SMONET Smart Door Lock

Installing the lock physically was very easy. It requires an app to set it up. After several failures with nondescript error messages, I tried another device and it worked on that one. With this, it took many times longer to configure it that it did to install it. Fortunately, once the app is up and running, installing a 2nd lock goes very quickly. Some minor cutting to accomodate the new plates was needed. This was done using a utility knife. The plastic box-like object they provide wasn't useful though. The deadbolt recess was oval in shape. It would have been a lot of work to have to chisel all that out just to get the rectangular plastic box in there. That was left out. The main drawback for me is the auto-lock. It is based solely on timing and doesn't care if the door is open or closed. Another lock I have is smarter. It has a hall-effect sensor and locks when the door is closed. Much nicer. I would much prefer this type of locking, but was unable to find a unit that met my requirements. I chose this one as something of a tradeoff. The other problem is aesthetics. What works on the outside, aesthetically, doesn't work so well inside. The inside is a large dark brick like object whose color doesn't match the typical interior decor. It would be better if they had a few covers of different colors to use for the indoor part. I covered the battery cover to lighten the color. The outside unit, though, looks great. One of the reasons I bought it. But there are two very different sides to a door. I am not done yet. I will try to find a way to make it look nicer on the inside. The app is for the most part well written (except for the lack of proper error messages), but the copy function from lock to lock isn't very useful. It doesn't bring your attention to its limitation which is that it only copies the card info. Nor does it say what it did. It just says copied 2 records. Not very informative. It does not copy the fingerprints. Getting the fingerprints is a lot more work. Being able to copy those would be a bigger benefit than the cards which are easy to add. Overall, though, the unit is quite acceptable. The main thing likely to sink it is if the auto-lock turns out to be a nuisance. Auto-lock is a must have for me. A good auto-lock with sensor would be preferred. Time will tell.