So i have seen some smartlocks. And some companies say their locks work with a voice assistant. You can tell google for example “Hey google, open the lock” and the door opens (of course also for locking). Quite handy you might think.
But looking at a security standpoint; it’s pretty dumb… What if someone shouts “Hey google, open the door” through a open window and your google assistant picks up on that?.. There goes all security.
Have seen the same question on some YT video’s of smartlock companies; but they tend to not respond or turn off reactions in response… something with ostrich and head in the sand.
I know it could be fixed by geofencing / so the locks only operate if there is someone close by… but no clue or this is worked out.
As @philh30 mentioned, some of the voice assistants have implemented additional security steps for locks. These do vary by the specific voice assistant being used.
Alexa Will allow you to lock a lock by voice, but in order to unlock it, you have to set up a pin code and then use the pin code. Obviously you have to ask yourself whether someone else would be able to overhear you using that pin code, but that’s the option.
I’m not sure what Google assistant does, someone else will have to answer that.
Siri goes a step further. It doesn’t require a pin code, but you can only unlock by voice from a smart watch or a phone that you are holding in your hand and which is authorized to use your home automation system. Their standalone smart speaker, the Apple HomePod mini, doesn’t allow you to unlock by voice. It tells you to use your phone instead.
(I myself am quadriparetic and require hands-free access, so I follow this device category pretty closely.)
Anyway, the point is that the restriction is not usually based on the specific lock model, but rather on the specific voice assistant that you are using.
In the dutch commercial for Yale smartlocks people are locking/unlocking the smartlocks with their voice through google (is also on their website)… it will require a pin when unlocking.
So i was under the impression smartthings could also do this…
So within smartthings; it should only work with specific routines? Or how would the Yale lock work within smartthings at all then? Only used as status “Door open/Closed”?
You can create a virtual button and link it to the lock with routines. And this button will be reachable from Google . my Goodnight Google routine presses this virtual button every night.
But I use only locking part without unlocking , Google doesn’t ask for pin codes for buttons.
Google integration requires WiFi/cable and its power hungry , so locks require some hub.
Yale might have its own integration and hub that talks to Google directly, and ST here is just a passive listener “oh something opened the lock”.
In the dutch commercial for Yale smartlocks people are locking/unlocking the smartlocks with their voice through google
In the perfect world big companies do integrations , read and implement specs . There is no need for a middle-man, no waste of resources and energy.
So within smartthings; it should only work with specific routines? Or how would the Yale lock work within smartthings at all then?
within Smartthings you will have it working in Samsung walled garden , all the features will be accessible from ST app and Bixby . But not from Google assistant.
as Smartthings filter out the locks from available devices. Just because they don’t read specs and are paranoid about security.