FINALLY! NO HUB REQUIRED Thread Smart Lock - Aqara U200

The Aqara U200 Smart home door lock is FINALLY here and it doesn't need a hub!! It is Matter over Thread and it works with Amazon Alexa, Home Assistant, Apple Homekit and Google Home. But is it better than the Switchbot Lock Pro? This review compares Aqara U200 vs Switchbot Lock pro.

This video is sponsored by Aqara, all opinions are my own.

UPDATE: Aqara have advised the Door sensing will be improved in an over the air update.

Easily one of the best smart home gadgets of this year so far, the Aqara U200 is a thread based Matter lock for Home Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple Homekit, and Google Home... And Has Apple Homekey support!!

BUY THE AQARA U200 HERE
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. By buying through any of the links below I will earn commission at no extra cost to you :)

=============================
BUY ME A BEER
==============================

THE ULTIMATE SMART HOME LIST!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. By buying through any of the links below I will earn commission at no extra cost to you :)

SWITCHBOT PRODUCTS

BUY A RASPBERRY PI HERE (TO HOST HOME ASSISTANT):

CONBEE STICK (ENABLES ZIGBEE DEVICES TO CONNECT TO HOME ASSISTANT):

OUTDOORLED STRIP (REQUIRES TUYA ZIGBEE HUB OR CONBEE STICK AND PI)

AQARA ZIGBEE MOTION SENSORS AND DOOR SENSORS (REQUIRES AQARA HUB OR CONBEE STICK & PI):

AQARA LIGHT BULB E27 (REQUIRES AQARA HUB OR CONBEE STICK & PI):

AQARA LIGHT SWITCH (REQUIRES AQARA HUB OR CONBEE STICK & PI):

AQARA BATTERY REMOTE LIGHT SWITCH (REQUIRES AQARA HUB OR CONBEE STICK & PI):

FLIC BUTTONS (SMART BLUETOOTH BUTTONS):

BROADLINK RM4 PRO (TO CONTROL INFRARED DEVICES SUCH AS TV & RF DEVICES SUCH AS PROJECTOR SCREENS)

ZIGBEE PLUG SOCKET (REQUIRES ZIGBEE HUB SUCH AS HUBITAT OR SMARTTHINGS):

REMOTE CONTROL CANDLES (INFRARED CAN BE CONTROLLED USING A BROADLINK RM4 PRO)

DECORATIVE BULBS FROM SHELLY

ZIGBEE SPOTLIGHTS & RGB REMOTE

ROBOROCK ROBOVACS

SOMA SMART BLIND MOTOR:

LOCK COVERS (MARRIAGE SAVERS)

4K HORIZON PRO PROJECTOR IN THE BEDROOM

AMAZON ECHO 4TH GENERATION:

ECHO SHOW 10

0:00 - Intro
2:01 - Aqara U200 Product overview
4:05 - Aqara U200 Pros
9:05 - Aqara U200 Setup process
09:50 - Aqara U200 cons
13:10 - Aqara U200 vs Switchbot Lock Pro

#Aqara #AqaraU200 #Switchbot #SwitchbotLockPro #smartlock #review #alexa #smartgadgets #futuretech #technology

[paulhibbert]

Happy Saturday everyone! Matter is actually starting to Matter! BUY THE AQARA U200 HERE
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. By buying through any of the links below I will earn commission at no extra cost to you :)

[louleechew]

I replaced my SwitchBot lock pro with this after watching your review and the unlock speed difference is huge, by the time I’ve moved my watch from the keypad to the door handle the door is unlocked, homekey support already puts this lock miles ahead of the SwitchBot lock but the speed of it really was the biggest surprise for me

[Offcut]

I used to fit time locks on Safes and they had a system that allowed the person under duress to open the safe but all they needed to do was put a number in above or below the last digit to send a duress alarm but it still went through the countdown for whatever the time was set at and open to keep the staff safer.

[ALaModePi]

"No hub required": Matter is starting to make a difference.
"Who in their right mind would carry around something in their front pocket...": Good point on keys. Sometimes folks look at a high-tech solution and raise issues with it that are exactly the same as any low-tech solutions.
"Apple phone or Apple watch": [sigh] What about Android? Ah well, I can use Home Assistant anyway.
"Use your own house key": Very good. I try to cut down on the number of keys I have to carry around and using the same key I already have helps a lot.
Thanks for the comparison between this and the SwitchBot lock. I always appreciate your thoroughness and especially appreciate it when you anticipate a question like this.
Thanks again for a great review. See you next Saturday.

[cltimbes]

Oh my goodness I am so thankful a ran across your channel a long time ago now. I have learned so much from your videos while always being entertained. They keep getting better and better! Thanks for all you do!

[Chizzy]

Yes it's 10am on Saturday and you know what that means, Morning Paul 👋

[carlhussain]

I am beta testing switchbot geofencing and it does work. The lock uses your Bluetooth to unlock. But uses location to prime the lock for high power scanning

[Mu-podcast]

I have the Aqara Smart Lock U100, and we like it a lot. The batteries on mine last about 6 months, and they are easy to change while inside the house without tools. It has a voice alert on the lock as well as phone alerts saying the battery is low, so there's little chance it will be forgotten. I do keep my physical key with me just in case, but haven't needed it since we installed it.
There is one feature I was actually surprised didn't already exist in the app for it. I would like to set it to lock itself if it's been left unlocked for say, 10 minutes. If that could be set to have different behaviors at different times of day it would be even better. At night, it locks if left for 2 minutes.

[mikeguest]

Good video. As with others, I wish you'd been able to address what the situation is with both locks and the lift handle doors that most of us have. At very least e need to know that it can alert if someone forgets to lift the handle. A lock that sits there silently unable to lock, or worse burns out its motor trying to lock an unlockable door is a non starter.

[sierpus]

But how does it integrate with home assistant? Via matter enabled zigbee dongle?
What features are missing in this case?

[vincenzomartino]

The return of the best tech nerd on the internet 😄

[RiceEater]

Yeah you nailed how I feel about the Switchbot Lock Pro. Yes it works and has a lot of unlock options which I love. But it doesn't give me that super snappy smart home experience that I got when I switched from cloud control to local. I have the Lock Pro and it bums me out when it takes a few seconds for the gears to turn, then it turns at a basic slow speed that's pretty standard for everything other than the U200.

I didn't know if I could resist getting the U200 since I already bought the Lock Pro. But I don't think I can. I want the satisfying feeling I would get with the U200 of unlocking and locking being super fast and responsive. I know I won't ever get that from the Lock Pro.

[eonise]

Just for options, I have the Nuki lock, does most of the same features, is quick, is well built, also includes geo sensing, and is integrated into Home Assistant.

[metalmanexetreme]

Good to hear your an Aqara fan, I am now expecting a review of their crazy g5 hub camera and new lightbulbs (if the lightbulbs are comparable, Aqara might actually move me away from Philips hue [I know I know, boo me] )

[Jonathannew-cpfj]

Paul, I will let you off missing the obvious when is a door not a door (when it's a jar) joke 😂 I'm putting it down to lack of sleep due to the new arrival😂

[simonf]

Another great video Paul.
I was wondering, what do insurance companies think to such smart locks that are placed on exterior doors?

[Royster]

I do like the look of this and would more likely have been far easier to fit than my Loqed smart lock. This also has assisted twist, far easier than the Aqara, it also has two Bluetooth beacons so it knows which side of the door you are on. I get out of the car on the drive and it’s auto unlocking. Sadly Loqed have gone down the pan, but thankfully been bailed out by Shelly!

As usual Paul, great video, great information and great japes along the way! F the haters man 👍

[jrutgers]

I have a Nuki door lock. it does open on geo-fence in combination with BLE.

[hydeapd]

Very interesting.
Have you tried to connect it with a door camera that has face recognition so that it recognises you and unlocks the door?

[Jpanic]

Can I use this as a keypad based lock even if I do not have a matter supported device like Apple, HomePod, Amazon, echo or Google Device?