Reviews Locked-in
I think few things remind you that you’re living in a house from the future like smart access control. Quite a few of these locks that I’ve looked at here are very futuristic looking, but are not actually smart, since they don’t connect to anything else. This is surprising, given how they are marketed, and I’ve realized based on the questions that I’ve seen people ask that consumers are buying fancy but dumb electronic locks thinking that they will work with HomeKit, Z-wave, Bluetooth, or WiFi.
So please, make sure it actually definitely says this in the product description before putting any money down if this is indeed what you want. Still, on the flip side, you don’t need every lock in your house networked together and some of the less expensive electronic locks will work well to upgrade security.
I find it a bit of a pity that smart locks costs as much as they do. The technology inside them is actually pretty mature by now, so I find the idea of a $200 lock to be a little absurd. This is one of the main reasons people are holding off upgrading their homes, since the number of locks adds up pretty quickly.
I also wish we didn’t have to choose between things like HomeKit and Z-wave. I have yet to see a product that works with all the major standards. That would be something worth paying a premium for and I can’t think of a technical reason why this is impossible, so it is probably down to licensing agreements.
Well, I hope you can find the right lock for your door on this page. I’ve realized that this is not such a straightforward choice and often I have wished that I could take the style of one lock and the guts of another and mix them into the perfect product. Smart lock shopping is definitely a game of compromises, but things are definitely a lot better than they were just a few years ago.