Control4 Reviews 4,028

Unlike the reports from others, my system mostly works most of the time but it was an ordeal for over a year and now I'm afraid to touch anything. There were all sorts of issues with things like Frame TVs, Xfinity boxes, video baluns, etc. The most challenging issue is turning the darn equipment on and off and getting the HDMI signals to sync. Things are very fussy and if they don't come up in just the right sequence all you get is a spinning wheel. When guests come to visit our house with the $50,000 system we put in, no one who isn't trained can turn on the TV! If Xfinity rolls out an update, it's 50/50 whether I need to change the process for turning things on. Listening to Spotify (because the Control4 implementation of playlists is primitive, not to mention that you can't use it to search) is so complicated my wife won't do it. To add keypads in rooms, I have to call an installer so I don't want to do that. Much of our equipment is now by voice: Just tell AppleTV or Xfinity or Alexa what you want to watch or listen to and it does it. No one keeps track of TV channels anymore. It's not Control4's fault (I don't think) but it can't do that (yes I know they claim they can with Alexa and voice scenes but it's flaky at best and it's not like you can tell it "turn on the Buffalo Bills.")

The AppleTV remote implementation on the Control4 is lousy so there are some things that are painfully difficult to do. We added a new room to the house with a TV and sound system and I didn't even bother to connect it to Control4 because I didn't want to deal with the headaches. Yes you can write routines yourself, and I have written many, but it's pretty limited. The problem is the basic premise which is that you need an installer to do anything and integration with all of the world's other systems is weak.

My installer's answer to some things is, "It works better with Roku" (sorry we are an AppleTV family), or "it works better with Pandora," (sorry we're a Spotify family) or "Xfinity is really hard to deal with so why do you even have a cable box," (sorry that's how we want to watch TV).

Another disappointment is the in wall/ceiling speakers which are mediocre at best. I've got NHT in the new room I added and it and my Sonos are much better than the Control4 speakers that my installer (who I actually like) assured me I'd be happy with. I'm not.

So, yes, it works most of the time if you treat it just right and stick to the things it knows how to do and you don't want high end sound.

Stay away from this system. This company has become pure junk and has anyone become a dealer to push there junk. This is the worse automation system in the market in my opinion. We ripped out the whole system and had a Savant system installed and have had almost no issues with it. The few issues that we did have were all resolved quickly and we are very happy now. We really got tired of the Control4 gear breaking down when the warranty expired. It happens with all of there parent company gear also that is made by SnapOne.

Have been a customer of Control4 since mid 2018. Recently we had strange incoming calls coming through the system during night. Our reseller eventually told us to delete all connected users and devices. I logged into my profile page (which I admittedly hadn't done since 2018) and was very surprised to see three devices (all of them on Android, whilst we have no such devices in the family) connected to my account which I have no idea what they are. They had been connected since January 2019 and could as I understand have had access to everything (including mic and camera) during this time. All needed to add a device is the static password, no 2FA or anything else! I delete the devices, changed password etc and have since tried to find out more about those devices including email addresses associated with them, IP addresses, what they have done in the sysystem etc. Very surprised to see my reseller forwarding a message from C4 support saying they don't have any of this information! Incredibly unhelpful given the circumstances!

Update 16 February 2023:
After I submitted the above review I clicked the customer services link and got in touch with a support agent. We had a good exchange and I was told C4 would get back to me with some of the information requested but then they went silent. They never said they can't get the information - they said they would get back to me, which they never did.

I have not heard from them since November 17th despite sending four follow-up emails since. I still do not have a reply to my original question from October (which I was told I would get before they went silent).

I've had the system for 7-10 years. Magnolia stopped supporting Control 4. I have not been able to transfer my license. The 866.785-9409 No is just a message center. Dealers on website are never available or work from their residences with answering machines. Very frustrating.

It's very concerning that there are so many bugs in the Control4 interface for customers, particularly when dealership response times are so woeful. Currently, as reported by others, there is a failure in the loading of the When-Then page, which means you can't access your own automations. Snap One are very conveniently not reporting it on their status page. We've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on automating our house with Control4 as the master component - the experience is not a happy one. Two years after moving in, the dealer's final payment is still in limbo for a very good reason. Lift your game, Control4, or you'll be obsolete.

Control4 after market Service is Pathetic. Because it can only be done through Dealers, the technicians get a monopoly and charge what they feel like. Getting this working if something goes wrong is nearly impossible as the dealers decide when they want to come to fix it. Most of the dealers i have spoken to do not encourage programming but are after installation job only which makes them better money. End user Customers are left dry which leads to bad experience. They talk about it being the best system but all user experience reading from reviews are seriously bad. Unless they improve on users controlling it, it would not be wise to install it as users are ripped off by dealers and with no help from Control4 main office.

I’ve had the control 4 system for 7 years it cost me $60,000 to install I’ve dealt with three dealers and their corporate office. The corporate office pushes everything back to the dealers and unilaterally supports the dealers no matter how poor their service is. The system is extremely unstable and at all times the only suggested fix was to spend thousands of dollars replacing core components. It has never worked properly. Que the auto response from their corporate office.

its been 60 days since the When>>Then web based personal scripting feature of Control4 has been broken. This is a fundamental feature that allows personalisation without the cost and effort of having your dealer make minor changes or tweaks. So you cannot amend, add or delete your personal automations like e.g. turn on lights at sunset. Control4 customer advocacy, who I've been dealing with constantly, admit they are unable to fix the software problem & have no idea as to when it will become available again.
There is NO END IN SIGHT.
Does this indicate a tech company (Snap One) which took over Control4 that is now not adequately supporting its acquired Product Line.

System is complete crap. Locked into high priced rip off providers. Every 5 minutes there is a problem. Video matrix and all automation is worthless.

I am very frustrated thaf I need to contact my dealer instead of being able to restore the system that I initially had installed without new bells and whistles and without anywhere access . It’s been 7 years , I was not happy with the technicians assigned to my account at my original dealer , resented the billing practices for things that I should have been able to fix myself snd felt like they created a dependency by not providing me with information that should be readily available to me . If I need to pay an annual maintenance or license fee to keep the system operating let me know what it is and I’ll pay it but not if the dealer has to mark it up and wrap services around it . If that’s the case I’ll rip out control 4 and work with a company that doesn’t treat its users as infants in need of a babysitter .

I’m not sure where to start. I had Control 4 installed over 6-7 years ago. I’ve been thru 3 different Control4 local tech companies but it all results the same. It works fine if you only use the same 2-3 TV’s but the moment you have to use something you don’t use everyday…. Doesn’t work. I’ve got a 6,000 square foot home, directv, tablets on walls, 9 TV’s…. At least 4-5 times a year we have to call someone out because we get no volume, no sounds, something goes wrong. Blinds NEVER have worked we even switched to a blind unit they claimed it would work with… it doesn’t. Our AC doesn’t work well with it,nor does the pool, security system is always loosing connection (and good luck finding one of their dealers that also knows anything about security working w Control4. I’ve got over 150k invested, makes me want to cry. My wife is always pissed it’s not working. Argh!!!! We have friends that have simple google or off the shelf systems…. I’d never buy control4 again. I’m sure we’ll get the standard apology response that I see littered thru these posts, does it ever result in any type of satisfaction?

Never works the way it should. App quits while using it. Music integration is complicated and doesn’t run smoothly.

After posting a review, Control 4’s reply included a link to contact Control 4 support, which I did. Control 4 support’s response was an apology for the problems I’d experienced but did not suggest a solution, nor did they deny the need to now pay a monthly fee for the system to work. Control 4 is nice when it works, but a miserable way to start one’s day when it doesn’t.

Very costly , after nearly 5 years still having the same issues , things dropping off continuously, phoning installer out to do same things over and over again . It’s like a money pit that never ends . Spent about £60000 on this system and are considering just taking it out . As I’m sick of paying for same thing over and over ,? And control 4 don’t seem to care

This is a terrible system. You can't do the simplest stuff without logging a service call with the local seller and PAYING FOR IT. This is ridiculous! I am not going to pay more just because I changed internet provider and now have a new router. Should be able to plug and play or configure myself. Last time I had a tech out here I had to lead him to the appropriate way to configure. It seems the system is even complicated for them. I am going to dump this equipment. The user interface is antiquated anyway and doen't always work when at its best. Don't waste your money!!!

Absolutely the very best automation audio, video system available.

I took a job with a Smarthome company, knowing I fully automated my house using Alexa. And the more I work with Control 4,the less I'm actually impressed with it. I do way more with less

The system is hopeless. We have it connected to our tv and our blinds. The hours spent trying to operate anything is frustrating. The remote is hopeless it is unresponsive, if it works on the tv it will not work on the blinds. Hugely frustrating and in a iPhone world completely unacceptable. Rubbish product.

I have a full C4 installation that is shocking.

This is a full house renovation that I moved into nearly 12 months ago.

Not one single element works as it should -

LED strip/feature lighting (currently left not functioning)
Somfy blinds (absolutely hideous control)
Audio full room (not user friendly - Spotify integration shocking - should of stuck to Sonos)
Audio surround sound in sitting room (currently disconnected)
TV (kitchen TV now a mirror of sitting room)

& this is all before any kind of automation or scene control has been implemented!

I could go on but hopefully you get the idea - basically if I could go back in time I would not have anything to do with C4

Please note I run an electrical contracting business (so do know what I am talking about) and have used one of your 'partners' for everything C4

I would give them zero stars if I could. A beta product as best. Slick website fooled me into buying it. Does nothing as claimed. It is a poor universal remote at best. The response time with the remote has a LONG wait.The system is buggy, freezes frequently. The app is simple but has limited functionality. The intercom works erratically. When it does work it is slow. Does not go to the app directly, you have to take additional steps before you can communicate with the caller, by then the person has left. I am going to replace it with a ring for reliability.
The dealer ried to sell me additional 3200 dollars worth of stuff to make a door bell work!!