August Wi-Fi Smart Lock review: Built-in Wi-Fi and 45{d11068cee6a5c14bc1230e191cd2ec553067ecb641ed9b4e647acef6cc316fdd} smaller

August sensible locks are well-liked, and for fantastic motive. The retrofit structure would make them simple to install without having replacing your present deadbolt. It is really sensible enough to do the job with sensible home setups for Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit and Amazon Alexa. We gave numerous generations of August locks our Editors’ Selection Award for their simple set up, wonderful app and sensible home integration. Now, there’s a new one on the scene. Hi, August Wi-Fi Smart Lock. 

Like

  • Smaller structure.
  • Wi-Fi designed in.
  • Smoother mechanics.
  • Works with Google, Alexa and Siri.

You should not Like

  • Continue to pricey.
  • Shorter battery everyday living.

Slimmed down and additional smartened, it can be the most effective one however. It comes with designed-in Wi-Fi, negating the need for the added August Connect ($58 at Amazon) plug-in modules. At $250, the new lock is pricey but it can be in the similar selling price array as the previous technology lock, and properly worthy of your revenue if you might be seeking to get your entrance doorway on line.

I popped it onto the back of my doorway and lived with it for a week. This is what you need to know. 

Smaller sensible lock structure

August’s distinctive retrofit structure stays accurate to its roots in this fourth-technology design. What is remarkably diverse is the measurement. The August Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock is 45{d11068cee6a5c14bc1230e191cd2ec553067ecb641ed9b4e647acef6cc316fdd} scaled-down than its predecessors, measuring two.83 inches in diameter and just 1.81 inches in depth. Whilst there’s never ever been nearly anything notably hideous about the lock, placing a significant chunk of metallic on the interior of your doorway is just not an interior designer’s aspiration. 

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Chris Monroe/CNET

Just about all sensible locks involve this aesthetic obstruction, relying on a big battery and thumb latch housings mounted on the interior side of your doorway. I was delighted with the compact scale of this August design. It is really so a great deal fewer distracting, partly for the reason that I’m a bit extra accustomed to seeing sensible locks on doors by now, but also for the reason that it can be genuinely substantially scaled-down. A sensible home should mix in, in my view, and August’s structure is a great deal enhanced in that regard. 

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The August Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock (ideal) is 45{d11068cee6a5c14bc1230e191cd2ec553067ecb641ed9b4e647acef6cc316fdd} scaled-down than the August Intelligent Lock Professional (remaining). 


Molly Value/CNET

The structure workforce, which contains renowned designer Yves Béhar, stayed accurate to the unique structure, although generating compact updates. You are going to see a slightly diverse ridge pattern around the sides of the lock, built to increase grip. I are not able to discern a large variance, but I’m not bothered by it, both. Along that ridge is a cleverly positioned August symbol to aid you inform whether your doorway is locked or not. On the inside of, the August Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock is driven by two CR123 batteries. I am going to talk extra about those people later on.

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The up-to-date side texture of the lock is built to provide better grip. 


Molly Value/CNET

Installing the August Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock

As generally, installing an August sensible lock is a breeze if you have ten minutes and a screwdriver. You are going to also want to download the August app available on iOS or Android, as there is a beneficial guide with animations to walk you by way of the method. Due to the fact it can be retrofit, you would not need to a great deal at all to your physical deadbolt, past getting rid of the thumb latch on the interior side of the doorway. Following, you may in shape on the August plate and right adapter for your lock, and clip on the Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock with its two locking wings. 

I am going to choose a second here to tackle my standard sensible lock guidelines. 

  1. Be confident your doorway closes properly just before you get started this method. Intelligent locks have problems calibrating and thoroughly locking doors that need an added shove to close entirely. 
  2. Make confident the deadbolt moves freely and there is just not any friction in the lock’s mechanics. 
  3. Make confident you have a fantastic Wi-Fi connection. This affects not only the set up, but the lock’s every day effectiveness, much too.
  4. Continue to keep your screws structured. Which screw duration goes exactly where can genuinely make any difference on a sensible lock. 

It is really important to do your most effective to maintain the cam bar (see under) centered in the August back plate although you safe the screws. If you discover that it can be much too considerably up or down, loosen and readjust the screws although holding a bit of force on the plate to maintain it in position. It is really tricky to in shape the necessary adapter if points aren’t lined up neatly. 

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The eco-friendly adapter provided in shape my Kwikset deadbolt. 


Molly Value/CNET

The August program is the easiest sensible lock set up out there, and the direction in both of those the app and printed, in-box directions are simple to stick to. No shock there. If you might be concerned about compatibility with your present deadbolt, August has a beneficial page listing suitable styles from most manufacturers. 

A better sensible home lock

Let us commence with the clear. This is the first August lock with Wi-Fi designed in. That usually means you no for a longer time need to purchase the $eighty August Connect module to control the remotely. Whilst it is the first August lock to consist of Wi-Fi, it is just not the only lock on the current market with the update. Schlage and Kwikset also have Wi-Fi styles (both of those also priced at $249), and it can be probable the way of the foreseeable future for most sensible locks.

Several sensible locks connect via Bluetooth to your mobile phone, which lets you control the lock when you might be in close proximity to it. For control outside of that array, without a doubt for control from any place in the earth, you need Wi-Fi. Earlier, sensible lock makers have relied on a plug-in Wi-Fi adapter, like the August Connect, to integrate Wi-Fi, but the sensible lock landscape has adjusted a whole lot given that the first August lock. Redesigns in Wi-Fi chip technologies produced it achievable for firms like August to do the job it into lock structure extra simply. After that, it can be all about high-quality tuning lock and app effectiveness to get the most battery everyday living achievable out although continue to hanging onto that Wi-Fi signal properly. 

As for compatibility, the August Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock works with Alexa, Google and Siri for voice commands as properly as routines and automation with your system of decision. Assigning virtual keys to added lock customers stays free, a spotlight of August’s insurance policies, and you may also get a lot of selections for environment notifications when a little something occurs, or does not, at your doorway. The August Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock comes with a DoorSense sensor, so you can know if somebody leaves the doorway open or closes it but leaves it unlocked. 

I’ve generally been fond of August’s geofencing auto-lock and -unlock capabilities, and that stays accurate for this design. When your mobile product is two hundred meters (656 toes) from your home both leaving or returning, the lock will lock or unlock, if you have picked to flip on that operate. It demands that you maintain Wi-Fi enabled on your mobile product, and it worked properly in my screening. That is a significant aid not acquiring to fiddle with keys or an app to open the doorway. Automobile-lock can also be personalized for time, so you can set the doorway to lock any place from promptly just after it can be unlocked all the way up to thirty minutes later on. 

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The August Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock runs on two CR123 batteries.


Chris Monroe/CNET

Wi-Fi is just not simple on batteries, and this is the first August design with the CR123 battery. The workforce at August estimates the lock’s batteries should very last 3 to six months. That is a shorter recommended lifespan than the six months to a year promised for the older, AA styles.

In accordance to August, the number one variable in battery everyday living is the high quality of your Wi-Fi connection. If the lock needs to frequently reconnect to an access point or wake up owing to polling from the access point, you may see a faster drain. Battery everyday living will also be afflicted by how generally you lock and unlock your doorway, specifically around Wi-Fi or data connections. 

If you you should not like the concept of keeping up with the batteries on a sensible lock, naturally this is just not the product or service category for you. A two-pack of CR123s at your local significant box store should price tag around $8 to $ten. The fantastic news is, as with previous technology August Intelligent Locks, even if the batteries are dead you can continue to use a physical important to unlock your doorway.

Take note: I did experience a minimal battery warning just 3 days into screening the August Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock. I knew my batteries should not be minimal so quickly. I was utilizing a beta version of the August app and just after talking with the workforce, they uncovered a bug in the battery prediction algorithm that led to a premature minimal-battery notification. August engineers resolved the bug on the back conclusion, and I failed to have any concerns just after that. The August workforce assured me that prospects will not see this the moment the sensible lock is available for obtain.

When it comes to protection, August implements enough attributes to make me truly feel fantastic about placing it on my doorway. It works by using two-variable authentication to log into your account or build a new one. It also works by using Bluetooth encryption, AES 128-bit and TLS encryption for the mobile app. You can even disable your August app and all virtual keys at any time via a exclusive desktop site if your mobile phone is shed or stolen. Voice unlocking via the different virtual assistants demands a spoken PIN. 

August styles compared

Value

Size (in inches)

Wi-Fi

Z-Wave

Google

Alexa

HomeKit

August Intelligent Lock

$150

two.7 W x four.8 H x two.1 D 

Calls for August Connect ($199 for bundle)

No

Indeed

Indeed

No

August Intelligent Lock Professional

$280

3.four W x two.two D

Calls for August Connect (provided)

Indeed

Indeed

Indeed

Indeed

August Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock

$250

two.83 W x  1.81 D

Designed-in

No

Indeed

Indeed

Indeed

Study extra: How to use your sensible lock safelyWhat to know just before obtaining a sensible lock

A reviewer’s anecdote 

Just before I examined this lock at my household, I had a sensible keypad ($fifty at Walmart) on my entrance doorway. My partner and I are identified to run or walk the pet dog without having our keys and phones, so a keypad is a wonderful way to get in and out of the household without having pockets total of components and permit relatives and neighbors in with their very own codes when necessary.

The day just after I set up the August Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock, we walked the pet dog around the neighborhood without having our keys or phones. It is really a  great, digital detox. In setup, I opted for the lock to relock just after five minutes. When we bought back just after 50 percent an hour, I recognized I had no way to open the doorway for the reason that my mobile phone and keys ended up inside of.

The good thing is, we might remaining a side doorway unlocked, but I had a enjoyable 60 seconds of stress. If you might be switching around from a keypad or some other keyless exterior program, you may need to retrain your mind. If you very own an Apple Enjoy ($399 at Apple), you can keep away from this problem completely by installing the August app, which will do the job via geofencing just like your mobile phone. An add-on August keypad ($60)  is also an option. 

To purchase or not to purchase?

If you might be interested in a sensible lock, but want to maintain your exterior components regular, this is the lock for you. It is really not low cost at $249, but maintain in intellect that you would not have to invest any added revenue on a Connect module to get Wi-Fi remote access gains. That addition of Wi-Fi would make August truly feel clean and up-to-date. The reduction in measurement is wonderful, much too. 

Other locks with Wi-Fi designed in price tag just as a great deal and involve replacing your whole deadbolt. The August Wi-Fi Intelligent Lock turns a great deal extra easily than previous August styles, will take up fewer area and is just as sensible and safe. If you favored previous August sensible locks, you may love this one. 

For those people explanations, we have made a decision to award it our Editors’ Selection for Greatest Intelligent Lock, dethroning the August Intelligent Lock Professional ($195 at Walmart)