Some of the reviews below are from multiple countries and experiences and may not be an accurate portrayal of the product, however often online reviews are helpful to convince a would be purchaser that they are making the correct decision about a product or service.
These first set of reviews are sourced from the Apple App Store. There are multiple pages of reviews there. We are including a selection from the first page... (click on the link above to read more)
The impetus here is not to denigrate the product offering, but more to provide our readers with more information about the product to assist with their personal research.
(reviews after the jump)
- 3.0out of5stars
The locks works as expected...
- Written by CRAIG F from Hebron
The issue is that you have to have a suitable deadbolt situation to start with. The August motor can only open/close the lock with so much resistance. If when fully shut your deadbolt opens and closed easily without pushing on the door you have a good installations scenario.
The biggest tip I can offer is DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN the screws! Once you do that you will bend the backing plate and when the August is attached to it the resistance on the unit will increase causing it not to function. This happened to me, I bent the plate back, then it worked as expected. I have August sending me a new plate in case I have further issues with this one.
The faceplate falling off is an issue. Mine has been installed only 24 hours so far and it has fallen off twice from my child opening the lock. It should not be an issue for someone with larger hands that can grasp the August properly.
Another important note that is not obvious on the package is that you must but the separate WiFi unit to add that functionality. I have that on order now. From what I've seen on youtube it's a small well designed unit that will plug right into/onto the wall outlet.
Here is my biggest complaint. It is nearly impossible to tell if the door is locked or unlocked when looking at it. There are no visual queues on the unit. With a deadbolt you can see that it's at a different angle. Flashing one LED green or red should not cause much of a power drain. Or just add something distinctive to see if it's unlocked. Along the same lines, the app shows green or red and does not say locked or unlocked. Hello, is green locked or unlocked? Red? Cause it in fact works the opposite of what I would have coded.
I'm on the fence at this time. If I get the WiFi until and all goes well AND I can setup an alert to tell me if the door is unlocked after a certain hour, the August will have met my expectations.
The bonus would be if iOS Home Kit works. I expect the WiFi unit may be necessary for that, but perhaps it's just not implemented yet. It would be huge fail to not integrate with iOS Home Kit.
In conclusion and in being realistic with my expectations, the August has met my expectations so far. - 5.0out of5stars
Very nice product.
- Written by Rob C from New Plymouth
Installed the unit last month and I'm still pleasantly surprised to have the door unlock 3 - 4 paces from the door.
The August is a very well made lock, installation was simple and the functionality is rock solid.
The only issue I've had is the app crashes with iOS 9, when I connect to the WiFi connect device, but I'm told an update will fix this soon. - 2.0out of5stars
Holds great promise, but doesn't deliver
- Written by Christopher K from Toronto
I recently purchased this for my house - works great in an apartment or condo building since you often aren't permitted to replace the lock set, so this simply allows you to replace the mechanism on the inside only. Installation was a breeze, and pairing with the app was easy.
I really wanted to love this product, however what I found in day-to-day experience is that the auto-unlock feature that opens automatically when you arrive home, was hit or miss. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. When it did, it was magic. When it didn't, frustrating.
The Apple Watch update was welcome, however when you launch the app on the watch, it could take up to 30 seconds for the app to open and the lock to appear. Even on the iPhone, sometimes you'd open the app and it wouldn't show the lock within range, even if my phone was literally inches away.
The other disappointing part is the lack of internet access - you need to buy another $50 dongle for that.
Overall I'd say this holds huge potential, but they really need to resolve the responsiveness issues as well as somehow bundle in internet access.2 of 2 people found this useful - 1.0out of5stars
Don't forget your keys!!!
- Written by Jonathan C from Austin
The August Smart Lock is almost worthless. Last time I went jogging with my iPhone, the batteries in the August died without notice. I will never trust this device again.5 of 7 people found this useful - 1.0out of5stars
Unsafe
- Written by COLIN T from GRETNA
The smart lock was easy to install and worked ok, but as time went on it became buggy and unreliable - not the sort of thing you want in a door lock.
Their customer service is quick to respond but has no answer for the unreliability.
Frankly i have given up. Do not but this lock, its not safe.
[And yes, the stupid face place keeps falling off]3 of 7 people found this useful - 1.0out of5stars
Poorly made
- Written by Andrew D from La Jolla
It works, but it is really poorly made. The battery cover constantly falls off. The bluetooth connection is spotty.
Really more like a beta quality product. I would avoid until version 3 or 4 comes out.3 of 4 people found this useful - 1.0out of5stars
Junk
- Written by Sally O from falls church
I bought this with high hopes. It won't install on all doors, but we did finally get a locksmith who was able to install it one one door. The cost was about $150 to sintall. But the product was very buggy, works sometimes and stalls other times. After a few months, It totally failed. August technical support is useless and they refused to take back a lock sold on the Apple Store. There was supposedly a one year manufacturers guarantee but I was not able to get August to honor it. Their phone technical support requires a long time waiting on the line.2 of 4 people found this useful - 1.0out of5stars
If you haven't, DO NOT DO THE JUNE APP UPDATE AND FIRMWARE UPDATE
- Written by Ronald S from Phoenix
Like the previous review, I looked forward to the announced update that would make the lock work a little faster. I guess I was greedy, because the moment I did the update auto-unlock stopped working 100 percent of the time. Without that feature this product is useless. I've worked diligently with my own troubleshooting skills as a tech professional, I've worked with August support, and they've even sent me a new lock which I installed 2 days ago. Not once has it worked since the update.1 of 1 people found this useful - 4.0out of5stars
Works very well for me!
- Written by ROBERT M from Palm Springs
Despite some fairly negative reviews, I went ahead and purchased it anyway. I have had it for about one month. The one feature that I bought this for, that it unlocks your front door automatically when it senses you're coming home, has worked flawlessly for me! I even get a notification on my Apple Watch that it's unlocking the door. The front plate of mine has never fallen off, and it was very easy to install. My only complaint is that sometimes it can take a while to connect with the lock from your phone, but they just released an update which is supposed to improve that. I hope so, my phone pairs instantly when I get in my car, I wish this was as fast. I would recommend this product to friends.1 of 1 people found this useful - 4.0out of5stars
Pretty neat lock...
- Written by Chris T from Etobicoke
I bought this lock as it seems pretty neat and cool. It didn't take much time to install, I installed it myself within 20 minutes, and I'm not a locksmith or a general handyman.
I also got the connect as well for this to have some peace of mind to make sure it locks.
1. They could really redo the auto-unlock feature, on my 6+ It works about half of the time that seems to be true among most reviews!
2. About the faceplate, yes it has come off a few times but when I've witnessed other members of my household unlocking it manually they realized its the edges that rotates and not the middle. If you apply pressure to the faceplate yes it will pop off.
3. Sometimes the lock didn't lock by itself using everlock, This was few and far between, I'd almost even call it rare.
Overall this is a great lock, and I'm happy with it.1 of 1 people found this useful - 1.0out of5stars
Faceplate keeps falling off
- Written by Steven L from Provincetown
I want to love my August lock. In concept, it's a great product. And it was pretty easy to install. With that said, there is a faceplate that covers the batteries and other parts. About every other time someone manually opens the lock the faceplate falls off. I contacted August support and they suggested I try double sided tape. Really? A $250 product with a well known design team and their solution is double sided tape?
I do not recommend this lock.3 of 3 people found this useful - 1.0out of5stars
Not ready for prime time
- Written by D Christine L from Westford
I really want this product. They got the requirements right, 95% in V1.0. The UI software is good. But after weeks and weeks of support cases and adjustments, installations, and re-installations, it simply doesn't work. The device itself seems to not have the necessary power and smoothness of operation to reliably rotate left and right. And when it hangs up you get silly error messages about wifi and bluetooth errors. The Connect module that provides wifi to the lock requires manual intervention after a power failure. This is unacceptable.
Maybe I'll try it again next year, but it is going back today.5 of 5 people found this useful - 1.0out of5stars
Not working anymore
- Written by Ching-Chih L from Princeton
My August Smart Lock worked great till last night. All of a sudden, the "motor" seemed incapable to turn the knob. I thought it was the battery (it didn't send me any warning), and a new set proved it's not. I took down the lock to see if there's any wear or tear, nothing.
I can still turn the lock with my hand easily, but it feels so heavy if I use my key from outside. I guess that's the reason it does not work anymore. After taking it apart and put it back together, I gave up. Trust me, I know how to put it together. It worked fine for four months. Thanks for the good memory. I wonder if the recent firmware update had anything to do with it.6 of 7 people found this useful - 5.0out of5stars
August lock review
- Written by Abe E from San diego
In general, it is an excellent product. The key limitation is the Bluetooth range, which obviously needs the August Connect for a much more versatile signal range exceeding 10 feet. It would have been much more practical to have the August Connect included within the August Lock itself, so that a second setup and a second purchase could have been avoided. - 2.0out of5stars
Had to go back
- Written by James M from ARABI
This product so far has many questions.
Installed the lock in 5 minutes. That's a plus.
Added my wife as another an owner and my daughter as a guest.
Pluses: Easy installation. I install the first door and thought it was so easy, I let my wife install the second. Took her 15 minutes. I love the autolock feature. I love the add a guest feature (my father-in-law was in town and I just set his phone up and he had access.) I like the geofencing to auto unlock as I arrive home.
Negatives: There needs to be another security level. I want my daughter to have the auto unlock feature without being an owner. That way she can walk up and unlock the door but not send guest access out. It does not have zwave or zigbee capability to work with my home automation. Finally, it randomly auto unlocks the doors while we all are just sitting in the house. I woke up and it auto unlocked my door 4 times throughout the night. If it wasn't for the auto lock feature we could have been violated.
My wife made me send it back because she didn't like the fact that it would unlock randomly while we were at home.
Decent product but it isn't ready to be released to general public.1 of 2 people found this useful - 1.0out of5stars
UNSAFE! UNSECURE!
- Written by Dmytry O from Oak Park
Thank you August to unlock my door when Im not home
Thank you August to unlock my door when Im sleeping at nihght at home
Thank you, Apple to sell UNSAFE!, INSECURE! Product In your retail stores.
Thank you Apple for do not read and ignore this message.14 of 24 people found this useful - 5.0out of5stars
Great addition of my automated home.
- Written by Kevin K from new york
Excellent design. An excellent addition to my already very digitally engaged home.
It unlocks as i pull down my block, and I have the whole family with it
(yes everyone has a smartphone)
we also have keys we give to guests without smart phones.
Only challenge was my wife thought it wasn't working for her, but then we found it was autolocking before she got into the house because she took more than a minute to gather her stuff and get into the house
We extended it to 1 minute 30 seconds and all is good now. Love it. - 1.0out of5stars
Shoddy novelty product...be careful
- Written by Kevin B from Austin
• The faceplate falls off....a lot. No better sign of a cheap product that it falls apart when you touch it.
• Auto-Unlock feature will randomly unlock my door. Especially if I sit in my driveway for a bit before actually pulling out of the drive. For this reason alone, how can this product be sold as safe?
• You need to buy a companion product so that it can connect an notify me via wifi. Ok....what? Why do you buy the 250 dollar product that is as big as 3 stacked Airport Expresses if it can't connect to wifi and show you if the door is locked/unlocked online? Wow, they want you to buy another product to get you online..amazing.
• Open the app and wait 10 + seconds for it to find the door. Seriously, try to reconcile that fact into the definition of "Convenience".
• Ugly...it kinda looks good on the box but it's HUGE and an eyesore.
Enormous disappointment and surely the complaints will keep rolling in on the bad quality and dangers of this product.5 of 8 people found this useful - 1.0out of5stars
Unlocked my house, without my knowledge
- Written by Emma H from Columbus
I typically exit through my garage door. Apparently, I sat in my driveway too long (putting an address into my GPS app on my phone). This "Smart" Lock assumed that I was not leaving, but rather that I was coming home and UNLOCKED my front door, without my knowledge. I drove away thinking my home was secure. The doorknob latch is not very secure and without the deadbolt engaged, the door blows open with the slightest breeze. So, the door blew open and then the "Smart" lock engaged the deadbolt, leaving my front door unlocked and wide open, in 20 degree weather. I returned nearly 7 hours later to find my front door wide open. I freaked, thinking my house had been robbed and ransacked. I was lucky that it hadn't. And I was really glad I had put my dog in her kennel before I left otherwise I probably wouldn't have a dog anymore. This thing is NOT "Smart" and it's certainly NOT safe.6 of 9 people found this useful - 4.0out of5stars
Plusses and Minuses
- Written by Christopher W from San Francisco
The unit is much bigger than expected, but then it has to house two AA batteries and a mechanism strong enough to open the lock. As with other complaints, our faceplate comes off way too easily when operated manually. Also, our door has a little play to it when it's closed, so it has to be in exactly the correct spot for the August to be able to slide the deadbolt into place. There have been times where guests have left the deadbolt only partially locked as a result. Initially, there were several times when the app wouldn't connect to the lock and we had to either pull the batteries out of the lock or reboot the phone controlling it. On my end, adding temporary users is easy, and tech-savvy guests have been able to figure it all out pretty quickly on their end, but others need some coaching to get everything downloaded and operating. We just bought the "Connect" add-on, so will see how that adds functionality to the system. I kind of expected the Connect functionality to be in the lock itself, as I thought this was what was implied in the original funding campaign.
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