About this item
【Apple Home and Home Key Support】The U50 is a smart door lock that is fully integrated into Apple Home. It can be unlocked with the Apple Home Key by simply tapping an iPhone or Apple Watch, even when the iPhone or Apple Watch is out of power. Moreover, you can manage and share door access for your guests in Apple Home. With a Matter compatible Aqara hub, it features Matter support.
【Remote Passwords and Unlock】The Smart Lock U50 offers multiple ways to unlock, including keypad unlocking, remotely configurable passwords via the Aqara Home app (An Aqara Zigbee 3.0 hub is required), one-time local passwords when no internet connection is available, and a temporary password for visitors. * The NFC card is not included and is sold separately.
【Automations with Aqara and Third-Party Devices】With an Aqara Zigbee 3.0 hub, the smart door lock U50 is compatible with third-party ecosystems like Google Home, Alexa and IFTTT as well as the Aqara Home app, allowing it to be easily integrated into a wide range of smart home setups and used in smart home automations. For example, when someone presses the Aqara Video Doorbell G4, you will be able to view who is at your door and easily unlock the U50 door lock.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZNZGGS7
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Overall, I'm happy with them. Original batteries still working and report 65-75%
Even though they support unlocking via passcode, Apple Home Key, physical, key, and NFC, I find we use the fingerprint reader most of the time because it's more convenient. That's the one feature the U50 doesn't have. The U100 is currently $132, and IMHO, the extra cost is worth it.
Mine are connected my AppleTV for Home Key support, and then I also have them paired with an Aqara M2 hub (via Zigbee) so that I can also access them in Home Assistant via the matter integration.
The only complaint I have for these locks is that the initial Zigbee connection from the lock to the M2 hub after the M2 reboots requires a brief connection to Aqara's cloud servers to get an encryption key. Once the local Zigbee connection is made, you can block internet access to the M2 until the next time you have to reboot or power cycle the M2 hub. If you're not using the M2 hub, this won't affect you. Other than this, I have mine working 100% locally (no internet).
Overall, I'm happy with them. Original batteries still working and report 65-75%
Even though they support unlocking via passcode, Apple Home Key, physical, key, and NFC, I find we use the fingerprint reader most of the time because it's more convenient. That's the one feature the U50 doesn't have. The U100 is currently $132, and IMHO, the extra cost is worth it.
Mine are connected my AppleTV for Home Key support, and then I also have them paired with an Aqara M2 hub (via Zigbee) so that I can also access them in Home Assistant via the matter integration.
The only complaint I have for these locks is that the initial Zigbee connection from the lock to the M2 hub after the M2 reboots requires a brief connection to Aqara's cloud servers to get an encryption key. Once the local Zigbee connection is made, you can block internet access to the M2 until the next time you have to reboot or power cycle the M2 hub. If you're not using the M2 hub, this won't affect you. Other than this, I have mine working 100% locally (no internet).
If I had an Apple Watch, that would be just as convenient. Since we don't have watches, a finger is almost always quicker than the other methods unless you're already holding your phone.
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Overall, I'm happy with them. Original batteries still working and report 65-75%
Even though they support unlocking via passcode, Apple Home Key, physical, key, and NFC, I find we use the fingerprint reader most of the time because it's more convenient. That's the one feature the U50 doesn't have. The U100 is currently $132, and IMHO, the extra cost is worth it.
Mine are connected my AppleTV for Home Key support, and then I also have them paired with an Aqara M2 hub (via Zigbee) so that I can also access them in Home Assistant via the matter integration.
The only complaint I have for these locks is that the initial Zigbee connection from the lock to the M2 hub after the M2 reboots requires a brief connection to Aqara's cloud servers to get an encryption key. Once the local Zigbee connection is made, you can block internet access to the M2 until the next time you have to reboot or power cycle the M2 hub. If you're not using the M2 hub, this won't affect you. Other than this, I have mine working 100% locally (no internet).
However, lately, it's been reading a bit slow across the board, and I'm not sure how I can replicate what you've done with blocking the internet access to M2 so it's only locally. What are the pros/cons?
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The reason I got an M2 hub is because HomeKit only allows you to pair the lock with one controller. So without the M2, I could either connect it to the Apple ecosystem or with Home Assistant. Since I wanted both, I opted to use Bluetooth to pair the locks to my Apple TV, and then use Matter (supported on the M2 hub) to make the locks available to Home Assistant.
However, lately, it's been reading a bit slow across the board, and I'm not sure how I can replicate what you've done with blocking the internet access to M2 so it's only locally. What are the pros/cons?
My work around is Watch / Phone / and a STFU card NFC card (which works pretty good)
However, lately, it's been reading a bit slow across the board, and I'm not sure how I can replicate what you've done with blocking the internet access to M2 so it's only locally. What are the pros/cons?
The main reasons I did it are 1) to avoid providing ongoing status of my house to a company that doesn't need it and 2) to prove that my devices will still continue to function if the company's cloud servers disappear (e.g. Insteon) or they start charging money to be able to use them in the future (e.g. Chamberlain MyQ)
The main downsides are extra complexity to set up the firewall rule, no automatic firmware updates of devices, and you can't use the Aqara app to interact with the locks.
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More details:
The reason I got an M2 hub is because HomeKit only allows you to pair the lock with one controller. So without the M2, I could either connect it to the Apple ecosystem or with Home Assistant. Since I wanted both, I opted to use Bluetooth to pair the locks to my Apple TV, and then use Matter (supported on the M2 hub) to make the locks available to Home Assistant.
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