this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2024
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August wifi smart lock. Originally wanted the zigbee version for my home but apparently they stopped making those in favor of wifi, however wifi needs more energy to communicate and would go through they special batteries in a week's time. Even replacing the unit with another one didn't solve the issue, so I just returned it and deleted my account.
I have the same lock. I didn't want it but it was the only lock I could find that would work on my sliding door. The key is to buy rechargeable batteries. Mine last maybe a month before they need to be replaced.
That is fucking dumb that you have to replace the battery every month.
We have low power mcu that can go down to a few uA and make battery last for years, but this company decided that it was beneath them.
Bad engineering overall.
I think it is more about the power required to run the lock motor.
I have several z-wave door locks as well. They all need battery replacement within a few months. Unless I don't open/close them very often. They can go much longer.
But it really isn't to big of a deal. Home Assistant tells me when they are getting low and I just swap the batteries in a few minutes.
The motor runs only for a second or two each time. In the moment, it takes more current, but otherwise isn't that active.
If I had to change the batteries once or twice a year, I could probably live with that. But every month or so? Bad engineering
Honestly the most any smart door lock las lasted us before the low battery has been 1-2 months. I ended up just going to a old fashion lock and key
No wonder. The hassle of changing the batteries so often is not worth it.
To this day I don't know what problem smart locks are supposed to solve that hasn't already been solved by the good old lock and key combo. Requires no electricity, no internet, just works.
Letting people in without giving them a key (or if they forgot their key) is the use case. Also if you have smart home stuff like home assistant, you can program it to lock on its own based on conditions (like night time or your phone leaves the house).
Re the first part: nobody enters my house if they don't have a key and I'm not present. Re the second part, I don't trust any software-based technology near enough to rely on that kind of stuff without double-checking. . Turn the key, done.