The midwit home

We have a non-networked, non-remote electronic combo lock for our front door.

We are never locked out. There is no key under a rock. The phone cannot get unpaired, the remote cannot be intercepted and replayed. If we are on vacation, we can call up a friend and tell them a code so they can get in.

A 9V battery lasts about three years, then it starts flashing and beeping every time you open the door for a month before dying. If you already have the right hole in the door, it takes about 20 minutes to install.

And if you're intent on breaking in, well, the windows are made of glass. Please don't do that.

Mind sharing which device that is so I can have one for my house?

Not sure if this is the one OP has but:

[https://www.homedepot.com/p/Schlage-Camelot-Satin-Nickel-Ele...]

I had one on my house growing up from like 2007-2012, rock solid. Bought a house this year and the first thing I did was install these on the front and back doors. Seems like it's exactly the same model that was being sold in 2007 (which is still on my childhood home and going strong btw).

We have a similar Schlage, yup.

I have somethint similar but it’s purely mechanical, no electronics or batteries to worry about at all. Even my kids can use it fine and it only takes a second to enter the combo.

I got one WITHOUT an app, bluetooth or wifi.

Geeksmart "smart dumb" fingerprint door lock:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TMBL7FW

works great

I've had https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NJJ1MQ for 10 years now with zero issues and not even a battery change needed yet.

I have a smart lock from Schlage that has all the features you just described, but also ZWave and so can be controlled over HomeAssisstant. We can both tell our friend a code to get in, but I can revoke a code remotely if I ever need to.

I also never get locked out. Usually I key myself in with the keypad, and there's a normal key slot too. It's also powered by a 9V -- but will also indicate to HomeAssistant what the battery level is

The key isn't that connectivity is bad, the key is that it should degrade gracefully when the more advanced features fail. Wireless is down? Can't unlock with my phone, but I can still use the keypad. Battery is dead? I can still use my physical key.

I'm going to guess you don't live in a place where gloves are necessary for a good portion of the year. I would see this option as more of a pain than a solution. Glad it works well for your use case through.

only a second? easier than a key?

I have the same lock, with basically the same underlying rules: any automation should fail towards the old, "dumb", way. I automate light switches more than outlets, and most other things send control commands to those switches. The thermostat is added as well but works just as well as a walk-up-and-change-it touchscreen.

The other rule is that no cloud service ever be necessary. I want heat & lights, even if the internet is out.

I’m interested in this. Does this require a hardware zwave controller or does the lock talk directly to home assistant?

Much easier, for many of the kids I know, than keeping track of a key!

> And if you're intent on breaking in, well, the windows are made of glass. Please don't do that.

Does your insurance cover it? Mine requires a keyed lock specifically.

But did you look at the program code of it? Did you figure out that 8675309 opens it even if you didn't program it? That's what I have worried about on these kinds of devices.

While there is always a chance a backdoor like that exists, and thieves start memorizing default and backdoor codes and also learn how to recognize the corresponding models by sight from a non-suspicious distance... there's an orders-of-magnitde greater chance they use a low skill rock-through-window style attack.

Lockly's base model fingerprint lock is fingerprint + keycode, and Bluetooth is actually optional, you can set it all up on the device w/o a phone. IMHO they don't advertise this enough, and they really try to upsell you to the Wi-Fi models.

They don't advertise this, super cool.

Oh and it uses a standard Schlage cylinder so you can get all your doors keyed the same, or swap it out with a high security cylinder if you so desire. (Lockpicking Lawyer even said not bad things about it!)

Fingerprint is a seriously cool. Except it doesn't work if your finger is wet, at which point you are back to just using a code.

Now, all that said, there are times I really wish I had the Wi-Fi model, knowing on my phone that, for example, the animal sitter has stopped by and fed the pets, is super useful.

But not having the Wi-Fi model is a trade off I have made in return for the security of not having another wireless entry point into my home network.

A related option to allow entry based on a code, if you don't want to replace your lock, is to put a combination key lock box (sometimes called a "realtor box") somewhere near the door. We have one of these and have been very happy with it. And no batteries that can die!

Mandatory related xkcd: https://xkcd.com/538/

I have the same lock, but I've never figured out how to get Home Assistant to change codes. Do you know of a good guide for that?

You can use a 'sticky film' for the glass that allegedly really fucks w/ any burglar.

I wonder if the fingerprint reader would get cold enough my skin would freeze and stick to it.

I hate that feeling.

You’ll need a ZWave stick plugged into the machine running Home Assistant.

This thread got me researching locks and I think the Lockly is promising. With the current models you can buy the WiFi module for $80. The Pro model costs $50 more than the base one and includes the module but you should be able to add just the WiFi since the locks themselves are the same.

This may not be true for older models that may exist, so I would verify.

Burglar here. Actually we prefer the sticky film, because then the glass comes out as a one piece. Makes entry much safer, and workplace safety is important!

To all of you extolling the virtues of combo locks, I guess you live in pretty secluded houses in safe neighborhoods with zero visibility of the keypad from across the street.

If I had a combo lock, I'd be more worried about someone with binoculars or an ultra-zoom camera watching me key my lock without covering my hand than my physical key getting lost or stolen.

I live right outside downtown Seattle but I have a fence, so my door is not visible from the street. I don’t know why more people don’t try it.

Aren't the keys you press visibly different from the others after a while? This is a failure mode I've noticed on several code pads. Even though you don't know the exact code, it gives the numbers so you now only have to guess the order.

I thought it doesn't break cleanly and then can cut them up trying to break it more?

If someone cared that much about getting into my house, they could easily get into any key-based lock as well, or through any other way, like a window.

Just change the code?

> If we are on vacation, we can call up a friend and tell them a code so they can get in.

I love that I can give my family/friends a code and make it valid for a specific time period. Or remotely let them in. That’s the value I see in networked locks.

One threat model with that kind of approach is that once a visitor possesses your key -- even if they return it -- you can't tell how many copies they may have made.