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There is a lot of misinformation on this product. Let me clarify..
1. The actual lock communicates with the bridge via BLE (Bluetooth) and its the bridge which conncts to your router via WiFi. Since the bridge is plugged-in, there is no issue about the bridge "draining power".
2. The advantage of the lock with BLE is that once your iPhone is in close proximity to the lock, it connects via Bluetooth - so, if you ever lose your WiFi or electricity, you can always unlock/lock with your iphone.
3. It is critical to make sure that your deadbolt locks smoothly (ie the door is very well aligned). This is where the battery drain issues occur. If the motor has to work hard to move the deadbolt or it is stuck against the strike plate, you WILLdrain battery fast. Make sure that your door is perfectly aligned all the time, closes completely, and the lock can move in-out freely and that you regularly lubricate the mechanics of the deadbolt (Do NOT use WD-40, but a gel type log acting lubricant).
4. The lock works with Alexa and can be locked or even unlocked by Alexa (need a code for unlock). No connection to RING.
5. The lock does have geofencing for those interested. It unocks as you come near.
6. The lock can be set to automatically lock after X minutes, so that you can unlock, close the door and walk away.
7. You can share access to the lock via app
8. Yes, you can use your apple watch to lock/unlock
9. A t this price it is a great deal (if your door closes perfectly all the time)
I have this for the past 3+ years and no issues. The big round knob is bit strange and looks funny.
I have had an august smart lock for 3 years. Main benefits
- The app can be set to away mode, which means when you leave your area (1 mile from your home) and come to the front door, the bluetooth will detect you're there and auto unlock the door. It doesn't sound like much, but honestly it's something I am so used to at this point that I cannot see myself going back.
- The connect is to allow you to access to the lock outside the home, this isn't needed if you have an Apple TV as you can just connect it to Apple Home.
- August has it's own app, it doesnt connect directly with other apps like Ring for example, but nothing is stopping you from unlocking remotely.
- You can add guests will time limits to the lock, but away mode only works for owners
OP you may wanna clarify this is 3rd Gen, which requires connect to remote lock and unlock (Unless you have apple home setup with an Apple TV)
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Try to improve your Wi-Fi signal
Poor signal from your Wi-Fi access point will make the Wi-Fi chip in the lock work harder to capture and maintain a connection. That could lead to reduced battery life. If possible, try to bring your Wi-Fi router closer to your front door.​
I agree with you.
I don't recommend august.
I am an august user for several years.
and current user.
Thanks, funny thing is, my modem is only 20 feet away. Never had WiFi issues with the door locking and unlocking. That's why I was surprised that the two 3V battery lasted only 2 months.
I ended up installing the nest x yale door lock yesterday. Will see if the four double A battery will last longer than the August battery. My in law has the nest x Yale and never complained about battery issues. We'll see.
Biggest advantage, if you consider it an advantage, about this lock is from outside it still looks same old dead-bolt from outside and you can use existing deadbolt lock and key to use it.
Biggest disadvantage about this lock is your guest don't know how to operate it from inside ... it is big round cylinder which need to be turned in anti-clock/clock direction. looks like I myself overturned it and now motor is stuck, lock doesn't work with app or by hand /key rotation.
Definitely not for airbnb
Geo fencing for automatic lock/unlock, wifi operation from remote location, battery life, Bluetooth operation, app, homekit integration, etc. all were great for me.
I bought it year ago when there was rumor that it will integrate with ring security ... which never happened hence it doesn't work with ring. I was happy customer till it stopped working and I cant make it work any more.
Last edited by DoonGuy December 15, 2023 at 07:20 PM.
No. They are garbage. At first they seem great. In time, the Keypads get buggy. The hardware is all plastic inside so they break and magically the company doesn't replace them... Yes your $300 original msrp don't have even a one year warranty.
The app gets wickedly slow, waiting five mins to delete a previous guest I have lists hundreds long with their slow software.
Guests yank them out if calibration easily.
My locks are all dying/breaking/malfunctioning. I manage multiple properties and we have 16 of these all slowly failing. After calling the company they are not helpful.
Salty? Yup. I convinced all of my property owning clients to get these. Now I look dumb. I personally have been dealing with these.
We are transitioning to yale and thus far they are better fit airbnb and regular home users.
Good luck, just my opinion. YMMV literally.
I can second this. They were one of the first smart locks out and I bought 4 over the years. The Connect fails and disconnects all the time and I had to replace outside of warranty. Had a 2nd Gen lock fail just out of warranty and they wouldn't replace. App is slow to respond and crashes all the time. The only good thing is the geolocation for Auto Unlock when you get home but useless because more than half the time it doesn't work or is slow so you have to manually open the app. App doesn't respond or randomly crashes. Remote connections with the connect and or connected doorbell is unreliable. I can go on. Please pass on this and go with Eufy's smart lock line. Doesn't have the auto lock/unlock feature but much more reliable and better build quality.
3 plus years august user here. The bridge keeps losing WiFi connection and reconnecting. It does this over a dozen times everyday. Super annoying. Called customer service. No help. Worst support. Don't recommend.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank dhruva
There is a lot of misinformation on this product. Let me clarify..
1. The actual lock communicates with the bridge via BLE (Bluetooth) and its the bridge which conncts to your router via WiFi. Since the bridge is plugged-in, there is no issue about the bridge "draining power".
2. The advantage of the lock with BLE is that once your iPhone is in close proximity to the lock, it connects via Bluetooth - so, if you ever lose your WiFi or electricity, you can always unlock/lock with your iphone.
3. It is critical to make sure that your deadbolt locks smoothly (ie the door is very well aligned). This is where the battery drain issues occur. If the motor has to work hard to move the deadbolt or it is stuck against the strike plate, you WILLdrain battery fast. Make sure that your door is perfectly aligned all the time, closes completely, and the lock can move in-out freely and that you regularly lubricate the mechanics of the deadbolt (Do NOT use WD-40, but a gel type log acting lubricant).
4. The lock works with Alexa and can be locked or even unlocked by Alexa (need a code for unlock). No connection to RING.
5. The lock does have geofencing for those interested. It unocks as you come near.
6. The lock can be set to automatically lock after X minutes, so that you can unlock, close the door and walk away.
7. You can share access to the lock via app
8. Yes, you can use your apple watch to lock/unlock
9. A t this price it is a great deal (if your door closes perfectly all the time)
I have this for the past 3+ years and no issues. The big round knob is bit strange and looks funny.
Horrible customer service, battery notifications are unreliable, return is a pain and there is no way to get in if battery is dead when you are outside (if you don't have a spare key)
THIS IS A LIE, The key function is left fully intact when installed. All of their products work this way, why would you post something if you clearly don't own this product based on your description. LIAR
I've used August for over 7 years now and own 3 generations of locks, the elongated one is the best one used aa batteries that can last up to the whole year and are cheap to replace.
The lock being advertised is the quickest but it also eats batteries almost every month, the 123 kind as well which are close to 8 dollars for two of them.
If you do buy this lock the best battery I 've found that last the longest is the Rayovac kind. Energizer and Duralast deplete quickly in this lock if used daily.
Re: battery concerns: the included "Connect" helps the lock save battery life. I chose this lock, paired with Connect and a keypad, over the newer, smaller WiFi only version because the batteries in this model are more common. Try using lithium batteries—with an average of 3 locks/unlocks per day, my lock has run on the same lithium batteries for over 6mo
I have a metal door too and didn't think I can use any smart locks. I tried different locks but it never worked out. I was able to use Eufy R10 for my front door, and have had it for over a year. It works great, highly recommend for metal doors.
Disclaimer, this post is about the 4th gen WiFi Smart Lock and the buying experience.
Quote
from sharath
:
I have the WiFi version but had very bad experience buying directly from august
This. No tracking number, nothing. They're not great with returns either.
I bought the 4th gen from August. Even though the lock looked brand new, I suspect the unit was refurbished -the box was probably relabeled & resealed. It was shipped by their refurb center?! Anyway, the lock stopped connecting to bt/wifi after just three days. I had to return it and follow-up with them a week after the delivery. Had to tell them I'm going to dispute the charge if they don't process the return.
Btw, August recertified the 4th gen for 5GHz (ASL05-5G). However, the one I bought was still the old 2.4GHz revision (ASL05). The updated ASL05-5G supposedly consumes less battery on 5GHz. https://fcc.report/FCC-ID/2AB6UASL05-5G/6268835
Last edited by BlueShape5927 December 17, 2023 at 03:32 PM.
No. They are garbage. At first they seem great. In time, the Keypads get buggy. The hardware is all plastic inside so they break and magically the company doesn't replace them... Yes your $300 original msrp don't have even a one year warranty.
The app gets wickedly slow, waiting five mins to delete a previous guest I have lists hundreds long with their slow software.
Guests yank them out if calibration easily.
My locks are all dying/breaking/malfunctioning. I manage multiple properties and we have 16 of these all slowly failing. After calling the company they are not helpful.
Salty? Yup. I convinced all of my property owning clients to get these. Now I look dumb. I personally have been dealing with these.
We are transitioning to yale and thus far they are better fit airbnb and regular home users.
Good luck, just my opinion. YMMV literally.
You're using a very consumer product for a commercial application. It's basically a switch bot for your deadbolt. Of course it's not going to work for Airbnbs long term. That's like me saying my Honda doesn't do well off road so it's shit.
Last edited by nksduser December 15, 2023 at 09:58 PM.
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Top Comments
1. The actual lock communicates with the bridge via BLE (Bluetooth) and its the bridge which conncts to your router via WiFi. Since the bridge is plugged-in, there is no issue about the bridge "draining power".
2. The advantage of the lock with BLE is that once your iPhone is in close proximity to the lock, it connects via Bluetooth - so, if you ever lose your WiFi or electricity, you can always unlock/lock with your iphone.
3. It is critical to make sure that your deadbolt locks smoothly (ie the door is very well aligned). This is where the battery drain issues occur. If the motor has to work hard to move the deadbolt or it is stuck against the strike plate, you WILLdrain battery fast. Make sure that your door is perfectly aligned all the time, closes completely, and the lock can move in-out freely and that you regularly lubricate the mechanics of the deadbolt (Do NOT use WD-40, but a gel type log acting lubricant).
4. The lock works with Alexa and can be locked or even unlocked by Alexa (need a code for unlock). No connection to RING.
5. The lock does have geofencing for those interested. It unocks as you come near.
6. The lock can be set to automatically lock after X minutes, so that you can unlock, close the door and walk away.
7. You can share access to the lock via app
8. Yes, you can use your apple watch to lock/unlock
9. A t this price it is a great deal (if your door closes perfectly all the time)
I have this for the past 3+ years and no issues. The big round knob is bit strange and looks funny.
- The app can be set to away mode, which means when you leave your area (1 mile from your home) and come to the front door, the bluetooth will detect you're there and auto unlock the door. It doesn't sound like much, but honestly it's something I am so used to at this point that I cannot see myself going back.
- The connect is to allow you to access to the lock outside the home, this isn't needed if you have an Apple TV as you can just connect it to Apple Home.
- August has it's own app, it doesnt connect directly with other apps like Ring for example, but nothing is stopping you from unlocking remotely.
- You can add guests will time limits to the lock, but away mode only works for owners
OP you may wanna clarify this is 3rd Gen, which requires connect to remote lock and unlock (Unless you have apple home setup with an Apple TV)
84 Comments
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Try to improve your Wi-Fi signal
Poor signal from your Wi-Fi access point will make the Wi-Fi chip in the lock work harder to capture and maintain a connection. That could lead to reduced battery life. If possible, try to bring your Wi-Fi router closer to your front door.​
I agree with you.
I don't recommend august.
I am an august user for several years.
and current user.
I ended up installing the nest x yale door lock yesterday. Will see if the four double A battery will last longer than the August battery. My in law has the nest x Yale and never complained about battery issues. We'll see.
Biggest disadvantage about this lock is your guest don't know how to operate it from inside ... it is big round cylinder which need to be turned in anti-clock/clock direction. looks like I myself overturned it and now motor is stuck, lock doesn't work with app or by hand /key rotation.
Definitely not for airbnb
Geo fencing for automatic lock/unlock, wifi operation from remote location, battery life, Bluetooth operation, app, homekit integration, etc. all were great for me.
I bought it year ago when there was rumor that it will integrate with ring security ... which never happened hence it doesn't work with ring. I was happy customer till it stopped working and I cant make it work any more.
The app gets wickedly slow, waiting five mins to delete a previous guest I have lists hundreds long with their slow software.
Guests yank them out if calibration easily.
My locks are all dying/breaking/malfunctioning. I manage multiple properties and we have 16 of these all slowly failing. After calling the company they are not helpful.
Salty? Yup. I convinced all of my property owning clients to get these. Now I look dumb. I personally have been dealing with these.
We are transitioning to yale and thus far they are better fit airbnb and regular home users.
Good luck, just my opinion. YMMV literally.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank dhruva
1. The actual lock communicates with the bridge via BLE (Bluetooth) and its the bridge which conncts to your router via WiFi. Since the bridge is plugged-in, there is no issue about the bridge "draining power".
2. The advantage of the lock with BLE is that once your iPhone is in close proximity to the lock, it connects via Bluetooth - so, if you ever lose your WiFi or electricity, you can always unlock/lock with your iphone.
3. It is critical to make sure that your deadbolt locks smoothly (ie the door is very well aligned). This is where the battery drain issues occur. If the motor has to work hard to move the deadbolt or it is stuck against the strike plate, you WILLdrain battery fast. Make sure that your door is perfectly aligned all the time, closes completely, and the lock can move in-out freely and that you regularly lubricate the mechanics of the deadbolt (Do NOT use WD-40, but a gel type log acting lubricant).
4. The lock works with Alexa and can be locked or even unlocked by Alexa (need a code for unlock). No connection to RING.
5. The lock does have geofencing for those interested. It unocks as you come near.
6. The lock can be set to automatically lock after X minutes, so that you can unlock, close the door and walk away.
7. You can share access to the lock via app
8. Yes, you can use your apple watch to lock/unlock
9. A t this price it is a great deal (if your door closes perfectly all the time)
I have this for the past 3+ years and no issues. The big round knob is bit strange and looks funny.
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The lock being advertised is the quickest but it also eats batteries almost every month, the 123 kind as well which are close to 8 dollars for two of them.
If you do buy this lock the best battery I 've found that last the longest is the Rayovac kind. Energizer and Duralast deplete quickly in this lock if used daily.
I bought the 4th gen from August. Even though the lock looked brand new, I suspect the unit was refurbished -the box was probably relabeled & resealed. It was shipped by their refurb center?! Anyway, the lock stopped connecting to bt/wifi after just three days. I had to return it and follow-up with them a week after the delivery. Had to tell them I'm going to dispute the charge if they don't process the return.
Btw, August recertified the 4th gen for 5GHz (ASL05-5G). However, the one I bought was still the old 2.4GHz revision (ASL05). The updated ASL05-5G supposedly consumes less battery on 5GHz.
https://fcc.report/FCC-ID/2AB6UASL05-5G/6268835
The app gets wickedly slow, waiting five mins to delete a previous guest I have lists hundreds long with their slow software.
Guests yank them out if calibration easily.
My locks are all dying/breaking/malfunctioning. I manage multiple properties and we have 16 of these all slowly failing. After calling the company they are not helpful.
Salty? Yup. I convinced all of my property owning clients to get these. Now I look dumb. I personally have been dealing with these.
We are transitioning to yale and thus far they are better fit airbnb and regular home users.
Good luck, just my opinion. YMMV literally.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Thank me later.
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