A smart lock is the smart home upgrade people use every day. It gives cleaners, trades and dog walkers their own codes, and you can open the door from your phone when a kid forgets a key. It also ends the daily question of whether you locked up. Most smart lock problems I see trace back to something that could have been checked before the order: the door, the app, or the strike plate.
Will a smart lock fit your door?
Most smart deadbolts are made for a standard deadbolt prep. Grab a tape measure and check three things. The hole through the face of the door, called the face bore or cross bore. The hole in the edge of the door, where the bolt comes out. The backset, which is the distance from the door edge to the centre of the face hole.
- Schlage Encode: Schlage's door prep sheet calls for a 2 1/8 inch face hole, a 1 inch edge hole, a 2 3/8 or 2 3/4 inch backset, and a door 1 3/8 to 1 3/4 inches thick. A thick door kit is sold for thicker doors.
- Yale Assure Lock 2: Yale lists a 1 inch edge bore, a 2 3/8 or 2 3/4 inch backset, a 2 1/8 or 1 1/2 inch face bore, and a door 1 3/8 to 2 1/4 inches thick.
Holes smaller than the spec can be drilled out. Holes larger than the spec are the real problem. Schlage's own instructions say the Encode will not fit properly if the holes are bigger than it calls for. Send me one photo of the door face and one of the edge with a tape measure in frame, and I can confirm the fit before you buy.
What if my door is old or non-standard?
Older doors, heritage doors and custom doors are where fit goes wrong. The backset may be an odd size, the old holes may be too big, or the door may be thicker or thinner than the lock allows. There are a few ways through it.
- Keep the deadbolt and add a retrofit lock. The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock attaches to your existing deadbolt on the inside of the door, so the outside and your keys stay the same. That only works if the existing deadbolt turns smoothly.
- Choose a lock whose specs match your door. Checking the maker's fit sheet against your measurements takes five minutes.
- Fix the door first. A door with worn, oversized or badly drilled holes may need repair, or it may be time for a new slab.
Which smart lock works with which app?
This is where people buy the wrong lock. Check the maker's own list for the exact model before you buy, because versions of the same lock can work with different apps. Here is what the makers list today.
- Schlage Encode: built-in Wi-Fi, set up in the Schlage Home app. Schlage lists Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for it. Apple Home is not on its list.
- Schlage Encode Plus: the version for Apple Home. Schlage lists Apple Home and Apple home keys, plus Alexa and Google Assistant through the Schlage Home app.
- Yale Assure Lock 2: runs on the Yale Access app. Yale says the Wi-Fi models work with Apple HomeKit, Google Home and Amazon Alexa, while the Bluetooth models work with Apple Home. The Assure Lock 2 Plus adds Apple home keys.
- August Wi-Fi Smart Lock: fits over your existing deadbolt inside the door and runs on the August app. August lists Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri. August calls it renter and landlord friendly, since the original keys still work.
- Lockly Vision: a smart lock with a built-in HD video doorbell, run from the Lockly Home app. Worth it mainly if you do not already have a doorbell camera.
I would skip cheap no-name locks from marketplace listings. Battery life, app updates and support are usually where they fall down, and a front door is a bad place to find that out.
The install steps
On a door with standard holes, a smart lock install is about a 45-minute job. I take out the old deadbolt, fit the new latch and inside unit, mount the keypad, line up the strike plate so the bolt throws cleanly, put in the batteries and pair it to the app. The pairing is where most DIY installs stall: joining home Wi-Fi, naming the lock, setting the auto-lock timing, adding the first user codes, and checking alerts reach your phone. I do all of that on the visit, so you are left with a working lock.
Strike plate alignment is the silent failure
A year after install, the common complaint is that the lock stopped auto-locking, or the bolt sticks now and then. Most of the time the cause is the strike plate. The bolt drags on the edge of the plate, the motor strains, and the lock either gives up or wears itself out. A well-aligned strike lets the bolt drop in with no rub. I adjust it during the install and test the bolt with the door closed at a few different pressures before I leave. If your lock is already sticking, doors that stick and locks that jam covers the usual fixes.
Every job I take gets a written scope before I start, so the price is agreed in advance and the list stays the list.
Want me to take this one on? My page on smart home installation covers what the visit includes, what I hand off, and how I price it.
Pairing with the rest of your smart home
If you already run Google Home, Alexa or Apple Home, the lock should fit into it, as long as you picked a model the maker lists for that system. I check that before quoting, set it up on the visit, and test codes, auto-lock and alerts in the apps you already use. My smart home setup guide covers what else is worth adding.
I install smart locks and fix sticking deadbolts across the Fraser Valley. See door and lock repair in Surrey, smart lock installation in Langley or smart home installation in Surrey for how the work runs in each town.
