Today my wife realized that all this random computer shit I do is actually kinda useful. 😆
this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2025
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This only proves that we much let all the internet businesses consolidate into one single corporation so that everyone gets equally screwed something fails. /s
That's the equality we get nowadays
All of my locks are mechanical and any "smart" applications are blackholed. Challenge accepted.
I've not seen the appeal of "smart" locks - on houses.
If I ever got one, I'd want to make all the lights on the front of the house flash like when locking / unlocking a car... maybe even with a bleep / chirp 😉
I think they are great. I don’t carry keys any more and if family are visiting, I can email a key.
Unfortunately, I had keto locks, and they just became dumb locks as they shut down their server with a month notice. My next will be home assistant compatible.
Yeah, this is really the point - reliance on cloud (someone else's computer) for fundamental functionality isn't a good idea.
Glass is going to break before anyone bothers with the lock, so it's not a security device it's a convenience device... but not if you can't use it... and you don't have keys with you...
But, ok, if it's fully locally controlled (HA compatible as you mention), then you're more in control of your own home.
I’d love to hear which ones are compatible, possibly zigbee also.
Schlage Camelot is probably the best option overall. Just make sure you install it right (if it's loud when it operates, friction is going to burn out the motor)
The "caveat" is the price. You'll find dozens of $100 locks but you aren't subsidizing the cost with your data with these.
I think they are mostly used on AirBNB and other short term.rentals.
Others have brought up the convenience of not carrying keys but the thing I like most about mine is making sure the doors are locked when I leave or go to bed.
Yep, that's my use-case. I am not interested in unlocking the door, only locking it.
I used to think this but I really like that my car unlocks as I approach it! I understand the risk there but damn is that convenient.
But my other use case is my kids. They’re legally adult yet still can’t seem to remember to bring their keys. Those idiots keep putting a hide-a-key in an extremely obvious spot. But they always bring their phone
It's worth it the first time you think "wait, did I lock the front door?" and don't have to get out of bed.
This. If they sold a dumb lock that just reported whether it was locked or unlocked I would buy it in a heartbeat.
They kinda do, but not totally dumb: Unmotorized deadbolts. They're more like strikes, they prevent/allow the deadbolt to turn with an electromagnet.
You could just look at the status of it but at that point, I'd just get the motorized one. I think the price difference is like $50
I don't carry keys, ever. My keys are on my phone. Much better than my keys being next to my phone.
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All hardware people buy smart locks because they know locks are super easy breakable and pickable.
All software people buy keys, since they know software has bugs and you can get in easily.
So what are you?
My goal has always been to have a better lock than the neighbours
I don't bother with the quality of the lock because I recognize the door itself as the weak point.
Smart, investing in a proper door do be verry expensive.
A fully 3/3 EU stared door only means it can hold someone out for 5 minutes. And your door is as week as the weekest point
Modern doors are safe. It's the windows you should worry about.
My concern is losing track of keys. I’ve lived in the same house for quite a few years and am far beyond time to rekey. Neighbors have keys, my ex has keys, as does her mom, kids went through so many keys, lawn service, several cleaners, etc. at this point I’m sure I lost track of some.
I like the idea of a smart lock where I can issue and revoke keys at will. It would also be nice to schedule keys, like the house cleaner’s key only works on the day I’m expecting her
We personally have a smart lock. And just giving a time and date window code to the Pet caretaker is super awesome. Also a lot of friends have a personal code but van only enter during day time. We also sometimes forget to fully lock, or use the night lock. But with an (local and EU-based) smart lock that problem is also solved.
What product is it?
Nuki
I'm on team "I'm definitely going to forget to lock my doors so it's probably worth the decrease in security to ensure that they're at least locked when I leave the house."
I'm also on team it'd be easier to just smash the window while I'm at work than learn how to pick a lock.
All hardware people buy smart locks because they know locks are super easy breakable and pickable.
All software people buy keys, since they know software has bugs and you can get in easily.
My bro bought my mom a smart lock. It has a bypass key. Worst of both worlds?
I've thought about smart locks.
That's about as far as I got. Critical things like that I prefer to be fully manual. Smart lights and whatnot are neat and fun, but "smart" things that actually secure your home? No thanks.
I would buy a smart lock that has a locking, but no unlocking, function.
I've definitely forgotten to lock door(s) chasing after a toddler, something that would allow the locks to automatically lock behind me would be great.
I would go for something that tells me about the status of a lock. Like a door open/close sensor. But I wouldn't give it any control.
That would work for my use case too.
"No one home, but you left the door unlocked. Dummy"
I’ve also consider but don’t really have a second door I can use as backup. My first priority is always local operation but you still risk dead battery or misconfiguration. If there were two independent smart locks, they probably won’t have issues at the same time. Unfortunately other entrances are sliders where there is no external lock ….. I really need to get my garage door functional
I’ve also consider but don’t really have a second door I can use as backup. My first priority is always local operation but you still risk dead battery or misconfiguration. If there were two independent smart locks, they probably won’t have issues at the same time. Unfortunately other entrances are sliders where there is no external lock
Every keyless smart lock I've seen typically has a keyed version as well. My sister has a Yale lock, she says it'll warn her about a low battery months before it actually dies, so I guess there's that, but still. I'd rather just stick with a key.
I really need to get my garage door functional
My garage door opener has wifi, but it's a Chamberlain MyQ unit, and we all know how Chamberlain feels about HA users.... I rarely use that function these days. Looking into ratdgo now.
While HA would be best, traditional remotes work too especially since one of the goals is an independent locking mechanism. I’m fine with clicking the button in my car or entering the code on an outside unit, especially knowing there are no common failure modes with a front door smartlock
Absolutely 100%. Two of our cars have garage door openers built in anyway (Toyota), so that makes it even easier.
My lights and motion sensors were obviously unaffected (HomeAssistant). My Emporia Vue2 power monitor would possibly have stopped working, except I flashed it with ESPHome firmware, so it's local only, and of course it was fine. My security cameras (Frigate) were also fine.
If my smart home devices are going to stop working, it will almost certainly be my fault, thank you very much!
Ring, etc are either slow or not responding
Nice.
Huh, mine seems to have no recording gaps - I can scroll through the last couple of days to count how many dogs shit on my lawn. I didn’t need that this morning, LoL
My doorbell was out for a few hours yesterday. Pretty dumb. I'm replacing my Ring shit though, I've got a Frigate NVR set up and am working on getting a reliable stream from local wifi cameras... Can't exactly run new cable drops wherever I want in a rental.
I've slowly removed all cloud dependency from things in my home including cameras, appliances, and thermostat, and didn't even notice the outage. After this year's tsunami of dumpster fires it's nice to watch one pass us by.
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