The Aqara U50 Good Lock Is a Nice Buy—Except You Need to Use Wi-Fi

Aqara’s latest lock, the U50, has been on my entrance door for the higher a part of three months. I nearly forgot about it because it easily inserted itself into my household’s life simply earlier than the vacation season. My household discovered the brand new code, and despite the fact that I handed out the included two keys, none of us wanted them.

It is probably the most reasonably priced lock I’ve examined. Nevertheless, it comes with all of the options I would like in a sensible lock: automated locking after a sure time and the flexibility to generate a number of entry codes, and it could inform if the door is open or closed with none added further equipment or sensors. It does not even have any of the sneaky subscription charges that you’re going to discover with some smart-home and safety firms.

I actually like this lock. However you may need to get the Aqara M3 Hub ($110) to get entry to all of its options, and the hub’s price ticket nearly doubles the price of buying the lock. If you will get by without having Wi-Fi entry, although (which implies no smart-home integrations and no remotely checking on the door’s locked standing), this reasonably priced lock is a superb buy.

Slim Formation

The U50 has a minimalist design, with a easy, modern-looking keypad on the outside panel and a smooth deadbolt on the inside panel. I like the big sans serif font Aqara has on the keypad, and there are two buttons after the zero: an Away Mode button, which you’ll be able to configure within the Aqara app, and an Enter/Lock Button, which it’s essential click on after coming into the door code or to relock the door after your self. The keypad does require you to faucet it and wake it up earlier than you enter the code, which is not troublesome, however I needed to deliberately press a button to wake it up versus evenly tapping someplace on the keypad.

There’s additionally a big space beneath the keypad that’s truly a hidden keyhole. It is lined with a panel that you simply slide downward to disclose the keyhole. The sliding cowl will click on into place to remain open, so that you needn’t fear about holding it open when you use your key. It is a good further safety characteristic should you’re anxious about lock pickers, since it isn’t apparent simply by wanting on the lock that the panel will slide open. You too can have knowledgeable locksmith rekey it.