Apple Begins Selling Danalock V3, First Retrofit HomeKit-Enabled Smart Lock Available in Europe

[MacRumors]

Danalock today announced that the HomeKit version of its Danalock V3 smart lock is now available for purchase from Apple's website and retail stores in more than 20 other countries across Europe, after limited availability in April.

Danalock V3 is said to be the first and only retrofit smart lock compatible with Apple's HomeKit platform and Home app in Europe. Like the August Smart Lock, it is mounted on the inside of the door, enabling users to use a regular key for locking and unlocking the door from the outside if needed.

HomeKit support means users can control the lock with Siri voice commands or the Home app using an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, without needing a physical key. Through the Home app, it's also possible to give keyless access to family members.

For added convenience, users can connect the Danalock with other HomeKit accessories, such as cameras, lights, thermostats, switches, and security systems.

Apple's online store notes that the Danalock V3 is easy to install and globally compatible, with an adjustable cylinder set included in the box in countries outside of Scandinavia. It is battery powered and uses advanced AES-256 encryption.

Danalock V3 with HomeKit is available at select Apple retail stores in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. It's also available on Apple's online store in more than 20 countries in Europe and on Danalock's website.

Pricing: £219.95 in the United Kingdom and EUR249.95 in most other European countries.

Article Link: Apple Begins Selling Danalock V3, First Retrofit HomeKit-Enabled Smart Lock Available in Europe

 

[nibfiledotcom]

Just curious... why was the August lock not available in Europe?

 

[patjem]

That is great news. Now find a company in Barcelona that can do the installation for me and ask them the cost.

 

[nekonokami]

Had a V2.

Was so not impressed.

Mediocre build quality, pairing problems galore, geofence not reliable and opening the door randomly.
Not opening the door upon approach. Not opening. SLOW.

Oh, and you have to go via their servers.

Good idea, shoddy implementation.

 

[timborama]

Can they make it any bigger?!? I don’t really want some massive steel hockey puck stuck to my door.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Think I’ll stick to one of those old fashioned ‘lock and keys’.

 

[martyjmclean]

Think I’ll stick to one of those old fashioned ‘lock and keys’.

Good thing you can use keys in a smart lock.

 

[originalmagneto]

Just curious... why was the August lock not available in Europe?

Because of the “deadbolt” nature of the lock, which is not a standard in Europe and the insurance companies in the EU would not insure a property that has only a deadbolt lock. that’s why.

 

[Jetfire]

Can they make it any bigger?!? I don’t really want some massive steel hockey puck stuck to my door.

Really not much of a choice. You have to have a motor strong enough to turn the lock and a battery big enough to last. It looks about the size of the August Smart Lock. you could make it thinner but than it would get bigger in the other directions. Really the only way to make it look normal is to build it into the door and/or door frame.

 

[patjem]

Would it accept "hey Sire open the front door" when someone would shout that through the mailbox opening and your HomePod is listening?

 

[twistedpixel8]

Not sure why this is being sold in the uk. Nobody has a deadbolt here, they are all typically the type (I forget the name) which requires you raise the handle first to engage the catches.

I guess you could install an additional deadbolt for this but then what’s the point?

What we need is a smart lock that is able to trigger the catches automatically. It’s kind of surprising that it hasn’t been tackled yet.

 

[WilliamG]

Would it accept "hey Sire open the front door" when someone would shout that through the mailbox opening and your HomePod is listening?

You can’t unlock doors/garages/alarms etc that way. You can lock them that way, though.

 

[hagar]

I have the non-HomeKit version and the hardware is great. Easy to install and does what it’s supposed to do. However, the app and server platform are a mess. Plenty of bugs, ugly, confusing and very unreliable. Integration with Nest had never worked, integration with Airbnb (the epreason why i bought this lock) is cumbersome. I have lengthy threads of conversations with my Airbnb guests as they fail to create an account on their phones.

Customer support did promise a new server backend this month, so I’m hopeful. The firmware is at version 0.8.2 so at least they recognise it's not a stable 1.0 yet.

 

[ILikeAllOS]

Think I’ll stick to one of those old fashioned ‘lock and keys’.

Think I'll avoid those old fashioned ‘lock and keys’ that can be bypassed using a simple bumpkey or snap gun.

 

[trusso]

Think I’ll stick to one of those old fashioned ‘lock and keys’.

Good thing you can use keys in a smart lock.

Good thing you can use old fashioned locks and keys without a "smart lock."

 

[Carlanga]

Think I'll avoid those old fashioned ‘lock and keys’ that can be bypassed using a simple bumpkey or snap gun.

This one also has a key so I don't understand?

 

[name99]

Had a V2.

Was so not impressed.

Mediocre build quality, pairing problems galore, geofence not reliable and opening the door randomly.
Not opening the door upon approach. Not opening. SLOW.

Oh, and you have to go via their servers.

Good idea, shoddy implementation.

The design of these locks is SO STUPID right now.
The right way to do this is to detect an Apple Watch-specific signature by (close) presence --- the way the presence of an Apple Watch unlocks a mac. Add the other stuff (opening via HomeKit, so that remote opening is possible) if you have to, but the DEFAULT operation should be that I walk up to the door and it opens for me --- no nonsense with taking out my phone, launching an app on my watch, or anything else.

I don't know why these lock companies are so stuck in the past. Do they not have a single intelligent person on their staffs? Are they not at least vaguely familiar with how employee entrance cards work in corporate environments, and how THAT (only done even better) should be what they are emulating?

 

[hagar]

The design of these locks is SO STUPID right now.
The right way to do this is to detect an Apple Watch-specific signature by (close) presence --- the way the presence of an Apple Watch unlocks a mac. Add the other stuff (opening via HomeKit, so that remote opening is possible) if you have to, but the DEFAULT operation should be that I walk up to the door and it opens for me --- no nonsense with taking out my phone, launching an app on my watch, or anything else.

I don't know why these lock companies are so stuck in the past. Do they not have a single intelligent person on their staffs? Are they not at least vaguely familiar with how employee entrance cards work in corporate environments, and how THAT (only done even better) should be what they are emulating?

Danalock has support for geofencing and unlocks automatically when you approach the door.

 

[stop-hammertime]

Would it accept "hey Sire open the front door" when someone would shout that through the mailbox opening and your HomePod is listening?

No. HomePod and Apple TV cannot unlock "secure accessories".
[doublepost=1529114645][/doublepost]

The design of these locks is SO STUPID right now.
The right way to do this is to detect an Apple Watch-specific signature by (close) presence --- the way the presence of an Apple Watch unlocks a mac. Add the other stuff (opening via HomeKit, so that remote opening is possible) if you have to, but the DEFAULT operation should be that I walk up to the door and it opens for me --- no nonsense with taking out my phone, launching an app on my watch, or anything else.

I don't know why these lock companies are so stuck in the past. Do they not have a single intelligent person on their staffs? Are they not at least vaguely familiar with how employee entrance cards work in corporate environments, and how THAT (only done even better) should be what they are emulating?

Auto lock and unlock works fine on my August. Implementations like HID ProxCard isn't necessarily appropriate for the home: My two tweens doesn't have Apple Watches, and their friends are free to come and go through my unlocked door during the day.

 

[rikscha]

If it was smart, you wouldn’t be able to pick the lock. Just connecting a normal lock with smart features isn’t particularly good. I imagine a lock that you can only circumvent by breaking the entire door.
What lock are they using? Are they teaming up with some premium lock maker?

 

[stop-hammertime]

What's a "normal lock"? The point of these devices is that they're simply battery operated deadbolt turners. You can install it onto a $30 Kwikset, a $500 Medeco high security deadbolt, or the imaginary "unpickable" lock.

In any case, in the residential setting, no one bothers to gain unauthorized entry by picking the deadbolt: They're going pry your sliding glass door, break or window, or simply breaking the door frame as you said.

 

[hop]

What's a "normal lock"? The point of these devices is that they're simply battery operated deadbolt turners. You can install it onto a $30 Kwikset, a $500 Medeco high security deadbolt, or the imaginary "unpickable" lock.

In any case, in the residential setting, no one bothers to gain unauthorized entry by picking the deadbolt: They're going pry your sliding glass door, break or window, or simply breaking the door frame as you said.

Most of us in the EU don't have deadbolts, and the locks we do have vary quite as lot as to what's inside, which is why this thing is interesting as it comes with a new cylinder lock that gets around that compatibility issue. The only concern I have is that I can't find details on it, and don't really want to have a less secure lock than the very nice certified one I do now.

Also, I don't think most people would gain unathorised entry to my apartment any other way than my front door, seeing as I live more than 10 storeys up .

 

[supercoolmanchu]

Would it accept "hey Sire open the front door" when someone would shout that through the mailbox opening and your HomePod is listening?

Having a mailbox slot in your door automatically precludes you from ‘security’ concerns. It’s like an open window next to any locked door.

A wire, coat hanger, impromptu “slim Jim”, thru the mailbox slot and they are inside.

 

[RogerWilco]

"Siri, open the Danalock front door"
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that. You haven't subscribed to Apple Music yet and your iPhone is still on iOS 10"

 

[joemolomo]

Not sure why this is being sold in the uk. Nobody has a deadbolt here, they are all typically the type (I forget the name) which requires you raise the handle first to engage the catches.

I think they're called multipoint locks, Yale made a smart one called "Yale Conexis L1 Smart Door Lock" but can't rememeber if its HomeKit compatible.