The August Smart Lock Pro lets you ditch the keys and use your smartphone or your Apple Watch to unlock your door. And if you’re coming home with your arms full, the August Smart Lock Pro can automatically unlock the door for you. We like that the August modifies your existing deadbolt, so you don’t have to rip out the whole latch. Just know that you’ll need the August Connect Wi-Fi bridge to use all the features. August Smart Lock Pro features: The auto-lock feature is great if you can never remember to lock your door when you leave. The August will do it for you when it detects your phone leaving the house. And you can see in the August app that the door is indeed locked. As for the auto-unlock feature, we’re a bit more skeptical. The lock can’t tell whether it’s you with your phone or not—it just knows your phone is nearby. Meaning, if someone steals your phone, they also have access to your house. Not ideal. Plus, the auto-unlock feature can be a bit finicky. Sometimes it unlocks the front door when you enter through the garage or a side door, which isn’t great for basic home security. In fact, if you’re not careful, the lock can send you way too many notifications. If you feel like you get so many alerts that you just ignore them, you might want to take another look at your settings. You can always check the activity feed in the app later if you feel like you missed something. The downside is that, unlike other smart door locks, your guests will have to download the August app. Smart door locks that come with keypads just let you assign codes, which is honestly easier. The good news is that you don’t have to opt into any extra subscription plans. Once you pay for the August, you can use all its features without a recurring monthly cost. Plan on spending 10 to 15 minutes getting it up and running. The Connect works with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks, and it’s what lets you control your lock from your phone and hook up to other smart devices. A lot of smart door locks require a Wi-Fi bridge like this one. But if you’d rather have only one device to worry about, August does offer a lock with built-in Wi-Fi: the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock. (It’s more convenient, but it costs more.) Once you have the actual lock installed, you can add it as a new device to the August app. The app will also help you install the August Connect Wi-Fi bridge. For more details on installation, check out August’s support page. Features: The August Smart Lock Pro modifies your existing deadbolt and offers customizable alerts and auto-lock and -unlock. It works with your phone or Apple Watch to let you lock your door remotely or lock it for you automatically. Pricing: The August’s pricing is about on par with other smart door locks. But if you opt to buy the additional keypad, things start to get pricey. Home automation: August offers more smart home integrations than most other smart door locks. It works with all the top smart speakers, including Apple HomeKit. It also offers Z-Wave. Installation: The August Smart Lock Pro is pretty easy to install, since you don’t have to replace your entire lock. Plan on spending less than 20 minutes on it. Want to take your home security beyond the front door? Check out our Best Home Security Systems review to find the best whole-home option.
