WELOCK Smart Door Knob with Keypad Review

If you are looking to convert your house into a smart home, switching to a smart lock is one of the easiest way to get started. It is often a one-to-one replacement, which means you can easily remove your old lock and replace it with a smart lock. There is no need for major renovation or drilling of (additional) holes, and it is something you can do on your own. If you are looking for a smart lock, here we take a look at the WELOCK Smart Door Knob with Keypad to see how it performs.

This is a sponsored article and was made possible by WELOCK. The actual contents and opinions are the sole views of the author who maintains editorial independence, even when a post is sponsored.

Unboxing

The packaging of WELOCK Smart Lock is pretty basic. You get the door knob, the latch and spring bolt, a few screws, 3 RF cards, a set of keys and an instruction leaflet. The smart door knob requires 4 AAA batteries to operate, and they are not included in the package.

A plectrum is also included in the package, which does seem out of place. However, it is useful when you need to pluck open the battery compartment later.

The door knob comes with a keypad and a small LCD screen, which you can use to unlock the door and configure its settings.

Installation

Assuming that you are replacing your existing lock, the first part of the installation is to remove your current lock from the door. The difficulty depends on the kind of lock you currently have. For a new installation, you will need to bore a hole in your door, which is best to leave to the professionals.

With the existing lock removed, you have to measure from the center of the hole to the edge of the door to see if it has a 60mm or 70mm clearance. If it is 70mm, you will need to slide the spring bolt out to the 70mm slot.

Next, insert the spring bolt in the hole in the edge of the door and screw it in place.

Insert the two knobs on both sides of the door, making sure the spindle passes through the center of the spring bolt.

Lastly, screw the two knobs together, and you are done.

At any point in time, if you are unsure, you can refer to the instruction leaflet for detailed instructions.

After the installation, open up the end of the keypad knob and use the plectrum to pluck open the battery compartment. Insert 4 AAA batteries to power it up.

Usage

One thing I like about the design is that the keypad is on the door knob rather than upfront vertically facing you. This allows it to be compact and prevents people behind you from peeking at your passcode.

There are a few ways to unlock this smart lock. The most obvious way is to enter the PIN in the keypad. The default passcode is 123456, and it can be used immediately after it powers up. Using the RF card provides a much faster way to unlock the door: a quick tap on the door knob, and it is unlocked. However, the RF card method is not activated by default, and each single RF card needs to be manually registered before it can be used.

Another way to unlock it is with your mobile phone. (You will need to have its app installed and set up.) As a last resort, you can also unlock it with the physical keys.

There are a few customization options on the smart lock itself. You can add/modify/delete user passcodes – up to nine users and a passcode length of 6 to 12 digits. You can also change the language settings and enable/disable the Bluetooth (required for synchronization with a mobile phone).

A better way to configure the smart lock is to install the WELOCK app (iOS/Android) on your phone. In the app, you have to set up a new lock, enter the lock ID (found in the box) and sync with the door knob.

Once synced, to unlock the door, you have to open the app, wait for it to connect to the lock, then press the big padlock icon to unlock it. I do find this way of unlocking to be slow and troublesome.

Every time the lock is unlocked, an unlock event will be logged in the app. You can then check the unlock history to see when the lock has been used.

In the app, you can also set additional user passcodes and give it a start time and end time. The same applies to the temporary passcode feature, except that the passcode is auto-generated.

One thing of note is that the smart lock does not connect to Wi-Fi. Everytime you make changes on the app, you need to be near to the door knob for the changes to be synced across. Alternatively, you can get an additional Wi-Fi box from WELOCK which allows you to connect remotely to the lock.

My Thoughts

Other than the PIN method, all other unlocking methods require me to carry either my phone, RF card, or key with me. If you are like me and not used to carrying keys with you, the PIN method is the best method to fully utilize the convenience of this smart lock.

Other than that, I do find the WELOCK Smart Door Knob with Keypad to be a very capable lock that can easily replace your current lock. It is easy to install, use and works the way it should.