The Bluetooth-enabled Lockitron Bolt ($99) offers a relatively affordable way to lock and unlock your doors using your Android or iOS smartphone. It's easy to install and works with a well-designed companion app that lets you add users, create user schedules, and set up proximity control based on your location. That said, it lacks many of the features that you get with our Editors' Choice for smart locks, the Schlage Sense ($354.95 at Amazon) , including voice commands, an auto-lock feature, and the ability to interact with other connected devices. Additionally, the Tap to Unlock feature did not work at all in my testing.
Design and Features
The Bolt is compatible with most through-hole cylindrical deadbolts but cannot be used with non-electrified mortise and rim solutions. It comes with everything you need to install the lock yourself, including a keyed cylinder with two keys, a strike plate and latch, mounting screws, a mounting plate, the Bolt interior escutcheon, four AA batteries (rated to last at least six months), a screwdriver, and detailed installation instructions.
The lock uses Bluetooth Low Energy technology to communicate with your Android or iOS phone, which means you have to be within Bluetooth range (approximately 40 feet in my testing) to control it using the app. If you want to control it from anywhere you'll have to order it with a Wi-Fi bridge, which adds another $79 to the total cost (and as of this writing, bumps your estimated shipping time from 1 to 2 weeks up to 8 to 10 weeks). That said, we ordered our Bolt (without the bridge) online and waited four months for it to arrive, but your mileage may vary.
The Bolt can be ordered in a Modern Gold or Quicksilver finish. The interior escutcheon measures 6.7 by 2.7 by 1.1 inches (HWD) and sports a 2-inch thumb turn knob on the bottom and a removable black housing on the top. The housing slides up and off to reveal four AA batteries, two mounting holes, and two buttons for configuring the lock for right- or left-handed doors. The outside cylinder housing measures 2.5 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep.
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The free companion Bolt app is thoughtfully designed and easy to use. The top of the home screen displays the name of your lock and address, and the middle of the screen displays two round lock icons to indicate whether it is locked or unlocked. The unlocked icon is green when the door is unlocked and the locked icon is red when it's locked. To lock or unlock the door, simply tap the appropriate icon. Tapping the Activity button at the bottom of the screen launches a log of who has locked and unlocked the door with a time and date stamp. Tapping the Users button displays a list of Owners and Guests. To assign guest permissions (with start and end dates and times), to give the user full administrative rights, or to remove the user, tap the guest name. To add a user, tap the + icon in the upper right corner to access your phone's contact list or manually enter an email address. Once you select a user, the app will generate an invitation and send it to the recipient. When the recipient accepts the invite, they are added to the Users list.
Lockitron Bolt
The Settings button on the bottom of the screen takes you to a page where you can edit the Bolt's name, address, and time zone, update firmware, and activate the Sense geofencing feature. There are four Sense options; Off, Notifications, Proximity Unlock, and Tap to Unlock. The Notifications option sends you a pop-up notification when you arrive home and the lock is discovered by the app. You can then swipe the home screen to unlock the door. The Proximity option automatically unlocks the door when you return home, and the Tap to Unlock option causes your phone to buzz when you return home. When you tap the phone three times it is supposed to unlock the door (more on this later). Here you can also choose a Sense perimeter range between 300 and 6,500 feet and calibrate the location of your Bolt lock using your phone's location services.
While the Bolt's Sense feature will automatically unlock your door when you arrive home, it doesn't offer an auto-lock feature like the August Smart Lock ($149.99 at Amazon) does. Moreover, it does not interact with other smart devices such as thermostats and security cameras like the Schlage Sense or Vivint Sky system (Month-to-month plans starting at $39.99 at Vivint Home Security) locks do.
Installation and Performance
Installing the Bolt is relatively easy; you'll need around 15 minutes or so to complete the job. I downloaded the app, created an account, and removed my existing lock. Following the printed instructions (the app contains a detailed tutorial as well), I installed the included strike plate, latch mechanism, and keyed cylinder, and attached the mounting plate to the cylinder. Next, I attached the interior escutcheon to the mounting plate and made sure that the lock mechanism engaged and disengaged smoothly by turning the thumb screw knob several times. Once the installation was complete, I launched the app, tapped New Lockitron, and the Bolt was immediately recognized and added to my account.
The Bolt responded immediately to my commands to lock and unlock the door and never failed to record an event in the Activity log. The mechanical lock was very quiet. The Sense Notifications and Proximity Unlock features worked flawlessly, but the Tap to Unlock feature did not work at all. A Lockitron representative acknowledged an ongoing problem with this feature (as does the company's troubleshooting page) and recommended a firmware update, which I did. However, I was still unable to get this feature to work.
Conclusions
The Lockitron Bolt is a decent choice for budget-conscious users looking to outfit their home with a connected lock that can be controlled with a smartphone. It's fairly easy to install and it's one of the more affordable smart locks around. But it lacks some of the features that you get with a more expensive lock, including interoperability with other smart home devices, auto-locking, and voice activation. That said, it does use geofencing and offers several ways to automatically unlock your door when you approach it, and it is relatively quiet. The Tap to Unlock Sense feature needs work, however.
If auto-locking is a priority, consider the August Smart Lock; it also uses Bluetooth to connect to your phone, and it's a bit easier to install than the Bolt. If your budget allows, the Schlage Sense is our Editors' Choice for connected locks. It uses Siri voice commands and geofencing, works with other HomeKit-enabled smart devices, and has an external touch keypad, but it'll cost you around $130 more than the Bolt.
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