Why this deal is ZDNET-recommended
The Aqara U100 smart lock is probably going probably the most versatile good lock in the marketplace and it is out there on Amazon for less than $190. Aqara not too long ago launched its very first Apple Residence Key good lock within the US. The launch got here after Aqara had already offered many Residence Key-compatible good locks exterior the US market, so it isn’t a newcomer to the good residence world. However was the wait price it? I examined it for six weeks, and the brief reply is: Completely.
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Aqara U100 smart lock
The Aqara U100 smart lock is the first in the U.S. to combine Apple Home Key, keypad, fingerprint, NFC tags, and a physical key for unlocking options — all for $190.
Getting the Aqara U100 on my entrance door was fairly easy, though my particular evaluation unit did not include directions. It took a couple of minutes to determine which piece goes on earlier than the opposite, however a deadbolt is a fairly easy mechanism, so it was simple. The complete course of took lower than quarter-hour.
Additionally: iPhone users, this smart lock was literally made for you
As soon as the U100 good lock was on the door, I set it up with the Aqara app on my iPhone and used an Aqara M2 Hub to hook up with it.
Although an Aqara Hub is not obligatory to make use of the fundamental options of the good lock, you do want one to carry out distant lock and unlock actions, view the present lock standing and configure password settings out of your telephone, and create automations with different Aqara gadgets.
With out a hub, the U100 good lock can solely connect with your telephone by way of Bluetooth and be managed so long as you are inside Bluetooth vary.
The Aqara U100 good lock is exclusive within the U.S. because it’s the one one in the marketplace to supply the next unlocking choices in a single:
- Passcode unlock: The U100 lock includes a keypad to enter 6-10 digit passcodes to open, and customers can add one-time passcodes or ones that solely work throughout a preset interval, like for a babysitter each weekday from 3-6 p.m. The lock can have as much as 75 passwords arrange within the app.
- Fingerprint unlock: After establishing my U100 to open with my fingerprint, I’ve by no means had points with it not recognizing it or failing to reply to it. Customers can add as much as 50 fingerprints within the app, and Aqara says its fingerprint reader includes a 98.6% recognition charge.
- Apple Residence Key: I arrange the U100 lock to unlock with my iPhone utilizing the NFC-powered Apple Residence Key. This provides a digital key to your iPhone’s Pockets, and you’ll open your good lock solely by bringing your iPhone or Apple Watch near it.
- NFC tags: It’s also possible to program NFC tags to unlock the Aqara U100, which is ideal for anybody that is not an Apple consumer or to make use of as keycards for houseguests.
- Mechanical keys: The U100 good lock comes with two bodily keys to make use of, and the keyhole is hidden behind a sliding panel on the face of the wave.
Although I did not discover the Aqara cellular app very intuitive, I cherished the completely different options out there for the U100 lock. You possibly can add different customers and provides them every a novel unlocking methodology. For instance, I’ve at all times given myself a passcode and a fingerprint to know who entered and the way when checking the lock’s occasion historical past.
The app additionally helps you to customise alert settings and select the voice quantity and language for any voice alerts through the locking operation. Because of a built-in gyroscope for movement detection, you may set the machine to auto-lock when the door is closed (with no additional modules required).
That being mentioned, it wasn’t all sunshine and routinely locked doorways. I struggled at occasions with the app’s Beta options, particularly when it got here time to get the U100 to lock behind me or after I swiped it, and at one level had to return inside to search out the mechanical key as a result of it wasn’t working for me.
Although my expertise was largely optimistic, I discovered the app very sluggish and unreliable at giving me the lock standing, even when my telephone was inside Bluetooth vary. Generally it’d simply give me the mistaken standing and say the door was locked after I might clearly see it wasn’t.
I nonetheless cherished the Aqara U100 due to two issues: the professionals outweigh the cons, and it is a new product with incoming firmware upgrades continuously bettering its efficiency.
Contemplating how elaborate good locks can get, I went into this evaluation biased towards the simplicity of the Level Lock+ and the modern design of the Yale Assure Lock SL. However all the extra unlocking options that make the Aqara U100 distinctive has turned me round.
With the ability to constantly (and flexibly) unlock my door with both my fingerprint or Apple Watch, and never one or the opposite, has added the precise quantity of comfort to my life that I search for in all good residence gadgets.