V3 Bluetooth & Zigbee Smart Lock

Having only received this lock yesterday, I'm still getting to know it. However there were a few things that I was able to determine right away, and the most important thing is that the mounting plate for the Danalock V3 is, to put it kindly, inadequate at best.My last 3 photos show the plates the lock comes with, and one of them compared to my old August (V1) mounting plate. It is significantly more robust than the Danalock plate. In fact while mounting the Danalock, tightening the screws caused the plate to flex and I had to back off some. The August mount did not flex at all.As for drawbacks, that's the worst and most glaring. As you can see in my photos the Danalock is a bit smaller diameter than the August, and you can see in my photos, the reason is because the Danalock uses the less ubiquitous and more expensive CR123A batteries vs the August's AA. Danalock does ship this lock with a full battery tray saving you the trouble of having to scramble to find batteries, and CR123A's are readily available, and potentially last longer than AAs, so they're are benefits to using them. Other than that, the Danalock protrudes a little bit further out from the door than the August.Aesthetics are fine, actually it's much better looking in person and installed than the product pictures make it seem. Connecting to it using bluetooth was fairly simple, however I have yet to successfully connect it to my Wink Hub2. With the current state of Wink being in flux, that could be the Wink Hub's fault, but I don't have any other Z-Wave hubs to try and connect it to so I can't verify that.Installing the plate is pretty straight forward, the lock housing will replace the inside half of your existing lock, leaving the outside half untouched and still looking like a normal deadbolt, which I much prefer to announcing to all who'd bother looking at my door which shoddy "smart" lock I've chosen thereby giving would be thieves knowledge of which exploits to employ without any other work necessary on their part.But that brings us back to the woefully inadequate security plate. This is the meat holding your deadbolt in your door, if it's easily ripped out with little effort it isn't doing you any favors. THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED FOR THIS LOCK TO BE A CONTENDER. Also, I was unable to get my Danalock V3 to snap into place on the security plate no matter how hard I twisted (I was honestly concerned I might break the lock housing which is a rather thin plastic that flexed under the stress and dislodged the battery door). The toggle is, I believe, aluminum, which has a nice feel to it as you manually toggle the lock. It makes the lock seem fairly robust, unfortunately the underlying mounting plate's gross inadequacy still nags at the back of my mind.If you live in a low crime area, this probably isn't as big a deal for you. Not everyone enjoys this luxury and this lock needs to be good enough for everyone.Last note: I hate the August locks for a huge pain point that the Danalock V3 has, so far in my limited testing, done flawlessly: it responds and unlocks automatically as I approach it. The August is supposed to do this, but it uses GPS and is unable to properly locate my device, so I've actually had it unlock my doors at night as I slept, and never actually had it unlock my doors as I got home. The Danalock senses my phones bluetooth within a few feet of the door, without me having to take it out of my pocket, and unlocks instantly. And hasn't unlocked my doors in the middle of the night yet, so there's that.Overall I'd say I do not recommend this lock, though, because of the glaring issue of the security plate simply being too flimsy. If Danalock addresses this in V4, they may have a winner on their hands.6/18/2019: I contacted Danalock and Wink about my issue trying to connect this lock to my Wink Hub. Danalock's customer service was rather unhelpful, which is disappointing. I was told to check Wink to see if they included compatibility, and if so to place the lock in inclusion mode. Thanks for that Danalock. For everyone's edification: Only the Z-Wave version is Wink compatible (I got this info directly from Wink).In my initial review I neglected to mention the app. It's actually not bad, but is quite spartan in nature. There's simply a Lock and Unlock button with the status icon showing which position your lock was last reported to be in. Bluetooth range is good, and when in range the app responds pretty quickly to inputs. Putting the lock into inclusion made via the app is pretty straight forward as well, as is changing settings like auto unlock, twist assist, end to end operation, name of the lock, smart home integration, etc.. There seems to be a lot of complaints about the app in the app store, but I am happy with it. It gets the job done without being overly cluttered, or too unintuitive. It could probably use an update, but it does the job fine as is.

I like it. Quite a bit, actually. There is one thing to know immediately up front first, and that's this: without some kind of smart home gateway (this one uses the Zigbee protocol) the utility of this lock is very much limited. SO, in a nutshell this is something that you really should add to your existing smart home. Without that, something like, oh, unlocking the door remotely to let someone in the house won't be an option.That said, let's begin. Installation was extremely easy, and dropped right in on my Kwikset lock. Note that rekeying is NOT necessary, as this just takes the place of the interior turn knob, so you are NOT replacing the entire lock. Install took me about 10 minutes, plus another 10-15 to download the Danalock app and get all registered. I need to hasten to point out that while a Danalock account is required to get the lock up and running, Danalock itself has no access to the actual locking/unlocking protocols.This lock works either through the smart home OR via a bluetooth connection to the phone. In the simplest setup, the app links with the lock via bluetooth, connects when you start the app, and you lock/unlock the door. That's....pretty much it. Virtual keys can be sent to whomever you want, and those folks must also have the Danalock app to use the device in this way. In my case I gave my kids access via their phones, and it works well.Integration with a smart home system is pretty straightforward, though as systems seem to be different I don't have much general input here. I'd say choose the device carefully as there are different types, and be especially aware that the device itself does NOT generally connect to a home wifi for use with the Danalock app. Again, out of the box this will NOT let you lock/unlock remotely...you'll need to be within bluetooth range. Only after integrating with a smart home system will you have this kind of functionality, depending on your system.Another main issue with installation: be VERY SURE the deadbolt can go in and out freely from the door frame. The motor on the lock is NOT that strong, and it will get hung up if the deadbolt is not aligned properly.Looks - it's pretty striking. I like minimalism and this does offer that aesthetic. Turning the lock is easy, and there's a mode for motor assist if you desire.Now then, know that this is battery powered, and the batteries are NOT rechargeable. They take 3 CR123 batteries. My unit had about 90% battery charge out of the box, which dropped to about 78% after using it (a lot) over a weekend. The battery issue doesn't concern me TOO much since the lock is still useable even if the battery is dead...you'll just need to go to a physical key, so you aren't in danger of being locked out of the house.The app provides a number of bells and whistles...one that I've been using a lot is the auto-unlock. You set up a geofence around your house in the app (minimum is 300m) and when you get into that zone the app starts looking for the lock. When you get in bluetooth range, the app will unlock the door for you. Handy if you have an armful of stuff. I will say though that the app seems a bit...incomplete. I'm looking forward to app updates to make it a bit more consistent and polished (and integrating with Siri Shortcuts would be nice, as would an Apple Watch app). The app does give you the ability to monitor battery level, firmware updates, and so on as well.So finally - is it any good? I have to say yes, it's a very good option for a very easy upgrade to a smart lock. The installation was very simple, it offers utility both inside and outside a smart home system (though clearly more utility inside....), and it's reliable. I do wish that the lock had the ability to work more completely outside of an existing smart home, though I also recognize that would require some design changes in the power supply. Really though...it does a very good job and I like it.

I had trouble connecting this and I just don't trust it won't jam, keeping me from my house. It doesn't feel high quality, the material feels cheap. Was really looking forward to using it.

This is a very clever and simple idea. If you want a smart lock, but you like the lock you have, this is for you. Simply it takes your regular key operated lock and adds a bluetooth device to it so you can control it with your smart phone.Fairly easy to set up and configure (one to two hours work) easy to use and maintain.

I just love it, this lock features much broader compatibility with existing doors and deadbolts. The batteries in Danalock last three times longer than any other brand 18 month.What's fun is that you can simply leave your keys at home and just use your Apple Watch or your phone, no matter where you are, you can always give access to other through the app on your phone, you can choose to grant access for a few weeks, a few hours or a few minutes, or even specific date and times.The best thing is you'll never have to think about lost keys again, and if you lost your phone, the access rights can be deleted in just seconds, the app is very easy. Also it has 24/7 activity log tracks, that tracks who entered and who left the house, with that person name and exact time. The best plus for me is that you can literally control any door at your home, for instance your garage door can be opened automatically and you can make it request a confirmation, when you approach the gate so it doesn't open by mistake. don you can always don't have your phone, you can always open your door the old fashioned way with the keys. This is for me is a quality of life product makes life more simple and secure.