242
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] HurlingDurling@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

August wifi smart lock. Originally wanted the zigbee version for my home but apparently they stopped making those in favor of wifi, however wifi needs more energy to communicate and would go through they special batteries in a week's time. Even replacing the unit with another one didn't solve the issue, so I just returned it and deleted my account.

[-] Catsrules@lemmy.ml 5 points 5 months ago

I have the same lock. I didn't want it but it was the only lock I could find that would work on my sliding door. The key is to buy rechargeable batteries. Mine last maybe a month before they need to be replaced.

[-] Croquette@sh.itjust.works 6 points 5 months ago

That is fucking dumb that you have to replace the battery every month.

We have low power mcu that can go down to a few uA and make battery last for years, but this company decided that it was beneath them.

Bad engineering overall.

[-] Catsrules@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I think it is more about the power required to run the lock motor.

I have several z-wave door locks as well. They all need battery replacement within a few months. Unless I don't open/close them very often. They can go much longer.

But it really isn't to big of a deal. Home Assistant tells me when they are getting low and I just swap the batteries in a few minutes.

[-] Croquette@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 months ago

The motor runs only for a second or two each time. In the moment, it takes more current, but otherwise isn't that active.

If I had to change the batteries once or twice a year, I could probably live with that. But every month or so? Bad engineering

[-] HurlingDurling@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

Honestly the most any smart door lock las lasted us before the low battery has been 1-2 months. I ended up just going to a old fashion lock and key

[-] Croquette@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 months ago

No wonder. The hassle of changing the batteries so often is not worth it.

[-] rainynight65@feddit.de 2 points 5 months ago

To this day I don't know what problem smart locks are supposed to solve that hasn't already been solved by the good old lock and key combo. Requires no electricity, no internet, just works.

[-] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 1 points 5 months ago

Letting people in without giving them a key (or if they forgot their key) is the use case. Also if you have smart home stuff like home assistant, you can program it to lock on its own based on conditions (like night time or your phone leaves the house).

[-] rainynight65@feddit.de 2 points 5 months ago

Re the first part: nobody enters my house if they don't have a key and I'm not present. Re the second part, I don't trust any software-based technology near enough to rely on that kind of stuff without double-checking. . Turn the key, done.

this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2024
242 points (98.8% liked)

Asklemmy

44064 readers
756 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS