THAT would be a bold move. THAT would be what a criminal would do. haha.
UGH - me ashok - me locked out.
I agree, since I don't have/use any USB "power banks" I like the odds of finding a 9v easily over a USB power to "jump start" the lock. That being said, it really doesn't concern me as I can always enter through the garage "in a pinch".
Maybe I'm just getting lazy but being on the "leading" edge of new devices has been a time and financial drain at times.
This is for an inner door, so @aaiyar's axe solution could be a answer for us. HA! In my experience, the locks usually give you fair warning of a low battery, so I guess that doesn't worry me as much as it should unless my house takes a lightening strike. Then all bets are off. This has come up because I have been working from home and have been leaving inner door unlocked quite often. Seems like such a small deal, but I guess maybe the times are making me think about it a bit more now.
Locks are good deterrents and keep the law abiding in line. For those determined to get smash through a lock there are better tools to have available which have lots of dumb friends
This is what I always say, but at least I'll hear someone trying to smash in and I'll be able to introduce them to my little friend named Springfield.
As a complete counterpoint, I'm seriously considering eliminating the smart locks entirely.
I don't use auto-unlock, as my paranoia makes me think it's a bad idea. None of them (except perhaps the Yale) seem to work real well, and we don't use the doors that have them anyway, as we always come in via the garage door...
I'm thinking they need to go...lol
S.
I originally went with a smart lock for deliveries. Our town is small and I needed a way to receive packages securely, which was the reason for my first smart lock. But we have an inner door that any delivery guy could walk through that's usually unlocked. Also, my parents care for our dogs when we aren't home. When they pop in, my husband has usually locked the inner door, so we have to run up and unlock it for them. Not a huge deal, but my parents just need to be able to walk in. It keeps going through my head that if something happened, i'd need to get the dogs out. Also, I want the door that we do use to be automated. our front door is still a dumb lock. And will remain that way because we don't use it much. There is no need to spend the money on it. So, I get you there.
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Also, I've noticed that the door we use the least is often the one that's forgotten and remains unlocked until my paranoid husband checks them and scolds me for it. To keep up the HAF, I just might buy one for that door just for that reason.
It's nice to keep track of who comes in and at what time. My daughter has a code that she uses and I get alerted when she (used to!) come home from school. She also doesn't need a key to get in which is helpful. We do lock our doors as a matter of habit though.
Our nest is empty, but I have a domestic engineer that comes every other tuesday. She's awesome! I have deliveries of cool stuff to the garage. I also have friends and family that may pop in for any given reason. They need to get in. We lock our doors out of habit, but I must admit that it's not the first thing on my mind. My husband reminds me of it often.
If you just want to confirm that it's locked, could always use the Kwikset conversion kit. You don't get the keypad but it's also a heck of a lot cheaper.
http://www.amazon.com/Kwikset-Convert-Smart-Conversion-Amazon/dp/B07YSX6W9B
$41 (or $30 if you want brass) for a smart lock ain't bad. Plus, no need to change the keys.
Thanks for the lead on that one. I did look at those also and considered it. Might be something I do for our front door in the future. In the end, that door (garage door) gets used as a primary point of entry, so I think I want to be able to set an autolock on it. But it's a consideration for my front door.
Has anyone had an Alfred lock long enough to know what battery life will be on them?
My big question on that lock too. I travel frequently for work and the last thing I need is to come home to a dead lock.
I've been spoiled with my Schlage non-connected keypad locks. In 10 years I've replaced the 9v in the garage door once and I've never changed the one in the front door deadbolt.
Here's what the manufacturer says... But who really knows?
Q: What is the DB series’ battery life?
A: Alfred’s lifetime depends on Bluetooth™ functionality and use. The average lifetime of Alfred is 9-12 months if used 10x daily.
And then on Amazon they say:
Alfred DB2's just take 4 standard AA batteries, which typically last 12-18 months under normal use.
Thanks!
The Alfred Team
I would think that the motor opening and closing once uses 10 times what the radios use in a week, given how long sensors last on such a small battery. So the number of opens/closes probably plays the biggest factor. And of course, the quality of the batteries. Probably would not want to use those ones you can get for free at Harbor Freight. lol
My lock that shall not be named zwave only uses batteries avery 6 or so months as long as it has a good mesh, that's not unrealistic.
Definitely. I haven't replaced the batteries in 2 of my zigbee Kwikset locks in about 14 months. One rarely gets used, but the other gets used at least 2x/day. They are at 70% and 80% battery.
As such, I wouldn't be happy with 9-12 months... But 12-18 would probably be OK.
Just a word of advice... The Halo Labs smoke detectors were awesome and new to the market. Lots of techie features and was ready to disrupt the smart smoke detector market. Then they ran out of money and closed. I have 8 of them installed... One of them has failed, so despite an awesome warranty I’m out of luck.
Moral of the story, on bigger ticket purchases stick with a company that has some history. Yale has been around and will more than likely continue to be here.
Signed,
The Guy with $800 of Discontinued Smoke Detectors
Ok so I wanted to sum it up. My front door has a Sch .... that lock that doesn't work. I spent a considerable amount of money on it back in the day. Locks aren't cheap. So I keep it around and have it working well on HE because I'm fortunate. I didn't do anything extra, but my zwave mesh is all mains, so I think that helps. But, I'm speculating. (Don't try this at home, kids)
So, I did go ahead and buy an alfred DB2 keyless lock. It will arrive tomorrow. I will do an unboxing write up. Since the lock is newer and not as well known, I want to put it out there like it is. So, I'll attempt to get it done tomorrow evening and get it posted with some video. I know that some of my friends advised to go with a reputable, been around for a while, but what fun would that be? I already have a Sch... ahem. So at this point, let's just poke the bear and try something different. "Poke the bear" It's my phrase of the week. Boop
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I should say why I decided to go with an Alfred. This lock is secondary lock, so I really like the idea of bluetooth entry. It's on a door that is used as often as it leads to the garage, but there is another entry door to the outside with a smart lock. So, by the time you get to the second lock, I'm about done with the codes. Just seems practical. I'm excited to see how it works out.
The one that @mike.maxwell demoed on Hubitat Live looked nice.. Kinda made me regret having just bought a lock... I am not having any issues with mine but that one looked so much nicer..