Welock SECBR - The lock that makes your door smart
You don't have to look for your key anymore, just have your phone with you.
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Introductory
For a long time, I have been looking for the right smartness for our front door. The previous one failed because the cylinder was big and black, which my partner didn't like. I admit in hindsight, he was right. For this reason, I was very happy when Welock contacted me to send me a smart lock insert, one that would not change anything on the door, but the door would still be smart.
The lock arrived, I set it up and almost got it working. You can read about this and, of course, his knowledge in this article.
Packaging, accessories, exterior
The lock arrived in a very large and very heavy box. Of course, it wasn't the box that was heavy, but the structure inside, which at first seemed quite large compared to a lock insert. The accessories were not exaggerated, we get 3 small blue cards and two Allen keys for assembly. That's it and nothing else.
The lock itself, as I wrote, is a little oversized, because there are large metal cylinders at both ends of the usual lock insert. There is nothing on the cylinder on one side, on the inside of the door, but what is outside will be all the more interesting. In addition, we find a small display, a fingerprint reader and a small push button.
There is a small QR code at the end of the cylinder, but I will describe its function in the next chapter.
By turning the lock, you can also find the studs that can be unscrewed with Allen keys. The larger one is used to remove the simpler cylinder, the smaller ones were used to fasten the cover in place for the fingerprint reader.
In the case of the latter, the metal cover can be pulled off the cylinder, under which you will find a plastic roof, and under that a battery holder, which can hold 3 AAA size pencil batteries. Or, in my case, a battery, because some time ago I started switching the family over to AA and AAA batteries.
That's all the exterior, you can see the rest in the pictures, let's install the lock!
Commissioning
Now I will not write separately about the paper form, i.e. the knowledge of the lock, I will weave these into this chapter.
Installation is worthwhile and easier to do before installation, which is what I did.
As you can guess, the lock is opened with a fingerprint, but not only with it. It can also be opened with the help of a phone, or we can also use the small blue cards provided next to it, which are RFID cards. The lock must be adjusted for these opening methods.
The first one I had was the phone.
To do this, you need to download the Welock application from the web store corresponding to your phone and assign the lock to the app. This will require two things. The QR code is a code consisting of numbers found on the lock and on the side of the lock insert. The application needs these two data to identify our lock and connect it to the software.
Anyway, the lock has a Bluetooth connector, so turning on Bluetooth on the phone is essential.
When we are done with the pairing, we can activate the lock from the phone. Of course, a lot of other operations can also be performed through the app, we can reset the settings, check the log, which fingerprint or card was used to open the lock, and the like.
Now comes the fingerprint!
Before setting the fingerprint, it is good to know that 3 admin fingerprints and 97 user fingerprints can be entered into the lock's memory. I think this is more than enough.
We start the operation by pressing and holding the small gray button on the lock. After 1-2 seconds, it says on the small display that you need to hold the button for another 5 seconds, then you will be in the admin menu. Here we can add the fingerprint of the admins.
It is important that after adding admin fingerprints, only admins can access the admin menu!
If we are satisfied with this, we can add the users' fingerprints in a neat row. These fingerprints can be deleted individually on the lock from the admin menu or via the phone application. What makes deletion difficult is that the fingerprint can be referenced by the serial number received in the order of entry. So, if there are many users, it's worth noting who was one, who was two, and so on.
The card can be added after the fingerprint. We can also do this through the lock's admin menu, but we can also use our phone for this purpose, the latter is simpler. In the menu of the lock, you will find an Add card menu, by selecting this, the card must be touched (brought close) to the lock and the pairing will take place.
On the phone, the addition is done with the QR code on the cards. There is also an add card menu here, this activates the camera, you scan the QR code on it and you are almost done. The only disadvantage of this method compared to activation on the lock is that it only works if you connect the phone to the lock again via Bluetooth and the application data is updated. In other words, the data of the inserted card will also be transferred to the lock.
I would like to add here that connecting the phone is not complicated, if the app is set up, you just have to bring your mobile phone close to the lock and it works.
This is the end of the installation, we can go install the lock!
Use
Well, the lock itself is a relatively simple structure, apart from its cleverness of course. The cylinder that goes inside turns the lock fixedly, with this the tongue in the lock insert, that is, we can open and close the door from the inside without a key.
The part with the fingerprint on the outside, on the other hand, rotates freely until we close the lock with a phone, card or fingerprint, in which case we can open the door without a key by turning the outer cylinder for 10 seconds. After 10 seconds, the latch is released and the cylinder rotates freely again.
I haven't mentioned it yet, but this smart lock can also be purchased together with Gateway, which can be used to create an online connection. If you buy it together with this, you can monitor the lock settings remotely, even via mobile internet, or you can even open the door from the other side of the world if you have a guest, but you arrive home late.
Installing the lock is almost as easy as with a traditional lock insert. It is held on the side by a screw. The cylinder on the inside ends on a long stem, which makes it possible to install it in doors where the lock itself no longer hangs out of the door. In other words, a thicker door is not an obstacle either!
As I wrote, the distance between the cylinder on the inside of the door and the lock insert can be adjusted. But not only that, but also the internal fingerprint part.
During installation, I noticed that there is also a small screw hidden in the battery holder, which, if we unscrew the cylinder, we can slide it on a rod. This roughly means that we can use the lock for door thicknesses from 7,5 to 15 cm, at least in principle. According to the manufacturer, it can be used between 50 and 100 millimeters.
The reason for the difference is that, on the one hand, the lock insert can hang out of the door on both sides, and on the other hand, the screw that secures the lock insert is not exactly in the middle of the insert, as with most lock inserts. For this reason, it is not possible to push the two rotary knobs to a distance of 15 cm from each other, but in practice the maximum will be 10 cm. Let's say there is a good chance that 99,9 percent of the entrance doors were covered with this.
I haven't talked about two things yet, one is security. The outdoor part is quite resistant to the weather, as it can be used from minus 30 to plus 60 degrees, we get IP44 protection against dust and water, and it is also resistant to electrostatic discharges up to 30 volts. So no problem with that.
In addition, you can find tests on the Internet, where they try to enter doors with such a lock in different ways. The worst is when they beat the outer part to a pulp with a hammer, but the door still can't be opened. So the security seems good from this point of view as well.
The other thing that I haven't written about yet is what happens when the batteries run out, how do we get into the apartment. Well, of course, that's solved too. On the outside of the lock, the QR code is on a small fold-down door, behind which we find a USB port to which we can connect an external battery. With this we can supply power for the opening.
Summary
Not everyone needs a smart lock, I'm sure that many people will, since they are good with their keys too. However, there are cases when this solution comes in handy. For example, if someone rents out their apartment or operates airbnb apartments, they will surely be very happy with such a solution, because they can easily open the apartment with a code card or fingerprint, and then when the guest leaves, the fingerprint is neatly deleted from the lock's memory.
I will love it because I don't like keys. I'm a phone person who likes to do everything on my phone, from paying to opening the door. A convenient solution. Children don't have to run around with keys either, it's enough if they have a code card. So for me, the most important thing will be comfort.
I'm sure that I won't be looking at the opening logs, and it also means that I don't want online access either, that's unnecessary for me.
Speaking of online availability, one more thing came to mind. In theory, the lock can be connected to a smart home system. I say that in theory, because Google Assistant support doesn't seem to be ready yet, and I don't have an Amazon Alexa system. It's supposed to be working now.
The smart home system is good because you can create rules for the lock as well. For example, turn on the hall light after sunset if I open the door. And similar smarts. So it's a great thing, a bit like science fiction.
At the end is the price. I'd say it's cheap, but it's not. Of course, this is not without reason, as it is a really great structure, but I still find the price of 184 euros a bit high. Fortunately, I received a coupon code for this article, so with the code SECBR20 we get a discount of 36 euros. The price of 147 euros is already realistic in my opinion, knowing the market, the price of these more normal locks starts here.
So, if you want such a Welock lock, you can buy it on the manufacturer's website. It is delivered from an EU warehouse duty-free and free of everything, not even shipping costs. If you want a different type of lock, take a look around on the manufacturer's website, because you get a discount on all products with the aforementioned coupon code SECBR20.
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