The Best Smart Lock
I knew our Catskills place would have a smart lock to provide access to our friends and family who visited. So I spent about a dozen hours over a couple of weeks researching them and talking to my locksmith buddy to identify two contenders: the Schlage Encode and the Nest x Yale Lock. I started with the Schlage Encode, but couldn’t get it to connect to Wi-Fi. The keypad worked and I could program codes for guests if I was near the lock, but couldn’t monitor or access it remotely—which is kind of the whole point of a smart lock.
So I moved on to the Nest x Yale, a top pick of review sites, including TechRadar, Digital Trends, PCMag, Tech Gear Lab, Popular Mechanics, Reviewed and Wirecutter. I was comfortable with the lock, having used it at three friend’s places, including one with an Airbnb. They all loved how convenient it made securing their homes and said it was easy to install.
The Nest x Yale connected immediately to Wi-Fi, installed in about a half hour, looks great and aside from making sure the strike plate was aligned, hasn’t given me any trouble in almost a year. The Nest x Yale is Jack’s Rec for the best smart lock.
The Best Smart Lock
Jack’s Rec: Nest x Yale Lock
In short: An easy-to-install smart lock that looks great and is compatible with other Nest and Google products.
Why I love it: In a year of using the Nest x Yale, I haven’t had any significant problems with it. Installation was simple and took about 30 minutes to remove the old lock and install the Nest x Yale and connect to the app. It’s a slick-looking lock. It appears black and reflective until the screen is manually engaged by touching the Yale logo. The touch targets are a good size and the keypad is responsive, beeping when you push a number (which can be turned off so the lock is silent). It comes in three finishes (satin nickel, oil rubbed bronze and polished brass) so it should match your existing handle or knob and hinges.
Not ideal: Compared to the Schlage Encode, the internal components of the Nest x Yale seem less substantial. The deadbolt spindle is thinner on the Nest x Yale than the Schlage Encode. And the power cable that connects the batteries to the keypad was smaller on the Nest x Yale and a bit harder to attach.
Key Specs
Price: $279 with Nest Connect hub ($249 without) but often on sale for up to 20%
Built in Wi-Fi: No, requires Nest Connect hub
Built-in alarm: Yes, if tampered with
Compatibility: Compatible with all Google Nest products and Google Assistant
Colors: Satin nickel, oil rubbed bronze and polished brass
Unlike my experience with the Schlage Encode, the Nest x Yale connected to Wi-Fi and right away. Pressing the Yale logo illuminates the keypad. After entering a four- to eight-digit code, the deadbolt disengages from the door frame and the keypad flashes and dings to signal that it’s unlocked.
Installation was also simple and only required a Phillips screwdriver. There are clear instructions with photos. Or you could use the Bilt app, which includes step-by-step voice instructions with detailed graphics. The app says installation will take about 20 minutes for one person. Removing the existing lock, installing the new lock and setting up the lock in the app took me about a half hour.
Hopefully, you won’t have to move the strike plate, which is an annoying pain and requires additional tools and time. I did eventually have to do this, but not during the initial install. I watched a bunch of Youtube videos to figure out how to do it and still didn’t do a very good job. Chiseling is hard and doing it well and in a way that’s clean and looks good is much harder than the experts make it look.
The only installation challenge I had was connecting the power cable from the lock housing to the keypad. It has a small connector that took several frustrating minutes of trying to get it attached.
Tech Gear Lab gave the Nest x Yale the highest score among the locks it tested for ease of installation.
Using the Nest app is also pretty straightforward. It’s simple and well designed, which makes it pretty intuitive. Plus, I already had some experience with it having installed a couple of Nest thermostats. The app allows you to remotely monitor, lock and unlock your door, create up to 20 four- to eight-digit passcodes that can be shared with guests and set to expire after a certain amount of time. In its review of the Nest x Yale, Tech Gear Lab wrote that it’s difficult to share remote access with a guest. I’ve never had that problem. In fact, programming a new passcode in the Nest app generates an email template that you can customize and send to a guest. The email prompts the guest to click on a link to get their passcode, which sends them a webpage that also includes instructions about how to use the lock. It’s a nice feature that may not have been available when Tech Gear Lab reviewed the lock.
The app also allows you to enable other features like auto locking. And if you have other Google Nest products, they can be integrated with the lock to provide additional features. For example, with the Nest security system, you could program the door automatically to lock when arming the system.
My only complaint about the Nest app is it doesn’t allow you to add an immediate family member to your account to give them full control of the lock’s features. Doing that requires downloading the Google Home app. It’s not difficult; just another step.
If you have other smart home products, the Yale Assure SL Connected by August is a very similar lock that is compatible with other smart home brands and might be a better fit if you don’t own any products in the Google Nest ecosystem.
The Next x Yale differed from the Schlage Encode in two ways that were initially important to me: it didn’t have built-in Wi-Fi, instead relying on a hub to connect to the internet, and didn’t have a keyway. As it turned out, not having those features wasn’t a big deal.
I thought a hub would be an eyesore (and some other locks’ hubs are), but it’s small enough that it fits in the outlet behind our wall-mounted TV (and even before we moved it there, it didn’t bother me plugged into the wall). At the time, I didn’t have a security system and if I bought Nest’s, I would’ve needed the hub for that as well. I ended up buying the Ring Alarm system, but more on that below.
Not having a keyway also hasn’t been an issue. In nearly a year of using the lock, I’ve changed the batteries once, about eight months after initially installing it. The Nest x Yale notifies you twice when you need to replace the batteries, when its four AA batteries are low and when they are critically low, hopefully providing enough advance notice to change them before they die. If your lock dies and you don’t have another way to get into your house, you can use a 9-volt battery to give the lock enough power to open the door.
The Nest x Yale also has a built-in tamper alarm, which isn’t listed among the lock’s features on the Yale website or any other place it’s sold. But the online troubleshooting guide (see Tamper Alert) says that an alarm will sound if someone tries to “forcibly remove” the lock, in addition to sending a notification to your phone.
The lock also doesn’t require internet connectivity or an app to use it. Because it uses AA batteries and has a keypad, a power outage or dead cell phone won’t prevent someone from getting into their house.
I’ve only had one issue with the lock in about a year of using it. After a humid summer, which caused some contracting of the door frame, I had to readjust the strike plate in the doorjamb. The deadbolt would always fully engage after grazing the strike plate, but the lock would tell me that it couldn’t and I’d get a notification from the Nest app. It wasn’t a big deal if we were at the house, but when we had friends there without us, those notifications that the door couldn’t lock always made me nervous. And the lock having to work a bit harder was probably the reason I had to change the batteries sooner than the year Nest says they should last. Since I moved the strike plate, I haven’t had any issues and expect these batteries to last longer.
My only other complaint about the lock, and I have no reason to believe this is a problem, is that the Nest x Yale's interior components don’t seem as strong as the Schlage Encode's. The deadbolt spindle, the mechanism that moves the deadbolt when locking and unlocking the door, is thinner than on the Schlage Encode (comparison photo coming soon).
My Research
Me and smart locks
I exhaustively research everything I buy. I’m obsessed with finding the best deal, but I also want to make sure whatever I’m buying fits my needs. That means I spend a lot of time reading reviews and combing through lists to put together notes and spreadsheets to compare my options. I start with review sites and also read consumer reviews.
This was especially important in my smart lock research because I’m not a techie. But I’ve become fascinated by smart home tech, spending tens of hours researching, installing and testing smart locks, thermostats, alarms and plugs. I’m kind of obsessed. I love the peace of mind I get from monitoring my home when my family is away. Smart tech can also improve energy efficiency, which is better for the environment and saves money.
I’m also learning about how smart home systems, in addition to making our lives more convenient, can actually improve our health and well-being. For example, sleep researcher Matthew Walker writes in his book “Why We Sleep” that smart lighting can be programmed to help put our brains and bodies in position to get a better night’s sleep.
How I identified options
I started with my buddy Chris Girten, who’s a locksmith in Kansas City. Chris told me that manual Schlage locks have the best internal components. In his more than 15 years as a locksmith, he said it’s the only brand he recommends to customers. So he prefers the Schlage smart locks to other brands.
So I set my sights on the Schlage Encode, which is a top pick of several review sites, including Popular Mechanics, Reviewed, Tech Gear Lab, Wirecutter, Consumer Reports, CNET, PCMag, This Old House and Digital Trends. It comes in two shapes and four colors. I chose the rectangular (Century trim) in matte black. The lock has a raised keypad and it’s fingerprint resistant. I loved the way it looked.
The Schlage Encode also had the three must-have features I was looking for in a smart lock. In addition to remote monitoring and access, I was looking for a smart lock that had built in Wi-Fi, meaning that it didn’t require another device to connect to the internet. I wanted it to have a built-in alarm that sounded when the lock was tampered with, hoping that would be a deterrent to anyone trying to break in. And I wanted it to have a keyway, in case the battery died while we were away. I also wanted to be able to create custom passcodes for guests, which is a common feature on most smart locks.
I was also looking for a smart lock that didn’t require internet connectivity or an app to open because it wouldn’t work during a power outage or with a dead cell phone battery, which I’m embarrassed to admit happens to me all the time. Basically, I was looking for a lock with a keypad that I could monitor remotely.
The Schlage Encode was the best-rated lock that met all those criteria, but it wouldn’t connect to Wi-Fi. I spent hours on the phone with Schlage customer service over multiple calls, but they couldn’t solve the problem. They even sent a replacement lock, which also didn’t connect to Wi-Fi at our house and our apartment in Brooklyn (I wanted to rule out our Wi-Fi as the problem). After more troubleshooting, including a couple of calls to my internet provider’s customer service, I decided it was time to move on even though the Schlage Encode seemed solidly built and I loved the way it looked.
Because I already had installed two Nest thermostats, I was confident the Nest x Yale would connect to the internet. It was also my other contender, even though it was missing two of the three features I wanted in a smart lock: built-in Wi-Fi and required a hub to connect to the internet and a keyway. It was my second choice in part because it was a top pick of TechRadar, Digital Trends, PCMag, Tech Gear Lab, Reviewed and Wirecutter.
And I’d used the lock at three friend’s houses. A friend had the Nest x Yale at his Airbnb, which he used to provide a unique passcode for each guest, and monitor when they first arrived and left at the end of their stay. He also used it to give easy access to service people he hired to help maintain the house when he couldn’t. Another friend gave us access to their house during a visit when we weren’t going to get there until after they were asleep. It worked perfectly that time and on a handful of visits since.
A note about physical and online security, and online privacy
So far, I haven’t found any published reports about physical or online vulnerabilities of the Nest x Yale lock. I’ve read several accounts of other locks being and even other Nest products like cameras being hacked.
As far as physical security goes, Google and Yale market the Nest x Yale as tamper proof because it doesn’t have a keyway. The lock has an ANSI/BHMA (American National Standards Institute and Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association) grade 2 rating (on a grade 1 to 3 scale with 1 being the highest). By comparison, the Schlage Encode has a grade 1 rating, which may be why it seems to have stronger internal components. Here’s a video of the Nest x Yale testing that led to its rating.
If someone is trying to guess your passcode, they’ll get locked out for 90 seconds after five incorrect attempts and you’ll get a notification from the Nest app. At that time, you could turn on privacy mode, which disables the keypad and would prevent additional passcode attempts.
Tech Gear Lab called the Nest x Yale “one of the most secure locks we tested,” giving it the third highest score among those locks.
In terms of online security and privacy, Nest products use AES 128-bit encryption when transmitting data to the cloud. Setting up the lock requires creating an account in the Nest app with an email address and password. Nest recommends securing accounts with two-factor authentication and using strong, unique passwords.
My other favorite smart home products
In short: Quick dispatch in an emergency and peace of mind when you’re away
I’m listing this first because it’s an amazing add-on if you have a Ring Alarm with professional monitoring, which is great and described in more detail below. I’ll write more about the Ring Smoke and CO Listener in a longer post, but wanted to include a snippet about it here. Installed next to a smoke detector (or multiple smoke detectors if yours aren’t hard wired), it sounds your ring alarm and notifies Ring monitoring, which dispatches fire and medical—all in less than a minute. It’s crazy fast, which is what you’d hope for in an emergency. And it’s worked for us.
Earlier this year, we had some friends staying at the house and the carbon monoxide alarm went off. Within minutes, the fire department was dispatched and our friends didn’t have to do anything other than get out of the house. I got a notification in the Ring app so I knew what was going on and could talk to the fire department when they arrived to understand the problem. This listener is only $35 and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s one of the best purchases I’ve made.
In short: Reasonably-priced security system with most affordable professional monitoring
This DIY security system is fantastic. It’s a reasonable price ($200) and monitored professionally for a fraction of the price ($100/year) as other national monitoring companies without along-term commitment. On top of that, it’s easy to install. It took me a couple of hours and could have been faster but I drilled the contact sensors into the doors and took my time figuring out where to put the motion detector and base station.
The system also works really well, sending alarm alerts to the Ring app in seconds and dispatching police and/or fire departments in minutes. I know because it’s happened to us three times, for two false alarms and one carbon monoxide alarm, which I describe a bit above. The other day, we set off the fire alarm with the oven and couldn’t get to our phones in time to silence the alert or answer a call from the monitoring company to say it wasn’t an emergency. In less than a minute, they dispatched the fire department and I had to tell the fire chief when he arrived minutes later that we had burned tomatoes and garlic in the oven.
In short: Basically the same as the Nest Learning Thermostat for at least $80 less
The Nest E does just about everything the Nest Learning Thermostat does—allows you to remotely monitor and change the temperature in your home and learns your temperature preferences. The most significant difference between the two is what they look like—the Nest Learning comes in seven colors with a vibrant screen while the Nest E comes in white with a frosted screen. The Nest E is also $80 cheaper at full price. It might even be better than the original.
According to the Google Store, the Nest E is now available only through professional installers. However, it’s still for sale online in a number of places, including Home Depot. Anyway, I was going to suggest you go through your gas or electric company. Many have online stores with discounts or rebates for buying programmable thermostats and other energy efficient products. I think I bought my Nest E for $119, which would have been $50 off the retail price. Enter your zip code here to find out if your gas or electric company provide thermostat discounts or rebates.
Sources
The best smart locks: security that integrates with your smart home by Michelle Fitzsimmons in TechRadar
The best smart locks for 2021 by by Erika Rawes and John Velasco in Digital Trends
The Best Smart Locks for 2021 by John R. Delaney in PCMag
Best Smart Lock by Max Mutter and Steven Tata in Tech Gear Lab
The Best Smart Locks for Your Home or Rental Property by Bradley Ford in Popular Mechanics
The Best Smart Locks of 2021 by Nick Schmiedicker, Sarah Kovac, and Whitson Gordon in Reviewed
The Best Smart Locks by Jon Chase in Wirecutter
Nest x Yale with Connect Review by Max Mutter and Steven Tata in Tech Gear Lab
How to lock and unlock the Nest × Yale Lock if the battery is drained in Google Nest Help
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
Chris Girten, locksmith with A to Z Budget Key and amateur grill master
The Five Best Smart Locks for Your Home by Bradley Ford
Best Smart Locks of 2020 by Daniel Wroclawski in Consumer Reports
The best smart locks for 2021: August, Yale, Schlage and more by Molly Price in CNET
Best Smart Locks Review (2021) by This Old House Reviews Team
How Nest, designed to keep intruders out of people’s homes, effectively allowed hackers to get in by Reed Albergotti in The Washington Post
What Do ANSI Grade Levels Mean? in the ANSI blog
Nest x Yale Lock Testing Process video on Youtube
What’s the deal with encryption strength — is 128 bit encryption enough or do you need more? by Lance Gutteridge in Medium
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