Advice on Smart Locks (Z-Wave vs. WiFi)

Thanks for the info.

The customer service representative from Yale told me that they were supposed to be available, but there was some kind of delay and they are not available yet. He had no estimate as to when they would be available though.

@bcopeland: One more question about the Z-Wave module for the Yale Assure Lock 2: Is it based on the 500 or 700 series Z-wave module?

I ask because of this other post about the Alfred DB2 vs. Yale Assure, which says the Yale lock uses the older Z-wave, but it is also referring to the older Assure lock, and I wondered if the newer Assure 2 has the newer chip (at least, if the demo model they sent you has the newer chip).

I would guess not. I don't think 700-series chips are available in quantity any more now that 800-series chips have been released.

Are you suggesting the Yale Assure 2 lock would use the 800 series instead?

I don't know how to read this to determine the answer but I would think it's here (somewhere):

https://products.z-wavealliance.org/Search/Index?regionId=2&searchText=yale+assure+2+lock

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Or 500-series.

Perfect!

That's a 500-series radio.

Thanks @Eric.C.Miller. You were right, the information is on that page.
Looks like the Yale Assure Lock 2 series (YRD450-ZW2, YRD430-ZW2, YRD420-ZW2, YRD410-ZW2) all use the 500-series chips.

I figured that out by clicking the link to this page (from the link @Eric.C.Miller provided): Yale Assure 2 Lock® SL Key Free Touchscreen Deadbolt, which says this:

And, a quick good search for ZM5101 brings me here: ZM5101 - Z-Wave 500 Modules

You beat me to it.

To close out this thread: I ended up buying the Yale Assure Lock 2 (YRD450-ZW2-619) which is finally available with the z-wave module. It (unfortunately) came with the 500-series Z-wave module (AYR-MOD-ZW2) and not a 700-series or 800-series module.

The connection to Hubitat is working great, and I was able to expose the lock to Google Home via the Community-maintained Google Home integration.

I also bought (second hand via eBay) the August Connect Wi-Fi Bridge (AC-R1) so I could get Bluetooth (built-in) + Z-wave (Smart Module) + WiFi (Connect Bridge), but I'm not 100% sure I need the WiFi Bridge, or what value that is adding, so I may ditch that.

I know this is an old thread, but following up on this and seeing if you are happy with your choice and your use case.

I have a YRD226 with a zwave module, but recently learned that it does not give me access to the APP (never thought about app controlled access until a need recently came up). How is your Assure Lock 2 working for you.

I honestly don't use smart integration other than making sure the door locks at 9pm and the only reason why I opted for a zwave is to have access to it via hub in case wifi goes down - but realize my flawed thinking since if wifi goes down, so does my remote access to hubitat if I am not home.

I would have more value in creating scheduled pin access and automating a schedule lock in the app - unless someone knows how to do that via hubitat.

TIA

So far it has worked well. Other then the fact it is a zwave 500 device and only uses S0 it has worked well. We are still waiting to see what happens with battery life, but we will see how that goes.

Same here. I've been pretty happy with my lock so far. The Z-wave connect has been rock-solid.

I only have two complaints:

  • The Z-wave interface doesn't support DoorSense.
  • The Bluetooth connection kept failing whenever I leave the August Connect Wi-Fi Bridge plugged in. This didn't impact the Z-wave connection at all. Once I disconnected and unplugged the Connect Bridge, the Bluetooth has remained stable ever since. I've been meaning to reach out to Yale Technical Support about that issue, but it has been a low priority, as I can access the lock remotely via my hub.

I have a Yale Assure2 ZWave lock and it is great. No problems or complaints to report.

Looking at one of the Yale locks now. d?

Looking at either models:
YRD410-BLE-BSP
or
YRD420-BLE-619

I'm wanting one WITHOUT fingerprint reader.

Would there be any difference to buying the model that includes Zwave versus one w/o and then adding the Zwave module? (maybe the modules bought separately are more up to date...better zwave chips or something) Or would both options result in the same thing in the end?

I don’t have any special insight into this, but I think it’s unlikely.

Personally I would order the Yale lock with module I intend to use.

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Unfortunately, there is truth to that statement, but in a supported/unsupported way.

At least when I got my Yale Assure Lock 2 the zwave Module provided with it was a Zwave 500 variant and only supports S0. I have heard you can buy the zwave700 module from ebay. Then you can do SmartStart and S2 encryption which is better for the zwave network.

The module from Ebay will cost you a bit more though.

My understanding is this is because they only sell the 700 modules to oem builders and not us general users. Those guys have figure this out and sometimes when a user doesn't want Zwave pull the module and sell it on Ebay. They can do this because the lock regardless of weather you get wifi, zwave, or zigbee is the exact same lock. Bluetooth is included in it and then you add the other tech to it in a module. For this reason you can't have two of those options but you can buy any of them and switch between them easily.

I think support is a grey area for this as we aren't suppose to have it, but i have heard of a lot folk doing it.

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Wow, that is annoying.

I have the zigbee version of a couple Yale YRD deadbolts so that wouldn’t have occurred to me.

If you need to get the Zwave 3 module later the model number is AYR-MOD-ZW3 and is looks to be between 80-110 dollars.

The older one can be had for as low as 30-60 but looks to be most commonly around $45.

May want to consider getting the bluetooth version and then just adding the module from Ebay if the price is right.

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And then to add to the confusion further, there's the really old Yale Real Living modules.
They look like they should work, but aren't compatible with the Assure line.
But as supply dwindles are probably more expensive now anyhow. :thinking: