Front Door Smart Lock: 3 Things We Love, 1 We Don’t

Two months ago we switched to a smart lock on our front door. There are three things (at least!) that we love about about this smart lock and one thing we don’t love.

Before I dive into the details, I want to mention that we feel so fancy now with a smart lock.

We don’t have a Ring doorbell camera. We don’t even have a regular doorbell. If you come to our house, you have to knock on the door like in the good ol’ days. If you do knock, I may or may not “hear you knock,” if you get the excuse I’m throwing out there. Just depends on how I’m feeling and what I’m wearing or not wearing at the time.

I’ve also resisted the urge to switch to a smart lock for years now because we have a really old house and it just did not seem to fit with my vision for how the front door on an old house should look. Never mind the fact that our front door is not THAT old. I’m spinning my own version of reality here.

Speaking of reality, our old door lock started to give us trouble and the kids lost their keys. Enough was enough. I agreed to a compromise if we could find a lock that didn’t look too offensive. I’m so glad I did because even I have been won over by the perks of our new smart lock.

Here are the things we love about it and one we don’t. I should note that this is not a sponsored post. The lock folks do not know who I am. I have included affiliate links though.

#1 Thing We Love About A Smart Lock: Ditch the key

I had a weird, even insecure feeling about leaving our house for the first time after we installed our smart lock, the Yale Assure Lock 2, without a key.

It felt like something was missing. A key item, if you will.

How could I trust this lock was going to unlock without a key? Never mind the fact that I had already tested it ten times at home while my husband was on the other side of the door. The eleventh time could have been when the wheels fell off the bus.

I got over that feeling REAL QUICK. Not having to take a house key with me when I leave the house is glorious.

If I want, I can go on a walk with nothing in my pockets now.

Don’t even get me started on the perks of having kids and not worrying about whether or not they have their house key, lost their house key, etc.

What a grand time to be alive.

#2 Thing We Love About A Smart Lock: Unlock With An App

Try not to be jealous! I can sit in my car and unlock my house with the lock app on my phone before I load my arms down with a week’s worth of groceries.

I realize having to set your bags down in order to use a key to unlock your front door probably doesn’t even make the list of minor inconveniences one encounters in a day.

But NOT having to do that because you’ve unlocked the door from your car? It’s one of life’s little glimmers. A bright spot. It makes me feel like I’m operating smarter not harder.

What could be better than that feeling? Oh, let me tell you.

Have you ever laid in bed at night wondering if you locked the front door? Someone has to check otherwise no one is going to sleep because there could be a murderer lurking outside getting ready to do murder-y things. Of course, your spouse wants to play “Rock, Paper, Scissors” to see who has to get out of your nice cozy bed to go check the front door so you don’t get murdered. Not cool.

That used to be us, but now we can just check the app on our phones to see if our door is locked or unlocked. If it isn’t, then one of us brave souls can lock it from bed.

Everyone wins.

#3 Thing We Love About A Smart Lock: Multiple Ways to Lock and Unlock

The particular lock we have opens four ways.

First, with a passcode from 4 to 8 digits in length. I’d recommend going with 8. You can assign different passcodes to different people.

Second, with a fingerprint. I can see how this would be helpful if you are worried you’ll forget your passcode.

Third, by using the app on your phone.

Fourth, with a regular key. That’s right! We bought one with a key backup. The lock is going to tell you when the battery is going low, but if for some reason you still didn’t get to it in time or it has otherwise malfunctioned, it has a key.

Some smart locks don’t have a key backup, but this made me feel more comfortable about making the switch.

The thing we don’t love about our smart lock is actually pretty silly and I feel like I’m grasping for something to dislike.

When you open a regular keyed door, you can open the door as soon as the key has turned without removing the key from the lock. It’s quick, but that’s why people end up forgetting their keys in the lock.

It does feel like it takes slightly longer to get into the house with a smart lock if you are unlocking it using the keypad. That’s because you have to wait half a beat (it’s probably a second and a half) for the device to register and then slide the deadbolt open.

Handy Husband says the door lock motor is probably optimized to maximize the length of the battery. Well, in that case…carry on.

This is not a real complaint. Just something I’ve noticed about our door locking behavior.

Now, I know some of you are reading this and thinking, “I’ve been unlocking my front door with a key my whole entire life. I don’t need to switch.” You’re right. You don’t need to switch.

But you might enjoy the perks of switching like we did.

We may be old enough to need reading glasses, but we aren’t too old to switch to a smart lock.

It wasn’t particularly hard to switch out the old lock for the smart lock. It comes with a step-by-step installation guide. If you can operate a screwdriver, you can switch out your lock.

The key to unlocking happiness doesn’t involve an actual key, but a keypad on your smart lock.

You can thank me later.

Do you have a smart lock? How about a doorbell camera? Tell me all about your fancy living. Please leave a comment on this blog post, email us here, or reach out via Instagram or Facebook.

P.S. When you buy a smart lock, it only replaces your deadbolt. You don’t have to get a new handleset. If you like our door handle, it is made by Schlage. We have the matte black color.

P.P.S. We have the Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch With Wifi/Bluetooth and Key in black suede. There’s a cheaper version that doesn’t have all the same features, so check that you’re getting all the features you want. We bought ours from Best Buy during a flash sale. You can also get them on Amazon or directly from Yale. Definitely shop around to see who is offering the best price at the time.

Thank you for hanging out with me today. I hope you can relate to my door answering antics. Here are some other blog posts you might enjoy.

One Year With An Electronic Lock. (We have a not smart lock with a keypad on our Carriage House. )

All About Rim Locks (Vintage Door Hardware) This type of hardware is more my speed.

How to Turn a Clock Into a Picture Frame

*Affiliate links in this blog post. If you buy something using one of the links I’ve provided, I make a small commission. You might click on the lock link, but end up buying fuzzy slippers instead. It happens. I don’t know who is making purchases. You stay anonymous AND you get to help me keep the lights on around here. What could be more win, win than that?