Kwikset Halo Select overview: A sensible compromise

Legacy lock maker Kwikset has been producing progressive sensible locks since 2013, when it launched the primary touch-to-open lock, the Kwikset Kevo. The firm adopted that up with the launch of one of many first key-free locks in 2016, one of many earliest Apple HomePackage locks, and one of many first fingerprint-only locks. Kwikset has not shied away from new tech.

Its newest mannequin, the Halo Select ($279.99), is likely one of the first full-replacement Matter-over-Thread sensible locks. I’ve examined nearly each sensible lock that Kwikset has made over time, and that is its finest but. It’s super-responsive with strong options and broad sensible residence compatibility. It’s simply too dangerous that utilizing Matter means giving up its finest characteristic.

The Halo Select is a sleek-looking lock that ought to slot in with each conventional and up to date door units, though it has a contemporary slant. As Kwikset is one among two main residential lock corporations (the opposite being Schlage), you might have already got Kwikset locks and deal with units in your outer doorways, that means the Select would possibly slot in with what you have already got — one thing few different sensible locks do.

It provides 4 entry strategies: a keyway (which is rekeyable), a touchscreen keypad, app / sensible residence management, and auto-unlock primarily based on location. The latter labored so nicely that I didn’t thoughts the shortage of a fingerprint reader or Apple Home Key — usually my two favourite entry strategies. (Kwikset has teased a Halo Select Plus mannequin with an NFC chip, but it surely hasn’t mentioned whether or not that can work with Home Key or the forthcoming Aliro normal.)

One of Halo Select’s standout options is the choice to connect with your sensible residence through Matter-over-Thread. This brings broad sensible residence compatibility over an area protocol, working with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home, and Samsung SmartThings, amongst others.

The Thread radio brings sooner response instances than Wi-Fi and considerably longer battery life — nearly double primarily based on my testing. There are solely a handful of full-replacement Matter-over-Thread locks out there – together with the Level Lock Plus, the Eufy E30, U-tec’s Matter lock, and the Yale Assure SL. But the Halo Select is your best choice proper now.

To set it up with Matter, you want a Matter controller and a Thread border router. An Apple TV is each, or you should use a mixture, equivalent to an Echo speaker (Matter controller) and an Eero Wi-Fi router (Thread border router). Alternatively, you possibly can join the lock utilizing its built-in Wi-Fi. This permits it to work with the Kwikset app, in addition to Amazon Alexa and Google Home, through the cloud. You’ll lose the broader compatibility and battery lifetime of Matter-over-Thread, however in trade, you get one of many Halo Select’s finest options: auto unlock.

Auto unlock is a comparatively new characteristic on Kwikset locks. It makes use of a mixture of radios, together with Location Services and Wi-Fi, to find out the place your telephone is in relation to your property so it could unlock the door as you strategy.

This tech has been utilized in sensible locks for some time — it was first seen on the unique August sensible lock in 2013 — however every firm implements it barely otherwise. In most locks I’ve examined with the characteristic, it’s been unreliable, working solely about half the time. However, on the Halo Select, the expertise has been flawless, with the door unlocking simply as I strategy my porch, each time.

The Halo Select can even auto-lock primarily based on location. Most sensible locks, together with the Select, could be set to lock after a set time frame. In apply, this generally means your door locks behind you once you come out to seize one thing from the automobile. Kwikset’s location-based lock could be set to not lock till you’ve left the driveway.

The draw back is that the Kwikset app must be operating within the background, so if my telephone died whereas I used to be out, it wouldn’t work until I remembered to open the Kwikset app after I powered it again on.

A brand new expertise known as ultra-wideband unlocking is coming (sometime) to resolve this drawback. It will talk immediately between your telephone and the lock, no app required, and will additionally work with units like sensible watches. In the meantime, Kwikset’s answer is the most effective I’ve examined.

The different most important unlocking possibility is a touchscreen keypad. While touchscreen keypads could be finicky, the Select’s is tremendous responsive, and I just like the clicky suggestions it provides. However, I’d prefer to see higher fingerprint resistance, as you possibly can see them at some angles, which could possibly be a safety concern.

The Kwikset app, which is easy and straightforward to make use of, enables you to share as much as 250 entry codes and select from short-term, scheduled, or everlasting entry. I like the brand new LED lock indicator, which lights up when the keypad does and exhibits inexperienced for unlocked and purple for locked. (Yes, I’ve usually discovered myself by accident locking an already unlocked door.)

While I just like the look of the brand new Halo Select, I don’t just like the distinguished Kwikset branding, and I want the lock itself have been smaller; the rear housing continues to be very large. But the mechanism is far quieter than earlier Kwikset locks I’ve examined.

Installation and setup have been easy, because of an in depth and easy-to-follow in-app information. I used to be impressed with its tremendous slim door sensor that tucks up above the strike plate. This sends an alert through the Kwikset app when the door has been left open and might present you within the app if the door is open or closed once you management it remotely. However, this solely works with the Kwikset app. It’d be good if it confirmed up as a sensor when the lock is linked in Matter.

The lock must be arrange within the Kwikset app and linked to Wi-Fi, however there may be then the choice to modify it over to Matter-over-Thread. The app does a very good job of creating it clear what’s going to occur when you do that — you lose entry to the lock within the Kwikset app and might not use the auto-unlock characteristic or entry the door sensor to see if the door is open or closed. But it additionally tells you what you’ll acquire. Matter-over-Thread does promise higher battery life, plus the flexibility so as to add it to Apple Home, Samsung SmartThings, and different platforms.

I set the lock up in Apple Home and Google Home through Matter with no points, and I might management it with routines and automations in each concurrently. As for battery life, it makes use of 4 AA batteries that Kwikset says will final six months on Wi-Fi and over a yr through Thread.

I examined it for 5 weeks on Wi-Fi and was at 50 %, that means I’d get simply over three months on Wi-Fi. After three weeks on Thread, it had solely dropped 10 %, an early indication that it ought to get the promised double battery life.

It’s irritating to forgo options to make use of Matter, however that is largely a problem with Matter, not Kwikset. Matter doesn’t assist auto-unlock, door sensing, fingerprint entry, or newer entry strategies like facial recognition. And whereas some ecosystems have geofencing automations that may be set to unlock your door, in my testing, they don’t work as nicely and generally require additional steps.

All of because of this, right this moment, selecting a wise lock requires making some compromises. Kwikset’s answer means that you can use a few of these extra superior options right this moment whereas retaining the future-proofing potential of Matter for tomorrow.