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Update/Upgrade $$,$$$.00 every 2 years?!


kt847

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We built our house 8 yrs ago and every and approximately every 2 years we have some problem that cannot not be fixed remotely. A tech will come and pull something out of the rack that no longer works with the upgrades to the system as a whole. Granted we went from Comcast to Tivo then to X1 because of issues and the preference of platforms. (Personally I prefer Tivo to X1) Issues that are ongoing  are the sound on any given tv in our house takes 3 to 5 seconds after we get a picture. All lights feel as though you need to press the button twice. Right now we cannot turn off one area of lights for the past 3 days after we were advised to add a 20V circuit to our panel to separate the Rack into 2 Zones. 

 Now the last 2 times and right now we have had to spend anywhere from 10K to close to 18K. I feel as if we are taken for a ride.

Right now we are having a 24 source Matrix switch, Standalone Ups Battery Backup (because the one in the rack is not even connected because it is old and it went bad?), 2 Outlet, 20a Surge Protector, 2, Ds2 Mini Doorstation Black/Vb, Yale Deadbolt, Touch Screen Sn, 7" Table Top Touch Screen T3 and last but not least a C4 Remote Control Sr260 Blk including all labor, programming and design it is over 15K.

My husband is floored that this system has cost this much again in a 2 year span. Is this something we should expect each time? I am very questionable about this system that we put in for X amount of dollars when we built the house and since then have had to upgrade many components and add ons and have spent over 60K (including right now) in the past 8 years!  I am a huge fan of having things in my house run on a platform like C4 and would love to have many other areas added but not at this cost each time.

I had to vent and ask is should a ticket like i just laid out cost that much? Thanks for listening

 

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This seems excessive... BUT without knowing what you started with and what you've been upgrading its hard to say...

Often times we want to upgrade to the latest and greatest when what we have would work just fine. At some point you have to be OK with the cost of upgrading OR be ok with holding on to what you have for longer period of time. Both have pros and cons.

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It seems like you are venting about performance issues, but then your list of items purchased includes door station and remote or new lock which don’t fix that you have audio delays or the other issues you listed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Here are Pictures for those who wanted to see. I have been frustrated for a couple of years about the Audio/performance issues. I wish I had the information of what they have switched out the past times.  If you can help me out right now to tell me if I should have this audio Matrix and the stand alone backup that would be great.     DC3DDD8D-0CC9-45BC-B9BD-731A964467B3_1_105_c.thumb.jpeg.b9a51b2727ff13f3affbfa414de985d7.jpegBF66965B-34B2-4F9F-9D33-CAC9659AA9BF_1_105_c.thumb.jpeg.6c42a7f5a1d10bec1b27ec01eed5d8fe.jpeg67E46B2F-8142-440D-91DD-ABF114316A71_1_105_c.thumb.jpeg.9a705237f6b95578add40ac0eea219ec.jpegAC5D34A7-FCC7-45BA-8439-13D802E12822_1_105_c.thumb.jpeg.bd0e03b4f2d40c4fd5ea4e7c68a95cd8.jpegFCF279F4-E438-4740-9D16-AC8FEE7B2BB4_1_105_c.thumb.jpeg.239346083f26a64561229744698e1c4d.jpegCFA6BCBA-A6A9-4226-A824-03A8858DC16A_1_105_c.thumb.jpeg.b1a7a2ff07079c20ffbb563c1e9acd19.jpeg

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It's going to be impossible for anyone here to tell you what you do/don't need based on what's been shared here. If you don't trust your installer, get a quote/opinion from another professional that can come onsite and assess everything.

I agree with the post above that many of the items you're purchasing don't seem to address the problems you mentioned.

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Seems like two separate issues here. Yes if you want to upgrade it will cost. Like when you go from one iPhone to the next. If you have underlying issues with the install you need to take these up directly with your installer and make sure they get addressed...

There's always going to be an associated cost with maintaining any system. At the end of the day things like batteries (UPS) need replacing and will stop working unless done so - thats normal. Having said that the figures you've mentioned are very high and so I would take a guess and expect you've asked for new features / functions as opposed to just "fixing" it, which is what needs to be done first.   

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Unless your upgrading your system that costs seems crazy high.

I do yearly tune-ups that can cost less than $200 CAD + a 4sight license.

My yearly tuneup includes making sure all drivers are up to date, C4 OS is up to date, and making sure everything is working and up to date. That includes updating networking devices and anything else. It really only takes about 2 hours or less and we are done.

 

Now if you get a new Door Station, or add lights, or happen to have a product failure that cost is going to be much higher. But for the yearly cost of Control4, even if you factor in the cost of 4 sight should be no more than maybe $300-$350 - unless something breaks or you add to the system or upgrade certain components.

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Have a lengthy discussion with your dealer. Fix it first, then we'll do upgrades. Why is this that needed?

Yes there are maintenance costs, UPS is certainly one. Do you have power issues where you live? Multiple items in your description relate to power. Why new surge? You have some already.

Yes for the latest features and software new controllers and touchpanels are required, but shouldn't be needed to maintain a system, those are upgrades not maintenance.

Audio delay at turn on could be amps turning on, that's normal and hardware specific timing, you could set them to always be on if that's the case, more energy used, heat, but a zero cost fix if that's the issue.

Lighting issues are usually zigbee radio coverage, deployment issues. Not an expensive correction. Maybe a couple of CA1s and some time.

Just providing you some talking points.

Have a talk with your dealer, not satisfied, call another dealer to evaluate.

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