Imagine coming home at night with your hands full. You would have to put everything down and rummage through the contents of your bag to get your house key. Now imagine leaving your keys inside the house and there is no other way for you to get in.
Imagine all the other hassles you’ve been through just to open your door and get inside your home.
Enter Schlage Connect, a smart diir lock that allows you to key in a passcode to open the door instead of needing a physical key to open your doors.
Important Features
Some of the features that you would love about Schlage Connect are:
- Motorized bolt. The motorized bolt automatically unlocks when you punch in your pass code and once you get inside, it will also automatically lock behind you, making sure that your door is secure even when you have a lot of things on your mind.
- Built-in alarm. This technology detects movement and then sounds an audible alert to notify the homeowners. It also has an anti-pick shield, which helps prevent attempts to tamper with the lock. The motion-activated alarm has three different settings. You can set the alarm to go off when the lock is being tampered with or when somebody tries to break down your door. In addition, you can set it to beep twice when the door closes or opens.
- Built for the outdoors. The lock is water-resistant, protecting it from water damage when it rains. It is also designed to work within -35 °C to 66 °C temperature.
- Touchscreen keypad. The outside face of the lock has a touchscreen keypad that lights up, allowing you to key in your pass code. The Schlage Connect Touchscreen Deadbolt can accommodate 30 user codes.
- Easy programming. The lock has a programming code that you would need to unlock the programming mode, which allows you to add more access codes, delete existing codes, and access the settings.
- Compatible with Z-Wave Technology. You can easily connect it to Nexia Home Bridge and can work with other smart devices such as smart lights and connected doorbells.
- Security. The smart lock is certified as BHMA/ANSI Grade 1 compliant, the highest grade assigned by the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association and the American National Standards Institute.
- No wiring necessary. Easy installation involves only a screwdriver and nothing else. The installation should take around 20 minutes to complete and step-by-step instructions are provided. The Schlage Connect Touchscreen Deadbolt also fits most doors.
Design Aspects
The Schlage Connect Touchscreen Deadbolt has two design forms: the Camelot and the Century.
The Camelot trim is more ornate and comes in a variety of finishes such as bright brass, satin nickel, matte black, bright chrome, and aged bronze.
The Century trim is more rectangular and modern looking and comes in basically the same finishes except for bright brass.
The touchscreen dominates the face of the lock, giving you a big screen to help you unlock your door conveniently. Tap the Schlage button on the outer face and the touch screen lights up, which would be particularly helpful in the dark. The touchscreen is resistant to fingerprints, so thieves would not have an easy time guessing your pass code.
The outer face also has a key slot, allowing you to use a physical key, which may come in handy when you forget your pass code.
Inside, you have the inner face that is bulkier and taller than the outer face. This houses the lock’s mechanism, the motherboard and the battery pack.
Things to Like – Pros of the Schalge Connect
Vacation Mode: The lock comes with a Vacation Mode that allows you to disable all codes. This means that if you go on vacation, you do not have to revoke all access codes. Nobody would be able to get into your house without the physical key.
Works Well with Nexia:Â If you have a connected home with smart devices already in place, you will love how the Schlage Connect Touchscreen Deadbolt easily connects to the Nexia Bridge. This allows you to get the lock to work with other devices such as your lights and thermostat.
For instance, you can automatically turn on your porch and house lights when you activate the touchscreen.
Nexia Unlocks Additional Features: Pairing it with Nexia Bridge also gives you additional features such as being able to go online to lock or unlock your locks, being able to create temporary codes, or setting a time period when certain codes would work. Using your Nexia account on its Web site, you can also access the dates and times when your lock was opened or closed for the previous 90 days, categorized according to the access code used.
Cons – What Could be Better?
Too Dependent on Nexia? The lock’s full range of features is only available when you use it with the Nexia Bridge, which would cost another price (check here for the latest price).
Extras Add Up: The Z-wave radio signal is disabled by default if you are not using the Nexia Bridge, thus prolonging battery life. Using Nexia Bridge would mean more load on the battery, which could shorten battery life. You also need a Nexia account that would mean an extra monthly subscription charge. If you only have the Schlage Connect lock and if you do not have other home automation devices to connect to Nexia Bridge, the smart lock might prove to be very expensive. It would also be great if there were some way to connect to your Wi-Fi on top of the Z-wave connectivity it offers, this way you can remotely lock your doors without having to pay the monthly fee.
Touchscreen Needs Improvement: Furthermore, the touchscreen is not capacitive and is less responsive than the touchscreens we use on smartphones. The good thing is that when you key in your code, a green checkmark icon would flash telling you that you have successfully tapped a particular number.
False Positives? If you have set the motion sensor to sound an alarm when somebody tries to pick the lock, you might activate this alarm when you insert the key and unintentionally jiggle it a bit.
Other Schlage Alternatives to Consider?
The Schlage Connect Touchscreen Deadbolt came out in 2013 and since then, we have seen the introduction of several other smart lock brands.
August Smart Lock: First, there is the August Smart Lock with its minimalistic and futuristic design. It works with most deadbolts and allows you to lock and unlock your front door using your smartphone via Bluetooth. You can also send virtual keys to anybody you want. If friends unexpectedly visit, you can them in by giving them a virtual key that they can use with August. August also automatically locks your door after a set time has lapsed.
August has a Connect accessory that you can buy for a good price here. This acts as a Wi-Fi bridge, allowing you to unlock or lock your front door from anywhere in the world.
The smart lock features Homekit integration and you can use Siri to access it. With the August Smart Lock, there is no need for you to remember codes and it works really well even when you do not have other connected devices at home.  You can check out the latest sale price on the August Lock here.
Kevo Kwikset:Â With more than six decades of making traditional locks under its belt, Kwikset also threw its hat into the smart lock ring with the Kwikset Kevo. That means that you could trust the hardware to be of great quality.
The Kevo is very easy to install and you can unlock it using your finger when you have your phone inside your pocket. It also allows you to remotely lock or unlock your front door. You could also use a key fob instead of your phone. Like the August Smart Lock, you can give guest keys to other people and these expire after 24 hours. The Kevo is available at this listing.
Final Recommendation
The Schlage Connect Touchscreen Deadbolt costs a hefty amount. This might sound like a bit too much for a deadbolt, but it does come with several security features on top of it being innately strong and secure. The good news is that it comes in different finishes and in two trims, allowing you to pick the best look for your door.
As a deadbolt lock, it gives you sufficient security for your front door. As a connected lock, however, you may want to think about getting an August Smart Lock or a Kwikset Kevo, which still needs a bridge but relies on Wi-Fi and does not have a subscription to use all of its features.
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