Schlage Sense smart lock Wi-Fi adapter coming, does not extend HomeKit connectivity

Posted:
in General Discussion
The new Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt Wi-Fi Adapter allows for remote control of the house lock from anywhere -- but does not extend Bluetooth range with HomeKit compatibility at all.




The addition of the Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt Wi-Fi Adapter allows for remote control with the Shlage Sense app on the iPhone. In conjunction with the app, users can create and delete up to 30 unique access codes for trusted individuals, and schedule access.

Following Schlage's announcement of the wireless networking adapter, AppleInsider reached out for clarification. A Schlage representative confirmed that HomeKit compatibility is limited to short-range Bluetooth, meaning that for outside the home control, HomeKit users need a home hub, such as an Apple TV, or iPad set up in very close proximity in the home to regulate communications.

Without using an Apple TV or an iPad as a home hub, users are limited to the Schlage app for control of the lock. Control outside the home requires the Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt Wi-Fi Adapter. Addition of an Apple TV or iPad as a home hub allows for remote control without the Schlage app.





The Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt has been available for $229 from Amazon and select Apple, Lowe's and Home Depot stores. The Schlage Sense Wi-Fi Adapter retails for $69.99 and is available from Amazon, Lowe's and Home Depot.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,312member
    What I look for in getting a lock, is making sure it doesn't h ave that crap SmartKey feature. This is where there's a little hole on the left next to where you install the Key. This lets you easily program the lock to use a different key. Instead of the normal having to pull apart and put new pins in. The problem is, all the plastic used inside to make this possible. Using a simple tool, you can break through the lock in about 10 seconds. When done even lock the door backup. Of course the lock is destroyed internally at that point. Your key will in general continue to work until it just fails. So when I see these so called Smart Locks with the Smart Key feature, I say no thanks!!! Of course I went to home depot looking to get a rekey set and now they don't sell them anymore?!?! Really? LAME! A year ago a Rekeyed 6 locks at my house. 3 of them Deadbolts. Wasn't to, to hard. All the locks now use the same key. Makes things nice.
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 2 of 11
    jbdragon said:
    What I look for in getting a lock, is making sure it doesn't h ave that crap SmartKey feature. This is where there's a little hole on the left next to where you install the Key. This lets you easily program the lock to use a different key. Instead of the normal having to pull apart and put new pins in. The problem is, all the plastic used inside to make this possible. Using a simple tool, you can break through the lock in about 10 seconds. When done even lock the door backup. Of course the lock is destroyed internally at that point. Your key will in general continue to work until it just fails. So when I see these so called Smart Locks with the Smart Key feature, I say no thanks!!! Of course I went to home depot looking to get a rekey set and now they don't sell them anymore?!?! Really? LAME! A year ago a Rekeyed 6 locks at my house. 3 of them Deadbolts. Wasn't to, to hard. All the locks now use the same key. Makes things nice.
    I am trying to figure how your rant has anything to do with the article
    lolliver
  • Reply 3 of 11
    jbdragon said:
    What I look for in getting a lock, is making sure it doesn't h ave that crap SmartKey feature. This is where there's a little hole on the left next to where you install the Key. This lets you easily program the lock to use a different key. Instead of the normal having to pull apart and put new pins in. The problem is, all the plastic used inside to make this possible. Using a simple tool, you can break through the lock in about 10 seconds. When done even lock the door backup. Of course the lock is destroyed internally at that point. Your key will in general continue to work until it just fails. So when I see these so called Smart Locks with the Smart Key feature, I say no thanks!!! Of course I went to home depot looking to get a rekey set and now they don't sell them anymore?!?! Really? LAME! A year ago a Rekeyed 6 locks at my house. 3 of them Deadbolts. Wasn't to, to hard. All the locks now use the same key. Makes things nice.
    Maybe back in 2010, but Smart Key has come a long way.  It also has nothing to do with this, since Kwikset and Baldwin use Smart Key...
    lolliver
  • Reply 4 of 11
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 13,058member
    jbdragon said:
    What I look for in getting a lock, is making sure it doesn't h ave that crap SmartKey feature. This is where there's a little hole on the left next to where you install the Key. This lets you easily program the lock to use a different key. Instead of the normal having to pull apart and put new pins in. The problem is, all the plastic used inside to make this possible. Using a simple tool, you can break through the lock in about 10 seconds. When done even lock the door backup. Of course the lock is destroyed internally at that point. Your key will in general continue to work until it just fails. So when I see these so called Smart Locks with the Smart Key feature, I say no thanks!!! Of course I went to home depot looking to get a rekey set and now they don't sell them anymore?!?! Really? LAME! A year ago a Rekeyed 6 locks at my house. 3 of them Deadbolts. Wasn't to, to hard. All the locks now use the same key. Makes things nice.
    I am trying to figure how your rant has anything to do with the article
    It doesn’t, but he’s right. They’re crap deadbolts:

    https://www.google.com/search?q=kwikset+smart+key+hack
  • Reply 5 of 11
    By reading this, I'm to understand the wifi hub is taking the place of the AppleTV/HomeKit Hub for folks on non-Apple devices? Essentially to add connectivity that Apple had all along with HomeKit? I've had one of these for the last couple of years and I can lock/unlock the door from anywhere.
    lolliver
  • Reply 6 of 11
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,919administrator
    cynder said:
    By reading this, I'm to understand the wifi hub is taking the place of the AppleTV/HomeKit Hub for folks on non-Apple devices? Essentially to add connectivity that Apple had all along with HomeKit? I've had one of these for the last couple of years and I can lock/unlock the door from anywhere.
    It can -- but it doesn't have to. There's no functionality being removed. The existing lock is still fine with HomeKit, assuming it can connect to an iPad or Apple TV.
  • Reply 7 of 11
    I have been waiting for a company to also make a lock that is smart enough to know if the door is open or closed.  I think it is stupid to buy a separate sensor for the door position.  This is so true when the locks have an auto-relock feature.  How Dumb can it be to have a "Smart" lock self lock when the door is in the open position.  

    With add on units like the august lock, I can see how it may not be possible but when you are making the whole unit, I can not understand how they do not build this self awareness feature.  I for one will not be replacing any locks until it also knows if the door is closed or not.  
    lolliver
  • Reply 8 of 11
    I have been waiting for a company to also make a lock that is smart enough to know if the door is open or closed.  I think it is stupid to buy a separate sensor for the door position.  This is so true when the locks have an auto-relock feature.  How Dumb can it be to have a "Smart" lock self lock when the door is in the open position.  

    With add on units like the august lock, I can see how it may not be possible but when you are making the whole unit, I can not understand how they do not build this self awareness feature.  I for one will not be replacing any locks until it also knows if the door is closed or not.  
    I had to disable the auto lock function on my two Schlage Sense deadbolts, because of exactly that factor. Once heating season arrives again, I will turn auto lock back on once more, since the doors will remain closed. 
  • Reply 9 of 11
    First, the range of consumer-grade Bluetooth 1.x-4.x transceivers is very short, which was great for door locks, whereas consumer WiFi transceivers can connect from upwards of a mile away under the right circumstances. I wouldn't buy a door lock with built-in WiFi and I would never put a WiFi-to-Bluetooth gateway in for any door locks that are important (and that's without even registering it to a "cloud" account which raises additional security issues).

    Second, these are very good quality locks made by a company that has been making (dumb and smart) door locks for a very long time (i.e., they did not go into business to cash-in on a HomeKit or Alexa craze and ship Chinese junk off Alibaba dressed up in a fancy designer gift box). I have exposed these locks to harsh elements (intense heat that would scald your hand if you touched the lock as well as sub-freezing temps) in multiple locations and they work well with only minimal battery issues. The issue of the SmartKey technology being easy to "bump" was solved long ago (I think before HomeKit-enabled units that feature it).  The main issues are with the bad voice-recognition in AppleWatch (say "Hey Siri Unlock the Blue Door" into your Watch and it will eventually refuse most of the time whereas your iPhone, if it overhears the command, will usually do it) and also, the AppleTV-Gen4-as-a-hub seems to be a bit flakey after router reboots/power loss (IP reassignments, lost connection to iCloud, who has time to troubleshoot). I don't currently trust the HomeKit "macros" feature, especially with geofenced triggers.

    It's worth noting that a little over a year ago there was an issue where Apple had changed the Bluetooth software in its latest iOS release in such a way that the lock's app was not able to update the lock's firmware (and that firmware update was required to maintain compatibility with the HomeKit software in the latest iOS release). The situation was resolved only by use of an older (32-bit-only) device (like an old iPad) that couldn't have upgraded to the latest iOS release and therefore didn't contain the new Bluetooth software that inhibited their lock's app from updating the lock's firmware. Once the lock's firmware was updated from the old iOS device, then lock worked with even the devices running the latest iOS. Can't really blame the lock manufacturer for that, it's just something to be aware that can happen.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    Kelly GKelly G Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    So I first set up the sense lock and connected it to home kit via Bluetooth on my iPhone. I wanted to get “anywhere” control, so I added the wifi adapter. In order to set it up, I had to kill the home kit connection on the lock and set it up via the schlage system. I did that, and got it all connected to the wifi adapter and I can control the setting up and access from anywhere now, USING THE SCHLAGE APP ONLY. I was unable to get it reconnected to the Apple home kit. I called schlage and their tech support says that the sense with wifi adapter CANNOT be connected to Apple HomeKit. You MUST use the app. The last sentence of your article says that with the addition of Apple TV (I have a new 4K) As home hub, I won’t have to use the schlage app. Who’s right, you or schlage? I’d really like to connect it to Apple home.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,919administrator
    Kelly G said:
    So I first set up the sense lock and connected it to home kit via Bluetooth on my iPhone. I wanted to get “anywhere” control, so I added the wifi adapter. In order to set it up, I had to kill the home kit connection on the lock and set it up via the schlage system. I did that, and got it all connected to the wifi adapter and I can control the setting up and access from anywhere now, USING THE SCHLAGE APP ONLY. I was unable to get it reconnected to the Apple home kit. I called schlage and their tech support says that the sense with wifi adapter CANNOT be connected to Apple HomeKit. You MUST use the app. The last sentence of your article says that with the addition of Apple TV (I have a new 4K) As home hub, I won’t have to use the schlage app. Who’s right, you or schlage? I’d really like to connect it to Apple home.
    If the Apple TV is in Bluetooth range of the lock, then yes, it will work. If it isn't, then it won't.

    Ranges vary, but if your Apple TV is more than about 10 feet away from the lock, it probably won't work.
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