Having a fingerprint or touchpad lock is a whole lot faster than trying to jam a key into a hole in the dark.
And for those worried about how secure an electronic lock like this is–no door lock in the world protects your glass windows. If someone wants in your house, they will get in your house.
This kind of lock will be as good as any kind of lock on your house, except it has the added benefit of being able to check it and lock it remotely when you forget in the morning.
@Konraden exactly. I don’t even lock my glass doors in the back. Would rather a thief just walk in than throw a cinder block through my door as that would likely cost more to repair than replacing my TV or whatever they decide to steal.
@ddbelyea You should still lock your doors. If someone is trying to get into a house, they’re going to look for the unlocked door. If they’re trying to get into your house, they’re breaking the window.
All of the above, plus more. Not any more worried about “hacking” than for anything else like my bank accounts. As someone mentioned, anyone dead-set on getting in your house can get in.
I almost never carry keys at all except when using my old-school truck or someone else’s car. The Tesla uses a phone app and the house uses a keypad. There is an emergency physical key but it’s not intended for normal use. It’s tucked away (obviously not in the house; that would defeat the purpose).
I have some friends that can check on my house when I’m not there, or bring in mail from the mailbox and put it on a table.
When someone was working on a construction project temporarily, I could give them a different code. Then revoke it when done. You can get notifications any time a code is used.
A bunch more stuff. I don’t know about this brand being sold here. I use Schlage brand but those were $150-200 unless I found good clearance deals. Very solid though. Also have to check for what app you need and if you are comfortable with it. Some do have a fee.
@Star2236 the combination codes are stored in the device and will work whether or not there is power or internet. For over a year on a set of batteries (4 AA in my case). For any WiFi interaction of course it would need your house WiFi to work.
@narfcake The August Smartlock Pros I use report when the lock is unlocked manually, whether with a key or pick from the outside or manually turning the lock on the inside.
They replace only the inside knob of a deadbolt and thus do not change a door’s resistance to physical compromise.
All the able body folks out there don’t realize how much smart tech helps many handicapped people maintain their independence. Locks with keys are almost impossible for a disabled person with only the use of a single hand to open. These types of locks help the user to use the door without assistance. Same for lights, soap dispensers, faucets, tv, etc… Real self driving vehicles would really open up the world to the disabled. Improving smart technology and making it affordable is the best future.
@jkawaguchi
with my dad being blind and basically deaf for so many years, I learned so much (I was constantly researching myself). I am so appreciative of all the things they have for people with disabilities.
@Star2236
Sadly most disabled people are ignored. You wouldn’t believe how many times my wheelchair has been walked into! Finding things that are useful and not necessary sold as a specifically “disability product “ is like finding a 4 leaf clover .
Hope you’re dad is doing well and aware of your support.
@jkawaguchi eons ago, there was a device sold to disabled people who had huge work comp settlements called I think Merlin. It was voice trained to operate on only their voice (think very old school voice rec) and would turn on lights, the TV, etc, using special wired sockets that once installed were effectively unmovable, But made life much easier for incomplete quads, for example. (Use I saw it). However, no one back then tried to hack them. They would have likely worked on a modern digital door, using a proprietary controller.
So the idea is not new what is newish is putting it all into the same portable computer you carry in your pocket.
On the first floor of my building, the unit across from the elevator has a smart lock. One of it’s smart features is that it warns you if it thinks you’re leaving without locking the door. It does this via motion sensors. The result of this design decision is that frequently when someone walks down the hall or uses the elevator, that door shouts “DOOR IS NOT LOCKED!” at them. Very smart.
@arielleslie there are several Ring, and I presume other, doorbells in my neighborhood that challenge people walking on the public sidewalk, 15-20 feet from the door.
@arielleslie@baqui63 Thirty years back, at the height of the popularity of the Aggressive Verbal Assholism Car Security System craze, lots of cars in the U of Houston lots had such alarms. Every fall semester, a new crop of kids with Shiny New Cars shows up, and back then, loads of them would have such alarms, set to max-sensitivity/max-verbal-threats. And after the third or fourth time that they got Clues handed to them, they’d back both settings way down. Usually. Once in a while, two of them would park next to each other, and after a short delay, the two vehicles would start shouting at each other until the campos came by, ran the plates, and performed Summon Stupid Freshman to get it reset. Once in a longer while, later in the semester, a particularly clueless type would find his car (always “his”) adorned with things like half a milkshake.
I always drove a beater. Nobody even looked inside.
I won’t speak for anyone else, but for me personally, the best part of smart locks would be not having any. (I count the startbutton-infested Sentra’s locking system as being one such, and it has done a stunning job of validating my loathing of such. Over $1300 to fix an intermittent no-start issue in which the starter and battery were both perfectly good - but the Body Control Module had gone intermittent on just that one circuit. FTS.)
Is how easy it is to bypass most of them.
When the inevitable robot uprising happens I want my home to be as dumb as possible. It might slow them down.
They are strong enough to turn my settled home door locks.
There’s an app to start your car that works 10% of the time. Being in tech There’s nothing good to come out of having a smart home lol
Having a fingerprint or touchpad lock is a whole lot faster than trying to jam a key into a hole in the dark.
And for those worried about how secure an electronic lock like this is–no door lock in the world protects your glass windows. If someone wants in your house, they will get in your house.
This kind of lock will be as good as any kind of lock on your house, except it has the added benefit of being able to check it and lock it remotely when you forget in the morning.
@Konraden exactly. I don’t even lock my glass doors in the back. Would rather a thief just walk in than throw a cinder block through my door as that would likely cost more to repair than replacing my TV or whatever they decide to steal.
@ddbelyea You should still lock your doors. If someone is trying to get into a house, they’re going to look for the unlocked door. If they’re trying to get into your house, they’re breaking the window.
Locking it from anywhere in the house when going to bed.
/showme someone that is hacking a smart door lock
All of the above, plus more. Not any more worried about “hacking” than for anything else like my bank accounts. As someone mentioned, anyone dead-set on getting in your house can get in.
I almost never carry keys at all except when using my old-school truck or someone else’s car. The Tesla uses a phone app and the house uses a keypad. There is an emergency physical key but it’s not intended for normal use. It’s tucked away (obviously not in the house; that would defeat the purpose).
I have some friends that can check on my house when I’m not there, or bring in mail from the mailbox and put it on a table.
When someone was working on a construction project temporarily, I could give them a different code. Then revoke it when done. You can get notifications any time a code is used.
A bunch more stuff. I don’t know about this brand being sold here. I use Schlage brand but those were $150-200 unless I found good clearance deals. Very solid though. Also have to check for what app you need and if you are comfortable with it. Some do have a fee.
@pmarin
How long does it have for power failure?
@Star2236 the combination codes are stored in the device and will work whether or not there is power or internet. For over a year on a set of batteries (4 AA in my case). For any WiFi interaction of course it would need your house WiFi to work.
If LPL can open it in seconds, then it is not that secure. If the lock can be unlocked with a magnet, it can be unlocked by anyone.
@sjk3 As I recall, most use a motor, not a solenoid, so magnet attacks usually aren’t effective. Wave rakes, however …
(And those are worse because they don’t leave a trace.)
@narfcake The August Smartlock Pros I use report when the lock is unlocked manually, whether with a key or pick from the outside or manually turning the lock on the inside.
They replace only the inside knob of a deadbolt and thus do not change a door’s resistance to physical compromise.
How on earth did we ever survive before smart locks???
Said with all the sarcasm I can muster…
@zinimusprime No amount of sarcasm would be excessive here IMO; good job.
@werehatrack Duly noted. Sarcasm turned up to 11.
All the able body folks out there don’t realize how much smart tech helps many handicapped people maintain their independence. Locks with keys are almost impossible for a disabled person with only the use of a single hand to open. These types of locks help the user to use the door without assistance. Same for lights, soap dispensers, faucets, tv, etc… Real self driving vehicles would really open up the world to the disabled. Improving smart technology and making it affordable is the best future.
@jkawaguchi
with my dad being blind and basically deaf for so many years, I learned so much (I was constantly researching myself). I am so appreciative of all the things they have for people with disabilities.
@Star2236
.
Sadly most disabled people are ignored. You wouldn’t believe how many times my wheelchair has been walked into! Finding things that are useful and not necessary sold as a specifically “disability product “ is like finding a 4 leaf clover
Hope you’re dad is doing well and aware of your support.
@jkawaguchi eons ago, there was a device sold to disabled people who had huge work comp settlements called I think Merlin. It was voice trained to operate on only their voice (think very old school voice rec) and would turn on lights, the TV, etc, using special wired sockets that once installed were effectively unmovable, But made life much easier for incomplete quads, for example. (Use I saw it). However, no one back then tried to hack them. They would have likely worked on a modern digital door, using a proprietary controller.
So the idea is not new what is newish is putting it all into the same portable computer you carry in your pocket.
On the first floor of my building, the unit across from the elevator has a smart lock. One of it’s smart features is that it warns you if it thinks you’re leaving without locking the door. It does this via motion sensors. The result of this design decision is that frequently when someone walks down the hall or uses the elevator, that door shouts “DOOR IS NOT LOCKED!” at them. Very smart.
@arielleslie there are several Ring, and I presume other, doorbells in my neighborhood that challenge people walking on the public sidewalk, 15-20 feet from the door.
@arielleslie @baqui63 Thirty years back, at the height of the popularity of the Aggressive Verbal Assholism Car Security System craze, lots of cars in the U of Houston lots had such alarms. Every fall semester, a new crop of kids with Shiny New Cars shows up, and back then, loads of them would have such alarms, set to max-sensitivity/max-verbal-threats. And after the third or fourth time that they got Clues handed to them, they’d back both settings way down. Usually. Once in a while, two of them would park next to each other, and after a short delay, the two vehicles would start shouting at each other until the campos came by, ran the plates, and performed Summon Stupid Freshman to get it reset. Once in a longer while, later in the semester, a particularly clueless type would find his car (always “his”) adorned with things like half a milkshake.
I always drove a beater. Nobody even looked inside.
I won’t speak for anyone else, but for me personally, the best part of smart locks would be not having any. (I count the startbutton-infested Sentra’s locking system as being one such, and it has done a stunning job of validating my loathing of such. Over $1300 to fix an intermittent no-start issue in which the starter and battery were both perfectly good - but the Body Control Module had gone intermittent on just that one circuit. FTS.)