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Level Lock+ Smart Lock With Home Key Support Launches in Apple Retail Stores

I saw the keyway, and my immediate impression is: maybe picking the lock is just as fast as one with similar keyway but without all the bells and whistles?
Unless this ridiculously overpriced lock has outstanding anti-pick features, you are basically grossly overpaying a lock for novelty and added maintenance overhead. I dunno if that worth it.
 
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dontwalkhand said:
For that price it should come with the entire door.
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Worse in Australia because unit entry door most of the time needs to be properly fire-rated. That door costs at least $2000 a piece lmao. And my guts tell me that lock is NOT fire-rated, which means they cannot be installed anyways. So, I don't know what's the point of that lock.
 
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Reactions: technole
Alan Wynn said:
You know what is easier than drilling or picking a lock? Breaking a window, or using a crowbar on the door frame. I do not know where you guys live, nor do I know how valuable the items in your home are, but I am guessing you are not real targets.
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The most valuable things in my house are my family and myself. Noisy break in will wake me up and I have other protective security measures to handle that if I am awake and aware. What I care about is silent entry when I am asleep and an easy to bypass lock makes that easy.
 
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I have a Level Bolt and it has been very good. I've had it for 6+ months and the battery has yet to die. The BT communication has been very reliable albeit slower than something that supports Thread. Given what I've seen with battery-powered Thread accessories, I would assume you'd start having to replace the CR2 battery more often.

rictus007 said:
So the CR2 batteries are for something else?
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I believe they're all like the Level Bolt, there is a CR2 battery stored inside the bolt itself.
 
They forgot to stamp it with the Apple brand logo - that would guarantee some sales, just like the $6000 monitor, etc…

Schlage has a whole fancy custom door set (in multiple finishes) that does the same thing for under $200. - Stupid people, probably friends of an Apple Wall Street parasite is marketing this… and priced it based on the other fools bait Apple sells….
 
Alan Wynn said:
Really? Can you provide a link to such a system For that price?
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I lived in China for over 10 years. I bought many doors. If you want them to ship to the US, that's gonna be a lot more expensive than if you are just installing them in China.
 
Just don’t even bother with level. Read their reviews on the App Store and other places. Seems like a pretty design with crappy software and battery life. The company looks like some Chinese front.
 
Jsdbbdbr8338 said:
Just don’t even bother with level. Read their reviews on the App Store and other places. Seems like a pretty design with crappy software and battery life. The company looks like some Chinese front.
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Overall I’m extremely happy with my 2 Level Touch. So much so that I’m willing to double down and upgrade to Lock+. Battery life is stated as 1 year so I change them up every 4-6 months to be safe. It’s not a big deal, and it’s actually kinda fun because the battery location is so innovative. It’s not perfect, but overall it’s a great product with unparalleled design.
 
BurgDog said:
The most valuable things in my house are my family and myself. Noisy break in will wake me up and I have other protective security measures to handle that if I am awake and aware. What I care about is silent entry when I am asleep and an easy to bypass lock makes that easy.
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If you live in an area where people are picking your lock to break into your house while you are home, you should have an alarm system, and probably consider moving to someplace safer. I would love some statistics as to how many break-ins there were in your area where people were home and the lock was picked.
 
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Arsenikdote said:
Does anyone have experience with this company and their products? I used Lockitron way back in the day and I would say our results were mixed at best. I was hoping to pick up the Schlage lock since the new one is HomeKit/Key compatible but stock has been an issue for a while. It is also much larger than this one and utilizes a keypad on the outside which I don't need. I will likely just wait for the Schlage unless there are a lot of good experiences with this company?
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Yes I have the deadbolt only version. It is great about 95% of the time. Occasionally the keypad doesn’t function that well by missing key presses or not telling the door to unlock. But the lock seems to be pretty great after over a year
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
$329.95??? Man, HomeKit must have margin to the moon. Here's the old-fashioned deadbolt with 4.5 stars from over 6K ratings on Amazon...

View attachment 2094960

I know it's a monumental nuisance to carry a key and use it- how did all the generations before ours get by without HomeKit locks???- but one could buy 22 of this type or only 1 of the other.

I like convenience as much as the next guy... and I'm not exactly cheap (I paid WAYYYYYYYY up for a loaded Mac Studio Ultra)... but this seems more like robbery for anyone willing to be robbed.

The irony is that probably when you buy enough of those for the various doors in a typical home and you pay up for the typical mix of up-to-date Apple goodies, there's probably little cash (or non-vital organs) left over for the bandits to steal. ;)
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Who has 22 doors? lol
 
Sadly, I live in Denmark, where the security doors (multipoint locking mechanisms) that came with my house are incompatible with any smart lock yet developed. Secure, but old school. :(
 
fischersd said:
Yeah, I (unfortunately) have a Level Touch. Wish I never bought it. Unreliable as all F***

It's supposed to use Bluetooth to unlock the door as you approach - works less than 10% of the time

The touch feature is also ridiculously slow (you may as well get your keys out).

And, yes, we just use our keys - unless we forget them, then we use the Home app to unlock the door. (I've forgotten my keys several times when walking the dog) :)

Only feature that works well is the auto-lock after 30 seconds (default interval).

BUT - with iOS 16, the Level has had a lobotomy - it's confused as to which side of the door I'm on after I'm home. Typically 15-20 minutes after I'm home, the lock auto-unlocks, then auto-locks again (per the 30s setting).

Support is non-existent. They'll tell you to pull the battery (reboot) the lock as that's all you can do. No apparent line to dev support to report bugs or make product suggestions.

Also awful for battery life. The battery that shipped with it only lasted the first month in. A brand new Duracell replacement? 3 months. You would expect a CR2 battery to last a lot longer than that.

Still on the fence about putting the old deadbolt back in and trying to sell this on Craigslist to get some of my money back.

Edit: The reason we went with this lock? It looks like a regular deadbolt from the outside - our Strata is extremely strict about everything looking the same - so, no smart locks that don't look like all of the Schlage and Weiser locks are allowed.
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Same exact experience here. Not good. Very expensive.
 
I have the Level Bolt and I love it, especially the self lock after 5 min. It makes it easy for the kids when they get off the bus to use Siri to unlock the door. My wife loves the fact that it using our existing hardware.
 
I bought a smart lock last year 2 AA batteries stilll going strong - it's awesome to be able to glance at my phone and my home screen wide indicates if the door is locked or not. I can remote control the door unlock or lock anywhere in the would - assign 25 codes - never get locked out or forget your keys. - no need to worry about beak it's again notifications of door unlocking. Coming home at night no fumbling for keys, going home with hands full - door unlocks with a voice command. Back up keypad code or voice entry. I would never go back to traditional lock ever again far more secure.
 
antman2x2 said:
I’ve had the level touch for over a year.

It blows. It literally does whatever it wants to the point where without the key I’d have been locked out.

Wanna use your finger? Nah doesn’t feel like working today. Okay, wanna unlock with your phone as you’re literally standing at the door? Nah doesn’t feel like working today.

It also reboots itself whenever it wants. And yes, this is a replacement lock.
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fischersd said:
Yeah, I (unfortunately) have a Level Touch. Wish I never bought it. Unreliable as all F***

It's supposed to use Bluetooth to unlock the door as you approach - works less than 10% of the time

The touch feature is also ridiculously slow (you may as well get your keys out).

And, yes, we just use our keys - unless we forget them, then we use the Home app to unlock the door. (I've forgotten my keys several times when walking the dog) :)

Only feature that works well is the auto-lock after 30 seconds (default interval).

BUT - with iOS 16, the Level has had a lobotomy - it's confused as to which side of the door I'm on after I'm home. Typically 15-20 minutes after I'm home, the lock auto-unlocks, then auto-locks again (per the 30s setting).

Support is non-existent. They'll tell you to pull the battery (reboot) the lock as that's all you can do. No apparent line to dev support to report bugs or make product suggestions.

Also awful for battery life. The battery that shipped with it only lasted the first month in. A brand new Duracell replacement? 3 months. You would expect a CR2 battery to last a lot longer than that.

Still on the fence about putting the old deadbolt back in and trying to sell this on Craigslist to get some of my money back.

Edit: The reason we went with this lock? It looks like a regular deadbolt from the outside - our Strata is extremely strict about everything looking the same - so, no smart locks that don't look like all of the Schlage and Weiser locks are allowed.
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to write up your experiences and feedback. That was a similar experience to what I had with the Lockitron. It was all good ideas and fairly meh execution. I know to expect some hiccups with tech stuff in general, but I am hoping for more the 80/20 not 20/80 :p My hue lights work 90% of the time the way their are supposed to. I hope my door lock would be near the same category XD Looks like I will still for waiting for the Schlage Encode+ to come in stock :-/
 
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