August Home Silver Smart Lock Pro, 3rd Generation-Dark Gray, Apple Home Kit Compatible and Z-Wave Plus Enabled

I use this at my primary (and only) residence for both entrances. One door has the WiFi enabled and the other door only has Bluetooth. I’ve been really happy with the reliability zand responsiveness of this product.It was fairly easy to install with minimal tools. My only complaint with this is that the little plastic insert that it tells you to use based on your lock manufacturer didn’t work, but I used another one that was included and it worked fine. So that was a little hiccup, but not a big deal. On the back door, we did have to move the metal lock plate slightly because the deadbolt was a little difficult to turn and it caused the smart lock to fail. A pretty easy reposition made it work just fine.When you use the app to lock and unlock, there’s a pleasant audible indicator as well as a little light that turns red or green to show whether it’s locked or unlocked (it does turn off after a second). The whole device is heavy and feels very high quality, with mostly metal components.I like that, from the outside, a visitor doesn’t know that it’s a smart device, and you can use a key or unlock it from the app with the same results. The device that covers the lock from the inside is larger than I anticipated but after a few days I barely noticed it. It’s pretty intuitive that you just twist to manually lock/unlock it and the sensor that indicates when it’s ajar is responsive and accurate.I do anticipate buying a second WiFi hub because I like knowing I can check on both doors remotely. I have found that now that I don’t need to lock my door with a key, I have to make a more conscious effort to remember to lock it from the app. So the WiFi hub will give me additional peace of mind.We had a little trouble with the app at first - my husband and I each installed one of the locks and each had to create an account to go through installation. There wasn’t a way, that we could find, to merge the two instances of our house that we created independently, so we ended up deleting one, and reinstalling it under the same account and sharing it with the other person. So that was kind of annoying. But that’s an app-side software issue and not an issue with the lock itelf.We turned off the auto-lock feature (I locked myself out once getting the mail without my phone in hand...oops). We also don’t use the Auto Unlock feature but we probably will once we get the second WiFi hub.Overall, I’m very happy with our purchase. When it’s time to change the batteries (not a problem so far) it will be super simple to replace them. If someone had young kids or a pawsy pet, I think the battery plate would probably be too easy to remove as it’s held on by a strong magnet. For us, it’s great and feels really good.It works with home kit, but in my experience, home kit needs some work. That’s Apple’s problem, not this product at all. Sometimes when we tell Siri to unlock the door she will be confused and say she can’t but then it unlocks anyway. Again, this is an Apple problem, not with the lock. The August app has never failed us.

Our front door deadbolt malfunctioned and I had to replace it as quickly as possible. Being an Amazon Prime member I was able to receive the August Smart Lock Pro and other needed items in two days after placing the order. The installation of the Smart Lock Pro and calibration took less than 30 minutes.1) There is little or no need for modification if you have an existing deadbolt. There are three adapters to accommodate the deadbolt spindle from the major manufacturers. The mounting plate has two adjustable screw-holes to fit the different manufacturers screw-hole distances. I would recommend measuring the distance of the screws and then adjust the holes prior to installing the mounting plate.2) There is a neat feature (DoorSense) where the Smart Lock senses a magnet to determine whether the door is in the closed or open position. The placement of the magnet can be a simple surface mount on the outer door trim or a 1/2" deep hole in the door jamb. I choose to place the magnet into the doorjamb for aesthetic reasons. The installation would have taken less time if I had placed the magnet on the outer door trim.3) I had to replace the deadbolt, so I needed to use a wood chisel to resize the mortise on the doorjamb. After making sure the reinforcing plate and strike plate were clear of the deadbolt I used the August app to calibrate the lock. Locating and downloading the August app was quick and easy. When you open the app there is a quick firmware update that occurs automatically. It took less than a minute to complete the upgrade. The app will take you through step by step on how to calibrate the Smart Lock Pro. After the calibration is done the app closes and opens the lock to confirm everything is functioning. (There are no manuals that come with the lock. There is a card that directs you the August website or download the app.)4) Using the app is very easy and the layout is very intuitive. I set up my own access and sent out two access keys for my cleaning lady and homecare service people. There is a feature where the Smart Lock Pro will automatically open when you and your phone approaches the lock. It was novel at first, but I thought about the possibility of my phone being lost or heaven forbid a hostage situation being forced into my home. So, I turned this feature off. The access keys given out can be limited to certain days and times of the day. There is flexibility to assign keys on a temporary basis.5) This lock can be used with Apple's HomeKit or Z-Wave for smart home integration. I am hoping to combine the lock with my Ring Pro doorbell camera. My thought is after someone rings the doorbell I would be able to see them, talk to them and open the door from a remote location using the Ring app. I have an elderly parent who is hard of hearing, so it would be very convenient to see if it is friends, a delivery person, or whomever and then either let them in or just talk to them when I'm not at home. I will add an update after I try to set this up.It's only been a week, but so far I am very pleased with the lock. There are only two things that would make this an outstanding purchase. One is the price. It is a little on the expensive side, but this smart lock does deliver on what is advertised. Second, I wish there was a battery meter somewhere on the status page of the door. It's only four AA batteries, so I'll just replace them every year, but it would have been nice to have a warning or visual when the batteries need replacing. Note that you can use your key to enter or turn the August Smart Lock from the inside to exit should the lock run out of batteries or the WiFi goes down.

It worked right out of the box with my Smartthings hub. The hardware itself is very easy to install on a lock. Once you've done one you could do a second in less than 5 minutes). However, this does not include the time waiting for a firmware update (15 - 20 minutes). You might need to adjust your door strike location a little if the deadbolt doesn't go smoothly into the hole. There doesn't seem to be much push behind this bolt when it closes.You don't need to change the outside of the lock, which is a very big plus. Nobody who hasn't been inside your house will know you have one. There is no reason for anyone to try to hack it.The sensor to determine if the door is closed is a big plus. That way you know if you are locking an open door remotely. It could probably be hooked up to an alarm system, but I haven't tried it.Alexa can lock the locks directly, but not (yet) through a Smartthings scene or routine (even though it goes through SmartThings to lock locks directly if that makes sense (it doesn't)). I assume that this will be fixed by Amazon at some point. Alexa can't unlock the door at all, which is a security feature.Overall, the lock is bigger than I pictured it being (think Echo Dot on your door). The size and weight of the lock gives it a nice heft when you turn it manually. It is pricey, but in my case my wife doesn't lock doors before going to bed, and I wanted something that could lock the doors automatically. That is priceless.The iPhone app works, but I don't care for it much.