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Did you know that there are around 2.5 million burglaries each year? If you’re worried about making your home safer, it’s no wonder why; that’s a scary statistic.
One option that you may want to consider adding to your security system is a smart lock. This is a technologically-advanced device that has the potential to make your home more secure than ever before.
Keep reading below to learn more about what this product is and how it can help home security systems work better.
Article Overview
- What Is A Smart Lock?
- Smart Lock vs Regular Lock
- What Can A Smart Lock Do?
- Compatibilities With Smart Home Devices
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Make Your Whole Home Smarter
What Is A Smart Lock?
This is a specialized type of lock that is either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi enabled. It is a device that will let you leave your keys at home and instead relies on your fingerprint or a voice command.
With a smart lock, you can access your home from a remote location. If you have a guest coming into town, but you’re not able to be home to let them in, you can access your smart lock to open the door with your smartphone (or other devices).
Smart locks are still a fairly new type of technology, but as they evolve, they continue to add more functionality and better features to make the user experience even better.
How Are These Different From Regular Home Locks?
The biggest reason that these are different than a traditional lock is that smart locks let you access your lock without a key.
In a traditional home lock, you’d have to have a key or a fob, put it into the keyhole, and let this register with the lock to open the door. With a smart lock, as we explained, there are no keys; you just use your fingertips, voice, or device (such as your smartphone) to open the door.
Another huge difference is that smart locks are more technological than regular locks. You can connect your lock to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to get real-time monitoring access to your home.
The Main Functions Of A Smart Lock
Most smart locks have both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, which gives you access to remote and local features.
One thing about a smart lock that many people appreciate is that you can monitor any time someone arrives at or leaves your home. This is a great feature for parents, for example, that need to make sure their kids made it home from school.
You can unlock the door from your smartphone as you’re approaching instead of fumbling around for keys. In addition to this, you have a lot of keyless entry options, such as remote unlocking (from far away) with your device or creating custom input codes.
A smart lock owner can set auto-lock times so that the lock will lock the door at specific times without you having to do anything. You can also make it so that the door locks automatically whenever your smartphone is outside of a specific perimeter.
Alerts are sent to your devices whenever someone tries to mess with or break the lock so that you can notify the police or your security company right away. When you’re not home, this is a feature that can come in handy to keep your home safer.
Does This Work With Other Smart Home Devices?
Yes, the smart lock will work with different devices that you already have in your home if you choose to activate this feature. This is something that you’d have to set up after getting the smart lock installed.
For example, you can sync the lock with your video doorbell (or indoor cameras), like those from Ring, to add some extra security to your home. This would allow you to record anyone that is trying to use the lock. It will also show you anyone that actually gains access to your home.
You can also integrate with other non-security-related devices, such as smart lights that turn off when the door locks (or vice versa).
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the top smart lock questions we get from our readers.
Can Smart Locks Be Hacked?
If you’re considering a smart lock, you’re clearly concerned about security, and keeping your devices secure in the digital era is extremely important. A smart lock is another type of device, so you may be concerned regarding whether someone can hack into your lock.
The best way to prevent someone from hacking into your electronics, including your smart locks, is to set up your Wi-Fi system with the best security possible. You should always have a password requirement for Wi-Fi at home, but make sure that the password is hard for the average person to guess.
How Expensive Are Smart Locks?
You also might be concerned about how much a smart lock costs. On average, you can find smart locks between $100 to $300, but it depends on the features that you’re looking for.
Will They Still Work If My Power Or Internet Goes Out?
If your internet or power goes out, rest assured that you’ll still be able to access your home.
Most smart lock models still have a traditional key port just in case this happens, so you’d be able to still use it as a regular lock. Bluetooth connection with your phone will still work also as long as you’re within the range of the lock when you need to access it.
Go Beyond Just Locks
Any individual or family that wants to make their home safer should consider installing smart locks on their home.
Being able to access the lock from anywhere, pay attention to the data related to its use, and monitor any suspicious activity is priceless when it comes to the protection of your family.
Learn more about creating a strong home security system with smart home technology.
