I am looking to find a smart deadbolt lock I can place on an exterior door. I currently live in US and have a Defiant smart deadbolt that works well. Only issue is spouse hates it because the keypad isn’t illuminated and she has a difficult time using it at night. It needs to work with HA so we can ask the home if everything is secure when we go to bed. Any suggestions.
I have wifi, and the ZBT-2 I can use to communicate. I want local control if possible.
Thanks…
So,ZBT-2 can either be Zigbee or Thread. You should say how your are using it or no one can point you in the right direction.
I have three Yale Assure Lock 2 devices. All are Z-Wave. But, I believe they have Zigbee and WiFi versions. The keypads do light up.
But, I’d really look at lighting up the area where the lock resides … and before it. Just saying.
Thanks. I have a light over the area but the lock itself sits a few inches back in the door frame so the lock itself is in the shadows. In the long term I plan on putting in a motion sensor and turning the exterior house lights on when her presence is detected after sunset. I am converting my old automation system, (HAI Omnipro, upb based switches) to more current equipment. I purchased the ZBT-2 to use matter/thread to support Govee water detection sensors. I haven’t gotten it up running yet (ZBT-2 came 2 days ago) . I spent last couple of weeks replacing lights and switches (up to 106 as of this moment) and figuring out some of the best practices with the new types of equipment. I spend a lot of time digesting the discussions about matter/thread and finding devices which can replace existing configuration.
Sorry for long winded explanation I have been spending crazy amounts of time researching how to find suitable replacements. I did find a thread which aimed me at the Konnect product line where I found their 12 Zone Alarm Panel Pro. This should enable me to use existing wired sensors from old installation and just eliminated hours of research.
You folks are a wealth of knowledge and I appreciate you folks taking the time to listen and respond the the stupid questions as some of us come from obsolete technologies to the new stuff. One thing I haven’t found that may be suitable for thought is the strategy to retrofit some of the old home automation technologies such as the OmniPro. I am writing up all the decisions around this migration and will probably post it if it’s of interest.
You are good. Over winded is better than short winded!
With all of that info, someone will come along to help.
I appreciate your folks patience. Some of my decisions would have been different if I had thought of some of the detailed type questions I would need to answer before purchasing some parts. I should have asked the stupid questions earlier. Some decisions i’ve made are limiting like I went with Commercial Electric switches and Ecosmart lights that seem to require the Hubspace portsl to operate. The
Hubspace app can do things like set light levels and temperature of the lights. I am have installed 50+ switches that don’t do what i’d like to do under automation control. They are still usable and i can get them to do what i want using Alexa but now that I understand how it works I would have preferred local control.
Is your current deadbolt integrated into HA? Has your spouse allowed you to install the companion app on her phone? If yes, you may consider doing something like I have done. I have setup a zone around my home. When either of us (my spouse or I) come into the home zone and if the overhead garage door is down, then an automation will open the garage door. Simple, yet effective. You could do the same, albeit, instead of opening the garage door, you make her arrival into the zone unlock the door if it’s locked.
Thanks, that’s better than I thought of. I am connecting garage door this week to HA and I’ve already set up the zone for her.
I wouldn’t do it. The zone feature utilizes technologies and devices that are not reliable enough. False arrival defections do happen. Your garage door may get opened in the middle of a night when you and your wife are still sleeping.
I use the zone feature in an automation that turns the outside and foyer lights on when I approach my house. I had to make that zone quite large because otherwise the lights were turning on out of a blue a couple of times a week. And even with that large zone, I occasionally get woken up by those lights in the middle of the night. It doesn’t happen too often now, but it does happen.
This right here!
I think we have all bought stuff in the beginning that we would have never bought if we knew everything back then. That is why we have drawers of stacks of piles of items we no longer use.
The WAF (Wife Approval Factor) is very important! My wife has zero interest in how any of this works. Only that it does in all circumstances! That does not mean that all automations work all the time. But, if something happens to me and HA is no longer ‘working’, she can still do what she needs/wants to do.
For us, this means …
Local control first as as much as possible. No ‘extra’ apps for her to deal with.
Smart switches. If for any reason HA stops working, she can still turn lights on and off where she is used to doing it.
RATGDOs for the garage doors. Non intrusive connections and operations. All wall buttons, keypad outside, remotes, etc work with HA up or down.
Outlets that can be pulled and the item plugged back in for normal control.
Basically, remove the internet connection or shut the HA machine down and she can still use everything.
Indeed. There are definitely risks involved when it comes to security. You can mitigate the risk and account for edge cases to a degree, depending on one’s setup and know-how. User beware.
Agree. If it is triggering at the wrong times, something was not accounted for in the automation.
I don’t think so. The automation part is very strait forward. Maybe, something in the zone or cell phone setup, but not automation. I have the High GPS accuracy mode enabled on my cell phone.
We are derailing this thread. But, I think we can help if you are interested in starting another with automation and trace detail from when it triggers at the wrong time.
Or maybe you can share with me and other people your automation?
Schlage Sense Pro includes Ultra Wideband which should provide significantly better lock/unlock control just based on the phone in your pocket. But it was announced nearly a year ago and still isn’t out yet. Seems to still be coming based on reddit observations, but it’s taking a very long time https://www.reddit.com/r/homeautomation/s/HyENxNJbT0
I think your main concern is valid. It ultimately boils down to the accuracy of the device tracker used for the person entity. I use iOS which, as far as GPS accuracy is concerned, has been extremely reliable. I also use Traccar client, which has served me well.
The nuance of the companion app is also very important; making sure to clear the frontend cache in the debug settings when core updates happen or significant changes to integrations or the dashboard are made. This is why most false-positives and delays happen with device_trackers. Got to clear the cache regularly when called for!
Yes, it does. It may depend on the device itself or the location and environment the device is in.
I’m taking a Christmas break. Merry Christmas to all and Peace on Earth!