Wyze’s new door lock isn’t that smart, but that might be a good thing

Wyze’s latest product is something of a departure for the smart home company. The Wyze Lock Bolt is a smart lock that ditches cloud connectivity in favor of local control over Bluetooth. A rectangular matte black keypad with a fingerprint reader, the Wyze Lock Bolt replaces your entire deadbolt and costs $69.99 (plus $10 shipping), in keeping with Wyze’s reputation for high-level tech at rock bottom prices. The lack of an internet connection may be a wise move for Wyze right now, considering the recent controversy around the company’s failure to disclose a security flaw with its original cloud-connected Wyze Cam.

Available starting today, the Wyze Lock Bolt is a motorized deadbolt that can be unlocked with your fingerprint or with a code entered onto the integrated, backlit keypad. The lock has two accessible parts: a keypad/fingerprint reader mounted on the front of your door, and a rear housing where the batteries and motor reside. It doesn’t have the option of using a traditional key; you program codes and fingerprints for the lock over Bluetooth using the Wyze app on your smartphone (iOS or Android).

You can use the app to lock or unlock the door if you are within the 16-foot range of the Bluetooth 5.0 radio (so, on the couch or maybe in your car in the driveway). Beyond that, there is no Wi-Fi or other connectivity and therefore no smart home integration. You can’t add the lock to any home automation routines, lock or unlock it when you’re away from home, or control it with voice assistants.

Image: Wyze

The lack of any connectivity beyond Bluetooth helps keep the price low; most smart door locks run from $150 to over $300. For example, the similar Eufy Smart Lock Touch with WiFi is $220, and Kwikset’s smart fingerprint/keyed option is $240. Wyze’s other smart lock, the Wyze Lock is $130. It uses Zigbee and Wi-Fi to enable smart home integration, such as adding the lock to a Goodnight routine or having Alexa or Google Assistant lock the door for you with a voice command. That lock isn’t a full deadbolt replacement however, it’s an add-on to your existing deadbolt.

Fingerprint access is my preferred option for a smart door lock; it’s a much quicker way of unlocking the door than typing a code, and Wyze says its lock will unlock in under a second. The Wyze Bolt can store up to 50 prints locally on the lock, alongside 20 keypad codes. The keypad also has an anti-peep feature — where you can add some random extra digits on either side of your code, in case anyone is looking over your shoulder.

The Wyze app can record who accessed the lock, how, and when, which could be handy for keeping track of comings and goings in your home. (Although you’ll only get that information when you are home, within Bluetooth range). The 20 access codes and 50 fingerprints can be assigned to different people and you can schedule access for specific days or certain times of day.

Image: Wyze

Image: Wyze

Without a power-hungry Wi-Fi radio inside, the Wyze Lock Bolt promises an impressive battery life — Wyze says you get 10 to 12 months on 4 AAs (which are included). Most locks I’ve tested get between three and six months before needing more juice. If the Wyze lock does run out of power there’s a USB-C charging port at the bottom of the lock that gives you a brief boost, enough to enter a code.

A lack of away-from-home control could be a dealbreaker, as a major benefit of a smart lock is that you can lock and unlock it remotely. But Wyze has partially addressed this with a new “One-Time Code algorithm” that lets you generate a code remotely in the Wyze app and give it to whoever is at your door so they can unlock it. These can be generated even outside of Bluetooth range, similar to how two-factor codes can be generated offline, to provide someone with access.

Locking the door is done with a traditional thumb-turn inside and with a lock button on the outside. You can also use the app if you are in Bluetooth range, and there is an auto-lock option that will lock the door automatically after a customized period of time. You can disable auto-lock during certain hours, but there is no door sensing technology to determine if your door is open or shut, so it will still “lock” your deadbolt even if the door is wide open.

Launching a smart door lock that’s missing some of the key features of a smart door lock is an odd move for a smart home company. But for those homeowners who are reluctant to put the security of their home online, the Wyze Lock Bolt makes it easier to ditch the keys in favor of a good selection of easy, secure ways to unlock your door. It’s also competitively priced. Standard, non-connected keypad deadbolts from Schlage or Kwikset run about $100, and you have to program these manually and they don’t have the option of a fingerprint reader, which is the simplest, quickest way to unlock your door.