[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":15},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fHDrU6LAADGB5W_mlH3HM1UqFYqucF26k23D8GMutWig":3},{"title":4,"content":5,"body":5,"excerpt":6,"readTime":7,"author":8,"thumbnail":9,"thumbnailVersion":10,"created_at":11,"updated_at":12,"id":13,"body_html":14},"Control4 Software Upgrade Cost: $129 Flat, Done Remotely","# Control4 Software Upgrade Cost: $129 Flat, Done Remotely\n\n**$129. Remote. No trip charge.** That is what it costs to bring a Control4 system\nup to current software through us, and it's the only number on this page you have to\nremember. Everything below explains what it covers, what sits outside it, and the\none question that decides whether you should pay it at all: whether your controller\ncan take the new software.\n\n## The number\n\n**A Control4 software upgrade is $129, done remotely.** No trip charge, because\nnobody comes to the house.\n\nIf you later buy equipment through us, that $129 comes back to you as **credit on your\naccount**, to spend on programming or other work on your system. To be plain about it:\nthat isn't a refund, and the upgrade isn't free. The money stops being a cost and\nbecomes a balance you can use.\n\nThat's the whole price for the common case — a system whose hardware is capable of\nrunning current software and simply hasn't been kept current.\n\n## The question that actually decides your bill\n\nNot every controller can run the newest software. Some are years past the last version\nthey'll ever accept. **That single fact — capable or not — matters more to your cost\nthan anyone's hourly rate.**\n\nIt's also where the money goes wrong in this industry, in both directions:\n\n- You get quoted a **new controller** for a system that only needed its software\n  brought up. Expensive, disruptive, and unnecessary.\n- Or you pay for an **upgrade that was never possible**, on hardware that was always\n  going to need replacing, and end up paying twice.\n\n⭐**Find out which one you are before you spend anything.** We publish a\n[free controller checker](\u002Fcontrol4-os-upgrade-checker) that tells you what your\nspecific model can take. It will tell you plainly when the answer is \"this is a\nhardware swap, not an upgrade\" — it isn't a lead form dressed as a tool, and it does\nnot need your email.\n\n## What you're paying for, concretely\n\nAn upgrade is not pressing \"update\" on a touchscreen. On a system that's been sitting\nfor years, the work is:\n\n**Reading the system as it currently stands.** Every device, how it's programmed, what\nversion everything is on. Skipping this is how upgrades break houses.\n\n**Taking a full backup first.** The project file — the thing that describes what every\nbutton in your home does — is the irreplaceable part. Hardware can be bought again;\nfifteen years of programming decisions cannot.\n\n**Moving up through the versions in the right order.** ‼️This is the part that isn't\noptional. Jumping an old system straight to the newest release can break the links\nbetween the controller and the devices in your walls, leaving keypads and dimmers that\nno longer know what they're attached to. It's recoverable and it is far more expensive\nthan doing it correctly the first time.\n\n**Checking the system still does what it did before.** An upgrade that finishes and\nleaves half the house not working isn't finished.\n\n## What sits outside that price\n\nBeing straight about this is the point of the page.\n\n- **Programming changes** are separate work. Bringing your software up to date does not\n  include redesigning your scenes or adding devices.\n- **Hardware** is hardware. If your controller genuinely can't run current software,\n  no amount of labour changes that, and we'd rather tell you before you pay us.\n- **Genuine faults.** A failed dimmer, damaged wiring, a dead power supply — a software\n  upgrade doesn't touch any of it, and anyone implying otherwise is selling you the\n  wrong thing.\n\n## Why it's this price and not a service call\n\nBecause there's no truck. Almost all of this work is done remotely: reading the system,\ntaking the backup, running the upgrade, confirming it came back correctly.\n\nThe traditional model prices a visit — someone's drive time, a minimum callout,\nan hour's labour whether or not an hour is needed. That's why small jobs on smart-home\nsystems tend not to happen at all: the trip costs more than the work. Removing the trip\nis what makes a $129 job possible rather than a $400 one.\n\nIt also means distance is irrelevant. A system four states away is the same job as one\nacross town.\n\n## Who we are, so you can weigh the number\n\nIxome is the AI service platform of Smart Home Theaters — a Lutron dealer since 1999\nand one of the first Control4 dealers in the country. Most of what we work on was\ninstalled by somebody else, frequently by a company that has since closed. That's the\nnormal starting condition here, not a complication.\n\n## Before you pay anyone\n\nTwo things, both free:\n\n1. **Find your controller and read the model off it.** It's the box everything plugs\n   into — HC-250, HC-800, EA-1, EA-3, EA-5, CORE 1, CORE 3, CORE 5.\n2. **Run it through the [checker](\u002Fcontrol4-os-upgrade-checker)**, or\n   [ask in our chat](\u002Fchat) if you'd rather just describe what you've got.\n\nIf the answer is that your hardware is capable, the number on this page is the number.\nIf it isn't, you've saved yourself from paying for an upgrade that was never going to\nhappen — which is worth more than the $129 either way.","The number nobody publishes: $129, remote, no trip charge — and what it becomes if you later buy equipment. Plus the one question that decides your bill more than any hourly rate: whether your controller can take the new software at all.","4 min read","@IxomeExpert","\u002Fthumbnails\u002Farticle_57.webp",1,"2026-08-21T14:33:04-04:00","2026-09-04T20:58:53+00:00",57,"\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>$129. Remote. No trip charge.\u003C\u002Fstrong> That is what it costs to bring a Control4 system\nup to current software through us, and it's the only number on this page you have to\nremember. Everything below explains what it covers, what sits outside it, and the\none question that decides whether you should pay it at all: whether your controller\ncan take the new software.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>The number\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>A Control4 software upgrade is $129, done remotely.\u003C\u002Fstrong> No trip charge, because\nnobody comes to the house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you later buy equipment through us, that $129 comes back to you as \u003Cstrong>credit on your\naccount\u003C\u002Fstrong>, to spend on programming or other work on your system. To be plain about it:\nthat isn't a refund, and the upgrade isn't free. The money stops being a cost and\nbecomes a balance you can use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's the whole price for the common case — a system whose hardware is capable of\nrunning current software and simply hasn't been kept current.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>The question that actually decides your bill\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Not every controller can run the newest software. Some are years past the last version\nthey'll ever accept. \u003Cstrong>That single fact — capable or not — matters more to your cost\nthan anyone's hourly rate.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's also where the money goes wrong in this industry, in both directions:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>You get quoted a \u003Cstrong>new controller\u003C\u002Fstrong> for a system that only needed its software\nbrought up. Expensive, disruptive, and unnecessary.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>Or you pay for an \u003Cstrong>upgrade that was never possible\u003C\u002Fstrong>, on hardware that was always\ngoing to need replacing, and end up paying twice.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Cp>⭐\u003Cstrong>Find out which one you are before you spend anything.\u003C\u002Fstrong> We publish a\n\u003Ca href=\"\u002Fcontrol4-os-upgrade-checker\">free controller checker\u003C\u002Fa> that tells you what your\nspecific model can take. It will tell you plainly when the answer is "this is a\nhardware swap, not an upgrade" — it isn't a lead form dressed as a tool, and it does\nnot need your email.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>What you're paying for, concretely\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>An upgrade is not pressing "update" on a touchscreen. On a system that's been sitting\nfor years, the work is:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Reading the system as it currently stands.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Every device, how it's programmed, what\nversion everything is on. Skipping this is how upgrades break houses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Taking a full backup first.\u003C\u002Fstrong> The project file — the thing that describes what every\nbutton in your home does — is the irreplaceable part. Hardware can be bought again;\nfifteen years of programming decisions cannot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Moving up through the versions in the right order.\u003C\u002Fstrong> ‼️This is the part that isn't\noptional. Jumping an old system straight to the newest release can break the links\nbetween the controller and the devices in your walls, leaving keypads and dimmers that\nno longer know what they're attached to. It's recoverable and it is far more expensive\nthan doing it correctly the first time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Checking the system still does what it did before.\u003C\u002Fstrong> An upgrade that finishes and\nleaves half the house not working isn't finished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>What sits outside that price\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Being straight about this is the point of the page.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Programming changes\u003C\u002Fstrong> are separate work. Bringing your software up to date does not\ninclude redesigning your scenes or adding devices.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Hardware\u003C\u002Fstrong> is hardware. If your controller genuinely can't run current software,\nno amount of labour changes that, and we'd rather tell you before you pay us.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Genuine faults.\u003C\u002Fstrong> A failed dimmer, damaged wiring, a dead power supply — a software\nupgrade doesn't touch any of it, and anyone implying otherwise is selling you the\nwrong thing.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Ch2>Why it's this price and not a service call\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Because there's no truck. Almost all of this work is done remotely: reading the system,\ntaking the backup, running the upgrade, confirming it came back correctly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The traditional model prices a visit — someone's drive time, a minimum callout,\nan hour's labour whether or not an hour is needed. That's why small jobs on smart-home\nsystems tend not to happen at all: the trip costs more than the work. Removing the trip\nis what makes a $129 job possible rather than a $400 one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It also means distance is irrelevant. A system four states away is the same job as one\nacross town.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Who we are, so you can weigh the number\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Ixome is the AI service platform of Smart Home Theaters — a Lutron dealer since 1999\nand one of the first Control4 dealers in the country. Most of what we work on was\ninstalled by somebody else, frequently by a company that has since closed. That's the\nnormal starting condition here, not a complication.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Before you pay anyone\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Two things, both free:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Col>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Find your controller and read the model off it.\u003C\u002Fstrong> It's the box everything plugs\ninto — HC-250, HC-800, EA-1, EA-3, EA-5, CORE 1, CORE 3, CORE 5.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Run it through the \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fcontrol4-os-upgrade-checker\">checker\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fstrong>, or\n\u003Ca href=\"\u002Fchat\">ask in our chat\u003C\u002Fa> if you'd rather just describe what you've got.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\n\u003Cp>If the answer is that your hardware is capable, the number on this page is the number.\nIf it isn't, you've saved yourself from paying for an upgrade that was never going to\nhappen — which is worth more than the $129 either way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Caside class=\"article-related\">\u003Ch2>Related from Ixome\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Ca href=\"\u002Fregister-used-control4-controller\">Bought a used Control4 controller? We register and update it\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Ca href=\"\u002Fcontrol4-upgrade-or-replace\">Quoted for a whole new system? Four questions before you spend five figures\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Ca href=\"\u002Fcontrol4-dealer-out-of-business\">Control4 dealer out of business? We take over orphaned systems remotely\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003C\u002Faside>",1789078239819]