August Smartlock problems for non-US owners and guests

[Ian52027]

Hi

I've recently realised that August has very quietly stopped all product support and blocked app functionality for non-US owners and guests. I only noticed when a guest reported that could not register with the app in order to gain access to our smartlock and we started getting complaints as part of our feedback:

“Issues with electronic lock - unless you live in Canada/USA”

I did a bit of checking and sure enough, the app will now only accept registrations from US individuals. This not only impacts non-US owners but also means that US lock owners will also be unable to invite non-US guests to use their locks.

I contacted August customer support who simply said "Regrettably, the August and Yale Access app will not work outside the United States\Canada region...the August app and devices are intended to work only in the USA and Canada" and "this situation is out of our hands as this is a company resolution that the corporation made".

They initially suggested installing a keypad to get around the issue. However the app will not let you install additional accessories if you are outside United States\Canada region - the functionality has simply been removed. This has rendered the locks unuseable for our Airbnb rentals. 

Are other owners with August locks aware of this issue? (including US owners who cannot now invite non-US guests to use the locks)

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Ian

Only US app registrations are allowedAdding keypad/accessories now blocked

[Alex]

Hi @Ian52027!

Thank your for bringing up this topic to the community center. I'm sure that the answers in this post  will help a lot of people. 🤗

I'm tagging some members that were involved already in conversations about August Smartlock to see if they can answer your question: @Thear5 @Ermine1 

Best regards,

Alex

[Deniz195]

Having same issue, have 4 setups and now I cannot service people coming outside of Canada. I am not even told if it is a privacy issue or why they did this. This renders August Lock useless for me too. 

[Ian52027 · Accepted solution]

@Deniz195 Here's the latest non-update from August:

"Unfortunately, we don't have any update regarding compatibility outside of US/Canada. It is possible for you to create Smart Keypad unique codes for foreign guests, by this you are able to bypass the account creation problem. I hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any other questions!"

But of course we can't add a keypad because the August app no longer allows non-US owners to add accessories! 

[Jason2796]

Have the same issue. I get mostly European guests. I have to set up a new US number for each of them. I’ve had five August locks. The first one didn’t have Wi-Fi, but they worked pretty good. The second generation uses strange batteries can’t detect if the door is open or closed, and now this issue. This product/company has gone downhill. The only solution is replace all the locks. Thousands of dollars wasted!