SunStrong Management LLC puts solar monitoring app behind paywall

In a January 2025 decision by SunStrong Management LLC, subscription fees began to be charged for solar monitoring features previously included with hardware purchases, while simultaneously blocking local access methods through firmware updates, affecting approximately 600,000 former SunPower customers following SunPower's August 2024 bankruptcy.

On January 29, 2025, SunStrong Management LLC sent a mass email to former SunPower customers announcing mandatory subscription fees for solar monitoring features.^[1] The email informed customers that features previously included with their monitoring hardware purchase (costing $1,600+) would now require either:

• Premium monitoring: $9.99/month or $99.99/year
• Cellular connectivity (effective July 8, 2025): $59.99/year (solar only) or $149.99/year (solar + battery)^[2]

Features moved behind the paywall included historical production data, panel-level monitoring, usage analytics, and monthly performance reports. Basic monitoring (real-time production, device alerts, battery management) remains free for WiFi/Ethernet connected systems.

Concurrent with implementing subscription fees, SunStrong deployed firmware updates that restrict local access to monitoring data. Starting with firmware version 2025.06 build 61838, the company blocked access to the local API that customers and third-party developers had been using to retrieve their own solar production data directly from their hardware without going through SunStrong's servers.^[3]

SunPower Corporation filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 5, 2024 (Case 24-11649-CTG, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware) with approximately $2.01 billion in outstanding debt.^[4] The company had previously sold solar monitoring hardware and software solutions to approximately 600,000 households across the United States.

On September 24, 2024, the bankruptcy court approved the sale of SunPower's monitoring app infrastructure, customer databases, and approximately 110,000 solar lease contracts to HA SunStrong Capital LLC and GF SunStrong Capital LLC for $11.5 million.^[5] Asset transfers occurred between September 30 and October 21, 2024.^[6]

SunStrong Management LLC was incorporated on April 8, 2025, and is jointly owned by Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital Inc. (NYSE: HASI) and GoodFinch Management LLC.^[7] The company is led by CEO Brendon Merkley, formerly of GoodLeap, SolarCity, and Vivint Solar.

Following additional acquisitions including Sunnova's portfolio in September 2025, SunStrong manages over 500,000 customers across 50 states with 83 employees.^[8] The company maintains a BBB rating of C with 104 complaints filed as of October 2025.^[9]

The monitoring hardware consists of PVS5/PVS6 (PV Supervisor) units with FCC certifications YAW529027 and YAW539848.^[10][11] These devices feature:

• NEMA Type 3R rating, operating temperature -30°C to 60°C
• Connectivity: Ethernet, WiFi, Power Line Communication, cellular backup
• Requirements: Dedicated 240/208V AC circuit
• Communication: USB ports, RS-485

The PVS5/PVS6 monitoring hardware includes a local data interface that previously allowed homeowners to access their solar production data directly through their home network. This enabled integration with home automation systems and avoided reliance on SunStrong's cloud services. Through firmware updates in March-April 2025, SunStrong began blocking this local access, with the system returning "403 Unauthorized" errors when customers attempt to retrieve their own data.^[12]

The blocking appears intermittent. It may be temporarily resolved after power cycling the device, but returning after several weeks of use. This pattern forces customers who want local access to repeatedly reset their equipment. Additionally, SunStrong changed monitoring system URLs without notification, breaking existing third-party integrations and older monitoring setups.

These restrictions effectively force customers to either pay for SunStrong's subscription service or lose access to detailed monitoring capabilities they originally purchased with their hardware. While solar systems continue producing electricity regardless of monitoring status, customers cannot access their own production data, receive system alerts, or integrate with home automation without subscribing to SunStrong's service.^[13]

As of October 2025, no class action lawsuit has been filed regarding the monitoring subscription fees. The California Contractors State License Board filed an accusation on March 28, 2024, seeking to revoke SunPower Corporate Systems' contractor license, with a hearing scheduled April 14, 2025.^[14]

California Consumer Attorneys notes customers may bring claims against SunStrong for issues arising after September 24, 2024, when asset transfer occurred.^[15] Small claims court remains viable for claims under jurisdictional limits.

As of October 2025, the SunStrong Connect app maintained an overall 3.8-star rating from 3,350+ reviews on Google Play Store, though reviews from Janurary 2025 onwards skew more negative, with complaints about the introduction of subscription fees for previously free features.^[16]

• SunPower PVS6 API Guide: SunPower PVS6 Access and API.pdf
• Communicator information by koleson: https://gist.github.com/koleson/5c719620039e0282976a8263c068e85c
• SunPower ESS Mode Set Script by koleson: https://gist.github.com/koleson/db9df38ef6051715d743e572acebdd4d
• SunPower SunVault Hardware: https://gist.github.com/koleson/5c719620039e0282976a8263c068e85c#file-sunvault_notes-md
• SunPower SunVault Modbus: https://gist.github.com/koleson/5c719620039e0282976a8263c068e85c#file-sunvault_modbus-md