I'm looking to buy a Yale lock for use with HE. Based on what I've read here and on Consumer Reports, the Yale locks seem to be solid performers. Most of my smart devices are zigbee, so I'm looking to stick with that protocol here.
As with most devices, there seem to be stock issues at the moment. This is pushing me to purchase the lock and zigbee module separately. Below are the part numbers. Am I correct in assuming the zigbee module will plug into the lock and, voila!, now it's capable of integrating into HE?
I have two Yale locks, not identical (YRL-220) but quite similar. There's a slot above the battery compartment for the network module and ZWave, Zigbee and HomeKit versions available. There may be more, but those are the offerings I've seen.
I use ZWave but the slot in that lock looks the same as mine, and the Zigbee module looks the same as mine, except color (ZWave = Green, HomeKit = White) but except for the obvious delays after the fact corrections incur, Yale has been great with their support.... for me.
Be aware that Yale makes two versions of their module lines, the older Real Living translucent versions and the new Assure versions with solid colours.
Although they are physically the same they are not interchangeable and the incorrect pairing results in the module not being detected.
From my unscientific sample of two locks it appears the most obvious difference when you're inserting the module is the older locks have a built-in tab that clicks into the groove on the module.
If you have the Assure lock and the solid colour module of your desired flavour you should be fine.
I bought a Yale 226 lever lock on Amazon Prime day that didn’t include any module. I got them installed and then registered them on Yale’s website and upon registering I got a 10% coupon for Yale.com purchases. They had the Zigbee module in stock there so ordered it along with a Schlage lock cylinder to match the rest of my locks at a 10% discount. Worked out very well.
Agree with @aaiyar.
In the manual for the lock where they describe installing the zigbee module (23rd page), they actually note the part number AYR202-ZB. That seems fairly conclusive IMO.
It turns out the discount was a 20%...Too bad I couldn't have saved that on the actual lock instead of just the zigbee module.
Anyway, I wanted to share a couple of things I learned for anyone else who may read this someday. First, these locks are very sensitive to alignment. The fella who installed my original deadbolt didn't get the alignment just right between the holes drilled in the edge of the door and the hole in the face. Not a big deal when you're operating it manually, but the Yale with it's four AA batteries just couldn't make it latch. A bit of work with a file and that part got sorted out. Luckily the door latch was perfectly aligned with the strike plate in the jamb and the deadbolt slid in and out cleanly. It operated fine just like that, but I still hadn't received and installed the Zigbee module.
Earlier tonight I was able to install the zigbee module, get it paired, and test it out. It seemed to be working fine until I actually closed the door. When the door was closed, the deadbolt would extend but the state of the HE device continued to show "unlocked." It turns out the hole in the jamb wasn't deep enough for the deadbolt to get to full extension. Back to the toolbox for a chisel and a drill to remedy that issue and now it works like a dream.
Long story short, your installation needs to be spot on. If you're starting with a door you need to jiggle or jimmy to get the deadbolt to latch, you can expect to put in some work if you want your battery-powered hardware to work right.
