Kwikset 914 locks are currently selling for $145.01 on Amazon, ships/sold by Amazon. Click the “other buying options” if you don’t see the sold by Amazon option.
Lowest price ever according to camelcamelcamel.com
I had a failed 5+ year old original Z-wave 914 lock months ago and replaced it with Zigbee. The Zigbee lock pairs in 5 seconds to ST and responds instantly to commands and gives instant status. Never goes offline so far. Much better experience than both Z-wave versions.
What is your experience with the battery life? I have a Schlage Z wave lock that seems to work great… But I have to replace the batteries every week or two… That’s getting old
I usually get about 3 or 4 to 5 months between battery changes on all 4 locks using standard AA batteries. Some locks are used more than others.
The Zigbee lock is on the external door of my garage on the side of the house. That lock gets bone cold in the winter so I use Energizer lithium batters on that lock. Lithiums cost a bundle but last longer and stay strong in the cold. They don’t provide an accurate battery level status. So the lock will just suddenly stop responding when batteries are done.
I believe those experiencing just weeks of battery lifespan (I’ve seen that mentioned in several smart lock reviews) may be suffering from network connectivity issues. Wired Z-wave devices like switches and outlets should be able to act as repeaters and help solve any battery draining that could be a result of poor network environment. You could test it with a strategically located plug-in Z-wave outlet.
Yea I have a repeater next to it. It’s sometimes faster than others but they say 1 year of use for the battery life and I get between 1-2 weeks. Just wondering if zigbee will be better but I have less zigbee devices - just door contacts. So wondering how the range will be.
@rontalley
Any chance you’d be willing to show us the other end of that wiring, where it comes out of the other side of the door, and into the wall through the doorjamb?
Meaning it now goes to a low voltage plug? That’s a good idea (unless the power is out I guess). Is yours plugged into a ups?
Time to either fix the door fit, teach people how to close the door, replace the lock or all of the above. Schlage lock can go 2 years. When one of mine started eating batteries it was because the tenant wasn’t fully closing the door. I got rid of the tenant, replaced the inside part of the lock & it’s been 6 months and batteries are still showing 80% as they should.
