August Wifi Smart Lock Review - 6 Months Later

Long term review of the August Wifi smart lock 4th generation, how it compares to the previous gen, and if we recommend it.

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0:00 - Intro
0:25 - Benefits of the 4th gen lock
1:16 - Battery life & type needed
2:30 - Smart Home features
4:48 - Do you need keys anymore?
5:35 - Apple HomeKit integration
6:25 - NFC?
7:20 - August App
7:56 - Setup process
8:40 - Recommendations

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The Google Pixel 6 Pro, shown in this video were provided to the channel by Google. Google did not sponsor this video.

Any Amazon links we provide in our descriptions are in conjunction with our Amazon partnership. The channel receives a small percentage of revenue from any sales generated by viewers clicking the links.

#August
#SmartLock
#SmartHome

[lavenderfox]

Another reason that the 3rd gen utilizes better battery life is because of the bridge itself. It operates as a ZWave hub (Much like Phillips Hue included hub) and as a result garners you better battery life because ZWave is an incredibly low-power protocol that functions essentially similar to Bluetooth Low-Energy by using Sub-Gigahertz frequencies.
The reason the 4th gens battery life is impacted so greatly is because it *only* has Wifi as a connection offering.

[marialuizacunhalima]

I live in South Korea and, here, keys are pretty much a think of the past. It has been 5 years now without carrying a key, and this is wonderful. I don't know why the electronic locks used here are not more popular everywhere. They are amazing.

[saadshamshair]

Very glad you mentioned battery life off the bat, it’s been my experience as well. I actually contacted August support for help, and they sent a free WiFi bridge which has helped extend battery life a bit!

[tritip]

Great review and one of the first (that I’ve seen) to honestly talk about the experiences of having to dig out a phone each time you want to unlock the door.

[galaxystarrr]

It’s crazy I saw your video today, I just removed my august 4th gen yesterday because I was absolutely sick of buying batteries for it every month or so! Reinstalled my old 3rd gen pro! But I have been told if you use a wifi bridge with the 4th gen it might help its battery life a little bit! Great video

[tony-zhu]

Thanks for your review and it is very close to my experience.
About the NFC unlock feature, actually you can integrate August lock with Home Assistant and setup a NFC key in HA. That is the way how I unlock my door and it is very fast and stable. I never carry any physical keys anymore.

[neozizen]

I got this lock because there were concerns about not being able to use the regular old fashioned key. It was an extremely good way to provide some comfort knowing that you could always use your key to get in to the house in the event the lock didn't work. The locks work so well that keys are no longer carried around. I would recommend them to anyone who is hesitant to make the jump to smart home locks and I would give them at least an A rating. Why not A+? So, these locks are the reason I started using Home Assistant. I wanted to have a more reliable and much faster "Auto Unlock" feature. I wanted Auto Unlock to work on more than just one door in the house (August won't support having more than one lock in your house/garage Auto Unlock) because they haven't figured out how to properly sense for your phone. August, if you ever read this... bayesian algorithm, use it! I wanted a button on the home screen of Andriod/Apple phones to quickly unlock door without having to open an App. I wanted better control of Auto Lock feature so that I wouldn't accidently lock myself out of the house by forgetting my phone in the house. The August App is a very good application, I just kept running in to minor things that, when added together, summed up to make me want to try Home Assistant. This was about a month ago and currently I have added temperature sensors and lights to Home Assistant becuase I figured out that Home Assistant can run all your smart home devices and have one application on your phone to control them all. Anyway, nice video. Just wanted to point out some of the things about this lock (which I believe is one of the best, if not the best lock out there) I found myself wanting more from it.

[grimtastabod]

IMO the best all-around smart lock is the EUFY that lets you enter via keypad, app, physical key, voice assistant, or fingerprint (what I use daily). It absolutely rocks; best smart home purchase I've ever made. Of course the downside is that you need to completely replace your deadbolt, and as Josh mentioned, landlords won't like that their master key won't work any more. If I was still renting, an August lock like this would definitely be the way I'd go. Nice review Josh!

[kathybellamy]

Battery life can be affected if your lock experiences any resistance when locking and unlocking as well. Everything must line up perfectly so the lock moves smoothly. One thing I can’t find is a notification if the door is left unlocked, or the ability to auto lock at a certain time. This would ensure that the door is not accidentally left unlocked. The auto-lock feature only allows for a specific amount of time, not a time on the clock, ie 8pm.

[cd]

Interesting to read about different struggles with this lock. I have the 3rd gen w/ the bridge. My battery life is fantastic. My auto-unlock works every single time but I did buy a keypad to use for those times that I don't have my phone with me (running). The keypad provides excellent flexibility for friends & family to use when they stop by. I think it is certainly key to not only have the bridge, but to have the bridge close to the august lock.

[btrtrvl]

I have had the previous generation with the bridge on my home since August 2018 and have only changed the AA batteries once when it sent an alert to tell me to do it. I would say if you were a home owner who enters mostly through the garage and instal this on your front door you would be amazed. Setting up temporary codes for maintenance people that allows them access etc is also a great feature.

[jacielespinosa-severo]

I've had the August Smart Lock the previous generation for about 2 years, and it has completely replaced my keys. I think I've used my keys a total of five times since I've installed it. The features I really love are auto lock because after 10 minutes just locks itself. My family usually opens the August app 5 to 10 minutes before they arrive home. We honestly love it. However I have to mention some bugs. The geofencing is terrible, similar to you it's literally faster for me just to open The August app then waiting for my phone to GPS or Bluetooth to kick in and activate the feature. Also it does require me to be a little proactive of when I'm approaching my house, sometimes I do get frustrated when I'm at my door and I'm just so conditioned to use the August app that I forget I have keys but it'd be faster if I use the keys then using the August app. But other than that I still love the August Smart Lock

[Pills]

The battery issue was my original deal breaker but I ended up just buying a rechargable 4pack off amz. Swapping them potentially more often isn't an issue it was the long term cost of batteries and throwing more into the garbage because I'm a hippy tree hugger. So far so good the rechargables work fine in the lock.

[hayleyharrison]

Apple Watch app has been the easiest for me, normally like 2-3 seconds to unlock. You really need it set as a complication for it to be speedy.

[arinkleine]

Another great review with some solid advice. Good things to hear!

[alexnelson]

Seems like having a low voltage sensor connection at the latch that doubles as a charger for a built-in battery/capacitor when closed would solve the battery life issue. Plus the owner wouldn’t have to constantly buy batteries.

[halerickman]

I bought rechargeable batteries, I bought the charger along with 8 batteries, it was very reasonable priced, I think about$50, 9its been awhile, going off memory). They have the approx. similar battery life, so I rotate them, no issue. Get this locker, not the larger older gen .

[JakeDiToro]

I have a 3rd gen and live in a traditional suburban single family home. The Auto-Unlock works well about 95% of the time. Enough so that I don't cary my key in my pocket because it's convient enough to just pull out my phone to unlock when the auto-unlock doesn't work. Though I do keep a key in my wallet, but that's mostly me being paranoid. I haven't needed but once or twice in 3 years or so of having the lock.

[JamesPaulGomez]

I only see the smart lock pro + WiFi bridge for 229$? Did they just start adding the WiFi bridge now? I also don’t see the 3rd Gen

[lkeesling]

I stopped using the 4th gen August smart lock because after about one year of using it and installing the keypad I was replacing the batteries every 2 to 3 weeks, so now I use it as a very expensive turn knob form my doors deadbolt.