Smart Home Lock Comparison
This page is a work in progress. As I test more locks, they will be added here. Thank you for your patience.
| Make/Model | Protocol | Install Complexity | Proximity Unlock | Motor Noise | Power-fail Backup | Hub Command Reliability | Lock Status Report Reliability | User Report to Hub Reliability |
| Alfred / DB1 | Bluetooth Z-Wave | Low | Yes | Low | USB | High | High | High |
| Schlage / BE468 & BE469 | Z-Wave | Med | No | High | Key | See Notes | See Notes | See Notes |
| Schlage / BE468 & BE469 | Zigbee | Med | No | High | Key | High | Med | Low |
| Yale / YRD156 | Z-Wave | Low | No | Low | 9v | High | High | High |
| Yale / YRD256 | Z-Wave | Low | Yes* | Med | 9v | High | Med-High | High |
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Lock Specific Notes
The notes below are in alphabetical order.
Alfred DB1 Z-Wave + Bluetooth
Testing is currently underway for this lock. Here are the lock specific notes based on my initial view when unboxing the lock.
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| Alfred DB1-C-BL | Alfred DB1-B-BL |
| Parameter | Notes | Other Resources |
| Protocol | This lock supports both Z-Wave and Bluetooth. There’s also the ability to add-on Wi-Fi by purchasing a Wi-Fi bridge. | |
| Install Complexity | Low. The lock comes with an additional post that requires a hole be drilled in the door above the main deadbolt hole. THIS POST CAN BE REMOVED. This is to provide extra security against prying the face-plate away from the door. | |
| Proximity Unlock | Uses geo-fence and then enables One-Touch Unlock when you enter the fenced area. It then is disabled until after you leave the geo-fence again. | |
| Motor Noise | Very Quiet | |
| Power-fail Backup | Micro USB – does not provide access to lock firmware. | |
| Hub Command Reliability | High | How Reliability is Calculated |
| Lock Status Report Reliability | High | How Reliability is Calculated |
| User Report to Hub Reliability | High |
Schlage / BE468 & BE469 Z-Wave
NOTE: My tests were against the BE468 model. I have not yet tested the BE468zp (new model) to determine reliability.
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| Schlage BE468 | Schlage BE469 |
| Parameter | Notes | Other Resources |
| Protocol | Z-Wave
tested in Wink and Hubitat, SmartThings testing coming soon. |
Pairing with Hubitat |
| Install Complexity | The lock is fairly easy to install however there are no guide pins between the internal mounting plate and the external keypad. This raised the complexity to a medium score. | |
| Proximity Unlock | None | |
| Motor Noise | High – The motor is unusually loud and can be heard throughout the house (with open doors) | |
| Power-fail Backup | Key | |
| Hub Command Reliability | Very Reliable with the below exception.
In both Wink and Hubitat the lock had a tendency to drop offline. It was more pervasive in Hubitat. A Z-Wave Range Extender is highly recommended for all hubs. When the lock drops offline, it will typically drain the batteries trying to reconnect. Again, more pervasive in Hubitat although it was noticed periodically in Wink. |
How Reliability is Calculated |
| Lock Status Report Reliability | See Above
When the lock is online, it is very reliable. |
How Reliability is Calculated |
| User Report to Hub Reliability | See Above
When the lock is online, it is very reliable. |
Schlage / BE468 & BE469 Zigbee
NOTE: I have not yet formally tested the Zigbee lock. I did however run it in my front door for 6 months. More results will be published after formal testing is completed.
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| Schlage BE468 Zigbee | Schlage BE469 Zigbee |
| Parameter | Notes | Other Resources |
| Protocol | Zigbee | |
| Install Complexity | The lock is fairly easy to install however there are no guide pins between the internal mounting plate and the external keypad. This raised the complexity to a medium score. | |
| Proximity Unlock | None | |
| Motor Noise | High – The motor is unusually loud and can be heard throughout the house (with open doors) | |
| Power-fail Backup | Key | |
| Hub Command Reliability | High – Very reliable receiving commands from the hub (only tested Hubitat). | How Reliability is Calculated |
| Lock Status Report Reliability | Low – The lock often missed reporting lock/unlock status back to the hub. | How Reliability is Calculated |
| User Report to Hub Reliability | Low – The lock often missed reporting lock/unlock status back to the hub. And often when it did, it would not report user codes. |
Yale Pro SL / YRD156-ZW2
Click here for the Full Review
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| Buy on Amazon | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Amazon |
| Parameter | Notes | Other Resources |
| Protocol | Z-Wave | Full Review |
| Install Complexity | Low – the lock provides a robust keypad and guide pins on the interior mounting plate help align the plate with the keypad. | |
| Proximity Unlock | None | |
| Motor Noise | Low – I found the motor noise to be nearly unnoticeable. The lock has an audio feature that is louder than the motor itself. With the audio off, the lock noise is pleasant. | |
| Power-fail Backup | 9 volt battery | |
| Hub Command Reliability | High – during Hubitat testing hub commands were 100%. | How Reliability is Calculated |
| Lock Status Report Reliability | High – during Hubitat testing, the lock reported status 100% of the time. | How Reliability is Calculated |
| User Report to Hub Reliability | High – during Hubitat testing, the lock reported keypad activity 100% and the user 100% of the time. |
Yale Assure SL
Click here for the Full Review
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| Connected by August | Connected by August | Connected by August |
| Apple HomeKit | Apple HomeKit | Apple HomeKit |
| Z-Wave Plus | Z-Wave Plus | Z-Wave Plus |
| Zigbee | Zigbee | Zigbee |
| Parameter | Notes | Other Resources |
| Protocol | Z-Wave | Full Review |
| Install Complexity | Low – the lock provides a robust keypad and guide pins on the interior mounting plate help align the plate with the keypad. | |
| Proximity Unlock | None | |
| Motor Noise | Low – I found the motor noise to be nearly unnoticeable. The lock has an audio feature that is louder than the motor itself. With the audio off, the lock noise is pleasant. | |
| Power-fail Backup | 9 volt battery | |
| Hub Command Reliability | High
Hubitat Testing – the lock responded to all Lock and Unlock commands sent from the hub. SmartThings Testing – the lock responded to all Lock and Unlock commands sent from the hub. |
How Reliability is Calculated |
| Lock Status Report Reliability | Med-High
Hubitat – during testing, the lock reported status 95.5% +/- 0.8% of the time. SmartThings – during testing the lock reported status 97.0% +/- 1.0%. I was able to determine that this was an issue inside my lock where when the lock actuated it didn’t always make contact with the internal switches. Had it not been for this, I’m confident the lock would have reported 100% of the time. When actuated from the thumbscrew, the report reliability was 100%. |
How Reliability is Calculated |
| User Report to Hub Reliability | High – during Hubitat testing, the lock reported keypad activity 95% of the time and the user 100% of the time. The 5% can be attributed to the internal switches not always being activated by the internal mechanism. |
END