Anybody Have a Smart Door Lock--Also Known as a Keyless Entry Door Lock?

[Qs Laptop]

Does anybody have a smart door lock? These typically have a keypad that you enter the digital code into and that unlocks the door.

Some of them have a built in doorbell or a built in camera, or both.

Some of them have a fingerprint reader. The fancier, more expensive ones have a palm vein reader. You place the palm of your hand on a scanner and it senses the unique "map" of blood vessel in your hand to unlock the door.

Some of them have a digital screen on the side of the device that is inside the house so it can act as a digital camera peephole.

Still others have wifi built in and will sense the proximity of your phone and unlock the door as you are walking up to it.

So, if you have one of these devices, I'd love to hear about it. What are the pros and cons? What feature do you like? etc.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Yes & love it. No bells and whistles, just a programmable lock. Set up guest (& Realtor) opening codes etc. We use the Kwikset lock. all good.

 

[imjustawarrior]

I don't have one, but I have really enjoyed the basic ones on rentals. It has been on my todo list for years.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I don't have one, but I have really enjoyed the basic ones on rentals. It has been on my todo list for years.

Yes, I had a basic one on my recent Airbnb and I loved it.

I think it's a case of just wanting to have this cool, shiny new thing because I rarely enter the house via the front door. I'm almost always entering via the door connected to the garage. But, still, I want one!

 

[Qs Laptop]

Yes & love it. No bells and whistles, just a programmable lock. Set up guest (& Realtor) opening codes etc. We use the Kwikset lock. all good.

So, you can program in more than one code to open the door? That is, you can have your (mostly) permanent personal entry code and then program in another for temporary use by someone else?

Can you do this programming remotely?

 

[joesxm3]

I bought one in case I had to let someone in to help my parents in an emergency.

I carry a physical key as a backup. One day the battery leaked and the electronic lock did not work.

I like being able to lock the door with a button push, but I use the physical key to open the lock.

 

[braumeister]

We have a couple of them. Of course, they also work with a regular key.

It was handy when we were gone for a month and one of the neighbors had volunteered to take care of our cat every day. We could just give them a code and then erase it when we came home. No worries about a lost key that way.

IIRC, one is Schlage and the other is Kwikset. Bought both at Home Depot.

 

[imjustawarrior]

Yes, I had a basic one on my recent Airbnb and I loved it.

I think it's a case of just wanting to have this cool, shiny new thing because I rarely enter the house via the front door. I'm almost always entering via the door connected to the garage. But, still, I want one!

We use our front door a lot. We use it when taking the dog for a walk, and our kids exclusively use it because they park on the street.

We don't lock the door when we walk the dog. This sort of bothers me especially when we leave the neighborhood. I just don't want to carry a key. One day I was out with the dog and saw someone walk across the yard and into the house. I didn't recognize the person, so I rushed back to the house. We have a 100 lb dog. I was ready for all h*ll to break out when we got to the house. I figured the two of us could handle whoever it was. It turned out it was my DW. I forgot that she was coming home.

 

[RetMD21]

I have a basic Schlage digital lock. No WiFi/internet/iris readers etc.I like it since I can leave my keys at home since my phone works for the car.

 

[Oldtymer]

Does anybody have a smart door lock? These typically have a keypad that you enter the digital code into and that unlocks the door.

Some of them have a built in doorbell or a built in camera, or both.

Some of them have a fingerprint reader. The fancier, more expensive ones have a palm vein reader. You place the palm of your hand on a scanner and it senses the unique "map" of blood vessel in your hand to unlock the door.

Some of them have a digital screen on the side of the device that is inside the house so it can act as a digital camera peephole.

Still others have wifi built in and will sense the proximity of your phone and unlock the door as you are walking up to it.

So, if you have one of these devices, I'd love to hear about it. What are the pros and cons? What feature do you like? etc.

Yes have Schlage Connect. Has pad for entering code but also has a keyhole. On occasion electronic lock stops working, have to disconnect battery and reconnect and it works fine. Seems to be a problem with electronic locks. If there is no provision for a key when this happens you will need a lock smith to break it to get in. Also in older houses with 2x4 framing lock may not fit in space between entry door and screen door. I still carry a key but it is convenient to just enter a code and get in or put a temporary code in for someone else's access.

 

[Cobra9777]

We have two... front door (rarely used) and side door (by the driveway). The brand/model is Lockly Secure Pro. We can unlock via fingerprint, 8-digit code, smartphone app (BT or internet), or regular key. We can assign temporary codes. I get notifications anytime someone locks or unlocks the door. If they use their fingerprint, I know who it was. The batteries usually last about a year. We have it set to auto-lock after 5 minutes. Overall, very convenient and never a problem in 5 years.

Only downside... this model has a switch on the inside that disables the outside lock. So even if someone knows the code, etc, they can't get in. Sounds like a nice feature except our young granddaughters like to play with switches.

 

[rk911]

We don't have one and we won't be getting one unless there is a Plan B allowin entry when, not if, the electronic lock fails.

 

[Surewhitey]

We've had 2 basics for years and love 2 fewer keys on the chain. Probably need to change the codes as everyone we know probably has the code.

 

[Just_Steve]

I have two of these:

And one of these.

I can add, pause, schedule or delete users from App.
I last used schedule for a contractor I wanted to have access at scheduled times and day of the week. I can view logs and check door status. The first two are on exterior doors and the second one is on door from garage into house.Between the locks and car App I don't carry keys or fobs anymore.

Ultraloq

ULTRALOQ gives you complete control of your doors in your home, business or rental properties from anywhere with unsurpassed flexibility and security

u-tec.com

 

[zangbao]

We have a basic one in our condo. It’s not connected to WiFi. It has a touchscreen pad. I like that I don’t have to worry about getting locked out. The only thing I wish that it has is for a number scrambler so the numbers aren’t locked in place for better security.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I have had one in the past 4 homes I have owned. I love them.

 

[Markola]

Yes, two. It’s the only way to live. The emergency key is in a key safe outside.

 

[Scrapr]

we have one at each home. Main home & beach home. If we are at the main home my wife unlocks the beach house for the contractor & locks on their exit (if they don't lock up) I haven't been able to get the WiFi connected at the main home but the code works so whatever. we have a garage door code & a manual lockbox for the back door. Somehow we'll get in

 

[NgineER]

We have one with WiFi connectivity for our north woods cabin. It allows us to change codes remotely and set them for a certain duration.

Convenient and easy to use. You can also see when guests and cleaners arrive and depart on the app.

Not great in the winter with sub zero temperatures as the batteries don’t last as long. When you lose battery power you also lose connectivity.

It also has a key hole for a regular key. The use of the key is also recorded in the lock/unlock history.

A word of caution, your deadbolt and its receiver need to be well matched, otherwise you will drain the battery very quickly.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I have a basic Schlage model. It was on the house when I bought it (a year ago). I wouldn't have thought to put one on, but now I find it very convenient. I also carry a key just in case the battery dies.

 

[YB88]

I went "all Google" in my recently purchased house, i.e., Google smart home stuff. So when I went to add a smart lock (first time with one of those for me), I looked for one that was rated well overall and that was known to work well with Google Home. As a result I bought a
Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch Touchscreen with Wi-Fi Connect.

One thing I wished I had known ahead of time was the exact specs on fitting it to an existing door, i.e., for replacing an existing deadbolt. I was able to make mine work, but there was a bit of pucker factor when I initially read in the instructions (from inside the shrink-wrapped box) that the spacing criteria for the holes in my existing door didn't quite meet their requirements. I did manage to get it to work, but it's something one wants data on BEFORE buying the #$%^ thing.

Overall it's a great lock, the fingerprint thing was challenging to get set up, but now it mostly works great, except sometimes if it's been raining and my finger or thumb are wet. We haven't tried it with my wife, however, as she can just never get fingerprint readers to work for her. I joke that if she wants to commit a crime that she might be less easy to identify through fingerprints.

Anyway. The one beef I have with this thing is a big one, for me at least. I bought it so I would have digital access to it via Google home. The wi-fi connect piece included with it just flat doesn't work. I went round and round with Yale support until --- as I expect that they planned and desired --- I just gave up. They never offered a refund (I asked). They never admitted that it wouldn't work. They just gave me ever more stupid things to try, wasting my time and frustrating me greatly. I do give them credit for continuing to "work with me", but not in a way that ever did me any good. At one point they told me that the wi-fi unit had to be within a few feet of the lock and that my router had to be within a few feet of the wi-fi connect unit. I can only imagine that these folks live in very tiny homes, but I finagled a way to test that way too. Their wi-fi connect unit is utter crap.

So I'm not so keen on smart locks anymore, at least in the context of integration with a smart home. Perhaps with the matter/thread standard has been out there longer this stuff will work better. For now I just reckon that I have a really dumb "smart lock".

It's still better than the simple deadbolt that it replaced.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

We don't have one and we won't be getting one unless there is a Plan B allowin entry when, not if, the electronic lock fails.

These locks can also be opened with a traditional key if you'd prefer.

 

[Scrapr]

Anyway. The one beef I have with this thing is a big one, for me at least. I bought it so I would have digital access to it via Google home. The wi-fi connect piece included with it just flat doesn't work. I went round and round with Yale support until --- as I expect that they planned and desired --- I just gave up. They never offered a refund (I asked). They never admitted that it wouldn't work. They just gave me ever more stupid things to try, wasting my time and frustrating me greatly. I do give them credit for continuing to "work with me", but not in a way that ever did me any good. At one point they told me that the wi-fi unit had to be within a few feet of the lock and that my router had to be within a few feet of the wi-fi connect unit. I can only imagine that these folks live in very tiny homes, but I finagled a way to test that way too. Their wi-fi connect unit is utter crap.

I also can't get my door lock to connect to the WiFi. IIRC it came with an "extender" that I just can't get to connect. I've tried a few times & have given up.

 

[swakyaby]

My brother installed several at his home. It unlocks by fingerprint, or a 4-digit keypad code, or, if the batteries die, a physical key. It allows 5 different fingerprints, so mine is programmed in. It works very well.

I have a more basic Schlage at my home. It has only an electronic keypad, but must physically turn the deadbolt instead of a motor. My battery lasts about 3 years, whereas my brother’s fully electric one lasts about 8 months. I think these kinds of locks encourage homeowners to lock their homes more consistently, because you don’t have to carry keys everywhere.

 

[RetiredHappy]

We have a couple of them, no physical keys. Love them. Also integrated with the ring app to enable us to lock and unlock remotely.