Recommend me a Smart Lock for Home Assistant, please

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Recommend me a Smart Lock for Home Assistant, please

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1078 posts

Uber Geek

#2635189 14-Jan-2021 07:51

hairy1:

Having the separate keypad isn't ideal however keeping the existing lock in place on the front door has advantages also and the existing key can be used if something really goes wrong.

Having said that we have never had to use the actual key so I guess that points to the reliability of the platform.

Cheers.

Thanks, I just had a thought regarding Radio Frequency for Z-Wave. I know the US and AUS/NZ use different frequency bands for Z-Wave and this makes it harder to impart Z-Wave devices for the US as the could be illegal to operate in NZ (RF interferences). Have you looked into this at all?

hairy1

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#2635194 14-Jan-2021 08:16

No. I have the taller lock which doesn't have zwave so didn't consider it. Dick Smith were selling them up until recently.... Hmmm. Not sure about this sorry. No issues with Amazon shipping them though.

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gcorgnet

1078 posts

Uber Geek

#2635197 14-Jan-2021 08:19

hairy1: No. I have the taller lock which doesn't have zwave so didn't consider it. Dick Smith were selling them up until recently.... Hmmm. Not sure about this sorry. No issues with Amazon shipping them though.

Cool. I checked and they are indeed outside of the permissible frequency band for ZWave in NZ... oh well.. I guess if I go August, I better get the Gen 4 then and be prepared to use the Cloud based August/HA integration... sigh...

gcorgnet

1078 posts

Uber Geek

#2635206 14-Jan-2021 08:59

@hairy1, last question, please: What does the cloud based August/HA integration give you? Do you get a `switch` to open/close the door? Anything else interesting? Battery level? Can you tell who's opening the door, etc..?

hairy1

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#2635252 14-Jan-2021 10:34

It creates a lock which is a standard Home Assistant component plus a few other sensors:

August front door

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ANglEAUT

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#2635304 14-Jan-2021 10:55

Thx for all this great info

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

gcorgnet

1078 posts

Uber Geek

#2635310 14-Jan-2021 11:18

hairy1:

It creates a lock which is a standard Home Assistant component plus a few other sensors:

Thanks a lot for that! Last questions, for realz :-)

- What is New Front Door Operator? What does it tell you?
- Is the binary_sensor linked to DoorSense to tell you when the door is physically open or shut?

Thanks

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hairy1

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#2635716 14-Jan-2021 22:19

New Front Door is just the name of the lock. Operator is a sensor that tells the state of the lock by the looks of it and how it was opened or closed. Unfortunately I am not home but I would say the sensor would change to Remote or keypad if the door was unlocked with either of these methods.

Cheers!

August lock operator

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hairy1

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#2637159 18-Jan-2021 08:29

There's one for sale here @gcorgnet of you haven't already ordered

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=77&topicid=280884

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gcorgnet

1078 posts

Uber Geek

#2644220 29-Jan-2021 18:47

PB Tech had a Sale on the Yale Assure SL (not much, only $10 off) and also the Connect Module (also $10 off) which was enough to trigger the magic "beat it by 15%" clause at Bunnings.

Scored an Assure SL + Connect Kit for $421 which is about $100 off... I'm a happy man!

Thanks guys for the advice. I have confirmed on a HA forum that the Yale Connect will indeed work with the August HA Integration so things should go smoothly from there :-)

gcorgnet

1078 posts

Uber Geek

#2644258 29-Jan-2021 21:14

And I can confirm the August integration is working as expected in HA. No DoorSense showing up though... only the state of the lock.

GregV

928 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2701248 3-May-2021 15:31

I asked for this thread to be unlocked :) as I'm after something similar. Has anyone looked at or used the Yale 3109+ lock? It seems to be a good match for my needs (with added BT module), but it is always good to hear from others who have it, or have tried it. Home Assistant is not a priority.

catdog

107 posts

Master Geek

#2701782 4-May-2021 16:14

GregV:

I asked for this thread to be unlocked :) as I'm after something similar. Has anyone looked at or used the Yale 3109+ lock? It seems to be a good match for my needs (with added BT module), but it is always good to hear from others who have it, or have tried it. Home Assistant is not a priority.

I have the 3109+ with the bluetooth module (it was already installed when I bought the house), and I am pretty happy with it. The app allows you to easily set it up and to manage different pin codes and RF tags. You can unlock it using the app, but since you need to be in range of bluetooth, it's easier to just use the pin code/touch pad to open the door. The last set of batteries lasted around 9 months, but that would depend on how often you use it - I have the auto-lock setting enabled, which probably increases the battery drain since it needs to re-lock itself every time I open/shut the door.

It's on my to-do list to connect it to Home Assistant. Initially I thought that I would be able to just change the bluetooth module for zigbee/z-wave, but when I started looking into it, it seems like those modules might not be compatible (physically). The Yale website is terrible to determine which accessories are compatible with each lock... perhaps the bluetooth-WiFi bridge will work with the 3109+?

If you have any specific questions about this model, feel free to ask.

catdog

107 posts

Master Geek

#2703526 7-May-2021 17:14

catdog:

It's on my to-do list to connect it to Home Assistant. Initially I thought that I would be able to just change the bluetooth module for zigbee/z-wave, but when I started looking into it, it seems like those modules might not be compatible (physically). The Yale website is terrible to determine which accessories are compatible with each lock... perhaps the bluetooth-WiFi bridge will work with the 3109+?

I contacted Yale NZ, and they only support a bluetooth connection to the phone app, so Home Assistant integration is going to be difficult with the 3109+. Their response:

The Assure and the 3109+ use different modules.

Yale Access is not compatible with the 3109+ as the 3109+ uses its’ own Bluetooth Module that is made especially for the 3109+/4109+.

Whereas the Assure range is compatible with Yale Access Kit which is a Yale Access Module along with a WiFi Connect Bridge – The Connect Bridge is what allows Yale Access to have remote access/WiFi capability.

Unfortunately the Z-Wave/ZigBee option that is listed on the manual of your 3109+ is not available in NZ.

This is an imported product so the manual contains this information but is not relevant to NZ.

Importing a Z-Wave module wont work due to the frequency differences, so the only remaining option is to import a Zigbee module from overseas. Unfortunately I'm finding it difficult to figure out exactly which Zigbee module is compatible with the 3109+ (possibly the Creston/Assa Abloy "Zigbee HCP"). Yale NZ didn't know. And then there's a question of whether support exists in HA. Definitely buying an Assure series lock is the easier option...

GregV

928 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2704081 9-May-2021 15:43

Thanks for the update @catdog, good to know the limitations going in.

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