August's New HomeKit-Enabled Wi-Fi Smart Lock Now Available to Order

[MacRumors]

First introduced at CES 2020, smart home accessory maker August's new HomeKit-enabled Wi-Fi Smart Lock is now available to order for $249.99 on its website and at Best Buy, with availability at more retailers to follow on May 17.

August says the Wi-Fi Smart Lock is 45 percent smaller and 20 percent slimmer than its Smart Lock Pro, and Wi-Fi connectivity eliminates the need for a bridge. Available in matte black and silver, the lock also sports a sleeker design with more rounded edges, and a new August badge helps users to visually identify the device's lock status.

As with other smart locks, the Wi-Fi Smart Lock allows you to lock or unlock a door remotely and grant access to family members, friends, and trusted visitors. And with the Activity Feed, you can know who is coming and going at any time, complete with push notifications. There are also auto-lock and auto-unlock features.

HomeKit support allows the lock to be controlled through the Home app on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch, or with Siri voice commands. For example, on an iPhone or HomePod, you could say "Hey Siri, lock my front door." The lock also supports Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, SimpliSafe, and Samsung SmartThings.

Installing the Wi-Fi Smart Lock takes less than 10 minutes, according to August. The lock can be installed on the inside of your door over your existing deadbolt, without touching the outside lock, allowing you to keep your existing deadbolt and keys. August door locks are compatible with most single cylinder deadbolts.

The new Wi-Fi Smart Lock can be ordered on August.com.

Article Link: August's New HomeKit-Enabled Wi-Fi Smart Lock Now Available to Order

 

[frumpywumpy]

unlock a door remotely and grant access to family members, friends, and trusted visitors. And with the Activity Feed, you can know who is coming and going at any time, complete with push notifications.

this doesn't seem as useful now, in these days of social distancing and isolation. i'm never remote, i'm stuck in my home, and no one visits me.

 

[alexandr]

i must be old-fashioned or paranoid, but i don't trust these "smart" locks. smart lights i'm ok with, maybe a smart ac, but the idea of a smart lock seems just too vulnerable to me.

 

[acolumb]

I'd totally be interested in one of these if it attached from the INSIDE of my house via an isolated VLAN / ethernet network, but not on my internet connected wifi.

 

[Robert.Walter]

i must be old-fashioned or paranoid, but i don't trust these "smart" locks. smart lights i'm ok with, maybe a smart ac, but the idea of a smart lock seems just too vulnerable to me.

just keep in mind, if somebody really wants in, the lock is unlikely to be the problem.
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I'd totally be interested in one of these if it attached from the INSIDE of my house via an isolated VLAN / ethernet network, but not on my internet connected wifi.

yeah because some guy in Moscow possibly unlocking your door is definitely gonna be a problem.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Does anyone have any experience with these sort of locks? How long does 2 CR123 batteries last? A month, a year, multiple years? Then what happens if the batteries die, can I still lock the door from the inside? There's a lot in information lacking on their website, especially if they're trying to sell a lock 5x the cost of a generic one from HomeDepot.

 

[alexandr]

just keep in mind, if somebody really wants in, the lock is unlikely to be the problem.
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yeah because some guy in Moscow possibly unlocking your door is definitely gonna be a problem.

totally, but there is still a difference between somebody having to break an entry, and simply clicking an entry)
said the guy in moscow)))

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Nope. Not on my house. A camera on the outside and alarm sensors is the extent of security-based automation I'll ever have.

If someone breaks in, it'll be loud enough for us to get ready to shoot (or shoot back), and the video will support my case in court, since I'm not Caucasian.

 

[[AUT] Thomas]

August says the Wi-Fi Smart Lock is 45 percent smaller and 20 percent slimmer than its Smart Lock Pro, and Wi-Fi connectivity eliminates the need for a bridge. Available in matte black and silver, the lock also sports a sleeker design with more rounded edges, and a new August badge helps users to visually identify the device's lock status.

Battery: CR123... the most expensive ones. Rechargeable ones exist, but are not common.
Integrated WiFi... probably drains the batteries even quicker...

Personally, I think the concept of a bridge that runs from AC and connects to the lock via BT wasn't so bad, especially when that costs the same as this one.

 

[cocky jeremy]

this doesn't seem as useful now, in these days of social distancing and isolation. i'm never remote, i'm stuck in my home, and no one visits me.

You being antisocial doesn't make this useless. lol.

 

[Apples Apples Everywhere]

I have the current non-WiFi August Smart Lock on one of my doors. It works really well, I really like it. We keep that door locked, so it effectively alerts me when people come and go.

I don't necessarily need WiFi or need it to be smaller, but I do sit here and think about whether I should put one on all of my doors. It would be nice to have a 10 PM automation to lock all of the doors.

 

[vailMike]

Does anyone have any experience with these sort of locks? How long does 2 CR123 batteries last? A month, a year, multiple years? Then what happens if the batteries die, can I still lock the door from the inside? There's a lot in information lacking on their website, especially if they're trying to sell a lock 5x the cost of a generic one from HomeDepot.

I have the current/previous generation version and absolutely love it. Kind of like how once you get airpods you can't imagine using the wired headphones that come with the iPhone, now when I travel and have to dig out keys (put down groceries or kids, etc) to get into a house I miss the convenience of my August. The batteries on my lock have thus far lasted over a year, and if they die the door just becomes a manual vs automatic door (use key from outside, turn knob from inside). One reason I liked this design is because from the outside everything looks normal. There is the risk of the door being unlocked remotely, but as other have said there is also the risk of somebody breaking a window. I receive alerts when the door is locked/unlocked, and I have motion cameras inside the house.

 

[herocero]

I'd totally be interested in one of these if it attached from the INSIDE of my house via an isolated VLAN / ethernet network, but not on my internet connected wifi.

If you have the abilities to isolate it on a VLAN, then I've no doubt you can block it from contacting home and disabling remote entry. Your regular key and near-field PAN would still work.

Matte black version not yet available. Boo.

 

[Rychiar]

I have august smart locks on both my apartment doors and for the most part they work well.. the biggest problem is the building shifts with temperature changes just enough to mess with the lock alignment and the August doesn't have the power to lock when it does so I often have to hold the door tight to get it to unlock. I also find ya have to be practically on top of it to get it to unlock from the phone many times. half the time I try from my driveway it didn't work... though it oddly works better when much more remote like over cellular

 

[hardwickj]

I'd totally be interested in one of these if it attached from the INSIDE of my house via an isolated VLAN / ethernet network, but not on my internet connected wifi.

They do attach from the INSIDE of your house. The exterior portion of the lock is just your standard deadbolt lock. They actually don't even supply that portion, you need to already have a lock in place, and it only takes the place of the interior half of the lock.

 

[an-other]

Does anyone have any experience with these sort of locks? How long does 2 CR123 batteries last? A month, a year, multiple years? Then what happens if the batteries die, can I still lock the door from the inside? There's a lot in information lacking on their website, especially if they're trying to sell a lock 5x the cost of a generic one from HomeDepot.

I have the Pro, and have changed the 2 AA batteries once in about 6 months or so. The wifi plug in dongle they provide is about six feet away. I'll venture this saves some battery drain searching for a signal.

My lock is on an inside door in the garage to the house. It's not something I used to lock as you have to get through my garage door first.

I don't have Homekit compatibility, however Siri works. A tap on the watch and "Unlock <name> door" and everything works very well. The watch is authenticated. You can't scream through the door to get it to open with a home pod.

The homekit feature would be nice to build automation. Smoke detector goes off -> lights change colors -> door unlocks. Not really life necessary, however it's fun to dip the toe in to house automation. Some day an old man will grab a young adult jumping out of the swimming pool, put his arm around him, and say: Home Automation. There's a great future in home automation. Think about it. Will you think about it?"

 

[Ja Di ksw]

Does anyone have any experience with these sort of locks? How long does 2 CR123 batteries last? A month, a year, multiple years? Then what happens if the batteries die, can I still lock the door from the inside? There's a lot in information lacking on their website, especially if they're trying to sell a lock 5x the cost of a generic one from HomeDepot.

I have a similar one, the Level Lock. Nice thing about it is you don't actually have anything showing, inside or out. You take the lock off, switch out the bolt with the smart bolt, and put your original lock back on. Looks the exact same inside and out as what I had before.

Here's what they don't really tell you though: As a safety feature, your phone will ASK you if you want it unlocked as you walk up. It doesn't do it 100%. So you still have to click on your phone to do it (or tell Siri if your phone is unlocked). I'd prefer to have it be 100% automatic, but it is still handy as it is. No digging keys out, just tell Siri to lock it as I'm walking away, or to unlock while I'm in my car before my hands are full of groceries or whatever I bought.

 

[justperry]

I Made my own Homekit enabled lock.

This..Maasland Lock

+ Shelly 1

+ A free custom firmware

Cost...Less than €100

 

[hardwickj]

Does anyone have any experience with these sort of locks? How long does 2 CR123 batteries last? A month, a year, multiple years? Then what happens if the batteries die, can I still lock the door from the inside? There's a lot in information lacking on their website, especially if they're trying to sell a lock 5x the cost of a generic one from HomeDepot.

The info is readily available. Just do a search on YouTube. But since you can't be bothered...
1. My current older model without the integrated wifi lasts about a year on a fresh set of batteries.
2. Yes, it still functions if the batteries die. You can unlock it from the inside and outside. It's still just a normal lock.

 

[Rychiar]

The info is readily available. Just do a search on YouTube. But since you can't be bothered...
1. My current older model without the integrated wifi lasts about a year on a fresh set of batteries.
2. Yes, it still functions if the batteries die. You can unlock it from the inside and outside. It's still just a normal lock.

a year? you're lucky. I get about 3 months which is what I've heard. I guess it depends on usage

 

[hardwickj]

i must be old-fashioned or paranoid, but i don't trust these "smart" locks. smart lights i'm ok with, maybe a smart ac, but the idea of a smart lock seems just too vulnerable to me.

For many people it's actually more secure since I can set it to auto-lock after anywhere from 1 to 30 minutes. I never manually lock my door anymore, it does it for me.
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a year? you're lucky. I get about 3 months which is what I've heard. I guess it depends on usage

It's on the primary/entryway door of my condo, of which I come and go throughout the day. If anything I'm an above average user. Just don't buy cheap batteries.

 

[GIZBUG]

I think they are about $50 higher than what a competitive price should be.
Will I replace my current August with this, at this price point? Nope

 

[hardwickj]

Also, if your locking cylinder doesn't align well and it experiences more than normal friction when locking/unlocking, that will definitely shorten the life of the batteries. I took the time to adjust the cylinder hole (whatever it's called) so that it engaged smoothly.

 

[camarograna2]

had to return competitors due to Bluetooth range issues.
Hub was too far from lock. Not sure why makers don’t go Bluetooth 5.0 route but I surely will get this WiFi version

Battery: CR123... the most expensive ones. Rechargeable ones exist, but are not common.
Integrated WiFi... probably drains the batteries even quicker...

Personally, I think the concept of a bridge that runs from AC and connects to the lock via BT wasn't so bad, especially when that costs the same as this one.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Solution looking for a problem, in my honest opinion. Might be useful for those who are physically less able, but I see nothing wrong with a well-looked after key and modern lock.