However, you must pay a monthly subscription fee to receive accurate notifications and see the schedule of when the door will be locked and unlocked and by whom. Otherwise, you’ll just get a notification that the lock was used without specifying exactly what it did. The app shows you whether the lock is currently locked or unlocked, but vague notifications and a lack of history aren’t exactly helpful. There was also a connection loss at a random time of night. I see a vague notification about it something It happened at 12:30pm – something in the morning completely shocked me that my house had been robbed overnight. That wasn’t the case, but I didn’t know that until I subscribed to see my history.
Photo: Nena Farrell
After this incident, I chose the Standard plan ($7 per month), which is designed for self-monitoring of my home. There’s also the Pro plan ($25 per month), which includes a professional monitoring service, but it’s designed for Abode’s larger smart home systems rather than just the lock.
Speaking of which, you don’t have to use the Abode Lock with Abode’s other security devices and hubs, but it can be added to them as an accessory. Abode offers three security hubs and starter kits to choose from: the basic Abode Kit ($140), the Smart Security Kit ($280), and the Iota All-in-One Security Kit ($330). Each of them has a different type of hub – the main differences are that the cheapest hub doesn’t work with Apple HomeKit and the iota has a built-in camera. However, all three work with the same accessories, so you can upgrade later and reuse the accessories you get. Adding a hub allows you to create automations within the Abode app so I can set up the Abode lock to unlock when I get home.
You can also use the Abode Lock with smart home systems without the need for a hub, but you will still need one of the subscriptions. The Amazon and Google ecosystems work with all three hubs, as do Sonos and Bose products, but you’ll need one of the more expensive hubs if you want it to work with Apple HomeKit.
door stopper
Photo: Nena Farrell
Despite all its capabilities, the Abode Lock cannot tell you whether your door is closed – only when the lock is in the locked position. Some smart locks are equipped with door sensors so you can see if your door is locked And closed in one place.
Abode’s lock can’t do this, but all hubs come with a mini sensor ($25) that can be used on doors and windows, so each hub package can help solve this problem to some degree . However, it’s certainly not as seamless as a single device that can do both, in case you’re worried about that. My door, as crappy as the rent is, has a loose knob that sometimes won’t close until we screw it back together. That’s why this missing feature is a bigger problem for me than most people with better (or just regular) doors.
Since Abode’s main business is the complete security system, it makes sense to have some features that you can only access if you choose Abode. Still, with the Abode Lock alone, you can use multiple features right out of the box, and no one outside your home will know about it.