Keyless home entry - smart locks

[stampsx2]

Was wondering if anybody has any expierience with smart locks for your home's front door. Why did you decide to get it? Would you get it again or is it too much of a headache?

I was thinking the convenience of locking and unlocking your door from your cell phone would be worth it. Not too mention you'd never have to ask your s.o. if they remembered to lock the door. You could check from anywhere.

I've even heard of burglars getting caught and arrested because how owners have been notified on their cell phones their front door is opening when they weren't home.

Seems like a cool technology but maybe there are disadvantages.

If you got it, where did you get it? Was it through a security company? Self install?

Any recommendations?

[blueski]

Curious about this too!

[sureLoss]

I use this lock for my short term vacation rental properties:
http://www.schlage.com/en/home/produ...ctronics/zwave

It is pretty much a for managing who has access to my properties. I set codes for renters from their check-in dates to check-out dates and the lock takes care of automatically adding and removing their codes. I set up temporary codes for repair-men and delivery men. I also get e-mail notifications when someone enters a code. I can also lock the door from Calgary if a renter forgets to lock the door after

It is based on the home automation protocol called Z-wave. All you need is a Z-wave receiver and connect it to your router. Different receivers have different software and capabilities, but almost all require a subscription fee to use it over the internet. There are other z-wave products like light switches, motion detectors, smoke alarms, thermostats, garage door openers.

You can program the z-wave products to do things based on triggers. For example, you can program your lock so that when your wife enters her code to come home, the front hall light (controlled by a z-wave) switch comes on and sets the thermostat to her preferred temperature.

The system is not perfect though. Some Z-wave devices are incompatible with certain z-wave receivers and some software leaves a lot to be desired.

[HotHotHeat]

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/a-...tible-devices/

That's a good roundup of smart home gadgets. If I were to buy one now it would likely be August.

[Harju]

Not specifically a smart lock but electronic locks do not always react well to the cold. This happened to us in our condo when it became extremely cold a couple of winters ago. The contraction of the door caused the bolt to catch a little and it wouldn't open. We replaced it with an electronic lock with a key back up.
A fellow near us who works shifts in Fort McMurray has a smart set up where he can give service people access while he is away and monitor the activity on camera while he is away.

[GoinAllTheWay]

I really like the idea of this kind of thing but how secure are wifi enabled locks? Seems many manufacturers these days come up with great wifi enabled products but security seems to take a back seat.

[Calgary14]

I have a code lock, it's not wifi enabled but is opened with a 4 digit code. The nice thing is you dont need keys. It takes 4 AAA batteries and they need replacing once per year. Worth it if you always tend to lose keys (like me). Also handy if you have people coming into your place and they will be there temporarily (ie. cleaner) and need access but you dont want them to have their own key, you can easily change the lock code if needed

[afc wimbledon]

My preference is the electronic lock but with a hand operated bolt, particularly if you are retro fitting a door, the servo motors on the electronic bolts aren't particularly powerful and the slightest misfiting or warp on the door and they don't work.

[Azure]

Lokitron Bolt. Comes out in November. $99.

https://lockitron.com/

[Swayze11]

Originally Posted by Azure

Lokitron Bolt. Comes out in November. $99.

https://lockitron.com/

I have been following this one for over a year. Sounds like their first generation lock had a TONNNNN of issues. Hope this newer version is much better.

[Azure]

Seems to be the general consensus with most 2nd generation smart locks.

[photon]

Bumping an old thread, still seems like smart locks aren't all that smart, with most of the ones tested by these guys being quite easy to compromise.

https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/08/sm...-hacker-tricks

Locks from Quicklock, iBluLock, and Plantraco transmitted their passwords in plaintext, making them vulnerable to anyone with a Bluetooth sniffer. Others were tricked by the attacker simply replaying the same data they snatched out the air when a legit user unlocked the door. Another entered a failstate and opened by default when it received an encrypted string that was off by one byte.

On one hand I guess most thieves don't have a bluetooth sniffer, and many residential locks or padlocks are vulnerable to bumping or just taking a picture of your key on its way to your lock and printing their own key...

but on the other hand, since it's a problem with the software itself (and very basic problems at that) it's kind of stupid to have these issues.

[Street Pharmacist]

Just bought this:

http://august.com/products/august-sm...sZiRoC1u_w_wcB

[aaronck]

I just had this installed and I love it-
http://www.schlage.com/en/home/produ...9NXCAMFFF.html
Had an older model Wiser at my old house and missed it, this is a great upgrade. Never had an issue with batteries, just replace them when you see the low battery light come on and all will be well.

[GP_Matt]

Is a thief really going to go to all that trouble to crack your password or take a picture of your key when they could just break a window and let themselves in?

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

Is a thief really going to go to all that trouble to crack your password or take a picture of your key when they could just break a window and let themselves in?

Personally, I'd be more concerned a weirdo neighbor might consider doing something like this rather than a thief doing something like this. Higher risk in an apartment complex than houses too I imagine.

[Azure]

So to bump this thread, anyone know of a smart lock that does smartphone access, fingerprint access as well as scheduled openings?

https://www.u-tec.com/lock/ul3.html

This is the only one I've found that does finger print & smartphone access. Would love something that unlocks for a certain period during the day as well.

[Wormius]

Is the requirement to allow unfettered access for a particular period of time, or to limit users to a certain period of time?

[Azure]

I would basically like to have the door unlock for a specific 1 hour period twice a day with the capability of setting when that is on a schedule.

Someone with a smartphone key could obviously bypass it. I know Lockitron has a IFTTT setup where I believe I could set a schedule.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by Azure

I would basically like to have the door unlock for a specific 1 hour period twice a day with the capability of setting when that is on a schedule.

Someone with a smartphone key could obviously bypass it. I know Lockitron has a IFTTT setup where I believe I could set a schedule.

I wouldn't rely on IFTTT especially for a lock, there can be a delay which would mean you can never guarantee it unlocks and locks at the required time if at all. I wouldn't rely on any cloud service to unlock a door to be honest. What if your door unlocks and the Internet goes down? It just stays unlocked until the next days lock applet runs.

A Zwave lock that has the features you're looking for and local processing through either a Smartthings hub or Home Assistant running on a Raspberry Pi would be your best bet.