Smart locks are on the increase, with a growing number of devices of all different types.
While there’s some obvious, ingrained concern about them, security isn’t the issue you might think it is, and smart locks are a good upgrade for any home.
What you should worry about is the hardware and features; here are both the features that I absolutely avoid and absolutely insist on.
Make sure there’s a proper manual override with a key
Unless it’s on a door that I can either bypass (say a back door) or can work around (say a shed door), then don’t buy a smart lock that you can’t operate from the outside with a proper manual override.
The Yale Conexis L2 is a good example of this. I had the original Conexis L1, which is a very sleek-looking smart lock designed for lift-to-lock doors. In many ways, it’s great, but the issue with the L1 and the L2 is that there’s no manual keylock on the outside.
Twice during my time with the Conexis L1, the lock failed completely, and I had to bend the security covers off my office door’s hinges to unscrew them and gain entry; the other option would have been to have the expensive lock drilled out, breaking it in the process.
If there had been an old-fashioned key lock on the outside, I could have used a key to unlock the door and regain entry, which would have been much easier. While I didn’t have any problems with the Conexis L2 during review, the lack of a manual override means that I would never install it.
I do use a Yale Keyless Connected on my shed door. This has a keypad for entry, but the only manual override option is to use a 12V to try and power the lock in the event of an issue. However, if the lock did fail, then there’s also no manual override. So, why do I use this one?
The shed isn’t as important as my office, and it has standard hinges on the outside, so I could knock out the pins and gain entry that way. Overall, the convenience of the smart lock outweighs any risk in this situation.
Likewise, the Conexis lock might work for you if you have a backdoor that you could use in an emergency, manually unlocking the front door when you get in.
Get a lock that doesn’t just rely on a phone for entry
Operating a lock from your phone is useful. I can open my smart lock from anywhere in the world, letting people in when I’m not there. Or I can give people remote access via the app if needed. It’s brilliant, but don’t rely only on a phone app.
You can lose your phone, the app can stop working, or you can simply run out of charge. Then, what do you do when you get home? As discussed above, you can have a spare key, but it’s much more useful to have a lock with an optional keypad you can install outside, such as the SwitchBot Lock Ultra or the Ultion Nuki 2025.
A keypad (whether it’s operated by PIN, fingerprint or facial recognition) gives a simple override at the door. I often unlock my office (secured with an Ultion Nuki 2025) using a fingerprint, as it’s often more convenient.
And, keypads tend to have lock buttons, so you can go out, shut your door and then press the lock button without having to fish out a phone.
Of course, if you do use your smart lock’s auto lock feature, the keypad means you can get back in if you accidentally get locked out.
Be wary of retrofit locks that operate with a key
Many retrofit locks are designed to stick on the inside of the door, operating an unlock mechanism. In some cases, this means inserting a key in the lock and then having the smart lock turn that to lock/unlock.
Sounds simple, right? In one way, yes, but the problem with this setup is that locks can’t have a key used in both sides at the same time. That’s important. Say you come home from work, try to unlock your door, but find that the smart lock has stopped responding or has run out of power. You insert a key from the outside, only to find you can’t turn the lock to unlock it.
I use a Yale Linus on my second office door, which turns a key. From the outside, inserting a key and giving it a bash will just about pop the internal key out far enough for me to turn the lock. However, since it’s a secondary door, it’s not a real issue: if there’s a problem, I can unlock the main door, get in, and fix the lock.
For main doors, if your original lock had a thumb turn, you should be alright with a retrofit lock: the smart lock controls the thumb turn, but the key option remains available from outside.
To improve security, you should get a lock with a new cylinder: the Ultion Nuki 2025 comes with Brisant Secure’s 3 Star Lock cylinder that can be operated with a key from outside.
