Just moved into a new house and I have 5 exterior door dead bolts. I would like to make them all smart but the number of doors makes the cost a big issue. Also I want to replace the deadbolts as some are terrible and some have different keys.
For the front door originally I was thinking the Schlage Encode Plus as I would like to use home key on that door.
For most of the doors simply being able to remote lock and check state is enough.
Local control is a must but zigbee/zwave/HomeKit/matter would all be fine
Any more affordable options? Any that get bulk discounts if I where to buy 5 at once?
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I don’t know about models you should look for, but if Lock Picking Lawyer has taught me anything it’s that smart device manufacturers tend to be quite bad at making locks. No matter how strong encryption it has or how many other buzzwords they have on the website if the whole thing is bypassed with a magnet in 5 seconds.
A lock does no more than keep honest men honest.
The truth is your security shouldn’t start and end with a lock. Locks deter non destructive low skill toolless entry.
I have assa-abloy classics on my doors and while they can be picked it’s not something your average home robber will pick, it’s far easier to smash the window right next to the door and open the door from inside. Difference is that broken window is a clear evidence, opening a lock without any traces or suspicious sounds can be an issue with insurance and/or police.
You are of course correct, the lock alone won’t do much if someone really wants to come in but I would make sure that I’m not helping malicious people by using poor quality locks.
Learning to pick a lock with security pins is much harder than learning where to put a magnet or which other careless design flaw to exploit in these things
The biggest risk for a smart lock is that the company shuts down and you’ve wasted your money if they don’t work properly without cloud connection. I’d probably avoid ones that can be opened with a magnet, but any that can be easily picked isn’t really a problem that you’re likely to run into
If they want in they will just break a window or damage the door frame so bad the lock breaks with a big crow bar… I have been broken into before no one even tries to bump or pick, they will just look for a window that isn’t visible from the street, get in, take stuff then leave through any door they want.
The VAST majority of locks sold at home depot or put in cheap buy builders are not that secure, many can be bumped or worse do not have many key combinations.
If I wanted high security I would be re-enforcing my ground level window first.
If I wanted high security I would be re-enforcing my ground level window first.
That’s absolutely the correct answer, but personally I still wouldn’t leave an option to enter and leave the house without leaving a trace of breaking in. And some of those “security” locks are faster to bypass with a magnet or a paper clip than it’s to actually open them the way they are intended.
I had a Yale Asure SL with no key for several years and NEVER needed to bypass it, it also had an option to emergency power it from the outside with a 9v battery.
Even then nearly all smart locks have keys, AGAIN the reason I want to do this is to ensure doors are all locked at night and when everyone leaves the house. Some kids and family members are unreliable in locking doors behind them.
The Hook Up are working on a smart lock comparison video, I would guess it be out in the next week. Cost will be a factor in his recommendations.
Ya I am keeping an eye on it… in my case I may be looking for something different than a GREAT front door lock for the majority of the doors, just something more basic that I can be sure is locked… Maybe even the cheap keypad ones as many support auto lock, and for some of the doors that is really all I want…
So instead of arguing with you about whether or not you need them or how many to have, I’m going to give you what you asked. While I haven’t used a ton of smart locks the ones that I have preferred and work the best for me are Schlage Sense. I’ve had them for over 4 years and they have always worked fine. I’ve only changed batteries maybe 2-3 times. Honestly I just never have to think about them… they work.
Thanks, that is useful.
I have a couple of these. I don’t know if they’re cheap enough for you; they were the least expensive option that meet my z-wave requirement, and they seemed pretty reasonable.
They work well with Home Assistant.
I second this lock (and third by my brother’s experience).
I had several zwave locks before giving up and getting these. These have been bulletproof compared to the other battery hungry ones. I was recommended these by my brother who also tried a few and never had luck. The fingerprint sensor is ok, but i didnt care about it just zwave.
I do wish they were a bit more attractive though.
Ugly as sin, for sure.
I don’t have the fingerprint version - you say it works ok?
Yeah it works ok, my daughter uses it all the time. It sets up via Bluetooth for the fingerprint reader and is all local.
I always use my code because I forget about it and ive been using the codes for so long.
Neat! Good to know. Like many people, we enter mostly through the garage; I use our’s for the pet sitter, so the code is entirely sufficient. If I used it more, coughing up the extra $50 for the fingerprint reader would totally have been worth it.
I have three locks and managed to find three newish Kwikset 910 locks for anywhere between $20-40 each. You just have to watch ebay listings and wait for a good deal to pop up.
I don’t know that I’d do multiple smart bolts. It’s nice to have one for letting people in without needing them to have a key but you only need 1 door with it for that. I have a Schlage smart lock on one door and a downside is the battery. It uses a bunch of AAs and dies often compared to most devices. Needing to manage batteries on half a dozen bolts sounds obnoxious.
When I got my house I found that next to none of my actual locks needed to be totally replaced, I could just repin most of them to get aligned on a new key. I did end up replacing a crappy one and replaced cylinder on another.
Simple door sensors that let you know when a door opens/closes solves a similar problem set. I feel like most people end up centralizing on one or two doors and then the others rarely get opened, making the smart bolts a bit wasteful. It won’t tell you if it’s unlocked but it’ll let you know which doors to double check before bed.
I pretty much unified on Schlage for smart and dumb locks so my main key is the Schlage key that came with my smart bolt. The app feature set is fine, it allows good management of pass codes. Big downside is the battery like I said, and the app never seems to warn me about it.
Been here only a few days and we are a large family, been finding doors unlocked each evening and need to check them all each night. This is mostly because we have doors to the attached garage and to the back yard where there is a lot of in and out not just the front door.
No one is leavening doors open just unlocked.
I would say do two of them, so that way if one of their batteries fail you’ve got another one that you might be able to use to get in if you don’t have your keys and you were relying on being able to utilize the Smart Lock feature to get into the house.
I have two on my house and I installed them 6 weeks apart so if one battery goes dead I know I’ve got a few weeks until the other ones battery goes dead.
Have you thought about Eurocylinders? Basically you can buy any door furniture you want, and fit your lock after. You can now get smart Eurocylinders to fit
