Other models retain the traditional key cylinder for backup. Yale’s Real Living locks feature external posts to which you can connect a 9-volt battery, giving you enough juice to get the door open. Power backup What do you do if the batteries inside the lock die-and you’re stuck outside? Some locks allow for emergency power to be applied should this happen. If you’re using a smart home hub like the Samsung SmartThings or Wink Hub, look for a lock that supports Z-Wave or ZigBee, instead.Īlternate entry means Forgot your phone at the office? How will you get in the house? Physical key? Numeric keypad? Wait for your spouse to arrive? Myriad different approaches are available. Some Bluetooth locks, like the Yale Assure system and the August Smart Lock, offer a radio module as an add-on to connect to your home network. Many smart locks support Bluetooth, so they work with your phone, but lack the technology needed to connect with your home network. Smart home hub integration If you have an existing hub like the Wink Hub 2, Samsung SmartThings, or an Apple TV, you’ll want to ensure your chosen smart lock is compatible from the start. You can continue to use a standard key from the outside or open the lock via a smartphone app. Instead, they are installed on the inside of the door only, replacing only the interior part of the deadbolt. A sizeable number of smart lock products don’t require you to replace all your existing hardware. Replace or retrofit? You’re forgiven if you don’t want to replace your antique doorknob on your vintage Victorian with a metallic device that looks like it would be more at home keeping people out of a strip mall bank branch. That’s fine if you’re looking to get rid of the keys in your pocket, but less impressive if you want to make your entrance portals a true part of your home network. These work with a smartphone app, but can’t be monitored remotely or via a smart home system. One step up from that, you’ll find Bluetooth-only locks. How smart is it? An important caveat to consider first: Some “smart locks” don’t work with a smartphone app or any smart home networking hubs at all they’re really just electronic locks that use a code instead of a key to open up. That said, here are some key considerations to take into account to help you narrow down your shopping list. The bottom line is that it’s tough to declare that any product is universally perfect for every home. Even top products can balk when dealing with old or stiff deadbolts, doors that don’t shut well, or environments where non-standard fixtures are in use. How do you pick a smart lock? (No pun intended.) This is a young and wildly immature space, and many products on the market are still extremely rough around the edges. Consider these factors when shopping for a smart lock In a more advanced setting, different keys can be generated for the same lock, so a homeowner can tell when each member of the family came in, or when the housekeeper arrived. Digital locks can be changed at a moment’s notice (which is why that old hotel key card in your wallet isn’t good for anything), and the property owner can generate a record of when each door was opened. Level Bolt (now marketed as Level Bolt+ Connect, which includes the Level Connect bridge) reviewīut the biggest benefit of electronic entry systems is that they are highly configurable. From here on, Level will only sell the Level Bolt with the Level Connect, in a $219 SKU known as the Level Bolt Connect. Update, October 20, 2023: With the addition of Level’s new Level Connect Bluetooth-to-Wi-Fi bridge ($79), Level Bolt users gain remote access over the internet and compatibility with all three of the major smart home ecosystems: Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home. As with other locks in the Level family, however, in order to remotely control the lock, Android smartphone users will need to have an Amazon Sidewalk bridge and iPhone users will need to have a HomeKit hub if they want to control the lock remotely. You re-attach your existing interior and exterior components, so that your door’s overall aesthetic doesn’t change in the least. The smart components of the Bolt hide inside your door, where they replace the interior mechanical elements of your existing deadbolt. Level Home’s Level Bolt is our favorite retrofit smart lock, thanks in large measure to its ability to disappear.
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