The HC-800 was released in 2012 and is still running well after more than a decade! However, the newly released Control4 OS 3.3.3 no longer supports the HC-800, which makes upgrading a bit troublesome.
To avoid reprogramming, especially for the lighting system, after replacing the controller:
- Tried importing the backup file from the HC-800 running Control4 version 2.10.6 directly into a controller with OS 3.3.3—system error, failed.
- Upgraded the HC-800 to the latest version it supports, OS 3.3.0, created a backup, then tried importing it into a controller with OS 3.3.3—system error, failed again.
- Attempted to downgrade Composer 3.3.3 to 3.3.0, but since the new controller is running OS 3.3.3, it still failed with an error.
After trying several times for over an hour and almost hitting a dead end, I tried importing the HC-800 file into the Composer virtual system (Virtual Director). At this point, the new controller could be seen in the SDDP tab under System Design. I then deleted the old HC-800 controller and added the new Core-3 controller. After the new controller rebooted automatically, it connected normally to Composer 3.3.3.
After this process, the entire lighting system’s keypad connections, programming, scene settings, and multi-room audio amplifier system connections were fully preserved, saving a lot of time.
Next, I proceeded to remove the switches and keypads (13-4-13 reset) from the old Zigbee server and re-enroll them to the new controller’s Zigbee server.
Finally, I tested the lighting and multi-room audio, updated the drivers for Sonos, DSC Alarm, and Camera, and renewed the 4-Sight on the mobile app.
