Level Lock+ Smart Lock (Satin Nickel) – No Longer Available for Sale

I had a very positive experience with the Level Lock+ and Levels technical support department. The lock had two biggest selling points. One, that it does not present as a smart lock. And second, it supports Apple Home Key. Usually, I don’t purchase bluetooth-only smart devices because of the limited communication distance. Also, the lock’s negative reviews curbed my enthusiasm about the product. However, I held out hope for the lock to be updated for Matter and Thread support. And once Level announced the rollout of Matter and Thread, I purchased the lock. But it arrived without the upgraded firmware for Matter and Thread support. And although my HomeKit hub is not within the recommended range of the lock, I was still able to successfully configure the bluetooth-only lock and add it to HomeKit. There was no issue using my preferred method of entry, my Apple Watch using Home Key. While there was some noticeable latency, the lock still operated as designed. But the firmware update to enable Thread support greatly improved the responsiveness of the lock as it was able to communicate via the other Thread devices in my home. The only downside is that I am unable to change lock settings when away from home. But this does not change my view of this product. I have been very happy with my purchase of the Level Lock+. It has been very useful and reliable. I ask only that Level changes how it presents battery life. I would like the battery life to be reported in percentages. And to be given the option to configure when and how often to be notified of battery health.

This thing left me completely locked out of my home. The install seemed easy at first. It took a little bit to get home keys working OK. When home keys worked, it was nice... however the home key experience was extremely erratic. It only worked ~50% of the time on my watch and iPhone, and it NEVER worked properly on my wife's watch and iPhone after I shared the device with her. The physical key was hard to get out of the lock as well - it stuck really bad.But the real kicker was that when I came home the next day, NOTHING worked. NFC didn't work - the app didn't work via BLE - and even the physical key didn't work... the entire cylinder was frozen. I had to use another door to get in, and I had to remove the lock completely. A slight shift in the lock from use had made it so the bolt and the locking mechanism had come apart.If you want to risk being locked out and having a ton of frustration, this lock is for you. If you want a real electronoic lock, stick with the bigger names.

When I first saw these I was skeptical of the company, its features, and everything about it as I wasnt sure they would live up to the hype or their advertising but these exceeded my expectations by a mile (and then some).First off, these are some of the simplest, most elegant smart locks Ive ever seen. Ive used the August smart locks in the past, and recently even the newer Aqara ones but these are SO much better. You pay a small premium for these over the other ones I mentioned but its well worth it for how much better these are. Although the aforementioned ones meet different needs for different people, I think these ones are for those that want to maximize functionality while keeping aesthetics intact. The others are too bulky and take up way more room than they should and while the August ones are much quicker to install, and the Aqara has a keypad integrated, these just look so much better that its almost not even worth considering the other options.Home Keys with my phone or watch work SUPER quick and the lock has NEVER been disconnected or unreachable in the home app. Its super simple to share access with other people and the installation is very straightforward (as long as you dont have messed up door jambs like I did). The only issue Ive ever had with these is that it sometimes says its jammed if you haven't fully turned the paddle all the way over. Which to be honest isn't even the lock's fault but sometimes its so close to being fully turned its strange to see it consider it to be jammed.Only other gripe I have with it is that the battery is an odd size. This honestly couldn't have been solved in any other way on their part but an option to somehow hardwire these would be great. So far the battery life has been excellent, its been installed for about 6 months now but I am curious to see how these will fare compared to other locks Ive had in the past.