Another selling point is the fact that you can double-check to make sure your door is locked at any time. Ever been in line at the grocery store and wondered if your teenager remembered to lock the door after leaving on a bike ride? Your phone can tell you…and fix it if the door is open. In addition, you can use the best smart locks to let people in and out of your house when you’re not home. If you’re at work, but need the services of a plumber or housekeeping service, or you’re running late and your child just got off the bus, you can unlock your door for them from wherever you are and lock it up again when you’re ready. And even better, they may even get you a reduced home insurance rate.
The best smart locks will function as intended, which is to make life easier. Keyless door locks work using WiFi: When you set up your lock, you’ll connect it to your home network by following the included directions, either directly connecting or through a hub. You should only need to connect it one time and the authentication stays in memory. Then your lock can “communicate” with you via your smartphone or a special keyfob designed for the lock. Many can also be integrated with your smart hub to communicate with Amazon Alexa devices or Google Assistant. It is important to note, however, that smart lock deadbolts run on batteries, and most will last for about six months before needing replacement.
Many smart locks also come with a keypad with numbers rather than a keyhole. Others allow you the ability to do both—just in case your batteries die or you have issues communicating with the smart lock, you can always go back to your tried-and-true physical key until you solve the problem. Still, others offer a fingerprint sensor in addition to a keypad. In any case, it’s always best to have more than one option just in case anything malfunctions—you don’t want to get stuck outside because your smart lock wasn’t smart enough!
Most keyless door locks will allow you to provide access to guests on a temporary or ongoing basis. Depending on the model, you may text a link to your guests that allows them to open and lock your door with their smartphones the same way you do, you may assign them a temporary code, or you may provide a password.
One of the coolest features of a smart lock deadbolt is that you can usually customize exactly how you want this guest access to work: You may allow each guest access to your keyless door locks indefinitely, or you may set up specific parameters (the code may expire in four hours, four weeks, or whatever time period you specify; it may be cyclic so that someone with a standing appointment—like a housekeeper—can access it every Monday morning but no other times; or it may be for one-time use). You may revoke access early if someone cancels, or remove someone’s code even if you had set it up originally for permanent access. And you can normally issue several guest codes at once.
The modern world is truly a marvelous place, full of innovations and conveniences. If you play to combine two of these things—namely smart locks and ecommerce—you may find yourself reveling in the ability to let Amazon deliver a package right inside your front door, with an entry alert/timestamp. That’s just one of the many pros for a smart lock.
The nice part of this keyless-entry smart lock is that you can’t tell it’s a smart lock; it just looks like a normal deadbolt. But this simple-to-install device is powerful, with options for remote locking and unlocking, touch to lock/unlock, auto-lock/unlock, two included keys, and the ability to send links so guests can open the door. The smartphone app is easy to use and gives you full access to the features. There are five color options, so you’ll easily find a style that fits your home.
