Smart Locks
Automate the lock on your front door
Automate your garage and front door to heighten your home security system. Receive alerts on your phone if the doors are unlocked. No more physical keys! Give your friends and family virtual keys.
How do smart locks work?
Smart door locks can be installed over your existing lock from the inside and connected to your phone via WiFi. You’ll still be able to use your original keys but you can also unlock the doors using a smart keypad, touchpad or smartphone. With connectivity to a phone app, the features are abundant. If you have a voice assistant, you can give it voice commands to open the door. Create multiple temporary virtual keys for friends, family, or guests. If you forget to lock your door before leaving for work, you’ll receive a notification if a door has been unlocked for too long. At that point, you can lock the door or close the garage from wherever you are.
Types of smart home locks
Smart locks can be categorised under two main types based on their purpose in your home.
Smart Door Locks
A smart door lock is suitable for the front door of your home. A traditional lock opens when the proper key applies the right amount of pressure on the pins inside the lock. The smart door lock uses motors and actuators. So when you use you click on command on your phone, it sends an electric impulse to the smart lock which locks/unlocks the door.
Smart Garage/Gate Openers
Even when you’re not at home, you can open or close the garage door via the app. If you forget to close the door before work you can send a command through your smartphone to close it. The same applies to when you have a package delivery. Instruct the delivery person to leave the package in the garage and open the door for him to do so. The garage door smart lock system comes with a WiFi controller and a waterproof tilt sensor. Some of these smart garage door locks come with the capacity to control up to three garage doors or gates. Some smart garage door lock kits also include smart security cameras to monitor your garage or driveway.
Smart lock features to look out for
Now that you have an idea of where you want to install a smart lock, the next step is to think about the smart features that are important to you.
Control from a smartphone
How often do you run out of the house and forget to lock your door? Or forget to click on the remote to close the garage door? Controlling these locks from your smartphone means you can have it lock your doors every time you forget. Or you can simply open the app and check whether all the doors were locked before you left. The app will let you know if it's unlocked and you can lock the doors. Add your family in as multiple users so they have virtual keys to your home.
Auto unlock with Bluetooth
Set up the smart door lock to unlock when you and your smartphone are nearby. This means the door will unlock automatically as you walk up the driveway. With this feature, you don't need to rummage through your bag to find the keys, nor do you have to open the app on your smartphone.
Schedule virtual keys for friends and family
Investing in a keypad for your smart door lock is beneficial if you have a big family or rent your home online. You can set up multiple virtual keys for your friends, family, service providers or renters. The codes can be issued for permanent or temporary use. So if you are renting your home for the weekend, set up the code on a timer so that by Monday the code is no longer valid. You don't have to worry about unauthorized access if you forget to delete the code. Set up a code routine for the dogwalker so he/she can access your home during certain times, on certain days.
“Hey Siri. Unlock the front door.”
If you have a Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Apple HomeKit smart assistant device, you can connect it to compatible smart door locks and smart garage openers. You can Configure it to open the doors on voice command and notify you when people with codes have unlocked the door. Almost all smart locks connect to all three voice assistants. However, be sure to double-check that the lock of your choice can integrate with your existing voice assistant.
Custom ringtone for each family member or others
When a user signals the garage door to open, the Hub sets off an alarm tone, notifying anyone who is at home. Some companies let you set up a unique ringtone for all the users in the system. So when your daughter is driving in and she opens the garage door from her smartphone, not only will you receive a notification, but a unique ringtone will also be played.
Activity log of users
Needless to say, like any other smart product, smart locks keep an activity log of the date and time for each user and when they lock/unlock the garage or front door. This is helpful for when you want to check if your kids got home on time, or if the dogwalker already made their visit.
Accessories to maximize the benefits of your smart lock
Smart security locks also come with various extra smart features that contribute towards making your home safer and more efficient. These smart functionalities can be different when it comes to smart locks for your front door and smart garage and gate openers.
Smart lock for the front door
- WiFi Bridge/Connect - Smart locks connect to the internet through a bridge. So if your guests have arrived unexpectedly early and you’re not home to welcome them, you can unlock the door via the app and let them in. The bridge also helps you stay updated on the activity log of the front door while you're at work.
- Smart Keypad - Some smart locks come with an integrated keypad while for others you’ll need to buy them separately. You can set up multiple codes for friends, family, guests or service people.
- DoorSense - Smart locks come with DoorSense technology. This means the app can let you know if the door is open or closed. It uses magnetic fields to find out the status of your door.
- Smart Key/Tag - an accessory you can add to your system to arm or disarm your security system with the touch of a button. Its compact design allows you to attach it to your keychain.
For smart garage openers
- Control more than one gate/door - If you want to control both the garage door and the front gate, then invest in a garage door hub which allows you to connect more than one door.
- IP camera - The IP camera can come in the ultimate kit for some smart garage door products. It has an integrated motion sensor and night vision. Day or night, receive notifications if the sensor picks up on unexpected movement in your garage and then you can open up your smartphone app to see the live footage.
How do I install a smart lock?
Smart door locks can either be installed over your existing front door lock or replace it entirely. If you select a model that installs over the existing lock, you can still use your old key along with all the new and smart features.
The smart garage opener is essentially a hub that you place indoors, preferably near the garage door motor in order to connect the wires. Before connecting to the motor, configure the hub with the WiFi and the app on your smartphone. The hub connects to the tilt sensor that is attached to the top of the garage door. This setup takes around 20 minutes.
Are smart home locks safe?
Smart locks that are integrated with your automated home system generally use high-grade AES encrypted Z-wave technology. Smart locks that use WiFi technology have the same SSL encryption as banks. So in terms of hacking these systems, you are safe as long as you use complicated passcodes which are not similar to your bank PINs or social media passwords.
