Compared to a conventional door lock, a smart door lock is arguably the most important part of a smart home security system. It doesn’t only track your coming in and going out of the home but it also tracks who is entering and leaving your home while you are away. Out of all the best smart lock you can find in the market, some are very smart that you can connect your phone with their system, you can see whoever is on your front door and if it’s your friends or relatives you can access them to enter into the house using your phone. Pretty cool, huh?
There are several types of smart locks, the better the features the more it costs. Like, if you want a lock which I just talked about which you can connect with your smartphone and you can have remote access to your doors, those kinds of locks will cost much as you can guess.
You can find a few smart locks out there in the range of $100 but it won’t be worth it. Some smart locks can allow you to control them by a single tap on your phone. Smart locks are battery operated, it’s usually last up to six months. You will get a warning when the battery is about to die, which is a good thing.
List of 7 Best smart door lock You can Rely
- Samsung SHS-P718-LMK Push Pull Biometric Touchscreen Digital Door Lock
- Ultralock UL3 BT Bluetooth Enabled Fingerprint and Touchscreen keyless smart Lock
- Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt with Camelot Trim Satin Nickel (BE479 CAM 619)
- Kwikset 99140-002 914 Z-Wave SmartCode Electronic UL Deadbolt
- August Smart Lock Pro + Connect, 3rd gen technology – Silver, works with Alexa
- Yale Assure Lock SL with Z-Wave Plus – Key Free Door Lock with Touchscreen Keypad
- SAMSUNG SHS-D500 Digital Door Rim Lock + 6 Key Tags
Why Smart Door Lock?
Whenever do you think about smart door lock the first thing that comes in your mind is that if it’s worth it? if it’s better than your current conventional door lock? or what’s wrong with your conventional door lock. Well, there’s nothing wrong with your conventional door lock but it happens so often, that kind of door lock can easily be broken by thieves. If you don’t want thieves to interfere with your life, with your house you must have a very secure front door for your house and a traditional door usually cannot make that happen.
For instance, if you are using a smart door lock which has a specific perimeter system in which if anyone goes into the alarms starts buzzing which is very useful for your house safety. On the other hand, your conventional door lock cannot do that. Like if you have a door lock whose steel is not that hardened then it’s easy for thieves to drill into that and break into your house and you don’t want that, Do you?
Even though you find a conventional door lock which is made of hardened steel it’s still possible that some thieves try to break into though it needs more time to do that. You can say it is kind of secure.
Compared to this a smart lock is always very powerful than a conventional door lock. You can access your door through your fingerprint, no one else’s fingerprint will match it unless you make them an administrator. You can choose who to enter into your house when you are away by making their fingerprints as an administrator in the smart lock.
You can also monitor who is entering your house and who is leaving and when. All this you can watch through your smartphone. It’s so easy. You can have voice activation on. Without your voice, no one can enter your house. You can very easily lock or unlock your door by just saying to lock or unlock. Thinking about it you would say it’s actually pretty cool.
We have Researched hundreds of Smart door lock available in the present market. We analyze and reviewed Seven best smart door lock for your home.
#1. Samsung SHS-P718-LMK Push Pull Biometric Touchscreen Digital Door Lock Review
The Samsung SHS-P718-LMK is a biometric fingerprint lock. It is one of the best smart locks in the market now. It has sleek award-winning design. It has by far the most security features in comparison to other biometric locks in the market.
- There are four ways to unlock the door lock, fingerprints, code or password, RF ID card, an emergency override key. It supports up to 100 users.
- It featured world-class optical fingerprint recognition.
- The push-pull technology makes it easy to open the door. There’s no need to turn the handle only push from the outside and pull it from the inside.
- The home security feature of it prevents intruders by disabling outside controls so the password and key Tags no longer works.
- The passage mode keeps the door unlocked when you need to.
- The automatic wake up on approach feature wakes up the lock automatically and anti-hacking electronic protocol protects from electronic braking methods.
- The fire sensor modifies whenever high temperatures are detected.
- When the battery is low it will give a notification.
- If motion is detected in front of your front door it sounds an alarm. Whenever you touch the panel if shows the smart lock mode whether it is locked or unlocked.
Here is Our Smart Door Lock Review Outcome
Pros
- The lock features a state-of-the-art fingerprint recognition.
- It has a sleek design and it’s high-tech.
- It’s sturdy and well made. The push-pull technology makes it easier to operate. It’s the best in security features and it’s really easy to install.
Cons
- Extra emergency keys are really expensive.
- If you want to replace a regular door knob with this lock then it’s a lot of work to install it.
#2. Ultralock UL3 BT Bluetooth Enabled Fingerprint and Touchscreen keyless smart Lock Review
The Ultralock UL3 smart lock is one of the best smart lock in the market now. It’s a revolutionary smart lock which has fingerprint recognition passcode, which is waterproof as well as dustproof. There are three ways to unlock this smart lock. This thing is designed to fit any usual doors and it can be installed in minutes which has 5 screws.
- It featured fingerprint recognition and pin code.
- It is a smartphone, Bluetooth enabled and you can knock to open, also it has keys.
- You can use an ultraloq app on your smartphone to see the status of your door whether it’s locked or unlocked and you can also see the logs and users that are associated with the lock..
- It has a reversible handle and OLED display which is a pretty cool display.
- It is waterproof and heavy.
- When the battery is low it will give a notification.
Here is Our Smart Door Lock Review Outcome
Pros
- Its fingerprint enabled so you can just put your finger there and it’s unlocked, very easy.
- If you got somebody watching you when you’re unlocking your door you don’t want them to know the password so you can kinda put the extra-long code and it will unlock as long as it is the format you set on before. It’s pretty cool.
- The price is good.
- You can give your friend the PINcode so that he/she may enter your house when you are away.
- The installation is fairly easy.
Cons
- It doesn’t come with a deadbolt, just the usual door lock. It’s a big lock so installing deadbolt with this is almost not possible.
- On passage mode, you can not lock the door fast enough. Like you’re having a party someone comes in and then you wanna lock the door before intruders come in, it’s not gonna be fast enough to lock then from inside.
- It signs you out every time your ultraloq app is closed.
#3. Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt Door Lock Review
The Schlage Sense Smart deadbolt is by far the most equipped smart locks. One of the best out in the market. The Schlage Sense Bluetooth let’s user use his/her phone to lock or unlock the door. You can program it manually or you can use app to add users you want. This thing comes with two distinct styles, the classic Camelot style and the modern century style.
Features
- The lock is very well-designed and it has hands-free voice control.
- It has a Bluetooth enabled touch screen lock which can be controlled by iOS devices.
- It has a large illuminated keypad.
- It has a built-in tamper alarm and it’s actually a slick single cylinder deadbolt lock.
- It has easy to use app.
- It works with iPhone, iPad and iPod.
- When the battery is low it will give a notification.
- You can lock or unlock your door using Siri voice command.
Here is Our Smart Door Lock Review Outcome
Pros
- It’s really easy to install.
- It has a nicely designed app and has a built-in tamper alarm.
- It supports voice controls.
- If your friend wants in when you are away you can give them passcode. You can then change the passcode later if you want.
- It has secure encryption.
Cons
- It is pricey.
- This thing requires an additional device for remote control.
- Its hardware is great but software is not that good, I would say it’s horrible.
- On app, the firmware upgrading thing is really annoying.
#4. Kwikset 99140-002 914 Z-Wave SmartCode Electronic UL Deadbolt Review
This uses Bluetooth wireless technology to pair with your Android phone or iOS. This thing is available in actually three finishes, Satin Nickel, Polin Brass and Venetian Bronze. Let’s check top features
- It is very responsive and it has a sleek design.
- It has a Bluetooth enabled touch screen lock which can be controlled by iOS devices.
- As all the other smart lock it allows the user to have a passcode by which they can lock or unlock their doors.
- You can remotely check your door lock status whether it’s locked or unlocked.
- It has easy to use the app.
- It works with android phone or iOS.
- When the battery is low it will give a notification.
- It requires a 4AA batteries which you have to buy separately.
- As a backup keyway, it features smart key security.
Here is Our Smart Door Lock Review Outcome
Pros
- It’s really easy to install.
- It is very responsive and it has sleek design.
- It can be integrated with third-party devices.
- It’s sturdy and well made which you can tell by it looks.
- The hub will work great once it pairs with smart things.
- Batteries are rechargeable and also quite long lasting
Cons
- It is expensive.
- Remote management for this thing cost extra.
- Fobs and additional eKeys also cost extra.
- It eats up a lot of battery power in little time.
- Via Zigbee or Amazon key it doesn’t really work. Also, it’s not compatible with Xfinity.
#5. August Smart Lock Pro Review
August Smart Lock is a stylish modern looking smart lock. You can say it is the most fully equipped smart lock. It works with Apple Homekit, lso it has support for geofencing and IFTTT which is pretty cool.
- It has very stylish design.
- As all the other smart lock it allows user to have a passcode by which they can lock or unlock their doors.
- You can remotely check your door lock status whether it’s locked or unlocked.
- It has support for Apple Homekit, Bluetooth, Wi-fi and Z-wave.
- It comes with a door sensor.
- When the battery is low it will give a notification.
- For voice control it uses Alexa.
- It tracks activity at your doorstep and it has 24/7 activity feed.
Here is Our Smart Door Lock Review Outcome
Pros
- It’s really easy to install.
- It supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Z-wave.
- It’s sturdy and well made..
- It can keep tracks of who comes and goes from your phone.
- The door locks automatically behind you and when you approach it unlocks.
Cons
- It is expensive.
#6. Yale Assure Lock SL with Z-Wave Plus – Key Free Door Lock Review
This is a touch-screen deadbolt lock which is keyless. It can be controlled remotely but for that, you will need a Z-wave controller.
- It is the slimmest touch-screen deadbolt on the market.
- It has touch-screen keypad by which you can lock and unlock doors.
- It receives notifications from your door no matter wherever you are.
- The battery it uses is 9V.
- You can say It is a quiet motorized deadbolt.
- The Terminal prevents lock-out due to dead batteries.
Here is Our Smart Door Lock Review Outcome
Pros
- It is beautifully designed.
- It’s really easy to install.
- It has voice-assisted programming.
- It locks the door behind you by simply tapping the keypad.
Cons
- It is pricey.
- It has no dedicated app.
- For remote operation, it requires Z-wave controller.
#7. SAMSUNG SHS-D500 Digital Door Rim Lock + 6 Key Tags Review
SAMSUNG SHS-D500 is the most awesome smart lock in the market. It has 100% positive customer reviews so far in amazon.com. It looks stylish and the size of it is pretty large.
- This is a Hook-type drop bolt powerful locking.
- It is applicable to the thickness of door is 35-50 mm..
- It has fire detection sensor..
- When you’re out if it’s locked from inside at that time the alarm will go off..
- When you close the door it locks automatically.
- It has 4AA batteries.
- Here upto 20 key tags or RFID card could register.
Here is Our Smart Door Lock Review Outcome
Pros
- It is beautifully designed.
- It’s really easy to install.
- It is safe from electric shock.
- If somehow electronic feature damaged then it can be opened by manual lever.
- It has alarm sound when thieves try to break in.
- The lock is pretty heavy.
Cons
- It is pricey.
Best Smart Lock Brand to Consider
For your home security, you should always choose the best one, the best smart lock if you can afford it. But you also can get some smart locks which are not very costly and gives really good service or just as much as you needed. Around $250 you will get a nice smart lock.
Some people prefer just home security whereas some fancy about that. You get to choose the kind of lock you want. To have a smart lock is always a better choice. Like voice activation, not every people want voice activation to unlock or lock their doors. For some people, it’s really annoying.
There is a lot of smart lock brand out in the market. I’m discussing here top five of them.
Yale Security
Yale security is one of the best for making smart locks. They already made beautifully designed smart locks, two of the most popular are Yale Assure Lock SL (YRD 256) and Nest X Yale Lock With Nest Connect. Both are very stylish in design, and solid strong lock. Users review about these two are by far is very positive.
The second one works with Nest secure and is very quiet, sharp-looking which combines with Yale reliability with Nest IoT home connectivity. The first one Yale Assure Lock SL has voice assisted programming and really beautifully designed. It is a striking keyless touchscreen deadbolt lock which can be controlled remotely.
Kwikset
Kwikset is one of the other best brand in the market which make the best smart locks. They already made Kwikset Kevo Touch-to-Open Smart Lock which is more responsive than it’s predecessor, but it is also a bit more expensive and lacks some of the features you get with the latest crop of connected door locks. But it has a responsive sleek design, can integrate with third-party devices and easy to install.
It’s remote management cost extra. It has no voice control. Also Fobs and additional eKeys cost extra. The Kwikset Kevo powered by Unikey looks like a normal lock and can be opened with a traditional key. It’s just an alternate feature. If you have a paired touchscreen phone with it on your pocket you can unlock it with that phone.
Samsung
Though we guess that Samsung is not the type of company which makes smart locks but they do and it’s quite good. Samsung already made Samsung digital SHS which has digital keypad, RFID card, Remote control and Mechanical key, the capacity of 20 fingerprints, Method optical verification time less than one second and 100 fingerprints max.
August Lock
August is the best brand in making smart locks. The Home kit enabled August Smart Lock keeps tracks of who is entering and leaving your house. It offers all the latest technologies including voice activation and geofencing. But it is pricey, requires an additional component to control lock remotely.
They also have made another popular smart lock named August Smart Lock Pro which is bit upgraded than previous one. It’s easy to install and supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Z-wave. It comes with a door sensor and a Wi-Fi bridge. It works with Alexa, Google and Siri voice commands and it supports IFTTT. It is the most fully equipped smart lock.
Schlage
Both the new August and Schlage are the best smart lock brands in the market now. Schlage made Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt which is compatible with Apple’s HomeKit. That means it can be opened via Siri voice command from an iPhone or Apple watch. The Schlage also includes a keypad. It has audible tamper alarm, easy to install and program but it is expensive and it needs third-party controller for remote Z-wave access.
Conventional Lock VS Smart Lock
Conventional Lock | Smart Lock |
Conventional locks usually open with the turn of a key. | Smart locks usually open with using smartphone apps or voice command. |
It works as long as you have got an extra key | Smart locks don’t work like that |
Breaking a traditional lock is more difficult than hacking a smart lock. | If you know how to use a smart lock app properly then hacking into this is not so easy. |
Prices for traditional locks range from $20 to $100 | Because smart lock has so many features and it makes your life really simple it is expensive. |
If your friend wants in while you’re out then for a conventional lock’s case he/she has to have a key of your house lock. | With smart lock you can access your lock while you’re away, you can simply unlock your door by using your smartphone while your friend is there to go in. |
To break a conventional lock a thief has to be there in front of your house for quite a while which is not really secure for thief either. | To break a smart lock, hackers can hack your smart lock from mile away. |
Conventional locks have come a long way. No trusting issue in that. | Adding smart to devices like watches, light bulbs, computer, TV is okay but to front door of house has some trusting issue especially if it’s a new brand smart lock. Some people want to avoid that. |
FAQs
What to do if a smart door doesn’t work?
Answer: At first try to check the app of the smart lock. See if you have accessed the permission. Also sometimes it needs an update, so update it quite often. Maybe the issue is about low batteries, check to see if you can turn the latch to manually lock the door. If it locks smoothly, you may have an issue with either your user codes or the lock communication with the panel. Finally, if you see everything mentioned above is okay then reboot it, that should solve the problem.
Are fingerprint door locks safe?
Answer: “There is always a risk that a net-enabled lock will get bricked or hacked,” says MIT professor Stuart Madnick, “most likely due to actions(or carelessness) of the owner.” So I would say if you’re a good user your lock will not get hacked but remember every tech things are hackable cause hackers just want some lose end and they hacks through that, so use it wisely.
Can a smart lock be hacked?
Answer: Like I said everything in this world is hackable because there could be some loose ends. Where there is any lose ends if hackers are on to this for a long time then that could get hacked. You just have to learn to do things properly. You learn to operate your locks properly.
There should be no loose ends. Hire a pro to install your smart lock and learn to handle it properly. If something doesn’t work as you expected call to support.
What are the most secure locks?
Answer: Most break-ins are committed by criminals who come right through the front door, according to Department of Justice statistics. Even you are diligent about locking up, you need a good deadbolt to prevent thieves. Almost all the locks use steel in their cylinder and it can be drilled open. And there are some best locks which use hardened steel or brass and some of them reinforce the cylinder with some steel plates for which it’s really hard to drilled open.
As you can guess it’s still can be drilled open but it will take time to do that. For that maybe the thief will give up who knows. This is where smart locks are so useful. Smart locks set it’s alarm on, once it breaks a little or even someone enters into it’s perimeter so the thieves have literally no chance to break-in.
What to do if the fingerprint doesn’t work?
Answer: Depending on the brand of smart lock you using this could be different. I’m here writing the solution in general. There are actually two ways to reset fingerprints to lock or unlock the door. First way is, you have to completely reset the door lock and then remove the battery cover. There should be two batteries, remove both. Now tap on any number on keypad and locate the reset button.
At this point you have to refer to image on the right and press and hold the 2 reset buttons while re-inserting those two batteries. Wait for hearing the internal mechanism roll reset complete and then you have to release the two reset buttons. Another way is to reset a specific set of fingerprints.
You have to delete all fingerprints and also have to delete pin code. At this point press “0” and you should place admin finger on fingerprint scanner and press “2” and then press “1” again. To delete user fingerprints you have to press “0” and place the admin finger on fingerprint scanner and then press “2” and then press “2” again.
Now to delete guest fingerprints you should press “0” and place your admin fingerprint on scanner and press “2” and press “3” again.This way all the fingerprints will be erased except admin fingerprint and then you can use admin fingerprint. Preferably try to read manual/user guide whenever you’re stuck on something or contact to support if you can’t handle the situation.
What to do if I forgot the password of the best smart door lock?
Answer: The answer of this question depends on the user using the brand of the smart lock. Depending on the brands the process can be different. Like for an august smart lock if you forgot your password simply go to the august smart lock app, go to sign in and press “forgot password”, then enter your phone number with country code. After submitting your phone number a few seconds later you will receive a 6-digit code from august in your message box.
Enter the code in the text field to continue. At this point, you will have to enter your correct email address so that they can send you a confirmation email with a security code. Get the security code from your email and put it on the august text field and then Voila! You can now change your password. All the other smart lock apps have pretty much same process of “forgot password” system.
Verdict
I would say smart locks are not actually right for everyone. There’s lot of different people with lot of choices. Some people prefer old styles, some like smart ways, want their life journey keeping up to date. So it depends on someone’s choice whether he/she wants it or not.
I suggest you first check out the specifications of the smart locks, think about the advantages you would get using that as well as the disadvantages. If you think smart locks will make your life better and make your home safe you should give it a try.
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Thank You for sharing this information. It helped me to learn how the digital lock is safe for my home and after reading your blog I purchased a digital door lock.
After a year with an average combination lock, it can take up to a whole minute to open. After a year with an average McLok, it takes up to 0.4 seconds to open.