Aqara Smart Lock U100, Fingerprint Keyless Entry Door Lock with Apple Home Key, Touchscreen Keypad, Bluetooth Electronic Deadbolt, IP65 Weatherproof, Supports Apple HomeKit, Alexa, Google, IFTTT, Gray

Great lock for peace of mind.
Very pleased with the ability to lock the house from anywhere. The ability to get in quickly with a fingerprint is so helpful. The package didn’t come with proper instructions- it’s all on the app which every time you exit to do a step you have to re-enter all the information over again so that’s annoying. YouTube videos helped. The app was initially sucky, but now that we have the whole household’s fingerprints the app won’t be a problem.

Wow! Great lock so far. Probably the best smart lock I’ve ever owned.
FYI: I’m judging this lock based on both my experience with it so far AND in comparison to our Level Lock Plus, which is the “other” Apple Home Key compatible lock.We’ve been using our Level Lock Plus for about a year now and it’s been a surprising disappointment. We incorrectly assumed that the build quality, marketing, US support, etc. meant it would do what we needed it to do. It didn’t.So when we got a sale notice from Amazon on the Agara lock we figured we should give it a try.The documentation (which is available online when you scan the QR code in the box) could be better but the installation is just about what you’d expect. If you’ve installed smart locks before you’ll be fine.The build quality of the lock is good, though if you’ve already had a “higher-end” lock like Levels it will feel cheaper. I don’t believe it’s cheaper in a way that would shorten the life of the lock or hinder its use in any way. It’s a good quality product.The app, like the documentation, could be better. It’s not as intuitive as most others and the keyboard (in iOS anyway) has a habit of covering the screen so you can’t see what you’re typing. It’s a minor annoyance at best when you compare the functionality…This lock easily beats any of the locks I’ve had to date. It provides access via HomeKey and most NFC devices, a code with the integrated keypad, accurate fingerprint access, and a conventional key which is included (x2).Each user can store up to 10 prints which seem like overkill but I’ll take it. Each individual print is saved using a collection of 6 scans (just like Apple’s TouchID) and while I rarely use it, it’s never failed to open the door on the first try.But if HomeKit and HomeKey are your primary reason for purchasing this lock just stop reading and buy it.With the Level Lock you have to wake and unlock your device before it’ll unlock the door. I use both an iPhone and an Apple Watch. The Apple Watch refuses to open the level lock 90% of the time. Our cameras send us a notification when we get to the door so we need to clear that notification and return to the home screen for the lock to have any hope of opening. Most of the time it still doesn’t.But the Aqara lock just works. Notification? It doesn’t care. In Facebook? No problem. The HomeKey implementation is bulletproof. No fiddling or having to mess with stuff. If you hold either device to the lock it opens.We tested the Aqara U100 because our Level Lock was very unstable and uncooperative. The reason we switched was because the Level lock started unlocking on its own. We lock up and leave and the lock opens by itself 15 seconds later.Thus far the U100 has shown NO signs of being prone to similar faults.Conclusion: The Aqara U100 is a great lock. Its battery lasts longer and it performs far better than the presumed market leader by every metric. Can’t see a reason to buy anything else.Congratulations Aqara!You put out a fantastic product.Thank you for it.

Exceeded expectation. Super simple install tho I expected possible installation difficulty. Easy integration with HomeKit and so on. Fits the same slot as my standard lock. Only needed to chisel out a couple mm’s to fit flush.

THE PROBLEM—If your existing lock uses a drive-in style deadbolt (round, no faceplate), the deadbolt included with the Aqara U100 Smart Lock is incompatible as it has a non-removable faceplate. The tailpiece slot on the Aqara Deadbolt (the part that accepts the rod and turns to extend and retract the deadbolt) is uncommon, at least according to the locksmiths I’ve spoken with.Some doors cannot be modified to include a faceplate, such as metal doors, or, like me, you might want to avoid modifying your door to have a faceplate.SOLUTION—Buy the Design House 783332 Pro Deadbolt from Amazon ($14 CAD as of writing) as it has a removable faceplate and can be used as a drive-in style deadbolt that has a slot compatible with the U100’s tailpiece (the rod that goes through the deadbolt and turns to extend and retract the deadbolt).If you receive a calibration error with this deadbolt, try calibrating the lock with the door open (the app will tell you to have it closed). If it works, you’ll need to chisel out the hole for the deadbolt in the doorjamb/doorframe to allow the deadbolt to fully extend to prevent constant beeping (and error messages in the app). I think this was an issue with my particular door, as the hole for my deadbolt seemed overly shallow.If the Design House 783332 Pro Deadbolt is unavailable, or if you want to try to find one with a shorter deadbolt, other deadbolts from Design House or Emtek that use a + shaped slot for the tailpiece should work.BACKSTORY / FULL EXPLANATION—I was excited to try the U100 as a replacement for my two August Smart Locks— they eat CR123A batteries for breakfast and would routinely disconnect from my Apple HomeKit setup.My first attempt at installing the U100 came to a complete halt— the deadbolt latch included with the smart lock has a non-removable faceplate that requires modifying your door if it was configured for a drive-in (round, no faceplate) style deadbolt.I wasn’t comfortable modifying my doors to accommodate a faceplate, and I wasn’t going to pay a professional to do it. After all, I justified this new smart lock purchase based on estimated battery savings, and I wasn’t about to extend my timeline to riches.After visiting a Home Depot and two locksmith shops, extensive Googling, a support email to Aqara, and a plea to Reddit, I couldn’t find a solution that didn’t include modifying my door to fit a faceplate. According to the locksmiths I spoke with to find a compatible drive-in deadbolt, the part where the tailpiece slides through the deadbolt to turn the lock was one of a kind. So my first U100 went back to Amazon.This kept me up at night—every fiber of my being wanted to stop buying CR123A batteries. Then I remembered the August Lock came with a deadbolt tailpiece compatibility graphic— my first good lead.According to the August Lock deadbolt tailpiece compatibility graphic, Defiant, Emtek, Weiser, and Weslock, all use a similar tailpiece (size and orientation) to the Aqara U100’s deadbolt.After some Googling, the Emtek tailpiece slot appeared to be positioned in the right spot on the lock and utilizes a + shape which should allow it to be compatible with the U100 tailpiece. The tailpiece slots from the other brands could theoretically work, but I didn’t want to risk the mechanism having reversed lock/unlock positions.Looking on Amazon for Emtek replacement deadbolts, I found a brand called Design House which seemed to utilize the same tailpiece slot and placement as Emtek. All of their locks come with a faceplate, but my prior research suggested that the faceplate on most locks is removable. I landed on the Design House 783332 Pro Deadbolt, which was $14 Canadian and shipped with Prime.Once I received the new deadbolt, I easily slid off the faceplate (no tools required) and ordered a new Aqara Smart Lock U100. When it arrived, I installed it following the instructions but used the Design House deadbolt instead of the Aqara. As the tailpiece slot on the Design House is + shaped, be sure to match the orientation of the tailpiece with the knob on the interior side of the U100 so that you don’t have to disassemble and reassemble the lock to change which way the tailpiece fits into the tailpiece slot on the deadbolt.After installing, when setting up the smart lock in the app, I received a calibration error that I couldn’t move past. After a quick panic that there was some special magic in the Aqara Deadbolt, I wised up and tried calibrating the lock with the door open (rather than closed) to triangulate the issue. Sure enough, it calibrated, but it still wouldn’t work with the door closed (the smart lock would beep, and the app would throw errors and require recalibration).As it turns out, the hole for the deadbolt in my doorjamb/door frame was shallow and didn’t allow it to extend fully. I did have to chisel out the hole, but this was an issue with my original door installation and not resulting from the Design House deadbolt being freakishly long.I’m still playing around with the smart lock (I just installed it), but in early testing, it’s been very responsive in HomeKit to lock and unlock the door at home and when I’m away. HomeKey and the Fingerprint Reader are lightning fast, and the integrated numbered is much more delightful to use than the (sold separately) August Lock keypad. I’m excited that there is an easy-to-activate “Passage Mode” that can be activated on the lock itself, allowing you to temporarily turn off auto-lock (which, after living with a smart lock that doesn’t do this, was a key-selling feature).I’ll update this review if I encounter any issues.I hope this helps!MattETHICS DISCLOSURE—I did not receive any compensation or free products for this review. All products mentioned above were purchased without reimbursement and I am not affiliated with Aqara or Design House in any way.