KeyWe Smart Lock

Has anyone looked at this? It’s a Kick Starter which I am very wary of (never participated), but they seemed to have crushed the funding target so have convinced a bunch of people on it. It has a bunch of nice looking features. Main page nor FAQ indicates ST compatibility, but it is Z-Wave, and seems in the comments people are confirming compatible. Given I couldn’t find a thread on here talking about it at all, that seems suspicious.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1067904566/keywe-the-smartest-lock-ever/description

Sadly, already got the Heisman from my wife on this one. Think she really will only go for nickel. She also wants to try it on anything but our front door, which don’t have deadbolts, so that’s a tough cookie to crack.

This lock was certified in April 18. We’ve already added support for this lock in the Enhanced Z-Wave Lock DTH (version 04.02.00 to be released soon along with a few more lock models)

Key features of this lock with the DTH include:

  • S2 security (since ST doesn’t support S2 yet, it’ll fall back to S0)
  • Door state sensor reporting
  • Bluetooth/Z-Wave unlocking/locking (reported)
  • Auto relock reporting
  • Adding/deleting user codes over Z-Wave upto 20 codes
  • Reporting fire/police alerts
  • Reporting manual locking/unlocking
  • Flexible pin codes, 4-10 digits

The one thing concerning about this lock is that they’re targeting AirBnB owners. Don’t know why they limited the number of users to just 20, Yale does 250. If you’re using it with AirBnB automation apps like the Rental Lock Automater (RLA) and you’re using this lock to manage, say, a 8 property rental unit with this lock being the common main door lock (for deadbolt reasons), you could likely be close to maxing out the number of users between the automatically generated users and the manually configured users.

But it seems very amply equipped, bluetooth, z-wave, wifi (using a bridge like Nuki, door sensor, auto relock, amply equipped. I wonder how they be price wise.

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It’s an interesting point. I’ve always wondered why stuff gets brought to market that doesn’t match the capabilities of similar stuff already on the market, unless there is a significant cost savings in the new product.

Edit: on checking it out, I see it does bring new capabilities. Looks cool!
Wonder if they will make one without a physical key.

Received my KeyWe locks today. Will save the unboxing for someone else, but already had Rboy’s DTH/SA installed, was using them for my existing locks.

Pairing process is pretty easy: hit the S button, put in your admin code + * + 88

Once paired, I was able to associate it with the rboy lock manager + keypad manager, and it pushed my existing codes down. Off and running!

I gave in and installed the KeyWe app on my phone, used the Bluetooth options to change the admin code, turn off the autolock (7 seconds!!!) and verify a few other settings not exposed in the SmartApp, like pairing NFC devices. (You can do all that via the keypad, but it’s a PITA)

A++ locks, very happy I bought two.

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Hey Dlasher,

I’m getting mine next week. Any reviews so far after a few months of usage? what you like and don’t like? are you also using voice lock like google or alexa?

Zero issues, they’re fantastic. Great battery life, RFID tags work great.

Other than locking up at night, the only real automation I’m using is auto-lock driven by “everybody left”. No voice lock.

Best lock I’ve had so far, hands down.

Good to hear. I thought the device will autolock as a feature itself? About the battery, they say it should last about 12 months give or take… so you’ve had it like for 4 months now… so it definitely should be good…

Can you use your phone’s NFC to unlock?

It can autolock itself, but it’s -way- too fast, so I disabled it. Do yourself a favor, use the bluetooth app to change settings… trying to change them via the keypad is a serious PITA.

I haven’t tried my phones NFC, however, given the one tiny spot you can do NFC, it would be a pain. The NFC tags they include go nicely on a keychain, and are easy to hold on the spot.

Thanks and appreciate you advise. One more thing, what must i do to get ST to work with Keywe? Pardon me as i’m really a newbie at this. Next week, the Keywe is arriving and currently ST is being shipped.

I got this lock on Kickstarter about two months ago. Ive had nothing but issues with the bluetooth and nfc. So far the only way I can get around most of the reasons I bought this lock is to use smart things. I really wanted it to unlock upon approaching the door with my phone, doesn’t do that. Wanted it to unlock upon entering a zone, sometime it works and other times(most of the time) does not work. Ive been working with there customer support and awaiting on my recent email to them. Other than that I really like the locks. They look great, work with the proxemity cards, key tags and bracellett that were included, and of course the keys. I got the upgraded security cylinder. I love having it automatically lock upon close however it does close to fast. Set it to wait for 30sec thats the max they give but it never waits that long. I’m just hoping theyll update there software and get my issues fixed. They were a steal at the Kickstarter price so It wasnt a bad purchase.

Has the software or firmware been improved in the last two months?

I was hesitant to back the project when it came out because I felt their claims were too grand for a startup. In particular I felt the bluetooth proximity unlocking would either not work right or somehow infringe on Kwikset’s patent (I assume there is one). I ended up backing the US:E lock but they have been pretty quiet since they were funded and their promised ship date is only 2 months away.

I’m trying to figure out if this Philia lock is made by KeyWe. https://www.amazon.com/PDS-100BZ-Keyless-Smartthing-Bluetooth-Password/dp/B07P7RNJPP/

I bought the KeyWe Smart Lock. I read you needed a SmartThings hub so I got the Plume Wifi Mesh model cause wifi in some parts in my house was bad. Now, I can unlock the door and see the battery life from the SmartThings app (along with my other Samsung products). For me, it works better than the KeyWe app.

Anybody having battery life issues with these? I bought two of them as part of the initial kickstarter campaign a year or two ago, but I only installed one of them. battery life on it was quite poor, with 4 AA batteries dying in about a week of light use… after this happened three times I just took the batteries out and started using it as a dumb lock. More recently I decided to install the second one, and I am having the same issue.

I removed the first one and placed it a couple feet away from my smart schlage deadbolt (which will run a year on a set of batteries), as I wanted to see if the location was causing heavy draw from a possible weak z-wave connection. It still ran dead in less than a week. I am using the Rboy app to manage the locks.

At one point I contacted keywe about it (almost a year ago), and was told I may have pinched a wire during install. I have inspected the wiring and see no signs of this… other ideas?? I have used brand name duracell batteries, as well as Costco Kirkland brand… life is the same, very short.

Is there a software setting that I should be avoiding??

Thanks!

@Travisn000 : I’m having the same issue, and have for years. I finally ended up buying LIPO AA cells (3000mah) each, and they give me a couple weeks at a time. Only down side is that they put out a full 1.5V until they put out 0V, so you get zero low battery warnings.

EBL 8 Pack Rechargeable Lithium AA Batteries, 1.5V AA Li-ion Batteries with 8 Slots Smart Lithium Rechargeable Battery Charger

I’m actually considering hardwiring them to external power supplies, never change batteries again.