Full disclosure: I received this product for free as part of a beta test for August. (This is my review, as posted to Amazon today.)
It was a dark and stormy night, the thunder crashing against the trees as the wind drove the rain sideways under the brim of my hat… I pulled my trench coat tighter around myself as I made my way carefully in the inky blackness toward my front step… Suddenly, light blazed forth, sending the darkness scattering and illuminating my path… As I climbed my front step, my entryway lights turned on and I heard my phone chime in my pocket, letting me know that my front door had automatically unlocked due to my presence. My Home Awesomation system was welcoming me home as it switched to “Get the hell out of the rain dum dum” mode.
Entering the house, I shook off the rain and removed my coat before closing the door and looking at the August Smart Lock Pro in admiration for a job well done. Moments after the door closed, the lock chimed to notify me that it was locking the door to keep the storm at bay.
The August Smart Lock Pro is a Bluetooth, WiFi, and Z-Wave enabled dead bolt handle designed to replace the interior handle on your existing deadbolt. This means that if you have matched keys for your deadbolt and door handle, there’s no re-keying or having to carry any extra keys for two separate locks. It comes with a replacement plate for the interior of the door and you re-use your existing deadbolt screws to mount it. Mounting the August Smart Lock Pro to the plate is as simple as sliding a small adapter over the existing deadbolt’s locking cylinder and setting the smart lock on the plate. You secure the August lock to the plate by flipping two levers into place which locks it tight to the door.
The entire outer ring of the lock features a nice knurled texture for easy grip when manually locking or unlocking the door. There is an indicator on the knob in the form of a ridge that shows you at a glance whether it is locked or not.
The front cover of the lock is held by strong magnets and can be easily opened by pushing in at the bottom. Behind the front cover plate is where the four AA batteries that power the lock are located.
Included with the August Smart Lock Pro is a magnetic nodule with a surface or flush mount adapter kit. This gets placed on the door trim just above the top of where the deadbolt shaft slides into the door jamb if you are using surface mount, or you can drill it in above the deadbolt lock plate in the door jamb and flush mount it out of view. I chose the surface mount. The lock has a sensor in it that detects the strength of the magnetic field near it during calibration and can then determine whether the door is ajar or completely open.
Also included with the Smart Lock Pro is the August Connect module. This is a Wi-Fi to Bluetooth bridge that enables the lock to be operated when outside of Bluetooth range. The Smartphone Application for Android and iOS has the ability to choose the “Wi-Fi” option when connecting to the lock from a distance, allowing the ability to lock or unlock the deadbolt when away from home. This feature works great, though can be a bit finicky with automatically detecting the lock via Bluetooth while out of range. If it fails to detect the lock, it will then prompt you to connect over the internet via the Connect bridge.
The lock is also Z-Wave enabled, and paired effortlessly with my Samsung SmartThings automation hub as well as within our Alexa and Google Home ecosystems. The wife is thrilled with this lock as it gives her the peace of mind to lock the door at night by simply speaking to one of our assistant devices. You can also ask Alexa to check the status of the lock at any time.
I was privileged to be a part of the testing process for this lock, and can state that I had minimal issues with it during the test. The few problems I had were quickly resolved with software and firmware updates by the August team and the lock has worked flawlessly for us ever since.
While I did receive the lock for free, I can unequivocally state that I would have gladly purchased it simply for the ease and convenience, as well as the peace of mind it has brought to our lives. Having used and tested other locks in the past, this is by far the best one I have personally used.