Control4
Reviews and Complaints
Control4 Home Automation System Review
Lousy support
- Its unreliability
Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution
Dealer and Control 4 Issues
I spent over $250,000 with a dealer who was a great used car salesman. Thought he knew everything about Control 4 and sub products to attach to it.
Sold my husband and I on everything. Control 4 reps and customer service were at first compassionate but only wanted to help their dealer. The dealer out of Kingsland Texas SStn is a family run business who are great at promising the world, but once they got their money from the contract, they were gone and would not finish things that needed to be completed and fixed. Labelled wiring in the control panels with their own labels, so I would have to call them to find out what to do , and pay them more money.
Then they tried to give me another invoice with no dates and no part# to get more money out of me.
What weasles. Control 4 in Utah wants only to protect their dealers.
Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution
Very disappointed with Control 4
Control4 is a scam
My installer never told me that my Control4 would essentially be a brick without paying to set it up. This POS doesn't even recognize its own rechargeable battery until you pay to have installer unlock it.
All the protestations of Control4 that consumers will wreck the remote and cause dealers all sorts of problems are absurd. Like with any programmable device, all one needs to do is save the original program (i.e. pay once but not every *** time it needs to be tweaked) and upload if your program isn't working. Or better yet, don't assume that we are idiots and let us program our own.
Huge ripoff and designed to make their remotes attractive to installers who know your are dependent upon them for every little (costly) change to your remote. My logitech does 90% of what this piece of overpriced junk can do - don't but Control4.
Control4 Customer Care Review
Control 4 Refusing to Provide Service - Left with broken system
I have had constant issues with my $10k+ Control 4 system since the day it was installed about 2 years ago. I had lights going on and off themselves, switches not working, icons disappearing, in and out control of basic TV connections...your name it and it went wrong.
Their "Air Play" by the way is the worst of all the products. I got so fed up trying to explain all the issues I had to the techs just to try to schedule an appointment that I broke off ties for a year. Recently I re-engaged because my system was useless and I needed a few fixes to make it function at all on a level that was remotely useful. Literally got an e-mail from a higher end Control 4 Regional $#@!
saying they refused to come do any work on my home, they qualified the circumstances under which they "might" provide service!!! Currently I have a horrible system and a company that holds the monopoly on the techs and refuses to help.
Control4 Video Home Automation System Review from The Woodlands, Texas
I can't agree with this review. I'm now looking for my fourth service dealer.
Last one was recommended by C4 themselves. Unlimited budget... Meaning no cost cutting whatsoever. But even a simple light switch...
I've had to replace 3. I replaced the first controller as the first one was making rackets like an out of balance washing machine. Doorbell with camera/speaker rarely works. I have $45K invested already and it still is a hit and miss system at best.
I am awaiting a reply from C4 themselves, AGAIN! Depending on their response I may just scrap the entire project. My system is relatively simple... Cameras (9), full house simple home audio distribution, one room video, pool control, about 2/3 of my homes lighting (3,000 sq ft), a/c control (on one of 3 units) and simple on/off alarm control (no notifications, etc).
Keep in mind all products are C4 recommended and compatible. I furnished nothing myself, didn't cheap out, researched vendors and the last one was sent to me from C4 meaning they had him contact me and promised he was one of their best in my area, Houston, Tx. In fairness, I will post again IF they come through this time.
If not I'll just post on every site I can find relating to C4 and share my own personal experience.
K.
Yup, they are totally terrible
Preferred solution: Full refund
Problem is not Control4!
Client experience and many other ones here has nothing to do with the Control4 hardware. Nowadays, the gear is bulletproof. The user experience has to do with many factors which I will list a few of them bellow:
1. Overal project budget. This is usually a big factor. Case and point: Dealer presents the owner with an estimate, Owner chops the price down and tells the dealer that they will also supply some of the parts. Dealer agrees because he is desperate to work. As a result, overall user experience diminishes greatly and service to the system becomes almost non existent.
2. Owner supplied gear.
3. Dealer experience and know how.
Please choose your dealers after carefully studying their competence and know how, don't margin too much and for sure don't supply your own gear.
I am a turn key CI contractor operating out of Toronto/Canada and I will not be involved in a project unless I design, supply and implement everything. By that I mean everything from complete electrical work, automation, security, vacuum and even as far as building the addition or the complete house.
Best,
Shane
Control 4, worst decision ever
We hired a company called Prestige Home Theater, located in Holiday, Fl., to do a sound system in our home. We dealt with Keith Senatore, the President. After reviewing our homes existing equipment, which included a Verizon Fios router,he recommended a Control 4 system, which he said would give us excellent sound, and would be completely compatible with our router. He said it was a 1 day installation, as all but 2 speakers were already installed and wired in our home. After 4 visits from Keith, separated by many days in between, the system was still not working consistently. About the best we could hope for was a few hours before it would go down. We were not able to reboot it ourselves, even with Keith Senatore walking us through the process by phone. He would always have to come and reboot it for us.
After about 3 weeks of this, when it became clear it wasn't getting any better, my husband called Mr. Senatore, and asked if would agree to take back the equipment, and give us a full refund for the equipment that was being removed. In exchange my husband offered to let Mr. Senatore keep the full $1700 labor fee- we only asked for our equipment money back. Mr. Senatore agreed, and he came and removed all of the equipment, except for 3 small items not related to control 4 specifically, and for which we agreed to pay him. His parting words to me were, I will send you a check at the end of the week. That was in early December.
After he removed the equipment, we did not hear from Mr. Senatore for some time.
We began trying to contact him via email. First, he told us that he had not kept any of the boxes, so he was charging us a restocking fee, of approximately 35%. He never told us this prior to removing the equipment from our home.
Then he started saying that Control 4 is incompatible with our Verizon Router, and that the we did not allow him the opportunity to replace our router and make the system work. He won't give us our money back.
Mr. Senatore never proposed a new Router at any time, until after the fact. I am trying to get a hold of Control 4 to find out if they are willing to put into writing that Control 4 is incompatible with Verizon Fios routers. I have spoken to 2 other authorized Control 4 dealers,
including Magnolia, and they are telling me that Control 4 is compatible with Verizon routers.
I wish I would have gone on line and read all these reviews before I allowed someone to put a Control 4 system in my home.
We are out a great deal of money, the whole thing was awful- I am only grateful that my husband put the brakes on before we got to the point of some of the losses described here by other people. If anyone is thinking about Control 4, think again.
- Control4s local dealer
Preferred solution: Full refund
Control4 System Review from Massillon, Ohio
Control4 Home Automation System Review
Poor customer service
Control4 home automation turns a simple night of watching TV at home into a never ending huge frustration. The equipment frequently malfunctions or needs replacement.
There are no options for customer service and the consumer is left to rely on the dealer for providing all customer service needs. Our dealer never even calls us back and he's open by appt. only.
It's was very expensive to buy and install the equipment and quite often we find we cannot watch tv because a part malfunctioned. I would pay the guy to just remove his junk from my loft but he won't call me back.
- Service aspect
- Do as long as they push control4 products
Preferred solution: Deliver product or service ordered
Control4 System Review from Livingston, New Jersey
I absolutely HATE control 4. There arent enough words in the English language to describe my frustration with this product.
The product DOES NOT work. I have to contact my dealer for every malfunction. And malfunctions happen a few times a day!!!! I want everyone whos considering this product to know the truth.
It cost us fifty thousand dollars!!! I have nothing but frustration with control 4.
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OK people, you are suffering from poor customer service issues with the specific dealer(s). For some, it obvious that they did not set a proper expectation or follow up on their commitment.
I hate to see people blame the product, because they trusted the "hype" that bestbuy sold them. If you haven't learned by now, most bestbuy's have their programming done remotely, by someone sitting in Minnesota, that never sets foot in your home. Secondly, a Control4 (or Savant or Crestron) system requires periodic maintenance! Just like your car requires oil changes, tune-ups or even air in the tires!
You don't get those for free, do you? What you are buying is a custom set of gear and programming for your home. None and I mean N-O-N-E, of the Home Automation manufacturers do in-field service, so singling out Control4 isn't fair. That being said, it shouldn't cost you an arm-and-a leg to maintain it either.
So check your installation contract, for any terms or periodic service agreements that may have been in place....you did sign a Contract right??? J
If I had a dollar for every call that says almost exactly the same story (not necessarily Control4). We are not in your area, but we may be able to suggest some courses of action. You can contact us at www.theavspecialists.com
We had Best Buy - Magnolia install our Control4 system in our secondary residence. So the system is not being used 24/7.
We had a variety of minor issue the first 3 years such as power failure restarts, remote controls not being able to communicate with the system, system too sensitive (if you push channel up it went up 4 to 5 channels - same with volume). Now is year 5 the system unbelievably sluggish (now waiting 30 to 40 seconds to change channel, volume or pull up guide). Although our online accounts tells up there are upgrades available, our system IS NO upgrading. It tells us to contact our dealer.
Our dealer wants to spend an additional $13,000 to "upgrade" the system and reprogram the software that they programmed in the first place. Several other dealer/authorized service providers have all said the same thing, "oh, you have a HC-300 controller. They have power issues and Control4 is no longer issuing updates for the software. Yep, you'll have to buy new equipment." Seriously?
Two certified Control4 service companies said they could come out and diagnosis the system (which is what Best Buy claims to have done) but, even if the problem is with the Control4 equipment, we will need to pay their hourly rate because COntrol4 will offer absolutely NO ASSISTANCE whatsoever. I just can't throw good money after bad.
We have NEVER experienced such poor customer experience from a company before.
Our experience as well! We purchased a home that has a system
and the local dealership's lack of responce to questions and service calls for even the most basic instruction is frustrating.
I'm ready to scrap $18,000 worth of equipment and find a reputable dealer that's large and contientious enough to repond and that deserves the business. It might be good equipment with limitless capability but the lack of customer support makes this a BAD VALUE!