I have started looking at deadbolt options for the backdoor now that our child has figured out the handle lock and can get outside now. I understand they will continue to grow and a deadbolt won’t be a long term solution, but at least we’d get a notification when it is unlocked going forward. Plus it’d be nice to be able to be sure the door was locked at night.
I figured I’d go with the kwikset option as the other doors have kwikset keys and I could key the deadbolt the same. But looking through some of the recent posts, they seem to be having issues. Are the other brands actually better or is it just observation bias?
I’ve just installed a kwikset zigbee Convert deadbolt conversion. All you change is the inside part. Nothing changes with the key. If all you want is just the ability to lock/unlock and be notified, this may work for you. If you want a device with a touchpad/numberpad, there will be several folks that can comment about those.
Here’s what I just installed (and does it does not require me to use Amazon Key). It joined my hub as a Thing and I changed the handler to ST’s default Zigbee Lock without Codes, and it works perfectly.
There’s no one best, as people have different requirements and different budgets. Choice is good.
If you think of devices as falling into good/better/best categories, then Kwikset is at the high-end of the “good” category. They are definitely a budget brand, ask any locksmith. Or check their industry ratings. They use plastic internally for several parts that locks at higher rating levels will use metal for, which means that over time you will tend to see a higher number of failures. But you definitely save money upfront. So it’s a matter of personal choice.
I like the features on Kwikset locks, but I personally prefer the engineering on Yale or Schlage, both of which have higher industry ratings. For regular residential locks, Schlage would be at the high-end of the better category and Yale would be just very slightly above it, maybe at the lowest end of the best category. So between those two, I would pick based on the features offered and which was the best fit for my specific needs.
The following note is old, but the issue still applies. ( The topic title is a clickable link)
I have used the Schlage for over a year now and I am very happy with it. I have Webcore pistons that automatically lock it at specific times. I have pistons that disarm my SHM when a keycode is used to unlock the Schlage (so that I don’t have to input a keycode again in my ActionTiles panel). I can use Alexa to lock/unlock the Schlage. And I can quickly look at my SmartThings app to see if the Schlage is locked or unlocked. Or just ask Alexa. I can also monitor its battery level in the ST app or on my ActionTiles panel (I have a panel that lists all of the battery percentages of all of my z-wave devices).
The ONLY complaint I have is that the Schlage is often listed as “unavailable” in the ST app. But that does not seem to affect any of the above functionality.
