diff --git a/resources/charts/bitcoincore/charts/lnd/templates/_helpers.tpl b/resources/charts/bitcoincore/charts/lnd/templates/_helpers.tpl
index c7f5ae792..b32edb388 100644
--- a/resources/charts/bitcoincore/charts/lnd/templates/_helpers.tpl
+++ b/resources/charts/bitcoincore/charts/lnd/templates/_helpers.tpl
@@ -85,3 +85,15 @@ Create a hex-encoded RGB color derived from the namespace
 {{- printf "#%s" (substr 0 6 $hash) -}}
 {{- end -}}
 
+{{/*
+Data to init wallet with root key if lnd >= v0.16.0-beta
+*/}}
+{{- define "lnd.initwalletData" -}}
+{{- $tag := .Values.image.tag -}}
+{{- $supportsRootKey := semverCompare ">=0.16.0-beta" $tag -}}
+{{- if $supportsRootKey -}}
+"{\"macaroon_root_key\":\"{{ .Values.macaroonRootKey }}\", \"wallet_password\":\"AAAAAAAAAAA=\", \"cipher_seed_mnemonic\": $PHRASE}"
+{{- else -}}
+"{\"wallet_password\":\"AAAAAAAAAAA=\", \"cipher_seed_mnemonic\": $PHRASE}"
+{{- end -}}
+{{- end -}}
diff --git a/resources/charts/bitcoincore/charts/lnd/templates/pod.yaml b/resources/charts/bitcoincore/charts/lnd/templates/pod.yaml
index c8cbb2441..ae48728a4 100644
--- a/resources/charts/bitcoincore/charts/lnd/templates/pod.yaml
+++ b/resources/charts/bitcoincore/charts/lnd/templates/pod.yaml
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ spec:
 
               PHRASE=$(cat /tmp/genseed.json | grep -o '\[[^]]*\]')
 
-              until curl --fail --insecure https://localhost:8080/v1/initwallet --data "{\"macaroon_root_key\":\"{{ .Values.macaroonRootKey }}\", \"wallet_password\":\"AAAAAAAAAAA=\", \"cipher_seed_mnemonic\": $PHRASE}"; do
+              until curl --fail --insecure https://localhost:8080/v1/initwallet --data {{ include "lnd.initwalletData" . }}; do
                 sleep 5
               done
       resources:
diff --git a/resources/charts/commander/templates/rbac.yaml b/resources/charts/commander/templates/rbac.yaml
index da4d653b8..a19283d9d 100644
--- a/resources/charts/commander/templates/rbac.yaml
+++ b/resources/charts/commander/templates/rbac.yaml
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ rules:
   - apiGroups: [""]
     resources: ["pods", "configmaps"]
     verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]
+  - apiGroups: [""]
+    resources: ["pods/exec"]
+    verbs: ["get", "create"]
 ---
 apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
 kind: RoleBinding
diff --git a/resources/scenarios/commander.py b/resources/scenarios/commander.py
index 0ed8da9b1..edc9b132c 100644
--- a/resources/scenarios/commander.py
+++ b/resources/scenarios/commander.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 
 from kubernetes import client, config
 from kubernetes.stream import stream
-from ln_framework.ln import CLN, LND, LNNode
+from ln_framework.ln import CLN, LND, LNNode, get_admin_macaroon
 from test_framework.authproxy import AuthServiceProxy
 from test_framework.blocktools import get_witness_script, script_BIP34_coinbase_height
 from test_framework.messages import (
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@
                 pod.metadata.name,
                 pod.metadata.namespace,
                 pod_ip,
-                pod.metadata.annotations["adminMacaroon"],
+                get_admin_macaroon(sclient, pod),
             )
         if "cln" in pod.metadata.labels["app.kubernetes.io/name"]:
             lnnode = CLN(pod.metadata.name, pod.metadata.namespace, pod.status.pod_ip)
diff --git a/resources/scenarios/ln_framework/ln.py b/resources/scenarios/ln_framework/ln.py
index 4128733a8..75a8aeba9 100644
--- a/resources/scenarios/ln_framework/ln.py
+++ b/resources/scenarios/ln_framework/ln.py
@@ -2,11 +2,13 @@
 import http.client
 import json
 import logging
+import re
 import ssl
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 from time import sleep
 
 import requests
+from kubernetes.stream import stream
 
 # Don't worry about lnd's self-signed certificates
 INSECURE_CONTEXT = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLS_CLIENT)
@@ -420,3 +422,50 @@ def payinvoice(self, payment_request) -> str:
     def graph(self):
         res = self.get("/v1/graph")
         return json.loads(res)
+
+
+def _get_lnd_semver(pod):
+    for c in pod.spec.containers:
+        if c.name == "lnd":
+            return c.image.removeprefix("lightninglabs/lnd:")
+    raise RuntimeError("no lnd container found")
+
+
+def _supports_macaroon_root_key(pod):
+    semver = _get_lnd_semver(pod)
+    minor = int(semver.split(".")[1])
+    return minor >= 16
+
+
+def _read_admin_macaroon(sclient, pod):
+    chain = pod.metadata.labels["chain"]
+    path = f"/root/.lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/{chain}/admin.macaroon"
+    cmd = [
+        "bash",
+        "-c",
+        f"""for i in {{1..10}}; do xxd -p '{path}' 2>/dev/null && exit 0 || sleep 1; done; exit 1""",
+    ]
+    out = stream(
+        sclient.connect_get_namespaced_pod_exec,
+        name=pod.metadata.name,
+        namespace=pod.metadata.namespace,
+        container="lnd",
+        command=cmd,
+        stderr=True,
+        stdin=False,
+        stdout=True,
+        tty=False,
+    )
+    admin_macaroon_hex = "".join(out.split())
+    if not re.fullmatch(r"[0-9a-fA-F]+", admin_macaroon_hex):
+        raise RuntimeError(f"could not read admin.macaroon for {pod.metadata.name}")
+    return admin_macaroon_hex
+
+
+def get_admin_macaroon(sclient, pod):
+    # we have to read admin.macaroon for lnd versions below v0.16.0-beta
+    # because they cannot use adminMacaroon from the pod config
+    if _supports_macaroon_root_key(pod):
+        return pod.metadata.annotations["adminMacaroon"]
+    else:
+        return _read_admin_macaroon(sclient, pod)
diff --git a/test/data/ln/network.yaml b/test/data/ln/network.yaml
index 42d7213ef..a1d06dffa 100644
--- a/test/data/ln/network.yaml
+++ b/test/data/ln/network.yaml
@@ -72,4 +72,11 @@ nodes:
 
   - name: tank-0005
     addnode:
-      - tank-0000
\ No newline at end of file
+      - tank-0000
+
+  - name: tank-0006
+    addnode:
+      - tank-0000
+    lnd:
+      image:
+        tag: v0.15.5-beta
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/ln_basic_test.py b/test/ln_basic_test.py
index b5976d8f6..1869705a2 100755
--- a/test/ln_basic_test.py
+++ b/test/ln_basic_test.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ def __init__(self):
             "tank-0003-ln",
             "tank-0004-ln",
             "tank-0005-ln",
+            "tank-0006-ln",
         ]
 
         self.cb_port = 9235
@@ -100,11 +101,26 @@ def test_admin_macaroons(self):
             raise AssertionError("That should not have worked!")
         except Exception as e:
             assert "verification failed: signature mismatch after caveat verification" in str(e)
+        try:
+            self.warnet("ln rpc tank-0001-ln --rpcserver=tank-0006-ln.default:10009 getinfo")
+            raise AssertionError("That should not have worked!")
+        except Exception as e:
+            assert "verification failed: signature mismatch after caveat verification" in str(e)
         try:
             self.warnet("ln rpc tank-0003-ln --rpcserver=tank-0004-ln.default:10009 getinfo")
             raise AssertionError("That should not have worked!")
         except Exception as e:
             assert "verification failed: signature mismatch after caveat verification" in str(e)
+        try:
+            self.warnet("ln rpc tank-0003-ln --rpcserver=tank-0006-ln.default:10009 getinfo")
+            raise AssertionError("That should not have worked!")
+        except Exception as e:
+            assert "verification failed: signature mismatch after caveat verification" in str(e)
+        try:
+            self.warnet("ln rpc tank-0006-ln --rpcserver=tank-0004-ln.default:10009 getinfo")
+            raise AssertionError("That should not have worked!")
+        except Exception as e:
+            assert "verification failed: signature mismatch after caveat verification" in str(e)
 
     def fund_wallets(self):
         for ln in self.lns: