Anyone have these August Locks. How do they compare to Kwikset and Schlage?
It uses the deadbolt you already have installed so it doesn't make it any more or less safe in terms of lock specs. It just replaces the interior piece. There's a compatibility list of locks that it'll work with so make sure you check that. Also, these with the wifi built in eat batteries so you'll need to keep some extra on hand. Auto unlock based on proximity is a bit hit or miss but the keypad is nice.
Anyone have these August Locks. How do they compare to Kwikset and Schlage?
IMO August is the best. A few things make the difference for me:
- Auto Unlock - yes it was finnicky on our first August as they were working out bugs but keep a few things in mind: 1) you have to actually go far enough away from your house for it to work when you come home and 2) the app has to be running on your phone - if your phone is overloaded with running apps or older it will be less reliable. Upgrading my phone solved the issues for me( was not buying a phone to try to solve - happy byproduct).
- Door sense - auto lock won't fire unless the door is closed. Depending on your use case (ie if you have a screen door and leave the door open sometimes) no door sense = slamming your deadbolt into the door trim
- More flexibility on auto lock timing - we got the Kwikset pack at Costco for a patio door and replaced with another August because of the above + auto locking too frequently even at max time setting.
We have the both the older version of the August lock without wifi and the newer version with wifi. The wifi version burns through batteries much faster than the non-wifi version. What makes it worse is that the older non-wifi version uses standard AAs, while the newer version with wifi uses a less standard battery (3.7V 123A) for which there are fewer inexpensive options available. We bought rechargeable batteries for it, but these don't last as long as the non-rechargeables. We have to cycle the batteries every 4 or 6 weeks or so. The non-wifi version lasts at least a few months on four AAs. Because of this, we prefer the older, non-wifi version.
I believe the newer version has the option of connecting via August's bridge instead of directly to wifi. I've been meaning to test if using a bridge would make the batteries last longer. We have a bridge that came with the older lock, but, unfortunately, the bridge allows only one lock to be paired with it (at least this was true last time I checked a couple years ago). So, it's a little annoying that you have to buy one bridge per lock if you want to go that route.
I would get Schlage Encode Plus that works with Apple's Homekit if you are in Apple ecosystem. It's pretty awesome. Installed two in my house after trying out one for six months.
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It uses the deadbolt you already have installed so it doesn't make it any more or less safe in terms of lock specs. It just replaces the interior piece. There's a compatibility list of locks that it'll work with so make sure you check that. Also, these with the wifi built in eat batteries so you'll need to keep some extra on hand. Auto unlock based on proximity is a bit hit or miss but the keypad is nice.
- Auto Unlock - yes it was finnicky on our first August as they were working out bugs but keep a few things in mind: 1) you have to actually go far enough away from your house for it to work when you come home and 2) the app has to be running on your phone - if your phone is overloaded with running apps or older it will be less reliable. Upgrading my phone solved the issues for me( was not buying a phone to try to solve - happy byproduct).
- Door sense - auto lock won't fire unless the door is closed. Depending on your use case (ie if you have a screen door and leave the door open sometimes) no door sense = slamming your deadbolt into the door trim
- More flexibility on auto lock timing - we got the Kwikset pack at Costco for a patio door and replaced with another August because of the above + auto locking too frequently even at max time setting.
I believe the newer version has the option of connecting via August's bridge instead of directly to wifi. I've been meaning to test if using a bridge would make the batteries last longer. We have a bridge that came with the older lock, but, unfortunately, the bridge allows only one lock to be paired with it (at least this was true last time I checked a couple years ago). So, it's a little annoying that you have to buy one bridge per lock if you want to go that route.
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