August Digital Door Lock

Product Description

We've seen a lot of smartphone-controlled devices taking on home security lately--from the Scout full home security system to DoorBot, a camera-digital locking system combo that shows who's at the door and allows homeowners... [Read more]

Features

• Secure - Safe, keyless access to your home with iOS and Android smartphones
• Easy DIY Retrofit Install, - Replace the interior of your existing deadbolt; outside is unchanged
• Total Control - You control who has access to your home and manage how long their access lasts
• Always On - Powered by batteries means it's always on, even if your power, Wi-Fi, or cable go down
• Kindly refer the installation videos, August Smart Lock works with the free August app to create keys, grant access, view the activity log, and more, available for Android and iOS.

Top Reviews

I've never paid for anything more frustrating than the August Smart Lock
by Adam Dachis (1 out of 5 stars)
October 3, 2015

I wanted to give this product two stars because it works sometimes. I want to be fair here. That said, I don't think it's fair to inflate a rating of a product that's just a hair above useless. When I first got it back in March (over six months ago) it seemed just a little buggy. Boy do I wish I hadn't trusted August and kept it. I don't even care about the money so much as I would like hours of my life back. If you want to know how this review ends, as if it isn't obvious, DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. Keep reading if you want the details.

When you think about it, this product is almost completely pointless outside of providing access to your home temporarily and, if you pay another $50 for the adapter, to unlock the door for someone while you're away. That all presumes that it functions, which is a HUGE assumption. Even if we don't count the fact that they couldn't get it to work with iOS 9 until a good amount of time after its release (you know, despite having access to the beta for months), it really only works half the time anyway. Even though they finally added iOS 9 support, the stupid thing still doesn't work at all. I've tried it with six phones, resetting some of them and doing everything support instructed me to do. It just refuses to work even though it connects. This all happened post-iOS 9, but now devices running iOS 8 don't work with it either. It connects but pretends it can't.

But let's give August the benefit of the doubt here. Perhaps there were changes to the way Bluetooth works on iOS that required new hardware specifications Apple didn't provide during the beta. That has happened before, so it's a possibility, yet every other one of my Bluetooth devices (including ones like Tile that basically connect in the same way) worked fine after the iOS update. And maybe the device just stopped working at some point, but that seems very coincidental. Beyond all of this it just would fail to connect over and over again. Sometimes it'd work, sometimes it wouldn't. But this isn't the kind of product that can fail-ever. If it fails, you can't get into your house. You always need a backup key, which sort of defeats the purpose of owning it for the most part.

So before this turns into an even longer rant, here is a list of why this thing sucks:
- It looks big in the pictures, but you will still be surprised by how large it is.
- It fails to connect to your phone via the auto unlock feature most of the time, and fails manually about half of the time (in my experience with my phone and others and August's support team didn't seem to think this was unusual).
- Sometimes when the door tries to lock or unlock it can't. It is very particular about how the door is aligned otherwise it won't lock. I installed a special weather seal just to keep the door in August's favorite spot and it still screwed up even when aligned perfectly. You could hear the motor struggling to turn the lock, yet with no adjustment whatsoever it'll work minutes later. You just don't know what you're going to get.
- The battery cover falls off constantly when manually turning the lock. My friends cannot figure out how to do it properly no matter how many times I show them, and even I screw it up a third of the time. The front cover is just a victim of poor design.
- This one I learned recently and is the most absurd: August advertises a feature of the smart lock that allows you to download the app on someone else's phone, log in as yourself, and unlock the door in the event you get locked out. That would work just fine if you didn't have to get a freakin' confirmation code that GETS SENT TO YOUR PHONE NUMBER. August, how the heck do you expect anyone to use someone else's phone if you need to get a confirmation code on your dead/missing/lost phone? Why even have a feature like this if it's completely dependent on having access to the device that you're not supposed to need to use the feature. This makes absolutely no sense.
- As hinted at earlier, proximity features are very hit and miss. Also, the auto lock functionality is a good idea but it'd be a lot better if it would not engage if somebody is in or near the house so they don't get locked out.
- You basically have to check the door every time the app says it managed to lock the door because sometimes it lies. And by sometimes I would estimate it happened to me about 25% of the time. Sometimes it says the door is unlocked when it isn't, too. You just can't understand how horribly unreliable this thing is until you use it.
- It's slow to connect when you connect manually.
- Developments and updates are slow. Maybe this will improve, but as of October 2015 you shouldn't expect any features or fixes in good time. I don't believe they can fix the problems with this thing, but even if they can it's going to be a looooong time before that happens based on their current track record.
- I found their support team to be a little frustrating to deal with. When I worked with them I really, really wanted the smart lock to work. I wanted to keep it and use it and live in a future that I now realize makes no sense. I would like to have a smart lock, but a product like this just isn't viable without MANY ways of getting back inside. Fortunately you can still use a key, which is all I've done for months because I can't trust the smart lock to do its only job.

Some good things, in the interest of fairness:
- I found it very easy to install. It does seem to be compatible with the majority of locks and you can use it in an apartment building because it's easy to remove, too (something I'm very glad for because it's going in the recycling).
- The batteries last several months.
- Despite the fact that it doesn't work very well, the build quality and materials used seem excellent.

The bottom line: even if this worked better, do you really need it? Even if it worked 99% of the time it wouldn't be worth it because you know what works 100% of the time? A key. You know what's smaller and easier to carry than your smartphone? A key. Spend $2 and get a copy of your key to take with you when you don't want to take the entire key ring. It's easier to take on a run or wherever else you're going where you want to travel light. At best this thing is useful as backup mechanism, but would you rather hide a key or give one to a friend in case you get locked out or hope that this piece of crap actually works? I think the answer is pretty obvious.

P.S. If anyone from August is reading this and feels like posting an offer to help, please don't. You've tried and you've failed. All you'd be doing is trying to sound like you care to other Amazon customers and, in my experience, you really don't. Nobody needs your platitudes.
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Not a reliable alternative to traditional locks
by CA472 (1 out of 5 stars)
February 23, 2015

My expectation in buying this lock is that would provide at least equivalent security and greater convenience with features such as auto lock and unlock. However, most of its features are unreliable, often resulting in an unsecured home. This lock works like a development prototype, and is not suitable or convenient for safeguarding a home or business. Among the major defects:
* Sometimes the lock unlocks itself without any command from the user. We ended up locking the door knob lock as a backup, but this negates the convenience of having this lock.
* The lock sometimes powers off and will not appear in the August app on any device, requiring a key for entry. Removing and reinserting the batteries restores power, but again this negates the convenience of a smart lock.
* Auto-lock takes too long to engage (30 seconds minimum). Given the lock's lack of reliability in other areas, I never felt secure enough to simply walk away and let the lock do its job. Another problem with auto-lock is that this lock is not smart enough to know when the door is actually closed, resulting in the deadbolt slamming against the door frame several times a day.
* It takes too long for the app to find and connect with the lock (minimum 10 seconds, but sometimes as long as 20-30 seconds). Again this makes the lock less convenient that a traditional lock because one has to be proactive in firing up the app to get ready to leave.
* The auto-unlock worked only 90% of the time, which is actually much better than other reviewers' experiences, which are as low as 25%. However, auto-unlock uses position services in your phone and consumes a lot of battery. My battery consumption was twice as high as without the August lock running in the background.
* This is more of a manufacturer privacy issue, but August requires you to take pictures of your front door and yourself to use the app.
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We liked our first one so much we bought a second!
by HBGuy (5 out of 5 stars)
September 27, 2016

We love this, and the ability to control/monitor it remotely. Very, very well made. I do have some concerns that everyone should be aware of:
1. Batteries - check them before going away on a trip. Our cat sitter was nearly locked out because of a low battery. Ordinarily, batteries should last ~ a year, so maybe ours was an old battery. Replaced it with a Duracell and no further issues.
2. Deadbolt - there are several similar products on the market, but only a few allow for the personalization of the deadbolt. We replaced our cheap, builder-installed deadbolts with Schlage commercial deadbolts. Much better quality and safer.
3. Remote connection - although this lock connects to an iPhone with Bluetooth, it cannot be monitored over the internet with Bluetooth. For internet monitoring, the August Connect WiFi adapter is needed. We bought it and are happy we did.
4. iPhone app - works well, but we suggest not enabling the automatic lock/unlock feature (Bluetooth enabled). It works, but is temperamental.

Overall, extremely well made and great Customer Support.
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August lock not perfect for Airbnb host with international guests outside of North America
by Javier Y (2 out of 5 stars)
September 20, 2015

Hi guys!

So we ordered the August Lock and the Connect (wifi control) and the device failed miserably for us as airbnb hosts. Here are the reasons why:
- all virtual keys need to be invited by the owner through the app. When someone receives the invite, they need to download the app on their phone and create a new profile. Part of the process is verify via text code. August Lock only supports North America (US & Canada phone #'s). If we had a guest outside of this (which is about 85% of our guests), the SMS Text "may" reach the guest. If not no way for the guest to verify their profile which means no way to receive the virtual key, which means the guest is locked out of the home.
- We also had guests with US phone #'s and they used the lock. It was kinda glitchy because the guest would have to open the app, turn on the blue tooth, wait for it to connect, then go into the app and click on the red button to unlock and wait for a few seconds. We also found our selves waiting in front of the front door to go through all of these steps. It was kinda annoying. Especially when it's raining and when we had things in our hands.

It's a slick lock when it works. The notifications were nice when it worked. The auto lock was nice, however the auto detect when I was near by didn't work too well and was not consistent.

For what we were looking for as airbnb hosts the lock was just not consistent and the con's out weighed the pro's. We went back to our old lock:

Schlage BE365 CAM 505 Camelot Keypad Deadbolt.

We really wished the August lock performed better. Our expectations were not met and as a result we returned the lock. The customer service from August Lock was stellar! Lia and gang did everything they could and even researched what we could have done for possible solutions. Hopefully over time there are updates that would make it more user friendly for international guests. If so, then this would be the perfect front door lock for those hosting on short term rental sites.
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Great when it works. Still a bit inconsistent. Big improvements over the past few months.
by Jonathan S (4 out of 5 stars)
January 17, 2015

I got my August Smart Lock in October 2014 and have been using it ever since. I love it, and I hate it. I've been using it for 3 months, and here's my first-hand review of it.

UPDATED MAY 27, 2015 to account for firmware and software improvements.
--- FEATURES ---

The August app allows you to easily lock or unlock August Smart Lock with a single tap once you've selected the lock-It allows you to add and add multiple locks. The user interface is well designed and makes using the app a pleasant experience.

It requires 4 AA batteries (included) and relies on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to pair with your phone. Since it relies on BLE instead of Wi-Fi, it says it can last almost a year before having to replace its batteries, and during a power outage you'll still be able to connect to it (assuming your batteries aren't dead either). You'll also get a reminder when batteries get low. Since August Smart Lock doesn't replace your entire lock system, if you forget your phone you can still lock or unlock with your original key from the outside.

Since August Smart Lock only connects via BLE, the only way to control it remotely is to buy and connect it to an August Connect. Alongside the great user experience, it provides some notable features as well.

Auto-unlock: Senses when you're approaching and unlocks the door for you in the background so you don't have to reach for your phone to unlock it. It uses your phone's location to determine when you've left home and when you're on your way back.

Everlock: Automatically relocks your door shortly after you've unlocked it (that's the official description of it in the app). I've also read that it also locks the door behind you shortly after you leave the house. I don't use and haven't used Everlock (explanation further down in the review); therefore, I can't elaborate more on the feature.

User Management: The app allows you to add users you want to grant access to (the user would have to have a phone compatible with August Smart Lock). For each user, you can set them as an owner or a guest, and for guests you can grant them permanent, temporary, or recurring/schedule-based access. User access can easily be changed or revoked.

Apps: It was announced at CES 2015 that August Smart Lock would work with Nest-you can see the temperature at home from the August app, and also allows August Smart Lock to tell Nest Thermostat to start warming or cooling your house when you unlock your door or set Nest Thermostat to Away when you lock your door on your way out. This is just the first step into a world of possibilities with other smart devices, appliances, and services.

Notifications: It sends notifications to your device when its status changes, such as when a user locks/unlocks or it auto-unlocks your door. It's useful to receive a notification that it's auto-unlocking your door so you know whether or not you need to get your keys out before you get to the door. On iOS, you can also lock/unlock August Smart Lock from your lock screen by adding August app as a widget.

August Connect: Allows you to control your lock remotely using the August app as long as you have Internet access. It pairs to your August Smart Lock over Bluetooth and connects to your network over Wi-Fi. It costs an additional $49.99, but there are no monthly or annual fees.

Apple Watch: Apple Watch integration is minimal-it only receives notifications. My phone is usually on vibrate, and I don't always feel it vibrating, so it's more reliable to receive a notification on my watch via haptic feedback. It'd be nice to lock/unlock August Smart Lock from the Apple Watch (my guess is that functionality is coming).
--- USAGE AND PERFORMANCE ---

When August Smart Lock works like it's designed to work or like you'd expect it to work, it's fantastic, and on paper the features sound great; unfortunately, in practice the integration lacks harmony and still needs work.

Connecting to it can range from painless to utter and sheer frustration and resentment, and although my earlier experiences was more frustrating than not, August has made some major improvements to the lock and app that has made it a lot more reliable. However, when it doesn't work or refuses to connect, it's extremely frustrating-I still recommend you have a back-up set of keys around, just in case.

When auto-unlock works, it's amazing, like thaumaturgy, sorcery, magic. August's updates have greatly improved the reliability of auto-unlock. It works about 90% of the time, although on rare occasions I'll still find my door locked.

I don't use Everlock, but based on the very fact that auto-unlock isn't perfect, I wouldn't trust it to automatically lock the door behind me, especially when I'm leaving the house.

Notifications for when a user locks/unlocks are inconsistent. Sometimes I get them; other times I don't-I haven't figured out the pattern (if there is one). The lock screen widget is useful, but keep in mind that if you have Touch ID enabled or a passcode, it'll require you to enter it before, for security reasons.
--- DESIGN ---

August Smart Lock is gorgeous piece of machinery and an eye-catcher, but it's also bulkier in person than it appears in photos--it sticks out 2" from the door and is 3" wide in diameter. Although it looks bulky in person, when turning it manually it doesn't feel awkward and turns with ease, almost effortlessly. An indicator light on the frontplate turns green when it unlocks and red when it locks--there are also accompanying sounds for each.
--- INSTALLATION AND SETUP ---

August Smart Lock is dead simple to install just as long as it's compatible with your existing deadbolt lock. (Generally if your deadbolt mount is independent of your door handle, it's probably compatible, but you may want to double-check to be sure) August Smart Lock replaces just the interior thumbturn assembly. It took me 10 minutes to install it.

Installation requires you to (1) unscrew and remove your interior thumbturn assembly, screw on proper mounting plate, (2) put on the proper adapter, (3) slide on the lock and close the clips to secure it.

Setting up and connecting August Smart Lock to your device is simple as well. Download and open the August app for iOS or Android. It's evident that the user interface and experience was well thought out. Once you've signed up for an account and signed in, it'll scan for your lock(s) and guide you through setting it up.
--- CONCLUSION ---

Of all the available smart locks out there (like Lockitron, Goji, Kevo), August Smart Lock is still my preference and choice.

Over the past 7 months, August has pushed several firmware and software improvements that have made August Smart Lock a lot more reliable, especially connection and auto-unlock reliability. Along with more improvements, I'd love to see it open up, and support and talk to more devices, ecosystems and services, such as Canary Home Security Device,Automatic and IFTTT.

If you're planning on getting the August Smart Lock, you may also want to consider getting the August Connect ($49.99) so you can connect to and control it remotely. It improves connectivity some by giving you a second way of connecting when Bluetooth isn't cooperating, but the fact that it allows you to control August Smart Lock remotely makes it worth it. I'm not sure if I'd be as happy with my August Smart Lock if I didn't have the August Connect.
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DO NOT BUY FROM AUGUST, UNLESS YOU DON'T REALLY NEED THE LOCK TO WORK, OR EXPECT ANY SUPPORT FROM TH
by Ken (1 out of 5 stars)
November 18, 2017

Three Years, Putting up with this Far from ready for prime time product.

I have issues with auto unlock, I have issues with Bluetooth connections, I have issues with The WiFi connect, I have issues Adding guests, Making this $300+ P.O.S.

August support, is completely useless, Has never addressed a single issue I've had, left ME to troubleshoot any and all issues.

Monika, with team August, has in several occasions stated I will not receive any support, for to me attitude, & language in my emails.

Not Once, Not Ever, Has she even apologized for how little the equipment actually works, I was told to send it back in more than one occasion. Which I've done, but never it so badly ordered another one, & the connect WiFi device, I was told I needed, for the lock to function properly! Which all it did was add issues.

I I've had to reset the connect, no less than a half dozen times, For little to No Reason at all.

The lock, The connect & the WiFi router are in line of sight, Yet Signals are pathetic...

Resetting it helps, but not for long.

THIS COMPANY, SHOULDN'T EVEN BE ALLOWED TO EXIST...

There's a new version, & obviously, they're going to leave everyone hanging who purchased the "Original" garbage equipment.
& Concentrate on the second generation.
1st Generation August Smart Lock - Silver
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good hardware terrible app
by Mark E. (1 out of 5 stars)
May 30, 2017

I bought the lock in 2014 and loved it up until this last software upgrade. In the past you could select the lock perimeter down to 100 meters. I could walk my dogs and it would auto unlock when we came home. You didn't need to do anything but enable auto unlock one time in the app. When you traveled further than your preset geo fence and returned your door would unlock as you approached. Now the smallest perimeter according to August is 2 city blocks. The other thing is the app always has to be opened.It didn't use to have to be open all the time. if you close it the lock won't work. Im used to closing apps when Im finished using them so I forget and close it. If I do close it, reopening the app won't make the door open when I return unless I manually set the app to away or manually unlock the door when I get home. The whole idea of not having to reach in my pocket for keys or the phone is no longer the case. If you can live with the new limitations of the software it might be useful to you.
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Easy to install
by Mpabner (2 out of 5 stars)
May 4, 2016

So, I have been using this lock for several months now. I am really disappointed in it. There are some redeeming qualities that earned it an additional star from me. However, I do not feel that the security of the condo is truly there. First, the little things. When both myself and my partner are standing at the door waiting for the lock to unlock, it takes forever. It it truly easier to just use a key. Half of the time we have to pull out one of our phones to manually unlock the door, which leads me to my next complaint. The app is agonizingly slow to select the one lock that we have on our condo. The app is set up so assuming that you have several locks in one house, with maybe an additional property with different locks. It does not take into account people who have a condo in a building that has one door. When I approach my door, and get tired of waiting for the auto-unlock, there is a very cumbersome and lengthy process of drilling down on your house, then onto the lock you have. I noticed one day that there was a shortcut on the lock screen that appeared to be set up to lock, or unlock the door. However, it is only a link that redirects you back to the app, making you go through the entire process. Very irritating when you have your hands full of packages, or walking your dogs.

The real issue that I have is that we had to disable the auto-unlock function. For a few nights in a row, we were in bed and clearly heard the lock unlock, then re-lock, then unlock, then re-lock. We both felt that we could never be certain that the door was locked when we are away. That issue defeats the main reason that I installed the lock to begin with. I wanted to be able to approach the door and have it unlocked when I got there.

All of this may be due to the fact that we live on the 22nd floor and one of our phones might have pinged off of a different cell tower leading the lock to think that we had left and come back. However, I just do not trust the thing. It may be a completely different story were we still in our house on the ground.

The one true redeeming quality of the the mechanism is that it is exceedingly ergonomic. I think that my mother would be able to lock and unlock the door with ease due to the size of the mechanism that locks and unlocks the door.

I might reconsider this lock in the future with some significant hardware and software upgrades. However, right now I do not feel safe with the auto-unlock functionality.
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Way too convenient, you'll forget your real keys
by Paul A. Bates (4 out of 5 stars)
October 10, 2015

The August lock has been quite reliable and does better than described. The packaging and instructions, fit and finish are great. It works with a good variety of lock vendors and it's been well thought out. For those of you, like me, were worried about the grinding noises other motorized locks make when lock/unlocking fear not - August is quite quiet. I bought the August lock for the auto-unlocking when approaching the door with your associated phone. It works pretty much all the time, but will not work for quick trips out to the car and back to the door, you really need to leave. You quickly get in the habit of leaving your keys, so I've been locked out of the house once because I enabled the auto-lock feature and shut the door. Thankfully I the Apple Watch app could talk to my iPhone inside the house so I could unlock the door using the watch app. A casualty of convenience and not August.

As an iOS engineer, here's a couple of tips. The auto-unlock uses something on iOS called geo-fencing. Geo-fencing is not reliable on the iPhone and other devices when you turn WiFi is turned off - don't turn it off (it has marginal impact on battery)! The lock itself relies on Bluetooth (as are many, many things on your iPhone that you don't even realize) so do not turn that off either. This is the same reason why you need to leave the area of your home and come back for the auto-unlocking to work.

My only grip, and it's nitpicking, is it's bigger than I was expecting. You get used to it, but the deadbolt mechanism is replaces it's larger by comparison.
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Are you ready and competent to deal with new technology, potential incompatibility, and poor August
by Susan (2 out of 5 stars)
September 4, 2015

Product is persnickety at best. I knew I took a risk purchasing the product. What I didn't realize is that the August company would have such poor customer service. Amazon did everything right... shipped me the product and accepted the return in a timely and courteous manner. August, however, did everything they could to rid themselves of the problem, walk away, and leave Amazon to work with the customer... not exactly what I expect from a new technology company, looking to make a positive impression on the market. If you have a Kwikset lock, consider their digital alternative. As a mature company, Kwikset knows what they are doing. If not, give August a few more months, years to work out the details. Just realize that you are taking on your own experiment with this product and at the price, it's a risk, especially if you experience incompatibility and August blames you the customer for the problem and doesn't feel it necessary to warranty the product. I appreciate that not all new technology, especially retrofit technology, will work. Still, I have a higher expectation from the manufacturer, in this case August, to stand by their product and resolve potential situations when they arise, rather than hiding behind a capable distributer like Amazon to pick up the pieces. Thus, Amazon... well done! August... you're not ready for prime time.

The incompatibility and a note for consideration on these types of products: I installed the August lock on a Schlage B250 single deadlock cylinder. This high quality scalage lock is not compatible with August, not that August will tell you such before you buy. The deadbolt cylinder in the Schlage lock is tensioned, which the August motor is not robust enough to manage. Although the August lock worked well initially, it failed after two weeks of normal use. If the August lock failed after only a few weeks in this installation, how will it even perform years in a normal situation? When it does fail, what are your choices as a consumer? This isn't about a bug in your computer or a reboot of sorts... this is the security of your home and family. In the case of my August failure, the lock failed to locked, not open. Thus, we could not even manually rotate the cylinder to open the door, until after I physically removed the August lock mechanism. What if there had been an emergency, where my family or I had needed to exit that door?

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