Hi everyone, very glad to have found this thread as I have just changed my front door lock to Conexis L1. I’m new to smart home but have chosen to have a smart lock, smart heating and one wifi bulb to start with. I’m considering ST as the next step, but not sure whether I should get the Z-wave module for the Yale lock.
I get that we can lock and unlock the door through ST+IFTTT (only if the multipoint is engaged), and can get notifications when the door is locked/unlocked. It is a shame that the Yale app does not give accurate indication of door locking/unlocking events because it is one thing that it should do. But reading previous posts, ST won’t be accurate in that either outside of ST - ie if I open it with a fob it might not be picked up by ST. We’ll be using fob/card for the majority of the time so ST does not seem to be a reliable source? Should I just get a door/window senor instead…
Besides, I don’t think we would have much need to unlock the door as we park the car in our drive way and so picking up my phone and unlocking using a sticker at the back of my phone would be faster than any ST event. One thing we do think would be useful though, is to lock the door. For example, when we are out and realised that we didn’t lock the door, or someone came in and left and forgot to lock the door, it will be helpful to be able to lock it remotely. However, I don’t see how ST can help here. If we have remembered to pull the handle up, it will automatically lock anyway, and if we have forgotten to do that, ST can’t lock it for us… To be honest I think the auto lock feature in Conexis is a bit daft, especially when it does have an “autolock” feature which can be set in the app.
Another useful feature, would be for ST to report back the status of the door - currently locked, or unlocked. Is this possible at the moment?
So in summary, I need something that can notify me when the door is unlocked through the lock (ie no need to cover the scenario when someone just breaks in…), hopefully something that can lock the door for me, and something that can report the status of the lock back to me.
Should I get a z-wave, or should I just get a door sensor that notifies me every time the door is opened…
I do not have my lock yet so have not explored all those avenues and obviously not in a position to comment from that side but look forward to others comments.
However on all my external doors I use Z-Wave Sensor Strips that fit between the door and the frame. Depending on the doors and locking mechanism of course, mine have some sliding panels on the edge of the door which move up/down with the multi-point. So by attaching the Sensor Strip Magnet to the part that moves and the Sensor Strip in the correct position on the outside frame my doors actually only report as ‘closed’ when the multi-point is actually engaged (door locked).
Many thanks Mark. This is very useful. If you are also in the UK would you mind letting know the type of sensor strips you use? I looked around and it seems a lot of similar sensors are only available in the US…
I have these on all external doors and will be replacing some Fibaro and Zigbee door sensors with them soon. Been in place over a year now and the battery is still at 100% although that does not mean much as it can drop by 1/3 overnight depending on how it is measured. They have served extremely well though, no misses or false readings. Not the cheapest considering that they do not have a replaceable battery but it if lasts 5 years (they state 10) then I will be more than happy as by that stage I am sure alternatives will be available. No issue with range either. Shop around and am sure you will find them cheaper somewhere…
They are just amazingly slim and can be placed on the inside of the frame, not all metal frames of course but I have heavy UPVC with plenty of metal in and never had an issue.
I am away on business until the weekend but if you would like I can drop you a few photos of exactly how they are positioned along the door edge once home. You cannot do this easily with regular door sensors, well not without drilling holes in the frame itself.
I’m also a big fan of those strips, and use them on all external doors. Using the magnet on the multi-point like that is a stroke of genius!
There’s obviously no need to involve IFTTT in this as the module talks directly to ST.
The status of the lock does update if unlocked manually (at least with RBoy’s DH, I think the stock DH as well).
I agree, it would be nice if you could lock it without having to pull the handle up, however at least you can check the status of the lock. If you have a Ring (or any smart) doorbell, you can answer, switch to ST and open the door for your visitor.
Has anyone had both the Chrome and Satin Nickel versions of the lock please or just an opinion on which version you do have? Any thoughts as to the ‘hardiness’ of the finish on both? Does either appear to stand up better to use over time, tarnish/scratch more easily etc.?
Well, I have the chrome finish which matches my letter box (that’s the only reason I went for it). No wear or tarnish so far, and I wouldn’t expect it from a brand like Yale.
I also have the chrome finish and it locks good for now. Obviously having only had it for days can’t really tell how it will do over time, but so far the finish looks of good quality.
Thanks for that! I got the sensitive strips! Only placed my order yesterday and it turned up on my desk this morning, very swift!!
Yes a couple of pictures would be very helpful. I have a back door leading to my garden that does not lock easily. I’ll have one there simply to tell me when the door is opened so normal mounting would do. But for the front door it’ll be very nice to have it mounted so that I can know whether it is indeed locked instead of just closed.
It will depend on the gap between the door and frame of course and if there are moving parts on the outside of the door edge like on mine, I am not overly familiar with door builds so cannot say if it is the norm or not. Either way, do not stick them in until 100% sure, I actually just used some tape to try out different positions then once happy removed the 3M backing.
Will try to drop you a few photos over the next 24hrs.
Managed to get hold of both the Chrome and Satin Nickel finishes and decided on the Chrome ones. The Satin one is quite ‘brown’ in colour compared to the ‘grey’ I was expecting and would not IMHO match with much around the house whereas the Chrome was actually, dare I say ‘milder’ than expected, not an “in your face” finish which is a really good thing. The Chrome version looks far more ‘expensive’ and professional, well I think so. I think they lost a little with the Satin finish personally but am sure others will find the reverse.
Bad news, my lock is now giving a low battery warning. This is within a week of installing duracells after getting the module reconnected to ST.
I can only think that in the couple of weeks I got from the other batteries, the module probably wasn’t functioning properly, or was intermittent. My main concern at the time was the battery level which seemed to be good until the module fell off the network.
I’m not 100% certain that the new batteries were unused, so watch this space. But I don’t think this is good.
Is this with RB’s DH? Also which version of the Module do you have please? Do you have any monitoring/logging SmartApps running at all, like Simple Event Logger etc. What SamrtApps if any are you running with the lock. May be good to start to get list together. My modules will not be here until next week but will start to test as soon as they arrive.
My bet/hope is that is is just down to polling which can most likely be fixed, it could of course be a hardware issue in which case we may have a long wait ahead if not resolved by f/w.
Hi Mark, yes, RBoy’s DH, although admittedly not the latest one. I’m not using any routines or smartapps with the lock, and I haven’t set up any logging or anything.
It’s the module 2 (Blue). I’m almost positive it’s something to do with polling. When I talked to Yale about the issue they automatically assumed I had Smartthings, which suggests that I’m not the first with this issue.
Is a newer version coming soon (so no stock from Amazon and other sellers)? Everyone is using Smartthings Hub. How about Wink Hub2? Anyone report battery drain issues with other hub?
I am planning to have Yale L1 lock / module 2 / ST for my new apartment but I am hesitate after reading this conversation.
No idea about using it with the Wink Hub, if you have one or an interest then assume all the info will be on thier site/forums etc.
Personally, I think that it is a polling issue and as such should be easily fixed somewhere. I tried the original Module over the weekend and whilst it paired ok that is as far as it went, no reporting/locking etc. I will have the Module 2 at home when I return again at the weekend so will see how that goes. Screwfix still have them in stock at the moment.
Based on the battery drain that I’ve experienced, I would not currently recommend the Module 2 + SmartThings combination. I got about three weeks from a set of Duracell batteries…
