Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro Smart Deadbolts
$125.99
$199.99
37% off
Reference Price
Condition: New
Model: ULTRALOQ U-Bolt Pro with Bridge WiFi Adaptor
Top positive review
186 people found this helpful
Four Ways to Unlock With NO Monthly Fees?! Now THIS is the Smart Lock You've Been Looking For!
By Sean on Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2020
Let's keep this really simple - just get this lock. Why you ask? Fine, fine, I guess I should explain the *why* behind getting this lock. But be warned, this is a long review... Truly, the U-Bolt Pro is everything a lock should be - literally. By biggest gripe with smart locks is that they usually have two features - some sort of key manual access and then some sort of technology. Maybe it's a key unlock and a smart phone app, or maybe it's a key unlock and a number pad, or maybe it's a key unlock and a finger print reader. But this lock, my friends, has *all* those things. First off, in case anyone has not said this, you CAN get this lock rekeyed to match your existing set of keys. I love, love, love this - now I do not have to be stuck with some new random key for the deadbolt in addition to my current house key. The strange thing is, while the manufactures site states that this uses a Schlage style barrel, it actually uses a Kwikset key? Odd right? The locksmith I had rekey the barrels (which yes, you can remove from the lock and can take to your local lock smith!) was baffled as well. Personally this was not an issue for me (more of a great surprise actually) as I already had Kwikset keys on my house, but if you were expecting Schlage then you'd be disappointed as the barrel does not work with them. I assume one could buy a Schlege barrel and place it in the lock... however my locksmith warned against this as the tail is quite long on the included barrel and he did not believe there were any Schlege style barrels with such a long tail. So your mileage may vary - but TL;DR, this lock can be rekeyed to Kwikset keys! But back to what I was saying - I cannot, I repeat cannot, understate how important the all-the-above options to unlock the deadbolt was to me. You have SO many choices to unlock the door - and yes at first that might sound silly - but trust me, it's great. Especially for people like my parents who do not want to use a smart phone app. Let me give you a general run down of how all these features have made my life simpler. When I pull into my neighborhood, the app alerts me that the locks are ready to unlock when I approach my house. And when I pull into my driveway, the locks instantly unlock so I do not even have to take the keys out of my pocket to get inside. And when I finally step into the house, the locks (after a set amount of time I preconfigured) will auto lock behind me. Just like that, with my hands full of groceries, I did not even have to pull the keys or my phone out of my pocket. Wow. And this becomes exponentially better when it's raining and I am not fumbling for my keys to unlock the door! I can just run inside barely getting soaked! Now it's not always perfect, maybe once or twice a month I have a Bluetooth issue where the lock does not detect I'm there but hey, I can stomach that inconvenience - especially when you have other options to unlock the door. Leading to my next comment - the fingerprint and pin pad unlocking. Maybe I left my phone at home or perhaps the lock did not detect me at the door. No problem, finger print scanner to the rescue. Just one two second hold with my finger and the door unlocks without a hitch! And when I've had gloves on and that's not an option, I can unlock the door with the number pad. Also FYI, these are the two methods my parents prefer the most - they don't want to have the app on their phones, but they also would like for a way to unlock the door without having to fumble with a key. A fingerprint or a number code stored locally on the device (that can work even without Wifi!) is excellent for them. Now if you want to unlock the device from the app when say you're at at work for example and no where near your house, you will need the bridge - but otherwise the device functions entirely on Bluetooth locally. If all else fails - my phone did not connect, the finger print reader was not reading my thumb for some reason, or perhaps the lock is dead and the number pad cannot function - I can just flip down the lid and insert my traditional house key. Did you count that? There are FOUR different ways to unlock this deadbolt! And did I mention there are NO MONTHLY FEES fees for this?! Okay okay look I concede, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. There's one eency weency issue: Alexa and this lock hate each other. Perhaps this can be fixed with a software update... but the issue still persists to this day for me. Now the lock will pair fine with Alexa, and I can even ask Alexa to unlock the device or lock the device with my voice. But, that's where the problem begins. First you have to tell Alexa a pin to unlock the deadbolt... which seems crazy to me. Yes I know, the whole point is so that no one can just shout "Alexa, unlock the front door!" from outside your house and the Alexa device inside hears the command and unlocks... but also, I really would prefer not to have to tell Alexa a pin every single time, especially when other people around me outside could hear such a pin. However honestly it wouldn't matter if they did hear my pin as, surprise, Alexa cannot unlock this lock! She will lie to you and say she has but oh no, do not believe her beautiful voice - she is a liar! The Alexa app will say the door is unlocked too, but that is also false. It simply just does not work with Alexa - and if that is something incredibly important to you then this may not be the lock for you. With that said, I really don't believe it should be, though; I never once felt the need to unlock the deadbolt with Alexa nor ever found the idea more convenient than using the location proximity/the app, my fingerprint, the number pad, or the key itself. Maybe it would have been nice when I'm already inside to make sure the door is locked, but isn't that what the auto lock feature or the app is for already? And I guess this issue could be solved down the line with an update too, so maybe by the time you are reading this the whole paragraph is a nonissue! Wow, I typed a lot here - though when you're spending almost $200 on a lock, you want to make sure that your money is going towards a good investment. I can confidently say that yes, it absolutely is - heck, I bought three of them, dropping more than half a grand... and without a doubt, it's been 100% worth it. If you want a lock with multiple smart unlocking options, a physical key option, and no monthly subscription, you found it. Installation was simple too! I just really, really, really like this lock if you can't tell by now - and I hope you will too.
Top critical review
3 people found this helpful
Update - problems persist but company refunded
By Jake on Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2024
Update: increase 2 stars. U-Tec eventually refunded me which is great because they are standing behind their product and the unresolvable problems that persisted. However, it's important to know that it took writing this bad review in order to receive a refund for the defective products. After troubleshooting on my most recent ticket continued to fail, I asked the tech I was working with to give me a refund but they would not refund me. I respect that they refunded me and the history of my ticket submissions show the persistent problems that never resolved from the beginning of using the product. I didn't think I'd need to return the lock in the return window and I expected to resolve the issues by having tech support involved. I don't like that I had to write a bad review in order to be refunded when there were clear unresolvable issues and tech support wouldn't refund me after working with me, but this appears to be the state of customer service. I would have loved if the lock and app worked. This has the potential to be a great product at a great price if it were reliable. I had technical issues with the application and hardware issues with the lock itself. I hope they can improve this product and I truly hope no one has to deal with the nightmare I've had. Original Review: APP AND LOCK DO NOT WORK! DO NOT BUY THIS, ESPECIALLY FOR RENTAL HOMES! My short term rental is suffering because of this lock. It locks people out; it dies out of nowhere; codes change inside the app on their own without user interaction; the app constantly crashes and errors out so you can't add or delete users... This lock and app is a joke. The purpose of a smart wifi lock is to manage user access remotely. Instead, I have to physically let tenants constantly because the app doesn't work which means the lock doesn't work. The times I have been able to use the app to add or delete users, it's takes typically at least 30 minutes of reopening and reinstalling the app in no replicable order for it to work. But even then, there is no guarantee the data saves. I've entered users, gave them a 4 digit numeric code and then when they go to use it the code doesn't work. I spend 30 minutes trying to open that user up in the app (because navigating through the menus of the app crashes the app) to find the code is 6 digits and is all letters! Then I have the pleasure of driving over to let disgruntled guests in. Tenants and cleaners have been locked out - sometimes the batteries die with no warning and no app notification; sometimes the lock just turns off with full battery and you have to get inside another way and unlock the app manually from inside; sometimes user codes change on their own; sometimes the code is correct per the app but it still doesn't unlock the lock which makes no sense at all. I called and messaged numerous time and escalated to opening tickets. The techs were responsive but none of the troubleshooting worked. I meticulously tested everything. No solution. They sent new hardware and it still didn't work. I've been dealing with this for over a year because I am constantly led on by the techs that the next fix will work. I don't know if I'll be able to return this problem causing garbage. U-Tec won't stand behind their product and issue a return, instead they hide behind Amazon. Let it be known that patience with dysfunctional garbage is not a virtue, it is a self inflicted punishment.
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