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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/LivelinessphoneT on 2026-03-14 09:26:14+00:00.
my roommate locked himself out taking the trash out at 11pm last night in the freezing rain and i had to leave my shift at work jsut to let him back in. im so done dealing with physical keys and need to buy a smart lock today before i lose my mind but im totally clueless and feeling super stuck.
ive been reading on here and see everyone saying to buy Aqara UWB Smart Lock U400 or Aqara Smart Lock U200 or Schlage Encode Plus. but honestly im really leaning towards August Wi-Fi Smart Door Lock (4th Generation) purely because my local target has it on the shelf right now and the circle shape looks way less bulky on the door.
right now im just swapping out a basic single cylinder deadbolt on my regular wooden front door. i can easily afford the highest end premium option out there but i absolutely hate overpaying for useless extra features if a cheaper average model performs just as well so im purely looking for the best bang for my buck. i just know i dont want a lock that relies entirely on the cloud since id hate for my home routines to instantly break just because my internet or some random server goes down. but im really stuck on the connection part because getting one with standard wifi built inside sounds so easy for controlling it away from home right away but i read it completely ruins the battery life compared to that newer thread matter stuff which is supposed to be super solid for keeping everything local but apparently means i have to go buy a separate smart hub router thing just to get it running?
im honestly ready to pull the trigger right now so what specific model should i just blindly purchase to stop stressing over this?
also literally right before posting this i started wondering what are the actual real world downsides to these things and do they even fit on literally any door?