- Yale Assure Lock 2 with Wi-Fi – Black Suede Smart Lock for Front Door with Keypad, App Control, Backup Key, and Deadbolt – Secure Keyless Entry Door Lock, YRD450-WF1-BSP

I bought two of these, one for my entry door and one for the back door. I am on a let's make our home a smart home kick right now. Part of that is I want to eliminate all keys except for my vehicle key fob. And, it is also important for me to use one application to control my home, in my case, I am using Apple Home - therefore to some degree HomeKit compatibility is important. This review is about the the installation, lock itself, the Yale Access App, and HomeKit integration. After looking at a lot of locks I landed on this one, the Yale Assure Lock 2 with Wi-Fi. It looks nice, it is keyless, and it is HomeKit compatible. INSTALLATION: Installation was a breeze for me. I am replacing existing keyed deadbolts. So no need to align a door to a frame. The lock itself easily installed in the existing cutouts. I didn't even need to replace the door frame strike plate as my old one works fine. I found the instructions easy to follow, the lock installation of the physical device/lock took me about 15 minutes, most of that was just making sure I did it per the instructions. THE LOCK: At first my thought was this is a $200+ deadbolt and in my head I was comparing it to a normal deadbolt. This is absolutely the incorrect view. This is a computer that has a physical deadbolt it controls. When thinking like that the $200+ price tag is not all that bad. I would say good value for the money. The only criticisms would be that the physical locking mechanism (thing that turns the deadbolt mechanism to extend it into the door frame) is a simple flimsy piece of metal, versus in normal deadbolts it is typically a non-square type of peg to do that job. I am unsure if this really matters at all though, as long as it does the job it is kind of who cares. Another criticism, which if you think about it, would really be an unfair one, yet important to note, is the size of the interior part of the lock is HUGE (comparatively speaking) - reason for unfair - where would the batteries and computer portion go if it wasn't this big? YALE ACCESS APP: The working of the lock portion is good enough. The set up is horrible. You must watch (or scroll) through the installation instructions for each item, just to be able to set it up, would be much nicer to have a skip. My issue is that on one of them I had to do things more than once, and for my second lock, I knew it all already and just wanted to set it up. C'mon Yale, allow the "Skip". HomeKit INTEGRATION: There have been a lot of negative types of comments on this, which I don't understand because I easily added each lock to HomeKit. Scanning of the HomeKit QR code did not work on either lock, this has been commented on a lot with this reviews. For me, I merely manually entered the device IDs and it worked immediately without issue. Granted, you cannot scan the QR which is easier for sure, but not enough to rank lower. All in all, a great purchase IMO, could use some improvements, but really good just the same. Lock Feature rating is 4 stars due to what I comment on, I just expected better, not sure if better is necessary. Tech support I rated 4 stars, this is not by dealing with a tech support staff, it was the only place to rate the app and the setup issues I discussed.

Yale Assure Lock 2 with Wi-Fi I replaced the previous Yale lock on our front door after the door had sagged and the deadbolt wouldn't engage the strike correctly, causing the internal gears to strip out. This is a newer version and it's working great now that I have shimmed the door hinge to make it better align. I like the fact that it has red and green flashing lights to indicate if the lock is open or closed so I can see it down the hallway without having to walk over to the door. The other benefit is that I can lock or unlock the door from anywhere in the world that has wi-fi and also check the status of the lock. It seems to go thru the 4 AA batteries a little faster than I would like but hey, it's the world we live in, right? It's solid and securely attached to the door. Not cheap but a great alternative to locking and unlocking a door with a key. Recommended.

There are some major things wrong with this lock, which resulted in us getting LOCKED OUT OF OUR HOUSE, and needing to call a locksmith, who had to drill our door to get us access. Here are the problems: - It won't tell you when the batteries are running low. It's suppose to, but it doesn't. So all of a sudden the batteries are dead and your lock won't open. - The batter life also doesn't show up anywhere in the app. So you have absolutely no way of knowing how long the batteries are lasting. The crazy thing is when you call customer service, they say THEY can see it. So they suggested calling them periodically to check the battery life. SERIOUSLY?! - The plan if the batteries die, is to plug in a 9 volt underneath, to give you enough power to enter your code to get in and change the batteries. When you search online you will see HUNDREDS of FAQ's and videos showing you this. BUT with the Yale Lock 2, it is a "sleeker" design that is thinner, which means there literally isn't enough room to plug in a 9 volt underneath. The battery can't connect. So the videos you see of this are completely irrelevant. When I called their customer service, they literally admitted this. The "sleeker design" is their terminology. But they offer zero assistance. SO, what sort of company creates a product which they knowingly admit doesn't show you anything about the batteries, and doesn't actually work for emergency access, like they tell you in the owner manual and online. UNBELIEVABLE. Thank god it wasn't an actual emergency, but it cost us hours of our time and hundreds of $'s to address. And they DON'T CARE. There are also a lot of other glitchy things about the lock, but focusing on the fact it was designed to literally lock you out of your house. Will never use YALE again.

The Yale Assure Lock 2 stands out as a top-tier smart lock. It offers a blend of advanced technology, robust security, and thoughtful design upgrades that make it a compelling choice for anyone looking to replace their existing deadbolt fully. One of the most impressive features of the Yale Assure Lock 2 is its integration with the DoorSense sensor. Unlike many smart locks that lock after a set period, regardless of whether the door is closed, the Assure Lock 2 uses DoorSense to detect if your door is open, closed, or left ajar before engaging the deadbolt. The Yale Access app provides notifications about your door's status, so you're always informed if the door was left unlatched or open. A significant reason for choosing the Yale Assure Lock 2 is that it serves as a complete deadbolt replacement, not just a retrofit add-on. The lock comes with everything needed to swap out your old deadbolt, including the bolt itself, exterior keypad, mounting plate, and interior thumb-turn mechanism. Installation is straightforward for standard doors, and the included hardware feels substantial and secure. The "heavy duty" feel and the solid, smooth action of the deadbolt when locking and unlocking inspire confidence in its mechanical reliability.

UPDATE: A couple weeks later, I’m annoyed at the poorly executed software, which dings a star to an otherwise great lock. Inexplicably, the activity log no longer shows my partner (who uses a simple key code without login). The lock has frozen a couple of times, and the DoorSense feature (installed according to spec inside the door frame) seems to need recalibration every now and then. A few times I came home to the lock open because it didn’t actually Auto-Lock the door when it was shut, or it locked it while it was open, resulting in a dent in my door frame when we shut the door without realizing the lock had been actioned. Sometimes the “lock instantly when I shut the door” feature doesn’t work. I can’t always connect using bluetooth, or it’s very slow to connect to the lock, even a foot from it, even if I was just connected 2 seconds ago in another screen in the app. These mild annoyances would be fine if this was a connected toaster, but THIS IS HOW I SECURE MY HOME. I NEED TO KNOW I can rely on it, and the lousy software proves I can’t. This is simply unacceptable. I’m a pretty good DIYer and software guy, so before you say “you’re holding it wrong”, let me be clear that it was purchased from the Amazon.com seller, and installed properly according to the instructions, so it’s the software that leaves a lot to be desired (and if I didn’t install it properly, the software should tell me anyways that it has trouble detecting etc.). It works, just not particularly well. It’s a shame. Yale, your SL1 lock had great reviews from people and Consumer Reports. What the heck happened???? Please fix this. My intent was to buy peace of mind first, convenience second. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I had no problem installing this lock, but I did a factory reset or two along the way after the updates to make sure the product was setup properly. If you have problems with HomeKit, note the following: 1) the QR code you need to use is on the side of the lock after you open the battery compartment. Do not use the one on the wifi module. It won’t work. 2) HomeKit can’t connect to the lock if someone else is connected to it through the app. Most likely, that other person is you. So as you setup, make sure to close the app before trying HomeKit. Other than that, it worked just fine.

Easy to install. Super convenient with remote locking capabilities. Batteries need to be replaced approx. every four to five months.

I can’t say enough about this Yale lock! It’s by far one of my best purchases! Definitely in the top 5!!! Its value is priceless for me! The functionality is beyond outstanding! The freedom of not having to use a key is like taking my bra off when I get home from work! No feeling like it! I can generate individual codes, temporary or permanent. It has an App that keeps record of the users, their use, every lock and unlock that happens. It has remote features to lock and unlock. My favorite and most useful features are the automatic lock… so you don’t have to second guess yourself whether or not you locked the door. No running back home to check! AND automatic unlock when you’re within a certain radius from your home. My usual 10-15 minute ransacking of my purse or backpack when I get home searching for keys is no longer a part of my life!!! It’s helped with my OCD & ADHD in regards to time management. No more seek and destroy or running back home. I literally run out of my house or hop out of my car after I pull up. If ever I do second guess whether or not the automatic lock worked, I can simply check the locks status on my app!!

I purchased this lock for my son; we share a home (his). I read the reviews posted here, and based on what I read, I recommended that he choose another product, but this is the one he wanted. My son has his house connected to his phone. We had the first generation lock, but it had stopped letting him know whether it was locked or unlocked. We have two other locks of the same kind, and they are working fine, so far. So, the lock arrived, and he started to install it, even though he didn't get home until after 9 pm. After the lock didn't work as needed, he took it out. He of course was complaining about the product, but since he is a millennial, that is expected. He was going to have me return it or contact the manufacturer. I did nothing with it before he came home. This time he wasn't trying to install it after working over twelve hours. He sat down and patiently worked on getting the lock to connect to his phone. He is also an engineer, and he loves the challenge of getting something to work even if he shouts loudly when he is working through the issues. After three attempts, he got it to connect. It took him another try to get the keypad to work, but he got that to work as well. It now works just fine, and my son says it is better than the first generation. While this lock may be a little challenging to install and connect, if you have patience, it should work for you. I didn't contact the company, but I am giving the customer support 4 out of 5 stars. Enjoy your lock!