Smart Door Locks - UK

Greg-and-Rachael0
Level 2
Lancaster, United Kingdom

Smart Door Locks - UK

Hi,

We're new to hosting and recognise the need for a smart lock on the front door of our Little House. I've trawled through the discussions here on Airbnb and many reviews on the internet over the last week, and am still stumped. Each lock seems to have it's own peculair drawback. I was all set to purchase the Kevo 2nd generation smart lock via Amazon today (despite not having had a reply from Kwikset to my email query), then thought I should just check up on the shipping for the Kevo Plus - required for talking to the Kevo lock remotely when not in the house, only to find they only ship this item to the USA and Canada. 

 

Can anyone recommend a smart lock for use in the UK? We would like it to be reliable, and ideally have a physical key option as a back up. We would like to be able to give out access codes, revoke codes and do all this remotely "to and from anywhere in the World" 

 

So far We've discounted the following.

igloohome - doesn't ship to the UK. Poor reviews

 

Lockitron - Have to wait for a build date.

Danalock - not very good reviews

Remotelock LS-6i - massively expensive.

Schlage - Apple compatible only.

 

Seems, August is the main contender. 

 

We would really value comments from others in the UK who have gone down this route and found a great working solution.

Thank you

Greg & Rachael

10 Replies 10
Mohd-Faizal0
Level 2
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

for those locks with z-wave make sure the it supports the frequency for your country.

US frequence may not be the same from other countries and some of them require a hub to connect remotely etc.

 

i bought august smart lock but not yet install. i hope it's fine. based on my googling it is the most suitable for my budget and the quality is good.

Greg-and-Rachael0
Level 2
Lancaster, United Kingdom

Update.

The Yale locks and the Lockstate ones that Airbnb tout, don't work with beautifully designed 100 year old oak doors. Long story short, I decided that by process of elimination the Kevo smartlock with Plus hub was my best option to be able to control the door lock remotely, and allow guests access too.

Alas, Kevo only supply the Plus hub to US and Canada. Undeterred, I ordered my Kevo smartlock and a couple of fobs from Amazon, and had the Plus Hub delivered to a friend in Florida, then arranged a reverse collection and customs clearance to the UK.

With all the components to hand I set about drilling new holes for the Kevo Smart deadlock, following the instructions meticulously; even then it took me 5 or 6 attempts to fit the barrel and get it to retract smoothly via remote (fine with the key, but a slight snag with the remote), after chiseling away the barrel was fitted and the rest of the lock. It worked. Boy was I proud!

At this point you can open the door via an app and bluetooth on your phone - or a guests phone.

The hub allows conncetion to wifi and the lock to be controlled from anywhere in the world if you have wifi.

As you would expect it's just a black box, a transformer and a link cable. Easy to set up, "Woohoo".

Would the lock and the hub talk to each other...? Would they thump!

Is it because it's UK wifi? If I call tech support (In San Fran, 9 hours behind) will they tell me I shouldn't be using it in the UK? 

Called tech support, After a 15 min spoke to Annie, who guided me through the usual reset and update type stuff for the lock and within 15 mins we were all up and running. "Yeah!"

The lock is fantastic. Phone in pocket you just touch the lock and it opens. You can allow guests access by sending them an invite, they then register and can do the same, but after our first guest had a phone that was too old for the app, and my wife's phone went flat in town so she would have not been able to get in, we decided we would keep it simple and open the door remotely for guests - they then use the regular 5 lever mortice lock during their stay.

This has proved to be the best way forward. I get to have a conversation with the guests when they arrive, the smartlock has a "wow" factor, but they are still staying in a lovely 150 year old romantic cottage.

It's only let us down once when the cable from the transformer to the Plus hub wasn't connecting properly. I plan on hardwiring the transformer to the hub to avoid this weakness.

I believe this may be the only Kevo Plus set up in the UK, but would love to hear from anyone else who has one fitted. It's been a great solution for us. I'm happy to advise anyone else thinking of going down this route.

Greg

@Greg-and-Rachael0, thanks so much for providing the update!

 

It is so useful to hear feedback from someone who has used a product for an extended time.

 

I have an August lock, which works well for me but isn't perfect. I'll certainly take a look at the Kevo to see how it compares.

 

How much was it?

Hi Dave, Sorry, your question slipped under the radar.

It was about £400 by the time I bought the lock, the router so I can control the lock from anywhere with an internet connection, and paying to get it delivered to the UK.

Greg

This is great to read, Greg! 

 

How would you feel about coming and sharing your experience of using a smart lock with the wider community, at a free event in London at the end of the year? HOST is an event dedicated to hosts, and content will be delivered by hosts with success stories - much like yours. 

 

Let me know how to get in touch if you'd like more info

 

Oliver Hannaford

Hi Oliver,

It sounds interesting. It would depend on when it is, and if I am in the UK.

There are various ways you can contact me. 

email is probably the best but not sure if this is the place to advertise it.

Greg

Letti0
Level 10
Atascosa, TX

@Dave384  I have the Schlage keyless locks and have had not issue with all 5 of them that I have. They were all a little over $289 USD on Amazon with tax. I have the aged bronzed, so they were like $20 over nickel or gold colored. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Schlage-FE469NX-ACC-619-CAM/dp/B00D1M5YTG/ref=asc_df_B00D1M66GQ/?tag=hyprod-2...

 

Dave384
Level 2
Birmingham, United Kingdom

Thank you Letti 

 I am in the U.K so will need a device thats compatible with Pvc style doors that are common over here 

Letti0
Level 10
Atascosa, TX

@Dave384  I am pretty sure Schlage has one available for the UK also. Take a look on the UK Amazon I am sure you find the one for your area listed also.