What "smart lock" actually covers
The category spans three quite different products. Keypad deadbolts are the workhorses: a motor-driven or manual bolt with a number pad outside, no phone or internet required, codes you can change in a minute. Connected smart locks add Wi-Fi or Bluetooth — app control, remote locking, activity logs, guest codes with schedules, voice-assistant integration. And retrofit units keep your existing exterior hardware and key, replacing only the inside thumb-turn mechanism with a motor. Each type fits a different household, and the sales pages rarely explain the trade-offs. Our honest comparison in smart locks: pros, cons, and who should skip them is the place to start before buying anything.
Why installation quality decides whether you love it
Nearly every smart-lock complaint — dead batteries in a month, "jammed" errors, a bolt that stalls halfway — traces back to the door, not the device. A bolt must travel into its strike freely, with the door pulled fully closed and the weatherstripping compressed, or the motor works against friction on every cycle. Doors shift with seasons and house settling; a lock installed in summer binds in winter. We prepare the door the way we would for any deadbolt: bore and edge prep checked, strike positioned and reinforced with long screws into the stud, bolt travel tested by hand before the motor is ever connected, and the door's alignment corrected when it needs it. Then the electronics get configured — codes, app pairing, auto-lock timing — with you, on your phone, before we leave.
Keypads: the right answer more often than the apps suggest
For many homes and most rentals, a standalone keypad deadbolt is the sweet spot: kids and guests get codes instead of copies, codes can be deleted the day a cleaner or contractor finishes, there is no account, no subscription, and no dependence on your Wi-Fi. Battery life runs a year or more because nothing is maintaining a radio connection. What you give up is remote control and activity history. If the goal is simply never carrying a house key, the keypad gets you there with the least that can go wrong — and it keeps a standard key cylinder as backup, which matters the day the batteries die while you are out.
Where smart locks earn their keep
Short-term rentals are the clearest case: a fresh code per guest, set remotely, expiring at checkout, with a log of every entry — no key exchanges, no lockboxes, no rekeying between stays. Multigenerational homes benefit too: an alert when a parent's door unlocks in the morning is genuine peace of mind. And for anyone who has ever driven away wondering "did I lock the door?", remote checking and auto-lock are worth real money. For businesses, scheduled codes that only work during a cleaner's window solve a problem keys never could — see commercial services for the heavier-duty versions.
Security, honestly assessed
A smart lock's security is still mostly its deadbolt's security: grade, bolt throw, strike reinforcement. The electronics add new considerations, not magic. Use a unique account password and two-factor authentication on the lock's app; keep firmware updated; do not reuse the master code anywhere; and treat codes like keys — one per person or service, deleted when their access ends. A well-installed Grade 1 or 2 smart deadbolt on a reinforced frame is a strong lock. A cheap no-name unit with a plastic bolt on a hollow frame is a gadget. We install quality hardware from the established lock makers and will tell you plainly if the unit you bought is not worth the door it is going on.
What our installation includes
Fitting or replacement of the deadbolt, door and strike preparation, alignment correction where the door allows it, full configuration — master code, your first user codes, app setup and pairing on your phone, auto-lock and settings walkthrough — plus a check that the mechanical key backup works smoothly. If your door needs more than a standard installation — fresh bores, a repaired frame, reinforcement — you hear the price before we start. Already own the lock, still in its box? Perfect; we install customer-supplied units as happily as our own, and the same fitting standard applies.
What to have ready before the installation visit
A few minutes of preparation makes the appointment faster and the result better. Know your door's current setup — a photo of the edge and the inside of the door tells us almost everything. Decide who gets codes and at what level: a master code you keep, everyday codes per family member, and a guest code you can hand out and delete. Have your home Wi-Fi password available if the lock is a connected model, and the phone you want as the admin device, charged and in hand. Finally, decide what should happen to the old lock — many customers keep it as a spare for a side door, and we are happy to fit it there during the same visit.