H and I keep locking each other out of our front entrance. Mostly me because I immediately lock the front door when I enter. (Wasn’t the case in our previous house). I think a keyless lock might solve our problem.
Questions:
Obviously they work by a digital code, correct?
Do you have to have a physical key on you somehow - or is there absolutely no key just the code.
Do they need a power source of some type? Wireless? Whatever?
Can they be installed on any door - I guess I could post a pic of our current lock set up and get feedback.
Recommendations on brands/models? Not looking to break the bank but of course it’s a safety feature and want something reliable and long lasting. Price range?
Do they come in different finishes? I know I’ve seen black but I’m a little attached to the brass on my door - not a deal breaker but asking.
Installation….a DIY project for moderate DIY’ers? Or no?
We’ve had them for at least 10 years and love them. Ours are battery powered (I change the batteries every year) and have had no problem. They’re Schlage locks (from one of the big box hardware stores probably) and we had them installed by a handy man when we moved in. Our doors are wood so perhaps metal doors are different, I don’t know. I’d imagine you can get something very high tech now but these work fine for us and I highly recommend them! Lovely to just go for a walk without having to carry keys. Ours came with physical keys - I think one is on my car key chain but have never used it.
We have one on our door to our garage. We still have the regular door knob that we don’t lock. I think we put it where the deadbolt was originally. Once in awhile someone locks the wrong knob and we need to get the keys out. The keyless is great. The battery does go out. We haven’t tried it on our front door and I don’t think it would work since we have a larger decorative knob set.
We have had keyless locks for about 10 years. We recently upgraded ours to include a fingerprint option (along with a numerical code) and can be programmed with an app - there is a key, but no, we don’t take it with us. We haven’t had a lock out yet. It took a bit to get used to not having a key, but it’s been great for us. Oh, ETA - installed by a licensed locksmith.
The front door is a Schlage that also has a key option. I bought in online then took it to a locksmith to get it changed to our existing front door key. It’s battery operated (AA I think?) and connected the my SmartThings hub. If the batteries get low, I’ll get an alert. Batteries last a long time. I did have to buy a “thick door kit” because we have giant old Spanish-style wood doors. It came in several colors. I changed out the door handle at the same time to match. I found it an easy DIY.
The second is a Yale keyless between the house and garage. That one’s 9volt, and if the battery dies you can hold up another 9volt to open it (battery access is on the inside of the house). I made the mistake of not looking at the existing hole diameter before I ordered it and had to have a larger one drilled. Otherwise would be an easy DIY. Also on SmartThings and gives alerts to low battery.
It’s nice to be able to control the locks and see the lock status from my phone. Also added a device to the garage door opener so I can open and close it from my phone. I alway drive away, then second guess if I closed the door. Can just check the app now.
We have one on our front door and LOVE it. Besides the no more locking someone out benefit, ours allows multiple codes - so you can give a code to a contractor to use that isn’t yours, and then erase it after the job is finished. And no worries about getting a key back from them. Also my friend who waters plants/gardens for us when we are away has her own code, one that is easy for her to remember.
We have a wood door. The keyless lock is where the deadbolt is. We still have the fancy handle for our doorknob.
We keep a spare key in our main car in case there is a battery issue. But I do not carry one in my purse.
We have them one both our front doors and back doors. We have the option of using a fingerprint or entering the code. I used to worry about the battery but what are the odds that both batteries will die at the same time? I like them because we don’t need to carry keys. They are by Lockly.
I live in an apartment building and so have no control over this. However, about a year ago, they installed keyless locks. The name is Yale (well, it is a college forum!). No keys anymore. I can either enter the code numbers and it unlocks or else on my phone, I can simply click “unlock door” and it does it. That is called Smart Home.
This is our door. The bottom part does not lock inside or out, it’s simply the push device to get in. So we could get a keyless lock for the deadbolt above.
My brother has one on his house, wood door, and I think it replaced the deadbolt.
I know the sorority houses use a much more elaborate system with a code and fingerprint for each occupant PLUS all the members who don’t live in the house (so up to 400 people) The fingerprints eliminate them just giving a code to someone. In the olden days, our keys said “Do not duplicate” but of course some people figured out how to do that. The fingerprint +code is a lot more secure.
The keyed deadbolt can be replaced by a deadbolt that can be operated without a key. These are typically made to be installed in the holes in the door used for keyed deadbolts. The main thing to note is to ensure that the keypad or whatever on the surface of the door does not extend downward to overlap where the non-locking latch handle is. However, it looks like most common combination keypad deadbolts have the keypad above where the deadbolt is.
We have 3 (not all on the same house) Schlage. My husband DIY installed them. We have different codes for us, our friends, contractors. Sometimes add a second contractor code and sometimes change the codes besides ours. Our (adult) kids know our code. Unexpected handy episode was when I asked a friend to mail a couple things needed when we were hundreds of miles away and there was an unexpected event. She could go in with the code I gave her and get and send some things.
We have had them for years and they run on batteries. They light up when you use them in the dark.
We don’t have one…but I want one. We rent in the summer and winter for vacations…and both places have keyless door locks. They change the codes for each renter. It’s so easy. Plus when we have multiple people coming and going…we don’t need a bunch of keys.
The ability to program multiple codes is a big feature. Every time we need to provide access to an outsider, we program the last four digits of their telephone number for their ease. As soon as they no longer need access, we deprogram it. No one ever needs to know the main/our number.
We’ve rarely used our keys, just rely on the garage door opener (using remote from car or the external keypad). I have one with my car key, but these days I often leave it home in the purse. So I decided to put a house key in his glove box, just in case.
It’s pretty easy to break into a garage door, so we’ve considered adding a keyless lock at the door between garage and family room. It’s a door we generally don’t lock when home, never when gone.
We were previously locked out of our house too many times (once) by a power outage- forgetting a key and relying on electric garage door opening as the only way in.
We have a neighbor who is home 99% of the time. They are handy for giving us our spare key when we lock ourselves out (which we all used to do with embarrassing frequency). We have figured out a pretty safe spot to hide another spare key to our house so we have of course not locked ourselves out since!
At this point, we aren’t yet ready to consider an electronic lock on our door but enjoying this discussion. We don’t have a garage, just a detached carport.
