AeroControl

AeroControl is a lightweight, open-source .NET desktop utility for Gigabyte AERO laptops. It talks directly to firmware-provided WMI classes, without redistributing or loading proprietary Control Center binaries.

Caution

AeroControl is unofficial hardware-control software. Firmware writes can cause overheating, instability, data loss, or hardware damage when used incorrectly or on unsupported systems. Use it entirely at your own risk, monitor temperatures, and read DISCLAIMER.md before enabling writes.

Project status

Version 0.4 is a cooling, battery, monitoring, diagnostics, and compatibility-reporting preview, not yet a complete replacement for every Gigabyte Control Center module. Cooling remains the default launch tab unless the user explicitly enables remembered navigation.

Currently implemented:

• CPU and GPU temperature monitoring
• Independent Fan 1 and Fan 2 RPM monitoring
• Fixed system-fan duty and GPU fan-duty monitoring when supported by firmware
• Fan health and automatic/fixed mode reporting
• Automatic, 70%, 80%, 100%, and custom 30-100% fan control
• Automatic firmware-mode restoration on exit
• Read-only battery charge, power-state, voltage, capacity-retention, and cycle telemetry
• Standard Windows battery APIs only; the Battery tab performs no firmware writes and requires no elevation
• Session-only Monitor charts with explicit CSV export
• Versioned, evidence-only compatibility-report JSON with bounded read-only telemetry and no serials, UUIDs, MAC addresses, usernames, or raw paths
• Local sustained temperature/fan-stall notifications that never change hardware settings
• Named fan profiles reusing the existing verified fan-control path
• Per-user settings, optional notification-area behavior, and reversible sign-in startup
• Optional per-user setup to %LOCALAPPDATA%\AeroControl; the portable executable remains supported
• Runtime firmware capability discovery
• Administrator-access detection and restart
• Versioned, persisted hardware-risk acknowledgement before the first write
• Deterministic demo mode and in-app screenshot capture
• No telemetry, cloud service, advertising, or vendor binary redistribution

Compatibility

Model	Firmware interface	Status
Gigabyte AERO 15-SA / P75SA	GB_WMIACPI_Get, GB_WMIACPI_Set	Verified on BIOS FB09
Other Gigabyte/AORUS laptops exposing the same methods	Capability-detected at runtime	Read-only; writes disabled until exact configuration verification
Systems without Gigabyte WMI ACPI classes	None	Monitoring and writes unavailable

See docs/compatibility.md for the verified duty values, observed RPMs, and the versioned read-only compatibility-report workflow. Reports are evidence only and never enable firmware writes automatically.

Windows publisher and SmartScreen status

Current GitHub release executables are unsigned, so Windows can show both an Unknown publisher UAC prompt and a Microsoft Defender SmartScreen reputation warning. This is expected for the current artifact and is not, by itself, a malware detection. Verify the SHA-256 listed on the release page and never disable Defender to run AeroControl.

Public signing requires a verified publisher identity. The recommended path is Microsoft Artifact Signing with a Public Trust certificate profile and GitHub OIDC; signing removes the anonymous publisher identity, while SmartScreen also considers file, URL, app, and certificate reputation. See docs/code-signing.md for the researched implementation plan and alternatives.

Requirements

• Windows 10 version 1809 or later
• .NET 8 Desktop Runtime
• Compatible Gigabyte firmware and WMI/ACPI driver already installed
• Administrator access for firmware reads or writes when required by the driver

Do not run AeroControl and Gigabyte Control Center fan control at the same time. Competing utilities can overwrite each other's settings.

Build and run

git clone https://github.com/lavann/AeroControl.git
Set-Location AeroControl
dotnet restore
dotnet build AeroControl.sln -c Release
dotnet run --project src/AeroControl/AeroControl.csproj -c Release

Install options

The release ZIP contains:

• AeroControl.exe for portable use
• AeroControl.Setup.exe for per-user installation
• LICENSE and DISCLAIMER.md

Run AeroControl.Setup.exe to install the app to:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\AeroControl

Setup does not request administrator access. Its optional Launch AeroControl when I sign in checkbox writes only the current-user HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\AeroControl value. Setup can update or remove the installed payload and deletes that startup value during removal only when it points to the installed executable. App settings are stored separately under LocalAppData and are not silently deleted by setup.

The app starts without forcing elevation. If the firmware provider denies access, use Restart as administrator inside AeroControl. Read-only UI access does not accept the hardware disclaimer; the acknowledgement is required immediately before the first write.

Run without hardware access:

dotnet run --project src/AeroControl/AeroControl.csproj -- --demo

Regenerate the checked-in screenshot from the real WPF window:

dotnet run --project src/AeroControl/AeroControl.csproj -- --demo --view cooling --capture docs/images/dashboard.png
dotnet run --project src/AeroControl/AeroControl.csproj -- --demo --view battery --capture docs/images/battery.png
dotnet run --project src/AeroControl/AeroControl.csproj -- --demo --view monitor --capture docs/images/monitor.png
dotnet run --project src/AeroControl/AeroControl.csproj -- --demo --view diagnostics --capture docs/images/diagnostics.png

Architecture

flowchart LR
    UI[WPF tab shell] --> Cooling[Cooling view]
    UI --> Battery[Battery view]
    UI --> Monitor[Session monitor]
    UI --> Diagnostics[Sanitized diagnostics]
    UI --> Profiles[Saved fan profiles]
    UI --> Settings[Per-user settings]
    Cooling --> Gate[Risk and elevation gate]
    Gate --> Contract[IAeroHardwareService]
    Contract --> Live[Gigabyte WMI provider]
    Contract --> Demo[Deterministic demo provider]
    Live --> Bridge[Testable WMI bridge]
    Bridge --> Get[GB_WMIACPI_Get]
    Bridge --> Set[GB_WMIACPI_Set]
    Get --> Firmware[Laptop firmware and EC]
    Set --> Firmware
    Battery --> BatteryContract[IBatteryService]
    BatteryContract --> WindowsWmi[Standard Windows battery WMI]
    BatteryContract --> PowerCfg[Structured powercfg XML report]
    Tests[Unit tests with fake bridge] --> Contract
    Tests --> BatteryContract
    Monitor --> History[Bounded in-memory history]
    Diagnostics --> Export[Explicit sanitized JSON export]

Loading

The core library owns models, duty encoding, capability checks, and firmware sequences. The WPF project owns presentation, elevation, settings, and human acknowledgement. Tests substitute a fake bridge, so automated builds never write to hardware.

Safety invariants

• No write occurs before explicit risk acceptance.
• Live risk acceptance is bound to the exact manufacturer/model/SKU/BIOS configuration; demo acceptance is never persisted.
• Firmware writes are allowlisted to the exact verified configuration, not enabled by method-name detection alone.
• Fixed duty is constrained to the vendor UI's observed 30-100% range.
• Fan presets use the verified raw mapping: 70% = 160, 80% = 183, 100% = 229.
• System and GPU fan setters run in one serialized sequence; mode state and fixed system duty are read back, and any detected partial failure rolls back to verified automatic mode. The verified firmware's GPU-duty getter is unusable, so a silent GPU setter no-op cannot be independently read back.
• Automatic mode remains available and is restored on exit by default.
• Unsupported methods are detected before a write is attempted.
• Proprietary Gigabyte DLLs, drivers, firmware, and source are not part of this repository.

Roadmap

• System toggles: camera, touchpad, Windows key, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth
• Model-validated battery charge limits
• Performance and power profiles
• Keyboard backlight color controls and named color profiles through documented, model-validated interfaces
• Artifact-signed release binaries and an opt-in updater
• Community model packs backed by readback tests and compatibility evidence

A control is not added merely because a WMI method exists. New writes require model evidence, a reversible path, readback where available, tests, and a clear UI safety boundary.

Contributing

Read CONTRIBUTING.md before proposing model support. Use the reviewed Diagnostics JSON with the hardware-support form; reports must omit serial numbers and other identifiers and cannot grant write support. Do not submit proprietary binaries, firmware, or copied vendor code.

License

AeroControl is available under the MIT License. The software is provided AS IS, without warranty. The additional hardware-control disclaimer explains the practical risks but does not replace the license.

GIGABYTE and AORUS are trademarks of their respective owner. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by GIGA-BYTE Technology Co., Ltd.