Ultraloq Latch 5 - World's First WiFi Smart Lock with Fingerprint & 5-in-1 Keyless Entry | Touch Digital Keypad, App Control, Black | Secure Smart Home & Vacation Rental Access

Update 2: Loose handle? See below...Updated---added the fifth star: The secret to the finger print reader working nearly flawlessly is do not grab the handle while using the fingerprint pad. It may seem natural to grab the handle while pushing your thumb onto the reader, but that extra contact with the lock apparently affects getting a good reading. Once I stopped grabbing the handle my readings work on first touch nearly every time.I got this lock to use between the garage and dining room. I am beginning to use the Amazon Key Delivery feature to allow deliveries into my garage, and I only feel comfortable doing that with 1) a camera in the garage and 2) a lockable door between the garage and house. A normal keyed locking knob does not fit my situation because I have friends that need access to my house while I'm away, and they enter through the garage. With this lock I have given them separate codes to access the house and will add their thumb prints next time they visit. This lock was a Wirecutter best pick for lever handle locks, which is how I discovered it. I think this is the best value, with many great features for the money.Installation was super simple. The instructions were easy to follow. If you have to drill holes, the lock comes with some templates to help with positioning. Before you install, look for instructions about the optional Extra Security bolt on one of the templates. If used you will need to drill a small hole through the door above the normal knob hole.If you have a door over 2" thick and up to 2-3/4" thick, you will need to order the Thick Door Kit from U-tec. This is mentioned in the User Guide.Set up was a bit of a test, but it worked in the end. I knocked one star off overall partially due to how finicky the Bluetooth connection is to the phone. Only two feet away yet it has trouble connecting and reconnecting. One trick I found is to turn Bluetooth off/on at the phone before reconnecting. Bluetooth is used for setup, so it shouldn't be an issue during day to day use. Installing the app and adding rooms, locks, users was simple and intuitive. Be sure to check out the lock settings to set your default lock mode and add any notifications. When connected to the lock, the app can show a log of lock use...up to 1000 entries per lock, after which it will delete older log entries as it adds new entries.Notifications: You can choose to add notifications on your phone to let you know when specific users unlock the lock.Fingerprint reader (see update at the top): The star I knocked off was also partially due to the fingerprint reader being finicky. My left thumb worked fine, but it didn't seem to like my right thumb during initial testing. I found that by double-tapping and holding it seemed to work much better. When I arrived home today the right thumb worked just fine, so perhaps all is well after all. One more note: According to Wirecutter, the fingerprint scans are stored locally on each lock and are not saved in the phone app or uploaded to the cloud. That is a nice-to-know feature.Codes for entry: You can assign separate codes to different users, and the codes can be permanent or temporary. I've not set up a temporary code yet so I cannot speak to that, but setting up codes in general is a piece of cake. A minor shortcoming is that the display pad does not have the alpha characters next to each number (ala phone keypad and garage door opener keypad) for those whose code is based on a word.Backup physical key: The lock comes with three physical keys that can unlock the door using a hidden key slot on the bottom, outside. The only minor shortcoming here is that the keys are rather large. But it's a nice-to-have featureGoogle Home: I was able to add the lock to Google Home, but so far that feature seems mostly useless at this time. I really hope the manufacturer builds the Google Home integration out more to allow changing the Lock Mode based on my home/away settings in Google Home. It would be nice to have the lock in Passage mode when I'm home (unlocked) and in Normal Mode (locked) when I'm away. As it is, about all you can do is lock and unlock the door manually, but at least it's something.Battery life: I've only had the lock installed one day so I cannot speak to battery life...yet. The lock comes with four alkaline AA batteries, however for important equipment like this I prefer to use the more reliable lithium AA batteries. Alkaline batteries are too prone to leaking when they begin to get weak so I am phasing them out of all devices, starting with the pricier gadgets. Once my initial lithium batteries run out in the lock, I will try rechargeable batteries. I've been having success with the Tenergy brand batteries and charger so far.Loose Handle update: Over time my exterior handle became loose/wobbly. The set screw holding the handle on was fully tight and was not the problem. It turns out the screw holding the handle base (spindle) was loose. A call to customer service was all it took. The rep was helpful and understanding and sent PDF instructions on how to tighten the screw. The fix involved removing the lock and accessing the guts of the exterior piece, but all-in-all it was quite a simple fix. Good customer service retains 5 stars!