Forums » News and Announcements
Best Smart Locks of 2022
-
Best Smart Locks of 2022
One huge advantage that you get with smart locks vs. conventional deadbolts is that you never have to carry a physical key.To get more news about safe lock, you can visit securamsys.com official website.
Instead, many smart locks have keypads for PINs and/or electronic keys, where the “key” lives in an app on your smartphone and communicates with your lock wirelessly. With both methods, you can create, revoke, delete, and limit them to certain time periods with a few swipes on your smartphone. There are even some models with built-in fingerprint scanners, allowing you to unlock your door the same way you unlock your smartphone, with the tap of a finger.
“Smart locks can add an invaluable level of peace of mind,” says Misha Kollontai, CR’s test engineer for door locks. “Depending on the model, you can view the status of your lock from anywhere and track who opens your door and when.”Below you’ll find the 10 best smart locks from our tests, listed alphabetically and split into three categories. You’ll find models from August, Bosma, Eufy, Kwikset, Wyze, and Yale.
Four of our picks are retrofit smart locks, which only replace the part of the lock that’s on the interior side of your door. Because the exterior part of your deadbolt will remain, you can still use your physical keys but also lock and unlock the door from a smartphone app. Another two picks are Bluetooth-only smart locks, meaning they don’t come with a WiFi adapter (one model offers an adapter sold separately), so you can’t control and monitor the lock when you’re away from home. The remaining picks are WiFi-capable smart locks, which connect directly to WiFi, or through a WiFi adapter or smart home hub.
To evaluate both smart and conventional locks, CR engineers conduct kick-in tests using a custom-built jig that swings a 100-pound steel battering ram against a locked door. They repeat the test eight times, with the ram raised to increasing heights or until the lock fails. The models that fail—at least half do—go through another round, this time with a reinforced box strike plate (a basic DIY upgrade that improves security) installed on a new lock sample.
For more on our tests and what to consider as you shop, see our door lock buying guide. And for even more options to protect your front door, check out our smart lock ratings.CR’s take: More and more smart locks are coming to market that connect directly to WiFi without the need for adapters and hubs, making setup easier and less complicated for consumers. One of the best models with built-in WiFi in our ratings is the Eufy Smart Lock Touch & WiFi. It receives strong scores in our brute-force tests for kick-ins and picking, and even manages a Good rating for drilling despite not being a keyless model. It also performs well in our tests for ease of remote access, convenience, and connectivity. Its features include a fingerprint scanner for one-touch unlocking, a touch-screen keypad for PIN codes, auto-locking, an access log, and voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
CR’s take: The Kwikset Halo Touch is another top-performing WiFi smart lock that doesn’t require an additional hub or bridge to connect to the internet for remote control. In our tests, the Halo Touch withstands kick-ins and lock picking well, but it’s very susceptible to attacks from a cordless drill. It receives strong scores for its convenience features, ease of setup and connectivity to other smart home devices (such as smart speakers), and ease of remote access, with an Excellent rating for the latter. Its feature set includes a fingerprint scanner for one-touch locking and unlocking, an access log to keep tabs on who comes and goes, an auto-unlock feature, and voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
CR’s take: The Kwikset Obsidian 954OBNZW500 is the strongest smart lock you can buy, at least when it comes to its strength against brute-force attacks. In our tests, it receives an Excellent rating for drilling thanks to its keyless design, as well as high marks for kick-ins and lock picking. The only thing about this lock that might make some consumers consider other options is that it uses a special wireless network called Z-Wave. That means you’ll need to connect it to a smart home hub that supports Z-Wave devices, such as a Samsung SmartThings smart home hub, Hubitat smart home hub, or Ring Alarm system. Still, the lock offers a number of useful features, including a touch-screen keypad for PIN codes, an access log to track who comes and goes, and voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.