I know that there are a lot of threads regarding smartlocks, but I am looking to see what experience everyone has with smartlocks both inside and outside of Smart Things. We are going to start having 24 hour nursing care to take care of my sick son, and I am hoping to do the following:
Integrate with smart things to enable triggers and remote lock/unlock
Have availability outside of Smart Things to enable guest code
Have availability outside of Smart Things to enable one time use codes
Have availability outside of Smart Things to schedule the allowed times to use guest and one time use codes
Reporting and monitoring of use for all of the above scenarios.
Does anyone have a recommendation? I don’t want the August “retrofit” soda can solution…so is something from Shlage, Kwikset, Yale or someone else going to be the best?
I use a Kwikset 914 with @RBoy’s Smartpapps/device types and can do all of the above. I would definitely go with a supported lock from ST to accomplish this.
1 Like
RBoy
(www.rboyapps.com - Making SmartThings Easy!)
3
I think you’re trying to find a lock that will replicate all the functionality that can be provided through the ST platform SmartApps/DH to work independent of the platform as well. So while it’s “technically” possible there are some caveats you need to be aware of:
It depends upon the lock, Kiwkset, Schalge, Yale, IDLock, Monoprice etc all work the apps we have written to provide the above functionality
and
2. While most locks will allow you to program the codes independently (Kwikset, Yale and Schalge and it depends up on models), you will need to find locks that allow you to do the advanced things like one time codes/programmed codes. AFAIK only SOME Yale lock models allow scheduled codes, none of them allow one time codes through the lock programming directly.
3. You can’t sync codes both independently and through the ST platform. For security reasons locks don’t allow that. So you can use say the first 3 codes through the ST platform and then the next 3 codes independently through the lock.
I’m sorry to hear about your son’s situation. I myself am quadriparetic and have home health care workers who come to the house, so while it’s not 24/7 care I do understand some of the issues that can arise. I also have two housemates who come and go as well as their friends.
Different brands of locks and SmartThings
There is already an FAQ for different lock brands and how they work in a smart things installation, so many of your questions should already be answered in that thread. The short answer is that both Schlage and Yale are well-engineered brands. There are a few feature differences between them, and those are detailed in the FAQ. ( this is a clickable link.)
I’m not quite sure what you mean by “outside of SmartThings.” Did you mean you want a back up plan for when SmartThings is not working? Did you just mean outside the home? Or did you mean for someone who doesn’t have SmartThings at all?
My own experience, with and without SmartThings
I started out with a Yale zwave lock on the SmartThings network. I wanted a lock that had an autolock feature because with so many people coming and going I couldn’t feel confident that they would remember to lock the deadbolt each time. And at that time Yale offered the best combination of features for me.
Unfortunately last November I ran into a problem (confirmed by SmartThings support) where the lock would just start randomly receiving an unlock command from the network. I spend most of my life in one of two rooms ( One where the lock is and another right next to that) and my service dog is trained to run over to the door when it unlocks so he can open it, so it was very obvious that this had not happened in the past but it had started happening. This went on for several weeks while support was looking at it, but we were never able to figure out what was going on. It was happening about five times a week at random times. The activity showed up in the logs, but not why it was happening.
I became very concerned that it would happen while I was asleep and my dog would let himself out, so we decided to remove the lock from the SmartThings network. At first we just put it on a different zwave coordinator and the problem went away. Later we changed to a different lock model all together, but for other reasons.
My conclusions
At this point I would feel comfortable recommending either Schlage or Yale for most homes, but not on the SmartThings network. But that’s just my personal experience. I don’t think most ST customers have had the same problems I did, although it’s also true they might not be as aware of problems as I am because I am mostly housebound. And if you have the lock set to auto relock, maybe you won’t care about the fact that it might randomly unlock since it will lock itself again in a minute or so.
I will say that overall my experience with smart locks has been excellent. It has really improved how we handle people coming to the house, especially after we combined it with a Kuna Porch light. The Kuna combines a porch light, motion sensor, video, two way audio intercom, and panic button siren all under $200. It doesn’t integrate with smartThings, but being able to see who is at the door and then deciding whether or not to unlock it, plus the use of guest codes, has been very positive for us. Here is my project report on that if you are interested in reading more:
RBoy
(www.rboyapps.com - Making SmartThings Easy!)
5
@JDRoberts be happy to check out your yale unlock issue if you’re interested, that issue may not be limited to locks. I’ve seen it happen with other devices. Did you ever get it resolved or find the source of the unlock commands?
Thank you all for the recommendations. I realized that I was not perfectly clear in my original note…thanks for catching that @RBoy. I actually was making an assumption that I would not be able to do all of what I needed through ST, so was inferring that there needed to be a robust app available for the lock for my phone.
It sounds like that might not be the case with the third party developed integrations which is great!
Ideally - I could remote lock and unlock, track usage of codes and trigger notifications within ST. If I could do more it would be to setup guest codes and then have a time parameter for their use.
I think the Yale will probably suit my needs the best based upon other research as well so I will pick one of those up and get everything configured prior to my son arriving home (hopefully next week).
No, we worked with SmartThings support including Z wave engineers for three weeks and when we couldn’t get it fixed by then, it was just too much of a safety issue so we moved on. And, yes, I have seen other devices randomly turn on or off on a SmartThings network, so I know that happens. In fact, during the same time. We had a lot of problems with harmony activities randomly going on and off using the official SmartThings integration. And that really annoyed my housemate!
For us, all we had to do with the lock was move it to a different Z wave controller and it worked fine. So it wasn’t a complicated fix from an end use standpoint. Thanks for the offer, though.
Hi all
From design perspective I’m considering either
Yale Keyfree Connected with Z-wave module
or
IDLock with Z-wave
Are any of you aware of difference of the two?
Functionality, stability, security?
Perhaps if I understand RBoy, with RBoy’s DH and SmartApp, they both provide the same functionality and integration into ST, correct?
I would like to:
-Autolock after X minutes
-Autounlock when me or my wife arrives (I cannot figure out if that is too insecure)
-When door opens, trigger stuff in ST
I’m not sure if I will have a situation where I would want ST to unlock the door automatically?
Perhaps when I’m in my hall getting ready to get out the door (and triggering motionsensor) the door will unlock…
Thanks in advance for your input
RBoy
(www.rboyapps.com - Making SmartThings Easy!)
9
My 2 cents on the above:
For autolock after X minutes pick a lock that supports this feature instinsicly instead of replying on ST, the scheduler is not very reliable and I’ve had tons of trouble getting this to work reliably through ST
For unlock on arriving, my entire family uses that everyday and it’s okay as long as you’re setting decent rules to lock when you leave at the same, I’ve put a few apps that do safety checks for this and inform you/take action if things aren’t where they should be when an accidental trigger happens or modes changes without the necessary actions
Trigger based stuff is also pretty decent, what lock you choose won’t matter here.
So really from the above 3 options, I would pick a lock that satisfies 1 since ST isn’t a reliable solution for that IMHO.
1 Like
RBoy
(www.rboyapps.com - Making SmartThings Easy!)
10
So just for quick reference, regarding AutoLock features on locks:
Schlage - yes but fixed at 30 seconds
Kwikset - yes and fixed
Yale - yes and configurable through DH between 5 and 255 seconds
IDLock - yes but fixed (don’t recall the exact timeout)
IDlock can auto after 3 seconds. I would have liked to be able to chose how many seconds after to lock, but it’s better than nothing.
About autounlocking, do you “simple” use use ST coding for that? Meaning “when Anyone arrives Then unlock door”, kinda?
RBoy
(www.rboyapps.com - Making SmartThings Easy!)
12
No the SmartApp we’ve published works on the basis of autolocking after closing in conjunction with a door sensor. But you can use CoRE to define pretty much any rule you want to have the DH lock/unlock.
RBoy
(www.rboyapps.com - Making SmartThings Easy!)
13
So here’s little summary of the Locks and Features I’ve whipped up. Note that this just a start and specific features depend on the models of the locks (e.g. Yale YRD 240 vs Keyfree or Schlage BE469 vs FE599 etc), this is just manufacturer support, quick reference for Z-Wave locks from these manufacturers:
Stupid question, I thought was a “of course”-feature, but now not so sure.
Does the smart doorlock provide a open/close-capability? Or would I need a seperate doorsensor for that?
RBoy
(www.rboyapps.com - Making SmartThings Easy!)
15
Separate Sensor, see this table I’ve whipped up for the features, I’ll update them as we integrate more models and brands.
Very good table, good starting point at least
I see no “open/closed”-sensor in the doorlock, so that confirms that, even tough your list probably is 100% complete.
The features for Yale in the UK, which is what this poster has been asking about, are different than those for Yale in the US. So you might need to mark your graphic as US only.
RBoy
(www.rboyapps.com - Making SmartThings Easy!)
18
Actually this isn’t US it’s for the brand as a whole as I mentioned. IDLock is only available in EU and so on and so forth. This doesn’t represent a specific model but rather what the manufacturer can deliver based on the programming specifications and known lock modes.
RBoy
(www.rboyapps.com - Making SmartThings Easy!)
19
Right however as noted in the table the IDLock have the ability to relock if the door is unopened.
The short answer is that both Schlage and Yale are well-engineered brands. There are a few feature differences between them, and those are detailed in the FAQ. ( this is a clickable link.)
In fact, during the same time. We had a lot of problems with harmony activities randomly going on and off using the official SmartThings integration. And that really annoyed my housemate!
