Keyless entry (home)

cowman

cowman

Final Approach
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I was planning on doing this anyway but circumstances(a doorknob breaking) are forcing me to tackle it ASAP.

I'm going to be replacing all the exterior doorknobs and deadbolts on our house. I'd like at least one to have a way to get in if I don't have a key on me- bonus points if we can allow another person like a house-sitter/guest access. It would be really cool if I could do it via my phone even remotely but I have some caveats on that.

Requirements:
1. No subscription required- I'm not buying anything that requires a fee to continue using it.
2. Preferably also clean of any spyware/intrusive crap.
3. I'm OK with changing batteries on occasion but the electronic deadbolt I put on my shop door never gets used because they batteries seem to always be dead anytime I actually want to use it so I have concerns on battery life.

Right now all 4 exterior doors have a separate deadbolt and doorknob so... something will have to fill all the holes. I'm not sure why I need a locking doorknob if the deadbolts also lock but whatever as long as it works. Anyone got a particular brand/product that works really well for them? I'll probably be hitting up the home improvement store tomorrow as until this is resolved our primary entry door has no doorknob.
 
Just bought this to replace a 10yr old one that bit the dust this week. Relatively inexpensive ($72), multiple codes, and has key access as well. Three AA batteries last a good long time.

I don’t bother with locking the door knobs themselves, they are very easily defeated in multiple ways.

IMG_0186.jpeg
 
I have a kwikset unit ,my second one. You can set multiple codes for entry. If the batteries die you can use a key. Happy with it
 
Schlage has an app that's free. You can set it up to alert you by email whenever it locks or unlocks. You can view status anywhere on your phone via Internet. You can lock or unlock it anywhere on your phone. From your phone you can add different codes and set them up to work for only certain timeframe. We have them on our Airbnbs. They generate automated codes for the guests and make those codes only for the timeframe they stay. They also email you to advise when the battery is low.
 
Schlage encode, can give virtual keys, unlock or lock from anywhere in the world, temp codes blah blah you name it. We put it on all of our short term rental properties and our personal home.
 
I got nothing for ya. I don't lock my house. Come on over. Just leave the dog and the mounts.
 
I put those on all doors. The batteries last a long time and I don't even carry house keys anymore. I do keep one at a relatives house in case a big lightning strike or angry politician with an EMP took them all out at once.
 
FORANE said:
Schlage has an app that's free. You can set it up to alert you by email whenever it locks or unlocks. You can view status anywhere on your phone via Internet. You can lock or unlock it anywhere on your phone. From your phone you can add different codes and set them up to work for only certain timeframe. We have them on our Airbnbs. They generate automated codes for the guests and make those codes only for the timeframe they stay. They also email you to advise when the battery is low.
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Nice features if they’re important to you, but it ups the price to about $200/unit, at least locally.
 
I use the Kwikset type on the STR properties. I've only had one time a tenant got locked out for a dead batt. But, use good batts is my advice. For my personal home, I use a hideakey near the back door in case of lockout.
 
We have a Schlage with programmable keypad on 4 doors. Up to 20 codes can be stored, we keep guests numbers on a piece of paper and erase them when they leave (Airbnb). programming is easy, no cell phone option for us.
 
Just go to Home Depot and look in the aisle. Schlage and Kwikset are the main offerings, and are highly competitive. All the keypad locks allow you to set multiple combos. At this point they have been around quite a while and the bugs have been worked out.

There are a couple of smartphone enabled ones, but I don't see the point in that.
 
We did this shopping for the SO's place a couple weekends ago and the helpful big box big brained associated informed us that using a closet knob would get rid of one possible lockable knob/handle that could prevent the keypad from granting access to the door.

We shopped the same brands folks mention above. Hard to swim upstream from the mega brands...
 
Bill said:
Nice features if they’re important to you, but it ups the price to about $200/unit, at least locally.
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Yeah, they're more expensive. I haven't put them in my home but they sure are worth it at the Airbnb's. I'm not sure why but I don't mind paying more upfront for nice things, but avoid subscriptions on most anything no matter how low the recurring cost.
 
Racerx said:
I got nothing for ya. I don't lock my house. Come on over. Just leave the dog and the mounts.
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I don't lock mine either but I have a wife who is convinced that if we don't lock them at night some axe wielding maniac will get in. I pointed out that said axe wielding maniac could just use the axe or any of the random large rocks outside to break through the glass patio door regardless of locks. For some reason she still wants to lock the doors.
This is mainly a problem because I often run up to the shop to do projects until well after she's in bed and find 3/4 doors locked(she usually forgets one). I don't even have keys to my house... I mean we have them somewhere I just don't use them. When we come back from a long trip and the house is locked up I have to wait for my wife to unlock the door.... these issues are mainly why I just want a keypad.
 
I use Kwikset on our house and the rentals. We have a pushbutton combo deadbolt on our front door, so we can give people a code (or a temporary code) when we want to. I also have every door (including the storm doors) on the house keyed the same, and can change the keys in about 10 minutes if I want or need to.

On the rentals we just use Kwikset entry sets on the front and back doors, key all of them on a house the same, and the tenant only needs one key per person. Again, when needed I grab a different key and re-key the whole house in a matter of minutes.

I've used a house key to get into our house once in the past couple of years. The rest of the time I either come in through the garage or use the deadbolt on the front door.
 
cowman said:
I have a wife who is convinced that if we don't lock them at night some axe wielding maniac will get in.
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Want to get the wife to really worry...


I invested in 10+ cameras and signs to deter that axe wielding maniac for my wife.
 
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DaleB said:
Dog for early warning; deterrence easily accessible.
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German Shepherd/Black Lab mix who is known in the neighborhood to be an aggressive defender of his pack and territory. Word gets around…
 
We also went with the Kwikset on our doors, including the garage door entry to our washroom. It’s nice to have additional codes for the cleaning ladies and another for our pet sitter.

We also have multiple cameras covering all entry locations, to include a garage camera to make sure our freezer has power.
 
Bill said:
German Shepherd/Black Lab mix who is known in the neighborhood to be an aggressive defender of his pack and territory. Word gets around…
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Miniature Goldendoodle here, known in the neighborhood as a little goofball that adores kids. He may not be able to rip an intruder apart, but at least we’ll have adequate warning there is one.
 
I think the technology must be in its infancy; I’ve been through at least 6 brands on my small business from Schlage, Kwikset to Yale & Medco plus others - most electric, some with remote access.

They all failed within a year -18mo.
They are not in a highly stressed environment either.

I recently started using DormaKaba; an all mechanical pushbutton code door lock no batteries, no device access, no monitoring of activity. Ugly, heavy, klunky but solid; I have hopes.

www.trudoor.com

Dormakaba L1011 Simplex Mechanical Pushbutton Entry Lever Lock

Dormakaba L1011 Simplex L1000 Mechanical Pushbutton Cylindrical Lever Lock, Combination Entry Function Only, No Key, 4 Finishes, 2-3/4" B.S.
www.trudoor.com www.trudoor.com
 
I think you’re supposed to let them in before shooting… mostly.
 
I would 100% search youtube for 'lockpicknglawyer' and see if he's done a video on your chosen lock. Most are hilariously easy to bypass.

I got my kid a CovertInstruments lockpicking kit for christmas and right now I could enter any home in my neighborhood with it. Most locks are not much more than visual deterrents, not actual security.
 
pfarber said:
I would 100% search youtube for 'lockpicknglawyer' and see if he's done a video on your chosen lock. Most are hilariously easy to bypass.

I got my kid a CovertInstruments lockpicking kit for christmas and right now I could enter any home in my neighborhood with it. Most locks are not much more than visual deterrents, not actual security.
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Most people have windows on their houses too. And doors are pretty easy to break. Burglars generally don't need to pick locks.
 
We had a Kwikset on one house more than 20 years ago and it was great. At the time, you could only program two codes into it, but wasn't a problem for us. Nice thing is that with the wife's mom living with us and having major health problems, that lock let us get away from the house for more than an hour or so without worrying. If she fell or had an issue, she could call us or 911 and give the operator the door code and not have us come back to a broken door or window set. The new house will get electronic locks as well.
 
Bill said:
Just bought this to replace a 10yr old one that bit the dust this week. Relatively inexpensive ($72), multiple codes, and has key access as well. Three AA batteries last a good long time.

I don’t bother with locking the door knobs themselves, they are very easily defeated in multiple ways.
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I have two of these. One is working great. The batteries in the other one only last 2 - 3 weeks.
 
Lindberg said:
Most people have windows on their houses too. And doors are pretty easy to break. Burglars generally don't need to pick locks.
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Yeah, but breaking windows causes noise and then you have to unlock/crawl through a window. A strong magnet will unlock most all of those electronic door locks. You can get inside the house in the same time it would take to break the window, raise the sash and hoist your butt up there. Lockpickinglawer really does make most of the lock designs seem worthless.
 
I don't have experience with either, but Schlage uses 9v batteries according to its spec sheet. For that reason, the AA powered Kiwkset leapfrogs it on my list.
 
Lindberg said:
Most people have windows on their houses too. And doors are pretty easy to break. Burglars generally don't need to pick locks.
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The good ones do. Yeah, crackheads looking for loose change will do a smash and grab, but if you live in that kind of area then you probably have bars on the windows.

You can bump/rake/comb a lock in seconds. Electronic locks are not magic... they are magnets and also can be non-destructively defeated.

When I lived in China, every apartment (all the way up to the top floor, like 25-30 stories) still had bars on the windows. Now that's paranoia.
 
I've ordered a Kwikset keypad/wifi deadbolt unit since none of the local stores had anything I liked in stock. I was able to pick up a set of traditional doorknobs/deadbolts for now so at least we have a working doorknob. When I got into the store and saw the displays I suddenly realized how many of these units are "touchscreen" which should have been another no-go for me. We recently rented a place that had one of those... trying to punch in a code on one in the dark while holding a bunch of stuff is... annoying. Even though the numbers light up it's hard to see what you're doing... IDK what all these manufacturers have against physical buttons you can locate by feel.
 
cowman said:
I suddenly realized how many of these units are "touchscreen" which should have been another no-go for me.
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Touchscreen can be a nightmare in the rain. My bike GPS/computer is touchscreen, and you have to lock the screen when it begins to rain. If you forget, it interprets each rain drop as a button push, goes nuts, and suddenly you’re being routed to some obscure city in China.
 
Another option is the short term rental concept of using key locks everywhere, and a separate lock-box with wireless remote connectivity. From an app, you are able to set temporary combinations and even open the lock-box.

One product line to consider avoiding is IglooHome. This operation is based in China, only offers remote access via a mobile app (no desktop), and requires your location in order to install the app and use the remote features. Refusing to allow location access means the app will not install and you cannot manage the device past its default access code. If good with the location tracking requirement, IglooHome is an option.
 
I use UltraLoq. Have had them on my doors for 3 years, no issues. No subscription. You just need to change batteries periodically. Where you have deadbolt + latch, I recommend using an unlockable door handle and a smart deadbolt. Good luck
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
…

I recently started using DormaKaba; an all mechanical pushbutton code door lock no batteries, no device access, no monitoring of activity. Ugly, heavy, klunky but solid; I have hopes.

www.trudoor.com

Dormakaba L1011 Simplex Mechanical Pushbutton Entry Lever Lock

Dormakaba L1011 Simplex L1000 Mechanical Pushbutton Cylindrical Lever Lock, Combination Entry Function Only, No Key, 4 Finishes, 2-3/4" B.S.
www.trudoor.com www.trudoor.com
Click to expand...
We used these cypher locks on our vault doors for a long time before we switched over to proximity badges and managed access.

The problem with these locks are the buttons collect oil from finger tips, which collects dust, which over time identifies what buttons are used in the unlock sequence. That just leaves the handful of combinations to run through before it’s defeated.

An alcohol wipe across the buttons does much to erase that evidence.
 
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