatever is running stops. Use this when you need the water off fast. | Any time |
| Both buttons, again | Hold both together for three seconds a second time, within thirty seconds of the first | Emergency stop and restart. The controller closes the main valve, saves its log, and reboots itself. Use it only if the first hold did not stop the system. After the restart, it turns back on and returns to READY by itself. | Within 30 seconds of an emergency stop |
Getting the taps right
Press quickly
Double presses need short, quick taps. If nothing happens, you were probably holding each press a little too long — tap it like a mouse click.
- A press counts as a tap
- under about eight tenths of a second
- Time between the two presses of a double press
- under half a second
- Switch response
- slow on purpose, so a bump cannot start the system
Worth knowing
Four things people ask
A single press can never start it
One press only wakes the screen. Anything that turns on water needs a double press or the switch, so bumping the box will not start it.
The switch takes priority
Turning the switch to OFF is designed to stop the system and close the valves, whatever started it — you, the app, or an automatic activation.
Test runs are not activations
A test steps through the zones so you can watch every head. Run one at the start of the season, and after any work on the roof or the irrigation.
The box and the app agree
Anything you do here shows up in the app, and anything done in the app shows here. The controller and the app always stay in sync.
This manual covers the controls only. Opening the enclosure, wiring, jumpers, calibration and servicing are for a qualified FireShield technician. If something is not behaving as described here, do not open the box — contact support.
Most of the time you will use the app, not the box
The controller is there for when you are standing in front of it. Setting your activation distance, your delay, which zones run and scheduling a start all happen on your phone.
- App
- 3.0.2 (build 6)
- Updated October 15, 2026
- Controller firmware
- 4.8.0.31
- Updated September 17, 2026