Tablet As Wall Control Interface? (Amazon Fire, iPad, Galaxy Tab)

[skippman]

Does anyone have an Amazon Fire Tablet or other tablet mounted in their wall as a Control4 interface? I'm considering doing this with my new system and would like some input from anyone who's attempted something like this before.

[wnpublic]

5 minutes ago, skippman said:

Does anyone have an Amazon Fire Tablet or other tablet mounted in their wall as a Control4 interface? I'm considering doing this with my new system and would like some input from anyone who's attempted something like this before.

I have done it in the past, there are some considerations.  First, as you'll see from some of the other threads, the ios versions of the C4 app are currently not exactly "instant-on".  There is a fair amount of delay when you start the app, so it's not a real replacement for what the dedicated screens do.  Second, it didn't happen to me, but i've seen at least anecdotal reports of batteries swelling because of oversupply of current and being plugged in 24/7.

[alanchow]

My old place had an ipad in the wall which looked pretty nice.

I used an old Amazon Fire Tab 8 as a secondary touchscreen in my kitchen dedicated to Control4.  I've installed an app which forces the screen to never lock and keep it in the Control4 app.  I used a magnetic mount to mount it onto the wall.

Both ipad and fire tab has the same pros and cons.

Pros

• It does what i need it to do

Cons

• Its dog ugly.
• Does not support intercom functionality
• Battery will probably bloat at some point
• Charging cable isn't hidden

[South Africa C4 user]

Also on the con side:

1. No intercom

2. No integrated weather

3.  No Control4 screensaver (which is a big one for me as I switch between “off” - when watching TV in a nearby area and when sleeping nearby, “album cover art plus date time, temperature” when listening to music, “giant clock” when doing exercise / swimming nearby and “digital photos” the rest of the time).

[alanchow]

1 hour ago, South Africa C4 user said:

Also on the con side:

1. No intercom

2. No integrated weather

3.  No Control4 screensaver (which is a big one for me as I switch between “off” - when watching TV in a nearby area and when sleeping nearby, “album cover art plus date time, temperature” when listening to music, “giant clock” when doing exercise / swimming nearby and “digital photos” the rest of the time).

Yep no intercom is that important its listed twice

[South Africa C4 user]

3 hours ago, alanchow said:

Yep no intercom is that important its listed twice

Oops… I guess it must be that important

[prabeau]

13 hours ago, skippman said:

Does anyone have an Amazon Fire Tablet or other tablet mounted in their wall as a Control4 interface? I'm considering doing this with my new system and would like some input from anyone who's attempted something like this before.

Used one for 2 years now. Fast. Have app to keep screen on at all times. 

[skippman]

I'm not sure what I'd use the intercom for other than may as an interface with a Ring or other door bell. Is the no intercom thing a limitation of the software, or because of how most people are mounting their tablets in the wall and it blocking the microphone?

I was planning on installing one in the main hallway just off my kitchen, one in the master bathroom, and one in the upstairs hallway. I see several companies make nice mounts to hide the wiring and make it look like a finished product.

From what I've read the Control4 wall touch interfaces are like 7 times more expensive than an Fire tablet.

[alanchow]

The iPad mini in my old place did get battery bloating which I had to dispose of before it blew up.

[Dueport]

13 hours ago, South Africa C4 user said:

Also on the con side:

1. No intercom

2. No integrated weather

3.  No Control4 screensaver (which is a big one for me as I switch between “off” - when watching TV in a nearby area and when sleeping nearby, “album cover art plus date time, temperature” when listening to music, “giant clock” when doing exercise / swimming nearby and “digital photos” the rest of the time).

Another con is that, with a tablet navigator, you can't (I don't think) program a camera image to display there based on an action in the way you can with a touchscreen.  For example, when motion detected in the driveway display the driveway camera on touchscreen for 45 seconds.

[skippman]

Thanks for the input!

The battery swelling thing is definitely an issue to avoid. Looking online it looks like there's a suite of software options to have the tablet stop charging at specific levels. It sounds like Apple even built this functionality into the new iOS's.

My main reason for using Control4 is wanting to put all my home theater equipment in a single rack in a wiring closet. I've decided to add a couple Ecobee thermostats and a garage door opener control as well. Eventually I do plan to add some controllable lighting, but that's a way down the road while I absorb the cost of building my whole new system from scratch. I figured I could buy 3 Amazon Fire tablets for half the cost of a single Control4 display. If that means I loose the intercom functionality and the camera functionality I feel that's a worth while trade off. Another option would be to use Galaxy Tab's.

[rea]

21 minutes ago, skippman said:

Thanks for the input!

The battery swelling thing is definitely an issue to avoid. Looking online it looks like there's a suite of software options to have the tablet stop charging at specific levels. It sounds like Apple even built this functionality into the new iOS's.

My main reason for using Control4 is wanting to put all my home theater equipment in a single rack in a wiring closet. I've decided to add a couple Ecobee thermostats and a garage door opener control as well. Eventually I do plan to add some controllable lighting, but that's a way down the road while I absorb the cost of building my whole new system from scratch. I figured I could buy 3 Amazon Fire tablets for half the cost of a single Control4 display. If that means I loose the intercom functionality and the camera functionality I feel that's a worth while trade off. Another option would be to use Galaxy Tab's.

I have an iPad mounted with one of the iPort LuxePort mounts, which is really nice since you can pull the iPad off to do "tablet things" if you want as well. I had no idea about the charge management feature in iOS now...will have to turn that on for my iPad for sure! My first iPad definitely had the battery swell issue. I hooked my new one up to a TP-Link Wifi switch that I keep on a schedule so that the battery discharges a fair amount each day. This seems to have a helped a lot--no swell in 2 years. 

[tratliff]

If you use the right mount an ipad looks fantastic.

Been using one for many years and love it.  I upgrade the ipad every few years if necessary and it is still much cheaper than the dedicated C4 screen.

I guess not having the intercom feature is the only con to me.

[prabeau]

3 hours ago, skippman said:

Thanks for the input!

The battery swelling thing is definitely an issue to avoid. Looking online it looks like there's a suite of software options to have the tablet stop charging at specific levels. It sounds like Apple even built this functionality into the new iOS's.

My main reason for using Control4 is wanting to put all my home theater equipment in a single rack in a wiring closet. I've decided to add a couple Ecobee thermostats and a garage door opener control as well. Eventually I do plan to add some controllable lighting, but that's a way down the road while I absorb the cost of building my whole new system from scratch. I figured I could buy 3 Amazon Fire tablets for half the cost of a single Control4 display. If that means I loose the intercom functionality and the camera functionality I feel that's a worth while trade off. Another option would be to use Galaxy Tab's.

Having my screen on 100% seems to do the job, with battery low power charging there has been no battery issue so far and at $60 a pop sure is cheaper.

[Amr]

I have an answer for all the cons:

• Its dog ugly - This is subjective, the Fire or any other Android tablet with in-wall mount is fine for the task u need, Tablet Wall Mount with Integrated Power Cable, Fits Fire 8 HD & Plus (10th Generation with USB-C Port), Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BJ8VCLF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_TWA24WCVG8F7YKPN8SSM
• Does not support intercom functionality - If intercoms is not required then I can use it for all other C4 functions
• Battery will probably bloat at some point - I mount a controllable On/Off switch and I program it to cycle power to save the battery from being connected all the time
• Charging cable isn't hidden - It’s hidden when u use a mount
• No C4 Screen Saver - U can use the Andriod’s one and it’s super fine

[Amr]

4 hours ago, tratliff said:

If you use the right mount an ipad looks fantastic.

Been using one for many years and love it.  I upgrade the ipad every few years if necessary and it is still much cheaper than the dedicated C4 screen.

I guess not having the intercom feature is the only con to me.

An iPad with an expensive mount is almost a used T3 price, I rolled out this when upgrading to OS3

[skippman]

So the general consensus is there's nothing wrong with using a tablet other than I won't have the intercom functionality. Looks like I'll be adding 3 tablets to my future Control4 setup!

[msgreenf]

And it's much slower

[eggzlot]

3 hours ago, skippman said:

So the general consensus is there's nothing wrong with using a tablet other than I won't have the intercom functionality. Looks like I'll be adding 3 tablets to my future Control4 setup!

its slower to punch up the c4 app and wait for it to connect

no intercom

potential issue with battery swell

mounts can be pricey if they are nice and hide all the wires eating into any savings (still savings but it becomes slimmer)

Screen savers such as showing time/weather, media currently playing in that room, etc.

[DanITman]

Other Cons around controlling the navigator and locking to rooms. You can’t do that with the mobile app. 
 

I use mine as a security panel and the mobile apps won’t do the chime or go to the security screen when I open the door. 

[eddy.trochez]

On 9/17/2021 at 9:09 AM, alanchow said:

The iPad mini in my old place did get battery bloating which I had to dispose of before it blew up.

iPad minis with swollen batteries were a known defect. Apple still replaces those regardless of warranty status. I took 2 to the Apple store that were about 5 years old and Apple replaced them on the spot with no questions asked. 

[skippman]

7 hours ago, msgreenf said:

And it's much slower

Define much slower? Do you mean loading the app itself is slower? It's slower to execute commands? Are we talking a seconds delay or several seconds?

From what I've been able to glean since Control4 doesn't list prices a single T3 interface clocks in at around $950USD. For that price I can get three 10" Amazon Fire Tablets ($165USD ea), three wall mounts with power adapters ($50USD ea) and still be $300 under the cost of a single T3. For my money there has to be some serious loss of functionality to justify that price tag. Not to mention I can use the Fire tablets to run other Android apps if I want like Google Calendar.

[eggzlot]

2 hours ago, skippman said:

Define much slower? Do you mean loading the app itself is slower? It's slower to execute commands? Are we talking a seconds delay or several seconds?

From what I've been able to glean since Control4 doesn't list prices a single T3 interface clocks in at around $950USD. For that price I can get three 10" Amazon Fire Tablets ($165USD ea), three wall mounts with power adapters ($50USD ea) and still be $300 under the cost of a single T3. For my money there has to be some serious loss of functionality to justify that price tag. Not to mention I can use the Fire tablets to run other Android apps if I want like Google Calendar.

Press tablet to wake it.  Navigate to C4 app to open it.  Wait 1-4 seconds give or take (sometimes longer if programming was done and it needs a refresh).   And that’s assuming great Wi-Fi.  
 

some drivers also have web views and not sure that works on an android app

T3/t4 are priced premium because of the better integration

i have 4 in wall t3, one tabletop t3 and an android tablet I use in my office 95% for C4.  The difference is very obvious.  May as well use my phone instead of the tablet.  It works but wasn’t worth it. 

[wnpublic]

19 minutes ago, eggzlot said:

Press tablet to wake it.  Navigate to C4 app to open it.  Wait 1-4 seconds give or take (sometimes longer if programming was done and it needs a refresh).   And that’s assuming great Wi-Fi.  
 

Wonder if you could use fully kiosk with a fire tablet to keep the app focus on that app. I have one in a vacation house for a different system, and fully kiosk is a good solution for Android. It has a screen on function when it detects a user in front of it….

[eggzlot]

32 minutes ago, wnpublic said:

Wonder if you could use fully kiosk with a fire tablet to keep the app focus on that app. I have one in a vacation house for a different system, and fully kiosk is a good solution for Android. It has a screen on function when it detects a user in front of it….

Mine isn’t a fire tablet so can’t check but his post mentions using it for google calendar app so kiosk mode wouldn’t be what he wants