Smart Locks near you

Smart locks differ in how much of the existing hardware they replace, which matters far more than the feature list when you rent, when covenants govern what the door may look like, or when the current lock is perfectly good.

Nearly every smart lock that jams, grinds or eats batteries is telling you about the door rather than the electronics. A person turning a stiff bolt by hand barely notices the resistance; a small motor doing it twenty times a day does, and it fails early. An installer worth hiring tests the door before opening a box.

The measurements that decide compatibility are the backset, the door thickness, the size of the existing bores and the handing of the door. Storm doors, thick custom slabs, metal doors with a narrow edge and glass side panels all complicate the fit. Getting those numbers before purchase avoids the common outcome of a lock that cannot be returned once the packaging is open.

Licensing of this work sits with the states, and they do not agree, so the only reliable answer comes from your own state's board. Fitting a battery deadbolt is hardware work that many states do not regulate as a distinct trade at all, while running new wiring for a hardwired access control system is a different matter wherever you are. California illustrates how the line is drawn: the CSLB issues a C-7 classification for a communication and low voltage contractor who installs, services and maintains energy-limited low voltage systems, with low voltage fire alarm systems excluded from it, and a separate C-10 classification for the electrical contractor who places, installs, erects or connects electrical wires, fixtures, raceways and conduits. Other states organize it their own way.

If you rent, the lease and your state's landlord-tenant law govern the door, not your preference. Some states put affirmative duties on the landlord instead: California requires the landlord to install and maintain an operable dead bolt lock on each main swinging entry door of a dwelling unit and operable window security or locking devices for windows designed to be opened, and it makes the tenant responsible for telling the owner or the authorized agent when a dead bolt or window locking device becomes inoperable. Ask in writing, agree who holds administrator access and codes, and keep the original hardware so the door can be restored when you leave.

In a condominium or a community with covenants, the constraint is usually appearance and structure rather than security. California's rule for common interest developments lets a member make improvements within the boundaries of their separate interest that do not impair the structural integrity or mechanical systems, while any change in the exterior appearance of a separate interest must accord with the governing documents. That is why a retrofit module that leaves the outside of the door untouched so often clears an architectural review that a new exterior keypad would not.

How the lock communicates decides what you can do from away and what happens on a bad day. A Bluetooth-only lock talks to a phone standing at the door. It is frugal with batteries and keeps working regardless of your internet service, but you cannot let a neighbor in from the office without adding a bridge.

Wi-Fi locks reach the internet directly, which is the most convenient arrangement and the hungriest. Expect shorter battery life and a lock that depends on good signal at an exterior door, which is often the weakest corner of the house. Hub-connected locks use a low-power protocol to a hub that does the internet-facing work, which usually gives better battery life and faster response at the cost of one more box to keep powered and updated.

Whichever path you choose, ask the supplier one question before buying: what still works when the internet is down and when the manufacturer's service is unavailable. A lock whose keypad keeps admitting existing codes offline is in a different class from one that becomes decorative during an outage. Ask the same question about the manufacturer's future, because a connected lock outlives software support far more often than it wears out.

The account behind the lock is the lock. Someone who reaches it does not need to touch the door, so the FTC's guidance for connected devices at home applies with more force here than to a smart bulb: change the default username and password, avoid a password reused from another account, and use two-factor authentication where the device offers it.

Everything about a lock matters less than whether people can leave. The interior side must release immediately by hand, without a code, a phone or a key, for a child, a guest or anyone with limited grip, and it must do so during a power failure and in the dark. Building and fire codes are adopted state by state and locally, so ask your installer and your local building department what applies where you live, and treat any configuration that requires a code to get out as the wrong configuration for a home.

Then plan for flat batteries, which is the failure you will actually meet. Most locks warn well in advance through the app, a light or a tone, and many provide an external contact that lets a battery pack wake the lock long enough to open it. A mechanical key override remains the most dependable backup of all, which is an argument for keeping the keyway rather than removing it. Keep that key with you or with someone nearby, not under a rock by the step, and turn it occasionally so the cylinder does not seize from disuse.

It is also worth checking the hardware itself for safety notices. Connected door and entry products do get recalled: CPSC publishes recalls and safety warnings and tells consumers to report an unsafe product on SaferProducts.gov, and searching that list for the model you are about to buy, or the one that came with the house, takes a minute.