I have a few clients that would like to do away with Control4 controllers but still use their Control4 Zigbee keypads and other devices. Is it possible to to write drivers for those Zigbee devices to use with other Zigbee controllers?
1 Like
Control4 is a member of the Zigbee Alliance so most likely it shouldn’t be a problem. There is however one issue with most (all?) Control4 Zigbee devices, they don’t use the same profile as most other Zigbee devices and may have to be isolated on their own mesh. To do it you’d have to look at the traffic being sent and then just write code that can play the role of the controller in the same way. In terms of how we at Oh-La Labs will deal with things like this, since it is a rather niche market we wouldn’t be purchasing the hardware but if it was sent to us we’d add support for it.
We’d need a Control4 controller and the device in question. It could also be implemented by a 3rd party and made available as an installable package.
5 Likes
Thank you for taking the time to reply and give such a thorough answer.
This would be easily done.
I’ve been doing some testing with controllers/hubs just trying to find one that’s worthy, for lack of a better word. Most of the other controllers/hubs are just hard to recommend to clients for many reasons.
1 Like
As @markus has already said Control4 use their own Zigbee profile. Zigbee is broad and not all Zigbee is well just Zigbee. I don’t sell/install Control4 but others have tried sniffing and writing drivers and were not successful in it. Maybe it was a technical issue or maybe it was a litigation issue. I do not know.
Depending on the reasons for your clients to want to move away from Control4 there are drivers to integrate systems to use the existing devices. Just an option.
3 Likes
I believe the CC will be something you can recommend 
We all appreciate your support in our endeavor.
Do you have any links to such efforts being discussed? I’d love to see what was said.
If it was technical it may very well be due to a need to change certain parts in the firmware, but in our case it’s our firmware, so that should be fine. On the legal side, the only true issue without good workarounds would be if there would be patents that’d be infringed upon. It is definitely a system I’d like to know more about how we can integrate with.
Integrating with the controller is another route, but I’d prefer both routes to be well researched before going either, or both.
1 Like
They were not public discussions.
Integration is path of least resistance. However if you can get a controller and someone to give you the software and access then best of luck.
1 Like
Ok
Absolutely, from the perspective of the CC we may need/want both routes depending on demand. It may also be something which falls under a 3rd party integration with licensing, I’m sure it will be clear over time as to where the needs are.
Are you talking about this keypad?
If so you would consider selling them Lutron RA2 instead? (until CC is available of course) If they have Control4 the wallet shouldn’t be that tight 
RA2 Keypads rock! Between RA2 Keypads, Picos, and Lutron reliability, for me it was an easy choice. Not an easy a payment, but an easy choice. We have 5x 6-button keypads, most control lighting, some scenes/Sonos. Looking to get a couple 15-button table top keypads when I get around to outfitting the second floor. Highly recommended (can get decent pricing for members PM me).
1 Like
RA2 is definitely a great product and I would recommend. My clients want to be able to play and add devices to their home Automation which Control4 is not the most user friendly option. Not that programing is difficult but for most things you need to call your installer and have them come out. Which now a days I guess isn’t the best option for some people considering the circumstances & when things are getting easier for the customer to setup themselves and they have more options. The reason they want to be able to keep the keypads and whatever else they can possibly use is because they spent a nice bit of cash on them not too long ago. I mean you might possibly be shocked at just the cost of the wiring bids. I’d have my installers set them up with HE but it’s really hard to recommend to clients that really don’t have the knowledge to dive right in and I’m just not willing to deal with the probable call backs and expense that brings us. Its like you have options of thousand of dollar controllers which are really locked down and then your hundred dollar and under gadgets. Need something in between. Most my Clients would need like 8 Hubitat’s if not more to run their home. RA2 select usually doesn’t get the job done lets put it that way
I’ll do that we’ll have to compare prices
1 Like
Yep, heard that tune and not surprised to hear it again. One of the classics of home automation.
“We spent a ton of money on a system we hate, can you make it better? Oh BTW do it on the cheep!”
I usually give them the number of a competitor I don’t like at that point. 
1 Like
Clients “playing around” is not always a good thing. However C4 does offer a lot of flexibility to end-users for configuration and modifications. Main limitation is adding new devices and drivers. If you’re the C4 installer you can give them that access I think it was $100-$150 something like that. I don’t deal with C4 but I do know a dealer.
Another option if they don’t want someone onsite and paying that cost is to use a remote programmer. There’s plenty of them out there there for much cheaper than onsite programming.
RA2 Select doesn’t have keypads so that wouldn’t really be an option in this discussion either. However using a central controller you can expand a RA2 Select as large as you want using multiple main repeaters. Always an option for those large properties when they won’t step up to full RA2 and they don’t need/want keypads…
Is that why I’ve been getting those calls???
4 Likes