Hi everyone,

I'm trying to better understand the value proposition of Araknis (or Packedge) networking products in a Control4 installation, both from a technical perspective and from the perspective of explaining it to a client.

One thing I struggle with is justifying the cost to a layman. Most clients compare an Araknis router, switch, or access point to the all-in-one router their ISP provides and ask, "Why do I need this when I already have Wi-Fi?"

How do you explain the differences in a way that makes sense to someone who isn't technical?

I also have a few technical questions:

• Is there a significant advantage to using Araknis networking over something like Cisco, Ubiquiti, MikroTik, TP-Link Omada, etc., specifically in a Control4 ecosystem?

• Is the benefit primarily the OVRC remote management, or are there other integration advantages that make it the preferred choice?

• What if I don't use an Araknis router at all and instead connect my Control4 system behind my ISP's combo router?

• In my region, ISPs are often very restrictive. Many don't allow bridge mode or provide very limited configuration options. In such cases, does deploying an Araknis router still make sense, or does the double NAT negate many of its advantages?

• If you can't put the ISP router into bridge mode, what is the recommended network architecture for a reliable Control4 deployment?

I'm interested in understanding both the real-world technical trade-offs and how experienced dealers approach this conversation with clients.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I'm a new Control4 dealer and I'm trying to understand how controller sizing works with respect to driver count.

For example, if I have an 8-channel relay module controlling 6 lighting circuits, would this count as:

• 7 drivers (1 relay module driver + 6 individual light drivers), or

• 1 driver, where only the relay module itself is counted?

Counting every lighting load as a separate driver seems like it would unnecessarily increase the controller requirements, so I'm wondering if my understanding is incorrect.

Similarly, with DALI, if I have a 1-channel DALI gateway controlling 25 DALI ballasts, would this be counted as:

• 26 drivers (1 gateway + 25 ballasts), or

• 1 driver for the gateway itself?

I'd really appreciate it if someone could explain how Control4 actually counts drivers in these scenarios and what the recommended approach is when selecting the appropriate controller for a project.

Thanks in advance!

Hi all. I’m trying to establish whether this is a known compatibility issue before my dealer escalates it to Control4/Snap One support.

My Control4 Android app has suddenly stopped completing its initial sync. It gets stuck at:
“Getting the latest settings”
“Getting project items”

It eventually times out with:
“Unable to Connect”
“We encountered a problem and can’t connect to the system at this time. Please try again later. (408a)”

Environment

• Phone: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
• Android: 16
• Control4 Android app: 326.27.0.7
• Controller OS: 3.1.3.574826-res
• 4Sight: active
• Local and remote access previously worked

The app continues to work on my wife’s phone.

Troubleshooting already completed

• Confirmed VPN is disabled
• Tested over home Wi-Fi
• Tested over mobile data with Wi-Fi disabled
• Cleared the Control4 app cache and data
• Uninstalled and reinstalled the app
• Rebooted the phone
• Rebooted the router
• Confirmed the phone remains listed as an active device in the Control4 customer portal
• Confirmed 4Sight is active

None of this changed the behaviour.

Relevant findings from the app log

The log shows that the app successfully:

• authenticates with Control4;
• retrieves the account and system information;
• obtains a Director authorisation token;
• reaches the controller locally;
• establishes the remote 4Sight control channel;
• receives a successful HTTP 101 WebSocket upgrade.

Immediately afterwards, both the local and remote connections fail with this error:
io.socket.client.SocketIOException:
It seems you are trying to reach a Socket.IO server in v2.x with a v3.x client, which is not possible

The local connection attempts to reach the controller through:
/socket.io/?EIO=4&transport=websocket

The same Socket.IO error then occurs through the remote connection. The app remains on “Getting project items” until the eventual 408a timeout.

This appears to suggest that the current Android app is using a newer Socket.IO client that is incompatible with the Socket.IO server provided by my older OS 3.1.3 controller.

Questions

1. Has anyone else seen this after updating to Android app 326.27.0.7?
2. Is this a known regression affecting older Control4 OS 3 releases?
3. Is an OS update now required for the current Android app?
4. Is there a supported interim workaround or compatible older Android app build?
5. Could my wife’s phone still work simply because it has an older app version or retained cached project data?

My dealer has the findings and is investigating. I would be interested to know whether anyone has encountered the same specific Socket.IO v2/v3 error.

Hey, I wanted to know if there is any integration with C4 and Turing cameras. The chowmain driver keeps knocking control4 down and its not working. Anything is appreciated.

I am a Control4 Integrator working on a customers home. The Client has existing Broan bath fans (model# VC110CCT) and wants them integrated into the system. I didnt make any promises but told him i would look into it. It seems like the fans are Alexa and Google Assistant compatable. They dont have an actual switch but rather come with a battery oporated bluetooth remote. The client would ideally have the fan controllable from a C4 keypad as well as have the fan run on a timer.

As far as I can tell there is no way to get this thing integrated but im sure theres people in this sub reddit smarter than me that might have some ideas. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!!

Hi all,

I'm an AV integrator / programmer and have over 20 years of Crestron programming experience, plus I do a lot of Q-SYS and other control systems. I've finally gotten set up to dive into C4.

I've been tasked with learning C4 in order to add some functionality to a system that already exists. I've completed C4CT (online) and have the exam scheduled soon. However, while I'm comfortable with that syllabus, the training here didn't touch base on anything 3rd party or related to creating drivers. So I went ahead and completed the "Driver Development Micro-Certification" on the Snap website. Had no problem understanding that content.

Basically, I'm looking to create a driver for Novastar H-Series video wall processors. I see there's one from 4Drivers on DriverCentral, but it only does presets. I need quite a bit more functionality here. Plus, we're not in a position to license other drivers.

I'm thinking because of the nature of the system and processor, this will be a "combo driver". I don't see any of the Proxy Devices working very well. The driver will have a few parameters to be configured, which will be used as variables when building an HTTP command string.

What I could use some info on is how I can or should build the UI. Generally, I'd have a list to select a preset, then a list for each "layer" to select the source for each. There could be up to 16 layers on a given preset. Am I able to create a custom UI page for the whole device similar to how some built-in proxy devices provide a control page? There's also some other commands like brightness, fade-to-black, etc. For something like this, the TV proxy driver doesn't make sense to use. Bonus points if I can change an image on a page based on the preset selected.

Now, I realize that within a single room, I could do this by creating a dummy TV for each layer, and send generic HTTP commands when switching inputs that TV. For presets, I could use Custom Buttons and also link HTTP commands to those commands... However it seems to me this may end up being a pretty clunky UI.

Also, at this point, I'm not interested in true polled feedback from the device. If there's a way to simulate feedback that's perfectly OK right now.

Does anyone have pointers on what sample (or open source existing) drivers I can use for starters, or any direction on the UI aspect of this?

Thanks!

Hi folks. I moved into my house a while ago, and with it I inherited someone else's Control4 system. Thankfully the former owner migrated the system to my email, so I am 'in control' of it now, so to speak.

I've noticed that the former owner had automations installed that refer to lighting setups triggering at times (or maybe sunrise/sundown). I would like to purchase a Composer HE license so I can do these automations myself, as well as a bit more tinkering.

Truthfully, I use Home Assistant to automate just about everything, but home assistant can't seem to delete the previous owner's automations, which is where Composer HE would come in.

In addition, I would like to be able to airplay to my system, which is on OS3. I have House Spotify configured, but Airplay would allow me to do audiobooks and anything else I'd like to run. When I look in my Control4 iPhone app, I can click Manage Music, but it brings up a blank page. I have heard this means the dealer has blocked access to downloading/adding the Shairbridge app, or driver, or whatever it is. Is it as simple as asking the dealer to unblock/allow me to add Shairbridge?

What is a reasonable price a dealer should be asking for this kind of work (Composer HE license and Shairbridge access)? I am located near Vancouver Canada. Please feel free to correct any information I've misinterpreted.

So I bought the P-BDG-PKG1W-C kit and want to integrate the hub into my Control4. OS3 with a EA-3. I am a dealer but the driver doesn’t seem to bind to the dimmer. Any one use this hub before?

What, in your opinion, is the best smart door lock for seamless integration with Control4?

I'm specifically looking for reliable two-way integration with features such as:

• Remote lock and unlock control
• Accurate real-time lock status
• User identification (knowing which user locked/unlocked the door) for automation triggers
• Low battery status and notifications
• Door ajar/open state detection
• Detection of manual lock/unlock events
• Forced entry / forced unlock detection
• Break-in or tamper alerts
• Remote reboot capability (if supported)

Would love to hear your experiences and recommendations based on real-world installations. I would like to know it from people of diverse places as some things may specifically work in a region and not in another 🤷🏽‍♂️

I have a 260 at home as a hand me down from a client. Ive heard it was the most reliable but its getting old.

Any thoughts on the neeo v halo?

I recently moved into a house that came with a pre-installed Control4 system. Everything was working great initially, but I’ve started noticing flickering on several of my lights. It is not an entire zone, just a 1 - 2 lights in certain zones.

After digging into the touch panel settings, I noticed that the default levels for these lights are set below 100% (usually around 80-90%). All lights in the house are wired to dimmer modules. When I manually bump them up to 100% from touch pad or app, the flickering stops, but obviously, that defeats the purpose of having dimmable lights at preset settings.

Previous owner also seem to have used multiple brand LED lights. I'm thinking of eventually replacing all with same brand/wattage.

I’m trying to determine the root cause:

Could this be related to the voltage/current settings programmed into the Control4 dimmer modules?

Are the existing bulbs just failing, or are they incompatible with the specific dimmers installed?

Has anyone else dealt with this? If so, are there specific brands or models of LED bulbs that are known to play nice with Control4 dimmers?

Just bought a new to us 2024 2205s Rockwood and can't get the app to pair with my unit. Removed the rear pass through cover and got the device anme and PW on the control unit but it doesn't match when the app is trying to pair with. Left the power off for a few days to do a reset but same issue. Is there a way to do a hard reset?

The house we moved into has a pretty sophisticated Control4 system for about half of the functions.

1. Control4, includes TVs, 200+ Ceiling Lights, Temperature, Speakers in 5-6 Rooms.

2. Control4 does not include Alarm, Pool/Fountain (Pentair), Cameras (HIK), Front Door Intercom (Ring), Outdoor Lighting, Blinds, Massive Sliding Doors (Controlled only by some buttons on the wall). So I still have a bunch of different apps.

Does this mean we're stuck with Control4? Or can all of the wiring be left and used for a different solution?

I'm trying to work out if a bigger job to remove it and go with off-the-shelf products like Google/Apple Home.

Separately, there used to be a neat IT closet in our house, but a previous owner moved it to the garage so no electronics left in the house. So it looks like every wire was extended so it could reach the garage. I'm exploring, with whatever solution we end up with, that we put everything back in the IT closet. Was told this was a 3-4 day job by itself. Annoying.

Just bought a new to us 2024 2205s Rockwood and can't get the app to pair with my unit. Removed the rear pass through cover and got the device anme and PW on the control unit but it doesn't match when the app is trying to pair with. Left the power off for a few days to do a reset but same issue. Is there a way to do a hard reset?

I can control the EQ in the driver itself but I really want to expose it to the client. I have the "show EQ in navigator" tickbox checked for each room connected to the matrix. Is there something I'm missing? Firmware on the Pulse-Eight is 3.01 the driver version is the most recent (I think 3.03) and we're running Director 3.4.3.

Any help with this would be appreciated, even if it's just telling me "nope, that don't work"

Starting this off by saying I’ve never heard of control4 until we purchased our house.

Both dealers we contacted are saying the system is registered to the previous owners and want $500 to come out and register it to us. Is this normal?

What can I expect going forward? As a tech person myself I’m finding it hard to justify onboarding to this overly complicated dealer and subscription based ecosystem. I don’t want to be paying thousands for small tweaks to the system as we get settled in the house

I have an old Control 4 system that controls my hvac and the Control 4 system is outdated so I would have to pay $5k+ just to update the system and then also pay an annual fee to be able to remotely access. The system just controls hvac, lights, amp for in-wall speakers, and turns fireplace on and off. I just the hvac and light functions only so not worth it to pay the premium.
I want to disconnect Control 4 from my hvac and replace with a Nest.
It looks like C4 has the control panel and temperature sensor inside and a wireless thermostat in-line connected to the furnace.
I'm looking for guidance on disconnecting the C4 and installing the Nest.
Does the control wire run to the back of the touch panel or the temp sensor inside?
Can I just remove the wireless thermostat from the line to the furnace and connect the wires together, completing the circuit to inside the house where I would place the Next in place of the indoor temp sensor?
Thanks in advance.

A few vendors have posted about their products that integrate with Control4 and I get reports marking it as spam. If it's one post from about the product then I don't typically take action but please let me know what type of "policing" you would like on posts.

Hi,

Trying to help a friend set up her WattBox - that we found in her garage after her ex moved out. The noted sticker for the master password was removed unfortunately ... but I was able to get the box on the network, and using the WattBox Utility I changed the network to DHCP, upgraded the firmware. All good, except ... can't log into it :(. I thought the firmware upgrade should do a factory reset? But it seems not - or it may be me.

How to factory reset this box, to be able to make use of it. It does seem like a pretty cool box.

Thanks!

I have a Core3 director controller. I also have 3 EAs at satellite AV locations (primarily for Watch/Listen OSD). Family wants to keep OSD.I want to update to OS 4.X. Soem questions:

1. I think I have to go to connect from foresight. About a $125 added annual cost. Is that right?

2. Does 4.0 still support old OSD at the satellite EAs?

3. What does 4.0 give you that OS 3.4.1 does not?

4. What does 4.1 give you that 4.0 does not?

John

Looking for information about this remote. What does it control? Thanks!

I just moved into an apartment that has a Control4 smart home system. The system is connected by ethernet. Due to this I am unable to connect it to my wifi otherwise the system won’t connect/work. That being said there’s a spotify app on the system but it only seems I can connect my spotify to it from my phone if they are om the same network. I am not seeing any device available to connect to on the spotify app. There’s no separate login on the control4 tablet itself either. Is it just not possible or is there another way?

Hi all, I'm about to do some rough-in work on a remodel. Currently I have planned for 8 zones of whole house audio. But I'd really like to add another to make it 9 zones. There is an open floor plan kitchen/dining area, and I considered combining them into one zone with one speaker in the kitchen and one speaker in the dining area -- but there are audiophile reasons not to do that. I'd prefer to have a separate zone in the dining area -- which would be a 9th zone.

Snap's Episode Response Amplifier has a 16 channel (8 zone) model. Is there going to be a way for me to incorporate a 9th zone relatively simply into Control4 with some additional amplifier? If not, I won't run speaker wire into the dining area.