Review: Level Lock is the invisible smart home lock with HomeKit for your front door
Level Lock is an innovative new smart lock that brings connected home features and security to your front door, including Apple's HomeKit, while remaining entirely hidden.
The new HomeKit Level Lock
These each have their own benefits and pitfalls. If you swap the whole lock, it has a more unified look between the inside and outside, it keeps things a bit thinner and can add a keypad to the outside of the door.
The downside here is that it usually requires you to change your key and it looks a bit more "techy" than your normal lock.
The August smart lock adds a large cylinder inside the door
If you go with the add-on solution you get to keep your keys, they work with many homes including rentals and apartments, and you keep the exterior the same. Here, the downside is that the inside deadbolt part can be a bit large and doesn't always fit into your aesthetic.
We also very much believe in easy, simple controls for your smart home. This is important for family, friends, kids, or others that may not know how or be unable to control your smart home. Devices such as August aren't always clear how they are meant to work.
Level Lock is unlike any other because it is small enough to fit inside the door rather on the outwards or inwards-facing exterior. You don't see the lock at all, letting you retain all your existing hardware.
In many ways, Level Lock is the best option for most people. Keep your keys, keep your hardware, keep your look, and don't cause issues with how your lock is supposed to work.
The Level Lock motor
As with any smart door lock, a degree of installation is going to be involved getting up and running. Luckily, it is easy and anyone can do it. The hardest part for us was just making sure our dogs didn't run out the front door while we removed our previous deadbolt.
Installing Level Lock is easy to do
Level Lock walks you through the entire process, but in a nutshell you remove your old deadbolt, slide the bolt into place, insert the motor, choose the adapter that fits your lock hardware, screw your previous lock hardware into place, insert the battery, then pair with HomeKit.
All components of Level Lock
All of the hardware feels very solid, the battery is easy to access to replace when necessary, and all the packaging is well laid out.
The lock works both with the Level Home app, as well as HomeKit with HomeKit providing much of the smart functionality.
This isn't an issue though, because you can manually put the code into the Home app, or you can scan the actual HomeKit pairing code included within the instructions. Our lock was instantly paired with HomeKit, with nary an issue to be found.
Unlocking the Level Lock via HomeKit
We added it to our living room (where our door is located) and gave it a name. Our locks are also one of the main accessories we add to favorites for quick access as well.
Level Lock can be controlled through Siri, and remotely with a Home Hub
Other locks go about setting up automations through their own app, as well as with HomeKit, but Level Lock leans heavily into HomeKit for some of this activity. For example, if you want the lock to engage and disengage when you leave and come home respectively, you do that through HomeKit.
All you have to do is create new automation scenes based on your departure and arrival at your location, and have Level Lock lock and unlock as you go about your life. This worked well in our testing, and we also had the scenes ask to run each time so we could physically control it, as well as getting confirmation when it was done.
Level Home app with the Level Lock's settings
There is control within the Level Home app, such as dolling out passes or inviting people to your home, but they have limitations. The biggest of which is how it connects over Bluetooth.
To keep things small and to conserve battery life, Level Lock operates over Bluetooth rather than Wi-Fi. That means any remote functionality through the Level Home app is practically nonexistent.
You can't get status notifications through Level Home, you can't get the status, and you can't lock or unlock the door.
Level Lock HomeKit settings
The way to get around this is via HomeKit and a Home Hub. When you have a Home Hub set up in proximity of your Level Lock, you now regain all of the above functionality through the Home app.
Home can optionally send you status notifications whenever the lock is engaged or disengaged. It allows you to remotely control the lock, and of course, run the above automations as you leave or arrive home.
A Home Hub for HomeKit counts as a recent Apple TV, a HomePod, or an iPad that you leave at home that is specifically set to run as your Home Hub. These Wi-Fi-connected devices act as a bridge to bring secure remote access to these local accessories.
In some homes, we can see this being an issue, as if your door is nowhere near your Apple TV or HomePod, remote access for Level Lock is a non-starter. If this is the case, and you want that remote functionality, something like the new Wi-Fi August or previous-gen August with the Wi-Fi Connect module may be better suited.
The Level Lock in the Home app
Aside from automating the lock as you come and go, it can also be tied into scenes.
For our home, we tie it to our "goodnight" scene. When we say goodnight to Siri, our living room TV is turned off (if it was on), our living room, kitchen, dining room, patio, and hallway lights are all turned off, our Lutron shades are closed, and of course our Level Lock is locked.
This makes us feel much more secure each night knowing our door is actually locked and we don't have to remember to go and manually lock it each time.
Clearly, we rely primarily on HomeKit here. Level Lock doesn't have all that much functionality in that app, other than the aforementioned sharing of the lock, adjusting the audio volume, enabling auto lock, and calibrating it.
The Level Home app is also where you can perform post-installation on the lock.
While working on the review, we had a few questions that gave people pause. First, is the battery life. Fortunately, Level Lock says it is very good -- more than a year on a standard CR2 battery.
Level Lock box
The second question is how strong and secure the lock is. As the bolt is hollow with the battery inside, how strong is this when someone is trying to force entry? And how secure is the lock that it won't be "hacked" by an intruder?
The lock feels very strong and according to Level, "exceeds the highest industry standards" for strength and durability. If someone is trying to force open your door, the frame is likely to give before the bolt.
It is also highly secure. Being Bluetooth only, no one can remotely access it unless through HomeKit, and HomeKit is by and large the most secure smart home platform around. If you are considering putting a smart lock in, this would be one of your most secure options and it has no ties to Alexa or Google Assistant.
We have very few complaints with Level Lock. It works with HomeKit perfectly, automatically locks when leave, reliably unlocks as we arrive home, is automated with the rest of our HomeKit devices, securely is controlled remotely through our Home Hub, and is completely hidden on our door.
No one knows it is there yet we have full control and insight into our door. Nearly all the benefits of a smart lock, without the bulky add-on or ugly design.
Pros
The new HomeKit Level Lock
The invisible smart lock
In the existing -- and booming -- smart lock market, there are typically two routes to go down. You can change out the entire lock for a new smart model, or you can swap out deadbolt on the inside with a bulbous mechanism.
These each have their own benefits and pitfalls. If you swap the whole lock, it has a more unified look between the inside and outside, it keeps things a bit thinner and can add a keypad to the outside of the door.
The downside here is that it usually requires you to change your key and it looks a bit more "techy" than your normal lock.
The August smart lock adds a large cylinder inside the door
If you go with the add-on solution you get to keep your keys, they work with many homes including rentals and apartments, and you keep the exterior the same. Here, the downside is that the inside deadbolt part can be a bit large and doesn't always fit into your aesthetic.
We also very much believe in easy, simple controls for your smart home. This is important for family, friends, kids, or others that may not know how or be unable to control your smart home. Devices such as August aren't always clear how they are meant to work.
Level Lock is unlike any other because it is small enough to fit inside the door rather on the outwards or inwards-facing exterior. You don't see the lock at all, letting you retain all your existing hardware.
In many ways, Level Lock is the best option for most people. Keep your keys, keep your hardware, keep your look, and don't cause issues with how your lock is supposed to work.
Setup
The Level Lock motor
As with any smart door lock, a degree of installation is going to be involved getting up and running. Luckily, it is easy and anyone can do it. The hardest part for us was just making sure our dogs didn't run out the front door while we removed our previous deadbolt.
Installing Level Lock is easy to do
Level Lock walks you through the entire process, but in a nutshell you remove your old deadbolt, slide the bolt into place, insert the motor, choose the adapter that fits your lock hardware, screw your previous lock hardware into place, insert the battery, then pair with HomeKit.
All components of Level Lock
All of the hardware feels very solid, the battery is easy to access to replace when necessary, and all the packaging is well laid out.
The lock works both with the Level Home app, as well as HomeKit with HomeKit providing much of the smart functionality.
HomeKit smarts
There is no HomeKit pairing code sticker on Level Lock, with the code printed on the underside of the lock. This is primarily due to the side constraints on the product itself.This isn't an issue though, because you can manually put the code into the Home app, or you can scan the actual HomeKit pairing code included within the instructions. Our lock was instantly paired with HomeKit, with nary an issue to be found.
Unlocking the Level Lock via HomeKit
We added it to our living room (where our door is located) and gave it a name. Our locks are also one of the main accessories we add to favorites for quick access as well.
Level Lock can be controlled through Siri, and remotely with a Home Hub
Other locks go about setting up automations through their own app, as well as with HomeKit, but Level Lock leans heavily into HomeKit for some of this activity. For example, if you want the lock to engage and disengage when you leave and come home respectively, you do that through HomeKit.
All you have to do is create new automation scenes based on your departure and arrival at your location, and have Level Lock lock and unlock as you go about your life. This worked well in our testing, and we also had the scenes ask to run each time so we could physically control it, as well as getting confirmation when it was done.
Level Home app with the Level Lock's settings
There is control within the Level Home app, such as dolling out passes or inviting people to your home, but they have limitations. The biggest of which is how it connects over Bluetooth.
To keep things small and to conserve battery life, Level Lock operates over Bluetooth rather than Wi-Fi. That means any remote functionality through the Level Home app is practically nonexistent.
You can't get status notifications through Level Home, you can't get the status, and you can't lock or unlock the door.
Level Lock HomeKit settings
The way to get around this is via HomeKit and a Home Hub. When you have a Home Hub set up in proximity of your Level Lock, you now regain all of the above functionality through the Home app.
Home can optionally send you status notifications whenever the lock is engaged or disengaged. It allows you to remotely control the lock, and of course, run the above automations as you leave or arrive home.
A Home Hub for HomeKit counts as a recent Apple TV, a HomePod, or an iPad that you leave at home that is specifically set to run as your Home Hub. These Wi-Fi-connected devices act as a bridge to bring secure remote access to these local accessories.
In some homes, we can see this being an issue, as if your door is nowhere near your Apple TV or HomePod, remote access for Level Lock is a non-starter. If this is the case, and you want that remote functionality, something like the new Wi-Fi August or previous-gen August with the Wi-Fi Connect module may be better suited.
The Level Lock in the Home app
Aside from automating the lock as you come and go, it can also be tied into scenes.
For our home, we tie it to our "goodnight" scene. When we say goodnight to Siri, our living room TV is turned off (if it was on), our living room, kitchen, dining room, patio, and hallway lights are all turned off, our Lutron shades are closed, and of course our Level Lock is locked.
This makes us feel much more secure each night knowing our door is actually locked and we don't have to remember to go and manually lock it each time.
Clearly, we rely primarily on HomeKit here. Level Lock doesn't have all that much functionality in that app, other than the aforementioned sharing of the lock, adjusting the audio volume, enabling auto lock, and calibrating it.
The Level Home app is also where you can perform post-installation on the lock.
Should you buy it?
There's much to love about Level Lock. It is a genius little device that brings HomeKit and automation functionality to your door while staying entirely hidden.While working on the review, we had a few questions that gave people pause. First, is the battery life. Fortunately, Level Lock says it is very good -- more than a year on a standard CR2 battery.
Level Lock box
The second question is how strong and secure the lock is. As the bolt is hollow with the battery inside, how strong is this when someone is trying to force entry? And how secure is the lock that it won't be "hacked" by an intruder?
The lock feels very strong and according to Level, "exceeds the highest industry standards" for strength and durability. If someone is trying to force open your door, the frame is likely to give before the bolt.
It is also highly secure. Being Bluetooth only, no one can remotely access it unless through HomeKit, and HomeKit is by and large the most secure smart home platform around. If you are considering putting a smart lock in, this would be one of your most secure options and it has no ties to Alexa or Google Assistant.
We have very few complaints with Level Lock. It works with HomeKit perfectly, automatically locks when leave, reliably unlocks as we arrive home, is automated with the rest of our HomeKit devices, securely is controlled remotely through our Home Hub, and is completely hidden on our door.
No one knows it is there yet we have full control and insight into our door. Nearly all the benefits of a smart lock, without the bulky add-on or ugly design.
Pros
- Entirely hidden
- Easy to replace battery
- Keep your existing fixtures
- Great HomeKit functionality
- No Alexa support
- Strong, powerful hardware
- Two backset sizes available
- Remote functionality with Home Hub
- Share access to others through HomeKit or Level Home app
- No remote support without Home Hub
- No keypad option for alternative entry
Rating: 4.5 our of 5
Where to buy
Pick up the Level Lock from Level Home's website now for $229 in a 60 mm (most common) or 70 mm backset lengths.
Comments
1. $229 is why people aren't automating their homes. $100 here, $100 there adds up very quickly. Why does this lock cost so much when it's barebones?
2. The video didn't mention anything about using the keyed lock on the outside. I presume opening the house with the key still works (yes/no?). If it does, does the opening of the lock from the outside (also inside) change the status of the lock within HomeKit?
3. The dead bolt isn't much of a dead bolt. It locks wimpy. Most dead bolts are solid, this isn't. Of course, most people understand a house door lock only keeps non-criminals out. A good kick and the door jam breaks apart.
4. The dead bolt is connected to the lock using a magnet. How easy would it be to use another, stronger magnet to defeat the lock?
If I were designing the lock for a new door, I would bore the lock hole most of the way through inserting a steel disk to slow down outside access to the lock. I'd keep the inside lock handle to allow people easy egress. I would not include any kind of keyed lock from the outside, requiring access from the lock app. Of course, a better locking mechanism would include three bolts; top, bottom and door jam. With a proper door jam, which isn't installed on all but a few houses, this lock and latching mechanism might actually stop the majority of thieves. I'd pay >$200 for this type of electronic lock.
1) $229 is not the normal price for an accessory. But lock hardware, especially a deadbolt, get expensive. It has to be ultra secure both via software and hardware plus deal with the HomeKit certification (which adds more security). August has been incredibly popular in this space which originally had a lock up at $279. Now they are discounted after being released for so long but they come down to around $200 for the third gen pro. If you are one who cares that much about your fixtures you have, then you will pay that much. The price goes with the space. Door locks as well as smart home.
2) Yes. This absolutely works. There is no point in keeping your existing deadbolt and key if you can’t even use it. It operates as normal and not only does it show in HomeKit, you get a notification that the status has changed. So if it is picked, then you will know it.
3) it absolutely strong and secure. Wimpy is not at all the way to describe it. Matter of fact, they’ve passed the American National Standards Institution ANSI Grade 1 certification. This is the strongest certification possible for deadbolts. These are the tests it was able to withstand just like any other Grade 1/Grade A locks from Kwikset, Schlage, or any other.
See my comment above. Short version, it is strong as hell. Passes the highest tests for Grade A/Grade 1 locks. As strong as any other Grade A/Grade 1 lock from Schlage, Kwikset, etc. These are the tests it will withstand:
Shoot. I didn’t realize I said you couldn’t. You can see the status but not remotely, and maybe that is what I was getting at
The main downsides are that the app and feature list are pretty barebones compared with the August lock. I preferred the auto-unlock feature with August that did not require me to pull out and unlock my phone to confirm a prompt. As long as I approached the door with an authenticated device in my pocket, the August would just do it’s thing and unlock. I also really enjoyed the open-close sensor on the later model August lock that simply required you to place or embed small magnet to/in the door frame and it would detect the proximity of the lock to the magnet with enough precision to know if the door was even just ajar and prevent it from trying to auto-lock. Since the Level Lock installation already requires replacing the strike and the strike plate, it seems like a missed opportunity that they didn’t embed a similar sensor paired with a magnet inside the strike plate.
On that note, the other downside to the Level Lock is that installation did get quite a bit more involved than the other retrofit smart locks I have tried in the past. The motor, strike, and strike plate all required my door and frame to be within more rigid tolerances in order to assemble and work together. I imagine on newer homes, where the doors had their mechanism holes cut out with factory precision, it’s not an issue, but on my door where the holes were seemingly cut at the time of installation with less specialized tools the motor and strike parts would not fit together inside the door and the strike plate would not fit in the recess where the old strike plate resided. I had to break out my dremel tool (actually a nail grinder for pets that turned out to accept standard dremel bits and attachments perfectly) and make some adjustments to both before I could properly install the lock.
Right now at Home Depot, a regular Schlage deadbolt lock set is $80, a Schlage electronic lock is about $125 and a Z wave lock is $180. That means you pay $45 - 50 to get an electronic lock, an additional $50 for connectivity and another $25 for HomeKit over Z wave. Clearly there is a price premium for an electronic or connected lock. The price of this lock is in line with other locks; whether the extra cost is worth it is a personal decision.
Our home came with a Schlage Z-wave system and it has been wonderful. The ability to easily set codes for service people to come in while we’re at work, get notifications when the kids get home, etc is very handy. HomeKit is clearly more expensive than ZWave and the lack of any inter compatibility is one of my big complaints. Z wave has security flaws, so for something like a smart lock, the added security is worth it IMO.
That doesn't mean everybody should buy it at that price. It is expensive. But being more than you want to pay doesn't mean it should be cheaper. Everybody who thinks a product is too expensive for what it is should try manufacturing one themselves and see how that works for them. You wouldn't pay that price? Don't. No problem.
I liked the concept and hoped it would work with an integrated deadbolt and lockset on one of my doors. After conferring with Level, I was told the lock probably wouldn't work for me. This was disappointing as it would be a simple, elegant solution for a smart lock. The August lock won't work unless I completely change the deadbolt/lockset assembly, something I do not want to do.
As far as using a magnet to somehow defeat the lock – LOL. Even if that could somehow work, how would anyone even know a Level was even installed? By the big keypad on the outside?? Not hardly. What is there to see. Nothing.
Assuming someone is trying to breach the door in the direction it normally opens (e.g., kicking a door which opens inward), the weakest link in most deadbolt systems is the screws securing the strike plate to the frame. A lot of installers seriously cheap-out here and use screws only 1" or so long. Next is the strength of the frame itself If you have good screws, they can still rip out of (or through) a weak frame.
If someone is trying to breach a door against the direction it normally opens, they might try to saw the bolt, but that's generally a huge waste of time. The real goal of locks is to make attempts to bypass them as noticeable as possible, and few things are as noticeable as someone trying to saw through a deadbolt. You have to either make a lot of noise, or sit there sawing slowly for a long time.
Amusingly enough, this bolt would actually give better resistance to sawing than a normal, solid-metal bolt. High-security deadbolts have hardened steel rollers inside them in voids which let the roller spin. The idea is once a saw breaks through the solid part of the deadbolt, it hits a roller and can't progress further, as the roller just spins. The battery in this bolt can roll. It's softer than the steel rollers in high-security deadbolts, so it wouldn't last as long, but it should do well enough.