LED lights reset when turned off if the controller has nothing saved to come back to, so it starts from a default every time power returns. Rhino's controllers handle that differently, and what you check depends on which one you run.
The short answer
When power returns, the controller decides what the lights do. The RGB and RGBW Bluetooth Controller with Music saves your selection for the next time you turn it on. RhinoLink keeps its settings and its lighting state on the board, and adds a Startup Profile so you choose the look each channel comes up in. If you only want a look remembered, start with the Bluetooth controller with music.
Why do my LED whips or rock lights reset when I turn them off?
Because every controller comes up in some state when it gets power, and the lights follow it. A controller that saved your last look starts there. One that saved nothing starts from a default of its own, which looks like a reset. On Rhino controllers that choice is made on the controller, not on your phone. What the firmware in a light actually does covers that side, including what survives a battery disconnect.
Does the Bluetooth controller with music remember my settings?
Its product page says the controller saves your selection for the next time you turn it on. It does not say what that covers or when it saves, so if a look does not come back, tell us what you see.
What does RhinoLink save, and where?
On the controller: input mappings, LED configuration, Startup Profiles and output settings, so they survive power cycles, a new phone and a reinstalled app. Favorites, custom themes, My Palette, HUD buttons and custom patterns live in the app on your phone. The Settings guide lists both sides.
Lighting is saved too. Without a Startup Profile, each channel comes back doing what it was doing when the vehicle last lost power, provided the controller had about ten seconds to write it after your last change.
Why does RhinoLink come up in the same look every time?
You may have saved a Startup Profile, and it is doing its job: the pattern, color, brightness and speed you chose for the channels you picked, applied at every power-on with no phone connected. It changes only when you change it. First setup includes choosing how the vehicle comes up at power-on, so check whether you set one then.
To keep your last look on a channel, leave it out of the profile: channels left out come up as remembered. The Startup Profile guide shows how to set one and has examples.
Which Rhino controller keeps your settings?
- You only want a look remembered: start with the Bluetooth controller with music. Its product page says it saves your selection and does not say what that covers, so tell us the look you need.
- You want to choose the look each channel starts in, with settings kept on the controller: RhinoLink. The controller applies its Startup Profile itself.
- You also run a Connex add-on board: your colors and patterns still come from the Bluetooth controller, so check that controller first.
Rhino 3.0 whips and Axion rock lights are RGB+W lights, which the Bluetooth controller configures separately from RGB. RhinoLink's compatibility list shows what it runs.
We cannot promise RhinoLink changes what your Bluetooth controller does. Tell us what yours does before you buy.
What should you check if a Rhino controller still resets?
Check these before replacing anything, and before any factory reset.
- Bluetooth controller comes up dark, or the lights react to sound: it may have been turned off in the LED Chord app, or be in music mode. The troubleshooting page has the fix for each.
- RhinoLink change did not hold: make it again and wait about ten seconds before cutting power. Reconnect the app, which reads what the board actually holds.
- RhinoLink channel always starts the same: check whether it is in your Startup Profile. An input you mapped can also hold a channel.
- RhinoLink favorites or themes are gone: those live in the app on your phone.
- RhinoLink controller settings are gone: a factory reset clears Startup Profiles and the other controller settings.
If it still comes up wrong, talk to Rhino. Tell us which controller you have, what the lights do and what you last changed.
This is part of Building RhinoLink, a behind-the-scenes series on how the controller was built.
RhinoLink controls auxiliary and accent lighting. It is not a replacement for required factory vehicle lighting. Lighting regulations vary — check local requirements before public-road use.
Price and current availability are shown on the RhinoLink product page.