Category: Smart Locks

Fitting a deadbolt goes wrong in two places: the measurements you skipped before buying, and the cam you cannot see once it is assembled. The exact figures, the tool not to use, and the test to run with the door open.

August fits inside your existing deadbolt, so the exterior hardware and your keys stay exactly as they are. Which of the three current versions to buy, why it suits renters, and the four limitations worth knowing first.

Most locks people replace were not broken. The ten-second test that separates a bad lock from a dropped door, the keypad signals manufacturers actually document, and the one symptom that means your deadbolt is not secure.

Grade 1 is a commercial rating, and quoting it for a house deadbolt is the most repeated mistake in lock buying. What BHMA’s residential A, B and C ratings measure, what the tests involve, and which of the three scores your door actually needs.

Schlage locks have two different codes and most failed attempts change the wrong one. The six-step sequence every keypad model follows, the rules Schlage enforces silently, and why app-paired touchscreen locks refuse keypad programming entirely.

eufy puts Wi-Fi inside the lock and treats fingerprint reading as standard rather than premium. Which of the four current models fits your door – and the weather rating, battery and HomeBase catches to check first.

French doors fail at the framing and at the leaf with no handle, not at the lock. The four weak points, the 3-inch screw fix police departments actually recommend, and the order to work through them.

Yale’s lineup is one deadbolt sold four ways – keyed or key-free, keypad, touchscreen or fingerprint – plus a retrofit that keeps your existing keys. Which fits your door, what the letter grades mean, and the battery rule Yale states plainly.

Schlage’s range splits cleanly into connected locks and keypad-only ones — same lock body, different behaviour. Which half you want, and the two rivals worth weighing first.

The real decision is not which brand — it is whether you want an app at all. Four keyless locks, from keypad-only to fingerprint, and how to tell which side of that line you are on.