The Best Smart Locks For Every Need
Smart locks help you straddle the line between security and convenience. Whether you want the most secure smart lock, or the one that will make your life easier, we have the best one for your needs here.To get more news about
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A quick note on security before we get started: smart locks aren’t a magic bullet that makes your home more secure. If you have windows, they can be broken, and some weak doors can be kicked in. Furthermore, having a fancy, visible smart lock on your door might send a signal to opportunistic thieves that there are other expensive gadgets inside worth stealing (and this is a factor we consider in our judgments of smart locks). Smart locks aren’t going to make your house more secure than any old decent and properly installed deadbolt will, but they can make it way more convenient for you. It’s up to you to determine what works best for protecting your home and finding the right balance between security and convenience. With that in mind, here are our favorite choices.
Right off the bat, the KwikSet Kevo gets points for looking like a normal lock on the outside. Aside from an LED ring indicator light (which is usually off), this lock looks almost identical to a standard deadbolt. Its benign design conceals a handy, unique feature: you can unlock your door by simply tapping the lock. It automatically recognizes your smartphone when you approach, but won’t unlock the door until you touch the lock. It’s an excellent compromise that makes sure you only unlock the door when you want to.
You can also unlock the Kevo with a separate key fob accessory ($25), or a normal old school key if you’d prefer. For guests, you can share free eKeys that give them temporary access. The Kevo app lets you track who has used eKeys, and when they have locked or unlocked your door. So, say you want to give an eKey to the babysitter or cleaners, you’ll be able to see if they enter your home other than when you expected them.
If you want to access your lock remotely when you’re away from home, you’ll need the Kevo Plus Hub, which costs an extra $100. You can also buy the lock and hub together for $290. The hub allows you to lock or unlock your door from your phone even if you’re away, as well as confirm whether your door is locked or not. It also allows you to connect to voice assistants like Alexa so, for example, you could lock your front door with a voice command, or as part of a routine.As we mentioned earlier, it’s better if your smart lock doesn’t look any different on the outside. If that’s your priority, it’s hard to beat the August Smart Lock Pro. Unlike most smart locks, this device uses your existing locking cylinder and strike plate, so you don’t need to get new keys made and your door will look exactly the same from the outside (the futuristic silver knob seen above is installed on the inside of the door, replacing the thumb turn you current use to lock the door). You get all the convenience of a smart lock without drawing any extra attention to your home.
At $219, the August Smart Lock Pro is one of the more expensive models up front. While it supports Apple’s HomeKit, if you want to use voice commands or control it from outside the home, you’ll need a separate accessory called the Connect Bridge. This hub costs $45 on Amazon, but you can sometimes buy both the lock and hub together for a discount (as of this writing, the combo is $249). If you want the hub, the August Smart Lock Pro can come out cheaper than the KwikSet Kevo with its hub, so you can save a little extra money over our top pick, too.
The August Smart Lock Pro also comes with a feature called DoorSense that will tell you if your door is open, as well. Most smart locks can only tell if the door is locked by whether the bolt is extended, but a door could be wide open and still be “locked” by that definition. With DoorSense, you can place a magnetic sensor on your door so you’ll know if the door is left (or kicked) open.In our opinion, both August Smart Locks are ideal for renters, since they can be used without changing your locks (something that your local laws or landlord may forbid). However, the August takes the proper recommendation for also being considerably cheaper than the Pro version. This model also features a more traditional design on the inside with a proper thumb turn lever instead of a big round dial.
The major downside for the cheaper price is that it doesn’t support Apple’s HomeKit. It’s Bluetooth-only out of the box. Like the Pro version, if you want to unlock it remotely or use a voice assistant to control it, you’ll need to buy the Connect Bridge. The company sells both in one package for $200, but since the separate hub on Amazon is only $45, you may as well save a few bucks buying them separately (at least, at the time of this writing).
For $70 off the Pro version, you sacrifice remarkably little. It may end up coming down to personal preference—the massive round interior lock on the Pro is certainly eye-catching but it can be off-putting to some—but if you’re renting or just want to save some money, we’d tend to recommend the August Smart Lock 3rd Gen over its more expensive cousin.
