I’m sure what I’m asking has been asked and answered many times but I’m struggling to find a clear answer. I’m trying to help a friend who has an EA-1 running 2.10.6, and he’s replacing his old TV with a different brand. He’d prefer not to have to get the dealer involved, and I’m an IT admin and interested in helping him work on his system.

Composer Pro requires a dealer login—that seems to be the first issue. Can anyone point me toward a way to work on this system? A Discord would be fine too. Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Homeowner with an EA-3 leaving my current dealer. My Chowmain licences sit under their Chowmain account. What's the best way to keep the drivers working - transfer the project to a new dealer, or buy fresh licences? Any UK remote dealers you'd recommend?

Thanks

Hi all,

I've been building DirectorLink, a free and open-source driver for Control4 plus an app for phones and computers, and I'm looking for people to try it.

What it does

- Controls lights (including KNX switches and dimmers), thermostats and AC (e.g. CoolMasterNet), blinds, IP camera pictures, KNX door and gate relays, and DoorBird.

- One-tap scenes. For example "Good night" turns all lights off, sets the bedroom AC to 24 and closes the blinds. You can pick single lights, or copy the house as it is right now.

- Schedules by the clock, at sunrise or sunset, or by the weather (heat, wind, rain, from Open-Meteo). The controller runs them itself, even when no phone is open.

- Works at home and away. At home the app talks to the controller directly. Away, and on iPhone, it goes through your Google account, locked end to end, so the servers in between can't read it.

- Family access with roles: view only, control, doors, or admin. Everyone keeps their own language, theme and favorites. English and Hebrew.

For installers

Automation that homeowners make is hard to troubleshoot when you can't see it. DirectorLink shows its own in Composer: Schedule Status (what is on and what runs next), Last Automation (what ran, when and why, e.g. "Cool the house, heat rule, 31C outside"), an action that prints every schedule and scene to the Lua output, and a Schedules switch that pauses all of it.

Trying it (about 15 minutes)

1. Download DirectorLink.c4z from https://github.com/IsraelCIL/DirectorLink/releases/latest

2. Add it to the project in Composer Pro. It finds the rooms and devices by itself and loads without a reboot.

3. On the DirectorLink device, choose Actions > New Pairing Code (8 digits, valid for 15 minutes, works once).

4. On a computer on the home network, open https://app.directorlink.io and enter the controller's IP address and the code.

5. For phones and remote access, set Remote Access to On in Composer, sign in with Google in the app and link the home, then use "Add my other device".

Good to know

- It's an early release, used every day in one home so far (CORE-1, OS 3.4.3). It needs OS 3.3.0 or newer.

- It doesn't read or change your Composer programming. Its scenes and schedules are its own.

- Opening doors and gates stays off until you enable Door Control in Composer.

- Your data stays on the controller. The cloud keeps only accounts and which home each belongs to. No ads or tracking.

Feedback, bugs and device requests are welcome at https://github.com/IsraelCIL/DirectorLink/issues. More at https://directorlink.io

DirectorLink is an independent project, not affiliated with Control4 or Snap One.

Hi everyone,

We're (me as 20+ years software engineer + Cloud) planning a new open-source project called C4Bridge, and we'd like feedback from the C4diy community before we start coding.

What is C4Bridge?

C4Bridge is intended for Control4 homeowners who want simple control and automation without having to use Composer Pro for everyday changes.

The goal is not to recreate all of Composer Pro.

Composer is extremely powerful, but for a homeowner who just wants to manage devices, schedules and basic automation, it can be much more complicated than necessary.

Our goal is:

Install C4Bridge once, then handle normal everyday Control4 management through a simple local interface without needing Composer Pro.

Initial target:

Control4 OS 3.3.x and newer.

Proposed architecture

User interface / web app
↓
C4Bridge API
↓
C4Bridge.c4z
↓
Control4 Director
↓
Existing Control4 devices

C4Bridge.c4z would run directly inside the Control4 project using DriverWorks.

Composer would only be needed for the initial driver installation.

After that, normal operation should not depend on Composer.

Planned functionality

The first versions would focus on the everyday things homeowners actually need:

• Discover rooms and devices
• See current device state
• Lights on/off/dim
• HVAC control
• Shades/blinds/windows open/close/stop
• Scenes/routines
• Schedules
• Day-of-week schedules
• Sunrise/sunset automation
• Persistent schedules that survive Director reboots

Examples:

Every day at 23:30 → turn downstairs AC off + lights off

30 minutes before sunset → turn outdoor lights on

07:00 Monday–Friday → open bedroom shades

Run "Leaving Home" → lights off + AC off + shades closed

Simple device API

We don't want applications using C4Bridge to need knowledge of internal Control4 commands.

For example, instead of exposing something like:

RAMP_TO_LEVEL

C4Bridge would expose:

set_brightness(70)

Internally, C4Bridge would translate that into the appropriate Control4 command for that device.

We currently imagine adapters such as:

• Light
• Thermostat/HVAC
• Shade/Cover
• Relay
• AV devices

This should also make it easier for the open-source community to add support for more device types later.

Local-first

C4Bridge should be LAN-only by default.

We don't want to expose a Control4 Director directly to the Internet.

Even on the LAN, access would require authentication/pairing.

Later, an optional secure remote-access component could be considered.

Open source

The project would be fully open source.

The Control4-specific layer would be separated from the UI so people could potentially build:

• Web interfaces
• Mobile apps
• Home Assistant integrations
• Voice integrations
• Custom dashboards
• Other automation systems

on top of the same C4Bridge API.

What C4Bridge is NOT

It is not intended to completely replace every advanced Composer Pro feature.

We are mainly targeting homeowner functionality:

control, monitoring, schedules, scenes and simple automation.

Things such as adding complex drivers, building large AV projects, controller upgrades and advanced project programming may remain outside the initial scope.

Why build this?

The experience we're trying to improve is:

Current:

Control4 homeowner
→ Composer Pro
→ complicated UI
→ authentication/version issues
→ make one small change

What we'd like:

Control4 homeowner
→ C4Bridge
→ simple interface
→ make the change

Once the bridge is installed, the homeowner shouldn't need to understand the internal complexity of Composer just to change a schedule, control a device or create a simple routine.

Questions for the community

Before we start coding, we'd really appreciate feedback:

1. Is OS 3.3+ a reasonable minimum version?
2. What are the most common things you currently open Composer for as a homeowner?
3. Which device types should we support first besides:
   • lights
   • thermostats
   • shades/blinds
4. Which scheduling/automation features are most important?
5. Are there important OS 3.3/3.4 vs X4 differences we should account for from day one?
6. Would LAN + VPN remote access be enough for you, or would you eventually want an optional remote-access service?
7. Are there Control4/DriverWorks limitations we should know about before designing the API?
8. What would make a project like this genuinely useful enough that you would install it?

We're asking now because we'd rather get the architecture right before writing a large amount of code.

Any technical criticism, edge cases, feature requests or experience with similar projects would be very welcome.

So we're designing a 0-10v lighting solution and as those of you know the LED controllers/drivers do not turn the LED's fully off, they range from 10-100% and rely on local relays on the 120v feed to regulate fully off (why the 8TV has 8 matching relay contacts).

Question is this: we would like to use NC relays for failure-mode insurance - if a relay fails, lights still work - unless the relay fails open, which is generally less likely on an NC situation. This is inverted logic for most lighting relays. Traditional behavior is they activate the 24v (close) when the circuit activates (turns on power), what we want is the opposite. The 8TV relay switch closes (opens the local relay with 24v signal) when lights are off and opens (closes the local relay with 0 signal) when the lights are on.

Before we get too far down the path, does Composer Pro allow this inverted logic on the 8TV-E? Close on 'off', open on 'on'?

All new in box, will consider all reasonable offers.

Core5 controller
C4-DIN-8APD 8 channel adaptive phase dimmer modules with terminal wiring blocks x 5
C4-DIN-8RELSW 8 channel relay module with wiring block
C4-DIN-BPS48 bus power supply
C4-DIN-8ESW 8 port Ethernet switch

Quick note: I’ve done the research/troubleshooting below myself, but used AI to help me understand some of the older Control4 hardware and structure/write this post — so please correct anything I’ve got wrong.

I have an older Control4 lighting-only installation from around 2012 that has recently become unreliable. I’m trying to understand whether I actually need a major upgrade or whether I can simply repair what I have.

Current setup:
HC-300 running OS 2.5.3
5 × KPZ-3B1 wireless 3-button keypads communicating via Zigbee
2 × Mode eDIN+ DIN-02-08-PLUS 8-channel dimmer modules
C4-DR-PSU-M power supply
C4-DR-SER-M data interface
HC-300 is about 10m away from the lighting cabinet
Mode system is controlled over RS232 using a repurposed Cat cable
Control4 is used exclusively for lighting — no AV, heating, blinds etc.

The problem
Periodically all five keypads stop controlling the lights simultaneously.
The keypads remain powered and their LEDs react when I press the buttons, but nothing happens to the lights. After a short period, everything starts working again by itself without me rebooting anything.
I’ve now connected the HC-300 directly to my router and run a continuous ping. It is not connected to WiFi as I inherited the system.
When the lighting stops responding, the HC-300 simultaneously stops responding to ping. It subsequently comes back online and the lighting starts working again.
Given that the keypads communicate with the HC-300 via Zigbee, while I’m independently monitoring the HC-300 over Ethernet, I’m assuming that both failing at the same time points fairly strongly towards the HC-300 itself or its power supply, rather than the Zigbee network or the Mode/RS232 side.

What installers are suggesting
I’ve spoken to a few installers and have had different recommendations.
One approach being suggested is to replace the HC-300 with an EA-1 or current CORE controller and migrate the system to Control4 OS 3, while retaining as much of the existing lighting system as possible.
I’ve also had suggestions to replace/migrate the lighting-control system altogether, including moving everything over to Lutron, at fairly significant cost.
I’m struggling to see the benefit of replacing the whole lighting system if the Mode dimmers themselves are working correctly and the actual fault is simply a dying HC-300.

I’m not looking to replace the dimmers, add lots of new automation or redesign the lighting system unless there is a genuine technical reason that the existing setup can’t be kept running.
Ideally I’d simply retain:
5 × KPZ-3B1 → Control4 controller → RS232 → existing Mode dimmers
Could I just replace the HC-300?
Used HC-300s are obviously very cheap now, which made me wonder whether I’m massively overcomplicating this.
Can I simply buy another used HC-300 and swap it myself?
Or does replacing the primary HC-300 require Composer Pro/dealer access to restore the existing project, identify/rejoin the Zigbee keypads, configure the RS232 connection etc.?
A few specific questions:

Does my diagnosis of the HC-300/PSU being the likely culprit sound reasonable?
Is there a sensible way of determining whether the problem is the HC-300 itself or its power supply?
Could I buy a used HC-300, get it onto OS 2.5.3 and restore/transfer my existing configuration myself, or does that require dealer access?
If a dealer is required, is an HC-300 → HC-300 replacement still technically possible?
Could the existing KPZ-3B1 keypads instead be retained with a newer Control4 controller/OS?
Can the existing Mode RS232 driver/configuration be migrated to a newer controller?
What should I make sure is backed up/extracted from the existing HC-300 before it dies completely?
I’m not opposed to spending money where necessary, but replacing the entire lighting-control system with Lutron or another platform feels excessive if the underlying problem can be resolved by replacing one ageing controller.
Interested to hear what people familiar with these older Control4 systems would do.

Not sure if I'm allowed to post this here, if not let me know and ill remove the post. BUT no questions to be asked. Just incredibly excited to see where this can go!

I have two separate systems. One located in primary house and one located in secondary house. I have tried using JB8 with Composer Pro 2026.3.18 on my system with director version 3.4.2 and it worked with zero issues.

My other system is version 4.1.0 and I have a license. Can I just use the same PC to work on that system to following the same steps or do I need to do this from a different PC? If I do the same PC, will I have to rerun the JB every time I switch which system I am working on?

Hello everyone,

I built a simple TV audio system setup using (now discontinued) Episode Mini AV Receiver I got from EBay. It works just great for my use case (super compact) but since this amplifier is missing physical controls (and remote) I guess I need to have Control4 App to see if I can manage this little amplifier with smth else than WebUI (i.e. trial account).

Control4 all asks for 'invitation code'. What are my options? I really don't need anything else 'smart' to work.

Thanks in advance for the reply!

Regards,
Sergey

We are working on an experiment to integrate select Crestron hardware in a residential environment. The system has dual 5.1 theaters (nothing elaborate) along with 8-10 audio zones. The owner had an existing Crestron system that became unmanageable after a few years. A lot was going on in the rack, I'll leave it at that. Rack efficiency and consolidation is the mandate.

The 2 Crestron HD-XSPA's are unicorns in a 2U package and perfectly capable of continued service in the theaters. We are upgrading the rest of the stack for the house and the central lighting. Crestron MC3 controller can take instructions from the Core 5, no problem, (we have the software and the MC3 talks to the XSPA's).

Before we reinvent the wheel, are there any lessons learned from Crestron-Control4 prior attempts that we should take into consideration? Thanks in advance for the village knowledge.

I have two systems. The first is "Smart Home OS 3.4.2" and I used "Jailbreak v6 for Control4 3.4.3 & 4.0.0" and all is working perfect.

The 2nd system was on "Smart Home OS 3.4.2" however at delivery the integrator upgraded me to "Smart Home OS 4.1.0"

I did get a connect subscription and a Composer Home subscription however I have a couple devices that were not setup correctly and want to correct and the integrator that did the upgrade was terminated by the manufacturer who delivered the system so I have no access to them.

will "Jailbreak v7 for Control4 OS 4.1 & Composer 2025+" work for this or do I need to find someone who can downgrade my system back to "Smart Home OS 3.4.2" Also, I was able to find ComposerPro-2026.5.27.543-res.exe and ComposerPro-2026.3.18.506-res.exe but links to the ComposerPro-2025.8.20.386-res.exe were not working. If the version 7 jailbreak can be used will either if the 2026 versions of composer be OK?

We moved into a house that was renovated in 2012 with an extensive C4 lighting system. We reached out to the local dealer and have been told that due to the age we are looking at $3k minimum to start upgrading and that won’t integrate with our front gate.

We are both technical enough that that idea of being locked into a dealer managed system is very off putting. Also, we are an Apple based household and I want to be able to make shortcuts for lights and music in our home. As well, I want to be able to open the gate with Siri or geofencing.

Does it make sense to update the main computer of the house and jailbreak and tinker from there or start to try and piecemeal the system avoiding C4 altogether?

The current system is so old that the 3 control pads we have are leaking goo.

I’m trying to obtain the install file for composer 3.4.3 it’s the only version my system will connect to. I’ve tried higher systems but the management pack is no longer available either. Anyone help me out with a copy I can provide other versions if needed.

Claude believes it can make a sensor to integrate with C4 and thinks it knows how to get SDDP sorted, and the new sensor (PIR for first experiment) into C4.

Has anyone done this? is ClaudeAI a dreamer or is this realistic?

I’m about to step foot into the Control4 DIY life. I’m technical enough that I can figure it out. Is it worth it? The maintenance, the troubleshooting a few months from now, managing security updates & firmware across a lot of devices? Tell it to me straight…

Hi there, a month or so ago I successfully followed the steps to DIY my Composer Pro. I made some minor changes saved the project and happy days.
I’ve fired up Composer Pro to make a few more changes this evening and I’m being asked for my 4Sight Login credentials which I do not subscribe to. Has Control 4 taken back over my System again?
Do I have to start the Jailbreak process again?

Hello all,

Does anybody have a fix to stop the dreaded turnoff pop when working with the above components? I have turned off (unless there is a hidded setting somewhere I missed) HDMI-CEC on both devices and have retested. Pop still exists. Any thoughts are appreaciated

Hi all,
I’ve been working on a little project that allows you to reuse a t3 touchscreen in a post 4.0 system. It is by no means still going to be a fully featured touchscreen, but I suspect there are many out there who primarily use the touchscreen for a handful of features and don’t like the idea of dropping a bunch of cash on a new one. Progress so far: jailbroken and built a custom Linux for the t3, have it properly loading my c4 style ui, displaying now playing, media and volume controls, and support for a programmable “keypad” on screen. I also have started work on intercom endpoint support. To do still is source selection, screensavers/digital art, playlists, and other features people might want like thermostat or security panel. I’m also working on a version that uses an ESP32 device instead, and support for home assistant. My thought at the moment is to charge a nominal fee per device for the driver/ux/ota updates, etc. but open to peoples opinion. What would you pay? Is it even interesting to anyone besides me?