Schlage Sense Review: Homekit Deadbolt

The Schlage Sense is a HomeKit deadbolt that you can use to secure your door, create temporary codes for friends, use Siri to control your front door and tie into HomeKit to lock or unlock your door when you perform other actions.

We’ve been using the Smart Deadbolt for several months to see how well it handles battery life and the changes in temperature in Ohio. We love the convenience of being able to lock and unlock the door from our smartphone and to get notifications when that happens.

Schlage Sense offers several smart deadbolt options including Sense and Connect. Sense works with HomeKit, while Connect works with Amazon Alexa. Schlage recently announced Android phone support for Sense and now offers a WiFi adapter for remote access without an Apple TV. If you own a newer Apple TV and use the iPhone, it will allow you to remotely connect to your lock when outside of Bluetooth range.

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Installing the Schlage Sense is easy to do. If you’ve replaced a deadbolt of any kind before there’s not much more to installing this smart deadbolt. Once the hardware is set up, you will need to use the app to set it up and add it to HomeKit, which takes an extra minute at most. You may need to install updates to the lock, which can take a while, so budget about half an hour of wiggle room into your install for that.

Unlike some Bluetooth deadbolts, this will not unlock with a tap when your phone is in your pocket. You will need to enter your code on the illuminated keypad, go into the Schlage Sense app, HomeKit app or use Siri to open the door. We often use the keypad and Siri to unlock the door. We’ve also used the app to let someone in to take care of our dogs when we were stuck away from home for longer than expected.

We like that you can use the app to add access codes so that someone else can get into the house when needed. It’s also very convenient to be able to lock the door without carrying a house key. There is a low battery warning, so you don’t need to worry about coming home to a door that won’t unlock, and you can always use a physical key if you want that backup ability.

Alone, the smart features only work when your phone is close enough to connect by Bluetooth. If you have the Apple TV 4 and it is close enough, it can act as a bridge to give you remote access. Schlage also sells a WiFI adapter for $69.99.

The app allows you to control the lock as well as to change settings like the built in alarm and to add codes as well as specify days and times of the day that certain codes work so that you can control when a dogwalker for example can enter with that code.

The battery and mechanism are in an internal portion of the lock that is decently sized, but also available in a variety of finishes and styles to match your interior as well as the exterior of your house.

Our original Schlage Sense deadbolt screen stopped responding, but Schlage customer service sent a new one over within a week at no charge and didn’t ask for any proof of purchase. Schlage offers a lifetime warranty on all of their products, so if you run into issues you’ll find help in one call.