So I was installing some door locks for a client.
And I was so excited to set up the auto-lock and unlock, literally the feature I was most excited to play with and provide for her.
But sure enough, the one we bought was z-wave, which doesn’t allow you to set up the lock so it can be locked and unlocked by your location. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed, luckily the client didn’t care because she didn’t really understand what I was trying to do anyway, but here’s a guide to smart locks so you can hopefully avoid the disappointment and frustration I experienced. I’ll also share some of the top players in the market right now.
Brand
Schlage
They win the award for most odd name, obviously, you can still win even if your branding makes no sense and the name is difficult to spell.
Despite that, Schlage is a great brand and their locks look really good and are high quality. Set up is relatively easy, and they have all the various types that I’ll get to later on, Bluetooth, zwave, and wifi. Personally, I’d use a Schlage if my apartments hadn’t chosen Yale for me.
Yale
Yale also has a sleek look to most of their locks, however, the usability of the yale isn’t spectacular and they make a lot of noises, which isn’t ideal if you have roommates and tend to get home at 2-3am every morning. It’s cool that it goes black when not in use, but waking it up is sometimes frustrating because it doesn’t work perfectly with every use and the touch screen system sometimes reads your input incorrectly so you have to start the process over again, there’s no retry code button for when you know you made a mistake.
Yale also has all the lock types, but what’s cool about theirs is you can buy the wifi input chip if you want to switch or got the wrong one. They are pricey, but at least you have the option to switch if you want to.
Kwickset
We all know this brand, you probably have one of these locks in your home right now or have used one at some point in your life.
Kwickset locks are reliable, good locks, the only problem is that most of them don’t look as clean as the previous two brands. They do have a cool Bluetooth-enabled lock that is just like any normal deadbolt, but you can also use your phone to unlock it. Pretty neat stuff.
To beat a dead horse, obviously, they are also going to have the whole gamut of lock types.
Wireless Tech
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is cool because you can just walk up to the door and touch the lock and it will open. For immediate usability and ease of use, this kind of system wins out. Your phone becomes your key, so that’s one less thing to lose, but also one very important thing if you do lose it.
One limitation, however, is that you can’t remotely lock and unlock your door from your phone. Which is a feature I really appreciate.
Z-wave
This one probably sucks the most, in my opinion. It’s nice for connecting with other smart home devices like a ring security system, but that’s about all it does. It won’t let you remotely lock and unlock (unless connected to another system like Ring), and you can’t do any other cool stuff with it.
Wifi
Wifi is where it’s at. Now, you can’t have it recognize you as you can with Bluetooth, but I think you can do something better which connects it with Alexa and set up a routine that allows you to have the doors lock and unlock based on how far you are from home. Once you cross the boundary the doors will lock or unlock so you’ll never have to think about it again! So cool!
Plus you can remotely lock and unlock your home with no problem as well as give other people codes for when you’re away but need someone to grab something from your house.
End
Each lock is priced differently depending on the tech and look, so that plays a role in how much it will cost. Here are a few to pick from.
Schlage wifi: https://amzn.to/3FvF1xN
Yale wifi: https://amzn.to/3sxCVcY
Kwikset Code only: https://amzn.to/32t0w3J
Kwikset Wifi: https://amzn.to/3HiG5Wd
Kwisket bluetooth: https://amzn.to/3pvaDhg
If you don’t want to go through the pain of setting it up, reach out to us and we’ll help you get it sorted!