Reagle's HomeKit-enabled Smart Door Lock ships in July

Four AA batteries...sigh

I'm still waiting for a lock that is installed into the door frame rather than the door so that it can be connected to mains power. I don't want a battery powered door lock for my front door. There's a reason why commercial door locks that use things like swipe passes don't depend on battery power. The approach that all these companies have been taking with smart door locks so far may be easier and cheaper but it's certainly not the best way to do it. 

lolliver said:

I'm still waiting for a lock that is installed into the door frame rather than the door so that it can be connected to mains power. I don't want a battery powered door lock for my front door. There's a reason why commercial door locks that use things like swipe passes don't depend on battery power. The approach that all these companies have been taking with smart door locks so far may be easier and cheaper but it's certainly not the best way to do it. 

The problem with that solution is all homes do not route power to the door frame. An install liked this would have to be done when the house is built or you're doing lots of carpentry and electrical work. 

We know Apple implemented NFC solution for all their doors on their campus, you just need to put up your phone to unlock a door, if you're not gong to us a traditional lock set, this is the better method.

lolliver said:

I'm still waiting for a lock that is installed into the door frame rather than the door so that it can be connected to mains power. I don't want a battery powered door lock for my front door. There's a reason why commercial door locks that use things like swipe passes don't depend on battery power. The approach that all these companies have been taking with smart door locks so far may be easier and cheaper but it's certainly not the best way to do it. 

I’ve had my Schlage Sense locks installed for a year now with no need to replace batteries yet. 

CheeseFreeze said:

Four AA batteries...sigh

There's nothing wrong with using batteries, properly implemented, especially when there's keyed access. I'd hope that Reagle uses them as two batteries in series, then paralleled to the other set so that you're not replaced batteries every couple of months.

lolliver said:

I'm still waiting for a lock that is installed into the door frame rather than the door so that it can be connected to mains power. I don't want a battery powered door lock for my front door. There's a reason why commercial door locks that use things like swipe passes don't depend on battery power. 

Because they can. The commercial property is at some point designed to have a higher level of security. And these locks are dead if there's a power failure. Most are not designed to open in the event of a power failure. So they rely in batteries in case of power failure. Otherwise any electric/electronic lock is no better than an ordinary lockset.

 

lolliver said:

The approach that all these companies have been taking with smart door locks so far may be easier and cheaper but it's certainly not the best way to do it. 

This as well as many other electric locks are primarily for home use and for retrofitting. As mentioned most people will not be routing power to their door frames. That's just not practical. Wooden door frames are a weak point anyway, but very few homes have a metal door frame. Apartment renters are even more limited in their options. So 'best' is relative.

My preference is a smart lock with no keypad. Nobody but me needs to know there is one. Batteries are fine. Key access is a given, as a back up. One less vulnerable (Medeco, etc) to bump-keys than traditional pin-and-tumbler locksets would be a huge plus.