I’m always in the market for new smart home stuff. Just about every room in my house has some gadget or accessory to make things a bit easier. Recently, I moved this smart home mission outside with the addition of Ring Video Doorbell, but now I’m tackling the front door with the August Smart Lock…
I’ve always been interested in smart locks, but there was something about August that caught my eye from the moment it was announced. This lock pairs up with your iPhone via Bluetooth and can unlock the door with the tap of the screen or by utilizing its location-based feature, but more on that later. I’m a big fan of the industrial design and it also leaves the front side of the door untouched. The only thing required is that you replace the thumb latch on the inside with the August Smart Lock. August Connect expands on the basic functionality by giving you remote access from anywhere, which will allow you to unlock the door for someone without actually being there.
Inside of August’s box you’ll find everything needed to get August installed and running (even the batteries). Some standard documentation (quick start guide), the August Smart Lock unit, and three mounting plates with adapters for installation are all included. With the August Connect, you’ll just find a small box with a square plug inside.
I was able to get everything put together and installed in about 10 minutes using the short installation guide provided, but August also has an official installation video that you can check out as well. Installation involves removing the old thumb latch on the inside and replacing it with one of the included mounting plates and color coded adapters which are specific to your current lock’s brand. Different manufacturers correspond to the different numbered plates and color adapters, which are all listed in the installation guide. From there, you just mount the August Smart Lock on the inside of the door and secure it with the latches on each of its sides.
Check out our August Smart Lock + Connect video below:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-n61Gzeuyk]
August is powered by four included AA batteries which are rated to last up to a year. When the batteries are running low, the August app will notify you within enough time to replace them. By itself, August pairs with your iPhone via Bluetooth, but the optional Connect accessory will communicate with August while connected to your Wi-Fi network to receive remote commands from your phone as mentioned.
Because nothing changes on the outside of your door, you’ll still be able to use your existing keys in case you’d like to ever use them. August can also be used in manual mode by simply twisting it to the left or right (kind of like a giant door knob) to lock or unlock the door. That’s not exactly the point though. Once August is installed, you can download the free app, create an account, and get everything calibrated to take advantage of its core features.
The lock’s status is shown with a red circle (locked) or a green circle (unlocked). Tapping on this circle will perform either a lock or unlock action. Swiping to the left panel within the app will reveal the lock’s activity log and guest book for comments, while the right panel will show the existing users/guests of the lock. You can add as many guests or owners as needed by inviting them within the app and filling out a few simple details.
For each guest you can specify a permanent, reoccurring, or temporary key. August also has the ability to send you notifications (per user) when someone enters the house. This feature can be enabled/disabled in the guest/owner settings. Any owner will have full control of the settings for the lock. The only downside is that guests will not be able to take advantage of August’s Auto Lock feature (explained below), so they will need to launch the app in order to unlock the door. Owners have full access to everything, but I wish there was a middle point between guest and owner that would allow use of certain features without access to all the device’s settings.
One interesting feature is called Auto Unlock. This will utilize a geofence and use your iPhone’s location to detect your proximity to the lock. When you’re arriving home, August will unlock the door as you approach it. After some extensive testing, I only found that this feature worked roughly 6 out of 10 times. Ideally, this should work 100 percent of the time. Hopefully future software updates will fix this, but for now I was a bit disappointed.
Ever Lock is another smart feature within the app that will automatically lock the door after a specified amount of time has passed. I found this feature to be extremely helpful and never had a problem with it. I understand that it takes a great amount of confidence in a product like this to just leave your house without locking it. I’m still a little skeptical, but for now, I have the ability to remotely check the lock’s status within the app using August Connect. Either way, any smart home system like this is hard to trust initially.
The Connect accessory is an add-on (purchased separately) that connects to your Wi-Fi network and talks to the Smart Lock via Bluetooth. While it does take a little while longer to operate the lock remotely, August Connect worked reliably in my testing. One benefit here is being able to unlock the door for someone without inviting them to be a guest, which admittedly is a lengthy process overall for a small temporary situation. If they create an account for temporary use it will remain active, but the key will expire. This makes it easier for the second time around, but I’d rather use the Connect module any day rather than going through the invite process for my guest’s temporary entry needs.
August also features integration with the Nest Learning Thermostat. If you have one, you can connect a Nest account and each time you leave August will ask if you’d like to set the thermostat to away in order to save energy. The notification each time is kind of annoying and I wish there was a default option that could be specified, but I appreciate the cross platform/product integration. Hopefully, future software updates will improve on this as well.
Overall, August and its Connect accessory is great as a pair. With August alone, you shouldn’t experience any issues aside from the few mentioned above, but I prefer the ability to check in on things remotely. I guess we can thank my smart home trust issues for that. At the same time, can we ever fully trust something like this to perform with 100 percent accuracy?
Computers/electronics/software fail over time. I’m not saying that a smart lock is a bad idea because I’ve been enjoying my time with August, but your security is always at the hands of the product’s reliability and the software developers behind it. I will continue to use August, but I’m not sure it’s something that I can just install and forget about. A smart lock’s functionality and reliability will always be in the back of my mind.
If you’d like to find out more about August or the Connect accessory, you can visit the product’s website. August Smart Lock is available for $249.99, while the optional Connect accessory can be had for $49.99. Definitely not the cheapest smart home accessory out there, but its convenience may make up for that.
I’m a fan of smart home technology and August provides an easy way to lock/unlock your door without keys. Free guest/owner keys are definitely a plus side and there were only a few occasions where it was necessary to pull out my phone and use the app to unlock the door. It has officially replaced my traditional house key, but that key isn’t leaving my key chain just yet.
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Looks great to me. Not so sure though if that would work with my current door lock. It’s not available in Germany so far anyway…Gives me some time to figure that out. ;-)
Good clear review. Thanks
I made a video about this a while ago:
August Review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz6Zp7jZ1zI
August Connect Review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGmT1FGkomI
I found the auto unlock feature much more reliable than 6/10 but I have had issues lately with the connect staying online.
I’ve been looking at all the new smart locks and August strikes me as the best of the lot. I still haven’t bought one though as it’s hard to tell how this market segment will evolve. I wish the author had gone into more detail about how the product fits in with the emerging connected home standards for that reason. Wish August would do the same.
My man worry is that most of these products are very “1.0” and it’s just not certain that I won’t have to buy a new one next year if they decide to connect up with Apple’s smart home initiative, or (horrors!) they join up with Microsoft’s or Google’s gear instead.
I came very close to buying a Nest for example, but my building wouldn’t allow me to use it. If I *had* bought one though, I would have been really pissed off when they sold their souls to Google for those magic beans a few months later.
I want a product that I know is going to be around in a few years and connect to the largest existing standards out there and none of these new startups are giving me enough information to convince me that they are.
August was listed as a HomeKit supporter when it was first announced. I also contacted support when I was reviewing the Connect, and I was told that it will support HomeKit and they will announce it once HomeKit is closer to launching. That said, stuff changes. So we will see. Who knows when HomeKit will actually be out there.
True. Thanks for the info.
I own a kevo and have been less than impressed. No remote features yet. Half of the time I have to touch the kevo multiple times to trigger it to unlock. I use the iPhone 6 and 5S. I’ve had it for exactly one year. My question is this. With the august lock, do you have to have the application running for the remote lock/unlock feature? I hope not. I usually quit apps when not in use. Any feedback would be great!
Hey there!
You do need to have the app running for the Auto Unlock to work. EverLock, automatically locks the door 30 seconds, to 5 minutes after it has been unlocked. So no app required for that and it works for all guests and registered users!
Auto-Unlock however, requires the app. Basically the app monitors your location, and when you leave the geoFenced area it takes note. Then when you arrive, it says “Hey! Start looking for the lock” and as soon as it connects, it unlocks the door. That way it knows if you are inside or outside. It only auto unlocks when you come from outside the geoFenced area.
That said, I’ve been testing the August for a long time before posting my own review, and it hasn’t hurt my battery at all. Since the addition of the m7/m8 coprocessor to monitor location, it doesn’t ding your battery life just because it needs to know where you are.
I had a Kevo since it came out and hated that damn thing every day. It *NEVER* worked reliably, I would just default to using the keys since if I tried touching it nothing would ever happen anyway.
I got rid of it and picked up the August a few months ago. In stark contrast, August actually works properly. There are rare instances when the door doesn’t open when I approach, but it’s definitely the exception. It works almost all of the time and I never reach for my keys anymore. The door just unlocks itself when I come up the back stairway.
EverLock however, needs a bit of work. Right now it has problems working if you manually twist the lock open yourself. Sometimes it locks after this, sometimes it doesn’t. It does seem to work most of the time if you always unlock using the app, but if I’m leaving the house myself, I prefer to twist the lock manually myself rather than pull out my phone, unlock it, open the app, wait for them to pair up, then tap the lock button.
Overall, this is a way, way, way, way way better product than the garbage Kevo.
Guests have to download the app, set up an account, and use the app every time they want to unlock the door. That’s a deal breaker. There is no way i’m going to expect a plumber or airbnb guest to go through that setup hassle to use the lock a few times.
Perfectly happy with my sub-$100 Schlage keypad deadbolt.
Just added a line to clarify on that. Guest accounts will remain active, but the key will expire. It’ll be easier for then the second time around, but I think the Connect aspect is easier overall if you just need to let someone in quickly.
The Lockitron had a solution for that by allowing them to do it from the browser, or even through an ordinary text message.
I love my August lock. Life was even better once we got the Connect. It was a cinch to install and has worked perfectly since we installed it. It’s nice not to worry about giving out keys to everyone or leaving one under the mat.
I wonder when a door/door hardware company will put the wifi/Bluetooth device inside the door.
Not paying $250 for a door lock augmentation. It’s a radio, a battery, and a DC motor. Some parts from radio shack (in the past) and a Pi board you could build this for less than $100.
$59… they’ll sell like a ba-million lol
I put one of these locks on my front door and bought the August Connect for remote use, and I must say it works perfectly. One thing a potential user must be ready for is this: this thing is BIG! As in gigantic! I wanted to put one on my back door because it the door more frequently used by everyone in my family, but I couldn’t do it because the thing is too big to fit between the deadbolt and the window. I would have to take my Dremel to the window frame and notch out about half an inch of the frame to allow for the August Smartlock. So before buying one of these, make sure it will fit your door first. I wasn’t prepared for just how big it was until I took it out of the box.
Thanks Dom, solid video. I’ve been looking at this smart lock ever since it came out, I had no idea how HUGE it is! $300 for the whole shebang seems steep… I don’t have a nest yet so I think I’ll pick one of those up first. Also, someone mentioned home kit in the comments… I hadn’t thought about compatibility issues. I may just wait it out and see.
Mine works great, i have had it for about 3 months. Auto unlock has been flawless, august connect is slow but convenient when you’re away from home.
Dom – Thanks for the great write and video!
After I saw your review it was off to Amazon and I ordered the lock, with the overnight shipping picked. Amazon didn’t have connect in stock, so I waited on that.
The lock came and I spent about 15 minutes watching the August on-line video’s; got familiar with the assembly instructions with the August and got the Phillips head screwdriver and level out. As you said, within about 15 minutes, the old thumb lock plat was removed, the August plate was installed and I was closing the ears on the lock. I had already downloaded the iOS app – so all I had to do was scan for the lock and everything worked perfectly!
I really wanted the Auto-Lock feature as my lovely wife has forgotten to lock the dead-bolt several times and that really had me concerned. With the August Auto-Lock feature enabled, that’s one less think to worry about when I’m at work and she’s at home.
I did not enable the Auto-Unlock feature as we predominantly come in through the overhead garage doors and I don’t see the need to have the front door unlocked when I pulling into the garage and will be entering the house through the garge-to-house door.
If the August works out my next project will be to install a deadbolt on the door between the house and garage – and buy another August lock for that door. Then I would have the Auto-Unlock feature enabled on that door.
Once Amazon has the connect module back in stock, I can foresee ordering one of those so that I have the full power of August in our house.
I do have a Nest but have not decided if I’ll connect the august and Nest together – time will tell.
Keep up the great reviews!
UPDATE:
I had a question about the MAC address on the Connect BT to WiFi adapter. Saturday evening, well after the August web site said phone support stopped, I e-mailed my question using the web client. Within about an hour I received a reply. The reply generated another e-mail – and my question was answered politely and with the level of detail I needed. This was still Saturday night!
I have e-mailed several times since and have found the answers to be spot-on and very timely! I wish more vendors had this level of support.
TWO BIG Thumbs Up for August e-mail support!
August lock aesthetically beautiful on one sided.
There is a problem with this lock system bcoz you can’t instruct the door to lock once you are outside the house without taking out the phone or key. You have to be far far away before the door lock itself.
That is where the security comes in, only on perfect condition then August lock will work. Let me elaborate the other scenarios where the lock won’t work, and u won’t know if it lock itself. Probably u can only assumed it lock until u come back home and realized your door didn’t lock when you are away.
1st, What if your smartphone Bluetooth didn’t turn on, and u thought the Bluetooth was on and u left home.
2nd scenario, what if you were rushing out and you didn’t realize you forgotten to take your smartphone? Bcoz u are not required to do any action. You realised you left your phone after you are in your office.
3rd what if your phone hang, you didn’t even realised it until the next time u take out your phone.
Based on what I have read, you must leave the geographical area in order the phone to lock. There are chances some building apartment don’t have signal in the basement car park. GPS signal don’t work well in building. What if GPS says u were at the other building block, how would August lock unlock?
I find August lock, Danalock both have flaws and I find it confusing. I find it more like semi-auto. When you approach the door, it auto unlock. It does not work all the time in apartment building than a house where GPS location is more accurate pinpointing location. So you are stuck by some time having to draw your physical key. That defeat the purpose.
When you want it to instant lock when you are leaving home, u can’t touch the lock to close and again, you have to draw your physical key out. Don’t you think it is very troublesome?
As good as it sound nice to auto detect when you are near the door. It got to be on the perfect scenario for it to work. And the worst part for Android phone, the door won’t even auto lock when u leave the house.
Probably Kwikset Kevo works better in this regards, I tap to lock. I can see the lock close before I leave for office. At least I have option to do that. So far no lock is perfect. By far Kevo is more trusted smartphone enabled lock. Still have flaws like no auto time lock.