The New August Wifi Smart Lock is Now Available
After a bit of an understandable delay, August has finally released their updated Smart Lock, which is now available via the company’s website. The company are selling the new lock – which comes in Silver or Matte Black – for US$249.99, or if you want to add the August Keypad, you can get the combo pack for just $309.99.
The new model no longer uses Bluetooth for its main connection, but Wi-fi. This means the August Connect Wifi bridge they also sell will no longer be required for those out of reach of their Home Hub (Apple TV, HomePod etc).
The other difference is down to size; the lock is overall 45% smaller in volume, and 20% slimmer than the current model, the August Lock Pro. As it uses wifi, the battery arrangement has changed from four AA batteries to two CR123 batteries, also commonly referred to as half AA batteries.
The company’s DoorSense technology is retained, and will still work with the three main smart home ecosystems. As already, mentioned, the lock comes in two finishes new finishes – Matt Black and Silver with the company’s previous offerings being Silver and grey options). August has also opted for a new design for the turn part of the lock itself.
Dimensions
- Diameter: 72mm
- Depth: 46mm
Contents
- August Wi-Fi Smart Lock
- DoorSenseTM sensor
- 2 CR123 batteries
- Lock adapter & mounting hardware
Requirements
- Free August app for iOS or Android
- iOS or Android smartphone
- Single-cylinder deadbolt lock
- Wi-Fi® internet connection (802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz)
- Works with single cylinder deadbolts.
You can order the new lock directly from the August website today.
I could use more smart lock for my home but I step back when I see this type of battery…
Size doesn‘t really matter when the door and handle are still as big, morevoer, the price doesn’t drop anyway.
The only good thing I see is the homekit buildin instead of another device.
What is the autonomy of this new version as it uses 4 times less battery storage and goes from Bluetooth low-energy to more power-hungry Wi-Fi?
if there is no bluetooth, how will auto unlock work only when i am really near the door? i understand the older versions work this way because the bluetooth will start looking for me when i cross the 200 metre geofence and alert the bluetooth to wake up to start looking for me, and it will only pick me up when i am really close by and then auto unlock. and i love it for this. how will this work without bluetooth? i don’t want the door to unlock when i am 200m or 100m away. i want it to unlock only when i am 10m away (from the door, not 10m from the drop point on the map because i live in a high rise apartment). otherwise it will be no different from apple homekit’s arrive home automation. if auto unlock is able to still work like it does as the old way… i’m buying.
could u clarify your article about the part on bluetooth? could it be that there is still a bluetooth module in there (for auto unlocking) but it is just that wifi is used now to talk to home hub instead of bluetooth? (could be the case since you said “ The new model no longer uses Bluetooth for its main connection”)
Hi, I’ve done a bit of searching, and the only thing I’ve found so far is still a bit vague when it comes to the auto unlock feature, so make of this what you will – “In order to use August’s automatic locking and unlocking features, you must grant the app access to your phone’s location, which is stored locally and not transmitted to August’s servers, according to the company’s privacy policy.”
update; here’s the full explanation via the company’s FAQS section – https://support.august.com/article/how-does-auto-unlock-work–HJELxRwlB
Thanks Simon, i wrote August and they replied. Basically it still has bluetooth in it. It is just that it has a dedicated wifi chip inside that links up with the home hub and eliminates the need for the august connect module. I’m pasting their reply to me below:
Thanks for reaching out to us. We are happy to assist you with your question. We will answer the points you made accordingly:
“I live in a high rise apartment so I will only want the lock to auto unlock when i arrive on my floor where i am just steps away from the door.”
Our Auto-Unlock triggers once the phone makes a Bluetooth connection with the lock(within 30ft). So in your case, once you are on your floor, Auto-Unlock will trigger and your door will unlock.
“Based on my understanding, previous versions of the august lock will know i am nearby once i enter the home/away geofence but will not auto unlock until i am mere metres away from the lock. this was because there is bluetooth to sense that i am very close.
In the latest version of the lock, i read that there is no more bluetooth on it. As such, will the auto unlock trigger the moment i enter within the geofenced border between home/away (which is 200 metres away?)? or was i misinformed that there is no bluetooth and that will it still work the same way?”
To clarify, all our locks operate via Bluetooth(previous models and our newest model just announced today on 05/12. The main difference between our previous models and our newest is that there is a built in Wi-Fi chip. All previous models required our August connect to be able to operate the lock remotely. Auto-Unlock is centered around a geo-fence that you choose during set up. Once you are heading home and enter the geofence(200M), Auto-Unlock will start. This simply means that our app relies on Location data from your phone to know when you are approaching your home. Then, once you are within Bluetooth range of the lock, Auto-Unlock will engage and open the door.
“Will there be a homekit version of the video doorbell coming out soon? ”
Currently we have not released any updates on HomeKit integration with our Doorbell Cams but please keep an eye out on our website and blog for any updates regarding this matter: https://august.com/blogs/home
If you have any further questions, feel free to reach back out to us.
Thanks Renfred.
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Wonder if it’s more reliable than the 2 second generation ones I have that are all sorts of wacky. I feel like these would work better with nfc in general
I’m using a 3rd gen model, and it has been pretty good so far, so even if it doesn’t improve on this model, it should still be pretty decent. I guess only time will tell when user reports start coming in. Too early to trust the reviews that have already come out so far, as it’s not long enough to find any possible issues.