Caust1c

I built a network switch from scratch as my capstone project in college. Wonder where that puts me. Also, it's not the upfront cost that bothers me so much as the inflexibility of the system. You said it yourself: "it is quite likely that you are going to be spending a few hundred dollars per year with your dealer." That's what I d on't like about it. Random additional question before I take off for the rest of the day: Assuming I do go through with the setup, what's necessary to get started programming drivers? I see that there's quite an ecosystem for 3rd party drivers, and would love a link to a guide on how to do that. I haven't found anything on the main website except a partner's form (which I filled out). Would love to be able to program my own drivers.

Really appreciate everyone's input on these forums. I get the feeling this community is what's keeping control4 alive. That's the issue. I can't trust something I can't see. I'm a bit of a zealot when it comes to hardware and network security. I run OpenBSD on my router and OpenWRT for my APs. If I do keep control4 it will be on an entirely isolated network to just control lights, thermostats, and speakers with whatever audio output I decide to wire up to the amplifier. Thanks for the straightforward advice RAV. You've been extremely helpful. If I were to use it for the following, would I have to replace or upgrade anything? - Lights - Thermostats - Speakers Controlled from the existing central LCD panel, without upgrades. No phone app, no remote access. It should be possible with only the purchase of a license for the controller and a few hours of a dealer's time to do the activation, yeah? I don't want any streaming services whatsoever. I could easily plug a chromecast audio to the back of the amp and I'm certain that would work fine. That's where the money is. Plus I like computers.

The whole house is wired with control4 dimmer switches in every room, 2 control4 thermostats, a oldish looking central control panel with touchscreen lcd and dial knob, and 4 zones of speakers all currently wired to the amplifier (although speakers are untested). I'm setting up my network today, so I'll report back if it starts to autoconfigure itself after everything's setup and the home-network switch is plugged in. Seems like the whole system was configured for DHCP looking at the device settings, but I'm not sure what kind of networking stack the light switches themselves use. If it doesn't hookup automatically, or if I have to spend >$500 to get this thing just functional again, you can bet I'm going to rip it out and go with a different vendor. I'm sure Control4 has the best system out there currently, but it's certainly not a very forward thinking company with the close-minded vendor lock-in model of it's platform. It seems like they're trying to change by integrating with amazon and google, but in my experience, platforms like this are difficult to change. They obviously can't screw over their dealers, but for enthusiasts who want granular control (champions who are going to fight for the company) they're really going to lose ground. As a computer engineer with a penchant for security, you all must understand my hesitation to not have access to my own damn hardware, driving my own damn house. I'm not about to become a dealer just so I can plug in new devices to my smart home...

That seems in-line with control4's business model... but I don't care about mobile apps either, I'm just trying to regain the most basic control of the system. I'm seriously surprised this company has been able to stay in business.

Found this other forum post online that confirms my suspicions that this is just a shortcut. (why can't we link on these forums? seems archaic) Alright I've got a C4-HC250-BL Controller. Nothing is hooked up to the network or wired up. What's this likely to cost me to get setup in the NY Metro area? Just want: Get the controller online, connected to the house devices, and registered with control4. And setup to be able to control the following things from the central panel: lights, theromostats, speakers. No TVs, No locks, No cameras, No voice control, No remote services, no subscriptions, no extra packages, etc. The whole house is already wired and the hardware provided. The last tenants used it so it'd really just be re-configuring it to work again.

Wow, you all are incredibly helpful! Thanks for helping clarify things. I wish I had found this forum earlier. I'm inspecting the system tonight and will post system details once I find them. I haven't plugged the system into my current network yet, but I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding the devices if they're powered on, active on the home network, and using static IPs by just doing an ARP scan. The whole place is cat5 wired and speakers wired. I found an amplifier which, curiously, had cat5 in the back of it. It's in a high and tight location in a closet, so I couldn't get a good view of the back itself. However, I was able to capture what some contractor was trying to do (see attached photos). It seems like they are _literally_ using cat5 cable for some of the speakers in the house?!?!? Is that even safe? I wouldn't know what kind of currents are running through that but it seems like it would be too much for cat cables... Investigating more now.

I understand the bit that this is not designed as a DIY system, but I'm hoping that I can at least do a bit of home automation myself that doesn't have to involve techs. I found a site (c4drivers dot com) which looks handy. Are there no published price ranges for how much it costs to get it activated? I couldn't find anything. Thanks @Dunamivora!

Hey All, I moved into a new apartment a few weeks ago which has Control4 home automation in it. First off, as a programmer with a background in Computer Engineering I'm very excited to have landed in a wired-up smart home. My main question/concern is about activation cost. I haven't had a chance to reach out to professional services to get it setup mostly because I don't want to risk be bombarded with marketing spam or sales calls. I intend on going to a showroom or two to check out the process for getting it activated in person. However, is there a way to get it setup/activated without a technician? Also curious what SDKs exist out there for tinkering with the system. I'm willing to pay more if the system has an SDK beyond just visual programming. But if the cost is too much to even activate it once, then I'll probably just cannibalize the system for something more open. Thanks! I saw this thread and it did not give me a lot of hope: