Digital door locks anyone?

walkinwood

walkinwood

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I took a close look at this electronic door lock from Yale

The reviews are mostly good, but then those reviews aren't from this forum.

Anyone use one of these electronic locks?
Do you connect it to a home automation system like Z-Wave?
What are your opinions on these locks?

The last thread on home automation (or locks ) that I could find was way back in 2012.

Looking forward to the discussion.
 
Do not know how good it is, but the piano teacher for DD has a different lock... she has it so the kids can come in and not have her jumping up whenever the next one comes...

Seems to look like a normal dead bolt except for no key... from what they said, it seems like the battery lasted a year since she said her DH had just changed them and put in a new code...
 
I ordered one. The bore hole was a larger size. I thought they'd all be standard. I didn't want to drill a larger hole and risk having it misalign, and didn't feel like paying for someone to come out and do it, so I just returned it. I don't know if my current lock or the one I bought was non-standard. I thought it'd be nice to be able to lock my door and not have to take a key when I go out for a run.
 
A friend has one and likes it. She has two teenage daughters who would forget their keys or come in late at night and forget to lock the door. My concern is that the lock did not work for me a few times when I put in the two number code. Perhaps I was entering the number too slowly or too fast or not firmly enough - not sure but it worked the next time.
 
I don't have one, but I dog-sit for the neighbors sometimes and they have them on all their doors (Schlage models similar to the one in SteveNU's link). It's very convenient to get in, and (just as important) it's very easy to secure the deadbolt when you leave (no need to find/fumble with a key, just hit a single button and flip the exterior latch, it gets disengaged in a few seconds and only re-engages when the combo is entered). As SteveNU points out, the kind where a motor >doesn't< actually move the bolt is likely to give a longer battery life and probably more reliable long-term operation.

I'm thinking of getting these for our home, looking forward to what folks report here.
 
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The downside to ones with a key slot is they can be picked / bumped to unlock like most key locks unless you go for a super secure type lock.

There are lots of videos on youtube showing how to do this, and how easy it really is.
 
Thaanks SteveNU. I'll look into that one.
I like the auto-locking feature that some have. I often forget to lock the door when I enter the house - and occasionally when I leave too :(
 
Sunset said:
The downside to ones with a key slot is they can be picked / bumped to unlock like most key locks unless you go for a super secure type lock.

There are lots of videos on youtube showing how to do this, and how easy it really is.
Click to expand...
That's true. But nobody seems to know if bumping is actually being used much to get into typical residences. It's noisy (so an occupant would likely to be alerted to the effort) and the crook still needs to have the right type of bump key for the particular lock. Most attacks on the door use a simple kick or a prying attack, and good sturdy strikeplates/anchors, reinforced lock areas, and use of strong deadbolt can go a long way to defeat those.
Like many others, I've done some "hobby lockpicking" for fun. But I'd bet few residential burglars mess around with any form of lockpicking, they just go through a window or force the door.
 
We had a number of home invasion robberies a few years back where the thief would try to find an unlocked backyard window or sliding screen door. A common entry was the side door into the garage (often left unlocked) then into the house (similarly left unlocked). I was guilty of frequently leaving those unlocked when I was inside the house because it was annoying to alway have to retrieve a key to go into the garage from the backyard.

Anyway, visited my brother who had an electronic combo door lock that would electronically bolt and unbolt the door. I thought it was a great idea until I learned he had to change the battery every 5 months or so. At my home I purchased 2 Schlage combo door locks that electronically lock and unlock, but that I mechanically turn the deadbolt. So far the battery has been going strong for a year and a half. I wish I had purchased these years ago!
 
I installed consumer grade Morning Industry digital doorlocks last year. Both were remote key fob units. Long-story-short, one lock stopped responding to the remote control within a few weeks, and the other became increasingly unreliable over time.

We were forced to bring in a real locksmith, who struggled to get two professional grade Schlage digital doorlocks to work, but so far so good. One of the two (BE468CAM619) is connected to a Z-Wave-compatible Wink Hub. The other (FE595CAM619) doesn't have (or need) remote capability.

My opinion: Don't use consumer grade hardware. Home Depot and Lowe's are convenient but don't offer the professional grade hardware that your doors deserve. Also, make it a professional's problem to get these to work. Unlike manual models, the mechanical aspects of the door (latch assembly, face plate, and strike plate) need to be practically perfect, or the automatic aspects are likely to break. Finally, use a high quality brand.

The automatic relocking feature is really quite convenient, in addition to the added safety factor it offers, especially when juggling several items in my hands as I leave for church. I also like that now that the remote lock was connected to the Hub, I don't have to fumble around with complicated keystroke operations to manage the lock any longer. I can add and remove key codes, change the automatic locking and alarm behaviors, from the Android app.

The remote entry feature isn't as useful as we'd hoped. As neat as it is to be able to carry one less device (using an Android app to unlock the door remotely instead of a key fob), I really wish these Schalge locks had a key fob, like the Morning Industry locks offered. The security involved in getting to the screen from which I can tell the door to unlock itself in onerous, and even then, the activity has greater latency than Morning Industry's direct fob-to-lock directive did.
 
Have been using several like the Amazon link above shows for over 5 years now. Bought them for convenience (not have to carry keys), not for improved security. The argument that they can be picked is the same for any conventional lock, so for the convenience reason, it's moot.

I replace batteries once per year whether they need them or not. No issues with them whatsoever.
 
That reminds me of another thing I like about the connected lock: It notifies me when it needs its batteries changed.
 
We have two Schlage ones on the back door and the garage and like them. I don't carry house keys anymore. And when workers need to get in the house I set up a temporary code that I delete after the job is done. That's better than risking having keys to my house all over creation.


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I have the Schlage electronic deadbolt shown in the link above on my front door and a Schlage electronic door lever on the door going into the house from the gagage. Both were great and easy DIY add-ons IMO.
 
I have a Schlage linked to a Wink hub. I can open the door for a repair person from anywhere in the world using my cell phone. I can also give them a four digit code.

Mine is on my basement door (which gives access to the house).

Installed it myself--replacing the old lock--with zero difficulty in about 45 minutes.

Having a code is also handy when I'm out in the yard and don't want to trudge through the house to unlock the basement door.
 
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