Why You Can Trust CNET SimpliSafe Smart Lock review: Not the smart lock I've been waiting for, but close
It's the slimmest smart lock I've ever tested, it's an absolute cinch to install and it worked perfectly in my tests. But it doesn't work without a SimpliSafe system to pair it with, as well as a $25-per-month monitoring fee.
- 10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team
I'll admit that I was excited to test out the SimpliSafe Smart Lock -- and it isn't just because I've long been impressed with the company's install-it-yourself security systems. I've written about smart home gadgets for over six years now, and my house is about as decked with tech as you might imagine. Smart speakers? Check. Smart cameras, smart thermostat? Check, check. Smart lights? Oh, you'd better believe it.
SimpliSafe Smart Lock
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Smart lock? ...Nope.
SimpliSafe's $99 smart lock includes a motorized thumbturn for the inside of your door and a wireless keypad that you stick up outside for quick, coded entry.
I've been holding out. The things are just too expensive, often ringing in at well over $200. And, too often, smart locks are big, bulky eyesores -- I felt my front door deserved better.
Enter SimpliSafe's new smart lock. Though it requires a SimpliSafe security system with an interactive monitoring subscription of $25 per month, it only costs $99 up front, which is about as inexpensive as smart locks get. It's also the slimmest smart lock I've ever seen, and a complete cinch to install. It works with your existing key and deadbolt, it supports voice commands via Google Assistant and Alexa, and it even comes with a free wireless keypad accessory that you can stick up outside your door for quick, coded entry.
I wondered if this might be the smart lock I'd been waiting for. And in fairness to SimpliSafe, it's pretty darned close. But a couple of quibbles -- namely, the fact that you can't really control the lock independently from the security system -- have me content to wait just a bit longer. Here's the full rundown.
First things first: Setup is a breeze
I've swapped quite a few smart locks into the doors at the CNET Smart Home over the years -- SimpliSafe lives up to the name with the simplest installation I've ever seen.
The lock doesn't replace your entire deadbolt, but rather, just the thumbturn on the inside of the door. After using a piece of tape to hold the exterior of the lock in place (conveniently, SimpliSafe provides that piece of tape right in the instructions) you'll go ahead and unscrew the old thumbturn, use those same screws to attach SimpliSafe's mounting plate to the door, pop a color-coded adapter onto the tailpiece, then snap the smart lock in place over top of all of it. I think most people could get the job done well within ten minutes, if not five.
Feels pretty steady, though the top half of the lock isn’t as tight against the door as the bottom half, where the mounting plate connects. Still, the lock turns just fine. Relatively easy install, all things considered. pic.twitter.com/FZzLk42f39
— Ry Crist (@rycrist) October 21, 2019
The end result was a snazzy-looking smart lock on the inside of a patio door at the CNET Smart Home. It felt snug against the door and turned the lock smoothly -- though the top half of the lock wasn't quite as flush as the bottom half, where the lock holds tight to the mounting plate.
From there, you just need to stick the wireless keypad up on the outside of the door, or next to the door, or wherever you like, too. There's a peel-off sticky pad ready to go on the back, but SimpliSafe includes mounting screws as another option if you're worried about the kids yanking it off.
Want a closer look at each step of the installation process? Check out my full setup gallery.
You can lock and unlock your door from the SimpliSafe app's homescreen, and you can also program how you want the lock to behave as you arm and disarm your system. You can set the door to lock automatically after being left unlocked for 30 seconds, 1 minute or 5 minutes.
Looks great, works as advertised
With its uniform, plastic-bodied design, I was admittedly worried that this lock would look cheap. To my relief, I think it looks pretty good, and my co-workers on the CNET Smart Home team agreed. Some told me that they prefer a more metallic look from the interior of their front door lock, but didn't mind SimpliSafe's approach if it meant getting the price down to $99. And I'll note that, along with all black, you can also get the lock in white with a bronze-colored thumbturn.
Still, if you don't want plastic bolted to the inside of your door, period, you've got other options. The first I'd point to is the third-gen August Smart Lock -- it takes a similar approach to SimpliSafe, but doesn't require an existing security system or a monthly fee, and it comes in an all-metal design. The rub is that, at $149, it costs a bit more up front.
You'll simultaneously unlock the door and disarm your system whenever you enter the system's master PIN into the keypad. You can also use one of four, person-specific codes that you can assign to family, friends and guests. You'll be able to track as they come and go in the SimpliSafe app's timeline.
Beyond the aesthetics, the lock worked as advertised across all of my tests. The hardware itself worked perfectly, turning the lock smoothly and without issue. If you've got a SimpliSafe open/closed sensor on your door, the system will even prevent the bolt from auto-locking when the door is open, which is a nice way of leveraging your existing security hardware.
Coded entry and app-enabled entry worked perfectly in my tests, too. You can unlock the door by punching your system PIN into the keypad, or you can use one of up to four person-specific PINs that you create for family, friends and guests. You can tell the system to send you a notification whenever someone unlocks the door, though you'll need to open the app and view the timeline to see which code was used.
One other option that I like: you can set a duress code that's designed for nightmare scenarios where someone is forcing you to disarm the system or unlock the door against your will. Enter that code, and the system will disarm like normal -- but SimpliSafe's monitors will send the police.
The keypad looks good, and is a cinch to use.
The keypad's design is unobtrusive and easy to use. To lock the door, just hit the "lock" button. To unlock it, just enter your code. Four LED lights at the top will illuminate as you go, which lets you know that it registered each digit. The keys themselves light up, too, which makes it easy to see what you're doing when it's dark out. If you hit the wrong key, there's a backspace button. It's a simple, user-friendly design.
There is about a one- or two-second delay after you punch in your code before the lock will turn, because the keypad needs to send a wireless signal to the base station telling it to send another wireless signal back to the lock. You won't see delays like that with smart locks that have built-in keypads, but I wasn't bugged -- punching in a code and waiting a second is still easier than fishing my keys out of my pocket.
Here's the catch: Controls are limited
My main problem with the SimpliSafe Smart Lock is that it's tied a little too tightly to SimpliSafe's larger security system. For starters, I'd like it a lot better if there was a way to use it with the less expensive, $15 per month SimpliSafe plan, the one that includes professional monitoring but no app controls.
As for the PIN codes, I like that SimpliSafe doesn't charge you for the creation of new ones or for changing existing ones, but I'd be happier if you weren't limited to only four of them at a time. The ability to create temporary PIN codes that expire after a certain number of days, or that only work at certain times of day, would be another nice addition, especially for folks who need to let service workers in.
You'll also notice some limitations if you try and control the lock via Alexa or Google Assistant, too. Both of those integrations are easy to set up via each assistant's respective app -- but neither one actually lets you control the lock. Instead, your only real option is to arm the system with a voice command, which can also lock the door in tandem. If you just ask Alexa or Google to lock or unlock the door, like you can do with other smart locks, SimpliSafe won't let you. And, by the way, you can't disarm SimpliSafe systems with voice commands, either.
The verdict
I've long liked the value of SimpliSafe's home security systems, and the new smart lock makes those systems even easier to recommend. But the smart lock lives entirely in that ecosystem, so I have a much harder time recommending it to people who just want a decent smart lock that doesn't cost too much. Yes, the SimpliSafe Smart Lock fits that bill -- but you'd better want a SimpliSafe security system, too, and you'd better be prepared to pay $25 a month for all of that.
$25 a month isn't unreasonable for a full-featured, professionally monitored security system, so if you're willing to buy in with SimpliSafe (or if you already have), don't let that monthly fee stop you. But if a standalone smart lock is all you want, I'd probably spend the extra $50 on that third-gen lock from August.