Conexis L2 Smart Door Lock [NO Subscription Required] Remote Access from Anywhere, Anytime, No Key Needed, Works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Philips Hue - Black

You first need to check that the distance from the centre of your handle to the centre of your lock. If it is 92mm it will fit, otherwise you are out of luck. It is easy to fit. However, I had an issue removing the original euro cylinder. The manufacturer of my door decided to use Loctite and low quality screws. This was on the main screw on the edge of the door which holds the euro cylinder. The result was the screw became threaded. I got it out using a screw remover tool and my Dewalt 18v drill. Once the old handle and lock were removed, the install of the new lock was straightforward. Take time at this point to make sure everything is correctly aligned. There is a bit of ‘play’ before you torque the screws, so at this point make sure the lock is turning and not getting snagged. This happened to me but I realised if I loosened the screws and then tried it while loose, it would turn, from there I just tightened the screws and it worked fine. When programming your fobs and cards, make sure you complete this all in one go. I have heard it is not possible to add more later without removing them all and adding them all back with the new devices. I programmed mine all in one go and have never had a problem. The lock has performed admirably for more than a year now. Recently after the install, we would occasionally get the lock spinning sound when it was trying to engage the lock. This was our fault for not quite engaging the locking mechanism on our door. This is easily rectified by pushing the door handle up with a little bit more force. The Yale app is not that good. However, it did get a large update around the middle of 2018 and was a large improvement. It removed the ridiculous ‘turn the phone’ to unlock the door feature. Now you just press the unlock button (Genius!). I bought the lock to integrate with Samsung Smartthings. Why would I want to do this? When integrated with ST you have total control of the lock. I had to buy the Smartthing Module 2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yale-Smart-Door-Z-Wave-Module/dp/B07965NDRN/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_2?keywords=yale+smartthings+module&qid=1554798195&s=gateway&sr=8-2-fkmrnull It is about £42 but well worth the investment for the benefit which become available. I have set the lock up so that it will automatically unlock the door when one of the ST presence sensor is detected. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-SmartThings-F-ARR-UK-2-Presence-Sensor/dp/B01LZK6ANK/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=smartthings+presence+sensor&qid=1554798319&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull This works very well. When arriving home, the door is unlocked automatically and I do not have to mess around with keys. This is particularly useful when carrying objects like shopping bags and not having to put them on the wet floor to find my keys in my pocket. I have also integrated the lock with Phillips Hue lights. I have set some of them to a red colour when the door is unlocked. This has warned us a few times that the door is unlocked. I can unlock the door remotely to let in family and friends if we are not home. There are so many negative reviews about this product – I have my own thoughts as to why. Firstly, I believe that if the mechanism is not aligned correctly, it is going to cause problems later down the road. From batteries not lasting long and to the unit prematurely failing; this more than likely down to increased friction. Secondly, several users of the Z Wave module have also been highly critical. One aspect about Z Wave devices which needs to be appreciated is Z Wave does not use the existing Wi-Fi signal, it uses its own network and a different frequency. Therefore, in order for the device to work optimally, the lock has to have access to a strong Z Wave signal. Most Z Wave devices which are mains powered repeat the signal and improve the strength and range of the network. If the signal is weak, it will have a negative impact on the battery life. I use rechargeable batteries for the lock. The instructions tell you not to, however, I have found not ill effect for not following their instructions. Overall, the lock has work out great for us over for over a year. It is more convenient, feels high quality and looks good too. I ignored the numerous bad reviews and thought it was down to a bad installs, which created the bad experiences. I am glad I ignored the negative reviews.

I purchased this lock, despite all the negative reviews, in the hope that I could get it working on my door. Some of the negative experiences seemed to be related to either not reading the instructions, or a lack of mechanical aptitude when installing the lock. (The lock clearly won’t fit some doors, but that didn’t seem to be a problem for me.) From an installation perspective, everything was quite straightforward. I was able to install the lock, and it did lock my door as expected. Despite the complaints from a couple of users that you have to lift the handle in order to lock the door, this is actually an inherent design feature of multipoint locks. You simply can’t expect any electronic lock motor to have the power to actuate the handle to lock all of the various points on the door, especially when running on AA batteries. Personally, my biggest problem is lifting the handle and forgetting to turn the key in the lock to secure (and then forgetting to double-check), thus leaving my door unlocked. The Conexis L1 ostensibly solves this problem by locking the door for you whenever you lift the handle. Unfortunately, this is where my positive experience ended. First and foremost, as mentioned by other users, every interaction with the lock produces annoying beeps or chimes, which, while hardly audible from the outside, would wake anyone sleeping in my home, even through closed doors. This “feature” apparently can’t be disabled. Goodbye, peace and quiet. But it gets worse… Having followed the instructions to-the-letter, and paired my lock with the initial credential (the credit-card token), I now had to pair with the iOS app in order to provision more tokens. I had the foresight to buy 4 extra key-fobs, because I’d read of a lot of issues with the app, and didn’t fancy waiting for Bluetooth to connect, or twisting my phone like an idiot to unlock my door. (I don’t mind carrying a key fob, and I need one for the common door in my block anyway, so it wasn’t an issue for me.) However, according to the instructions, beyond the master token that you initially pair (as above), the rest must be added via the app. Upon downloading the app and registering my account (including verifying my email address), I was presented with a message that I had to log out and back in, because my account was restricted for some reason. Not a good user experience, but I did as asked, and it seemed to proceed to the next step. I clicked “Add New Lock”. The app presented me with instructions on what to do next: Press the “R” button on the lock, notice the purple light on the front, then press that to turn it blue (activating Bluetooth). The app and lock seemed to connect, and I saw “Processing key” for several minutes… then, a completely cryptic “Error code: 3 (please try again later)”!!! I tried the process again, only to have the same long wait, followed by “Error code: 9”. This was the response I received through several more retry cycles. I decided that it was an app issue, and went online to troubleshoot. Absolutely no mention of these error codes exists online. No mention in the Yale FAQ - just a very brief blurb of what to do if the app won’t connect to the lock. (Make sure you turn on Bluetooth on your phone - DUH?!?) I decided to uninstall and reinstall the app, and was then presented with a message asking whether to: 1) Delete the old keychain (currently not a supported feature, as it turns out); 2) Restore keychain (the only real option); or 3) Skip (resulting in restricted app functionality). Why give someone a choice when there is only one right answer?!? Of course, this didn’t solve my problem. I received the exact same response from the app: “Error code: 3”, followed by a string of “Error code: 9”. By now, I had decided to avoid the app entirely. Despite the instructions that ship with the lock not mentioning it at all, I was able to find an older instruction manual online, that indicates that you *can* pair multiple tokens directly with the lock (without using the app). However, you have to pair all the tokens at once during the same pair cycle, and if you want to add a token later, you have to re-pair all of the *existing* tokens (whether card, fob, or sticker-tag), plus the new ones. Setting aside the idiocy of this for a moment, I decided to re-pair the only token I had thus-far paired (the card), and also the *single* fob shipped with the lock, plus the extra 4 I had purchased. Wouldn’t you know, I could not get the lock to pair with any of them? I followed the instructions to the letter, but only got a series of annoying beeps. By now, a half-hour intallation had turned into 90 minutes, and I had tickets to a show, and didn’t want to leave my home with only a single key, that might get lost, and lock me completely out. So, by now completely frustrated, I decided to perform a factory reset, and re-pair from scratch. Yale makes this super-complicated. You have to: 1) Remove the batteries; 2) Half-disassemble the lock, so that you can access and unplug the connection cable; 3) Hold down the “R” button while you re-insert the batteries; 4) Listen for a single beep. When I tried, this, the lock began beeping at me continuously, loud enough to alert the neighbours, yet I persevered. You are then meant to: 5) Remove the batteries again; 6) Reattach the cable; 7) Replace the batteries. Now I received the same set of continuous, annoying beeps. I tried the factory-reset process two more times, with the same results. I was now in possession of a bricked Yale Conexis L1, which I had to dismantle and replace with my old lock. I emailed Yale, but it took them over 36 hours to respond, and all they could tell me was that they’d fixed the issues with the app, and to give it another try. No mention of the problems with the factory reset, or what I could do to fix the actual lock. So I’m adding my negative review to the pile. I’ve since read every 1-star review, including several people’s who were locked out of their houses, or at least couldn’t gain access through the door with the Conexis L1 installed. My home is on the 6th floor, with only a single external door, and I don’t fancy rappeling to the balcony to gain access in the event that this completely-unreliable lock were to fail on me. Here is the tl;dr version: 1) Physical installation is straightforward. 2) The poorly-developed iOS app is buggy and unreliable - amateur at best. 3) Multiple reports of the lock failing after some time, which WILL lock you out. 4) Customer service is extremely poor. 5) The lock beeps loudly every time you use it, and yes, this will wake your family when you come in late! *** NOTE: I am a 25-year veteran Software Engineer, with an MSc Information Security. My professional opinion is that this lock has multiple flaws, both in the electronics (or at the very least, in the firmware) and the iOS app. There doesn’t appear to be any way to update the lock firmware, either, so no way to fix any bugs. Given the importance of a door lock as the first line of defence for your home, I would not risk placing this device on my door. It is simply not well-tested, and issues like I had should NEVER happen with a released product. Some minor bugs might be expected, but no one should run the risk of being locked our of their home without adequate support. Yale support is by web-form only, and they have stopped posting their phone/email in the copy/paste responses they attach to each of these reviews. THIS PRODUCT IS A RADIOACTIVE LEMON. AVOID!!! *** PS: Yale will probably copy/paste another “Thoughts and Prayers” message below, but without any actual help except referring you to their web form, which serves to prevent any meaningful or timely contact with customer service. You have been warned.

There are a lot of mixed reviews for this product because if the installation is not done correctly, or you have existing issues such as stiff locks etc you could run into problems. I decided to have a look at the 5 star reviews on here and sure enough, they all mention it being excellent if you watch the installation video and proceed carefully. Don't just go screwing things in as and when you think is correct, and make sure you follow it to the letter. I opted to use both the video (playing and pausing it as I went along) and the manual to double confirm my understanding at every step. I will say that the installation is actually very easy and the product is very thoughtfully designed. Start by laying out the contents of the box and setting aside the parts that are not needed. This will leave you with only a handful of parts that you actually need for your type of door and it won't take long at all. The only tool you will require is a screwdriver. Setting up the fobs and cards was simple. Setting up the app was simple. And the overall look, performance, and construction of the lock is excellent. Locking and unlocking the door couldn't be simpler. The app itself isn't great and I will only use it when needed. The cards and fobs are great with my personal favourite being the fobs. I have ordered some extras for certain family members. Overall, I would say to anyone on the fence to go for it. Take your time with the installation and you will have a well built product you will be really happy with.

I'm happy with this product. It does work but it's a skittish little thing; you have to fit it right, hence the poor reviews; they didn't understand it's foibles. Make sure you open the back door, or leave an accessible window open, just in case, Do this before you do anything else, as you may get overconfident, (we are ridiculous apes after all), and end up locking yourself out. Use the YouTube video to install, not the manual, (search Conexis L1 on YT and pick the Yale video). Make sure you follow it exactly. Do not mess with the thumb turn, line the arrows up exactly, do not mess with the actuator etc. If you do you're knackered and will have to start again, most probably after you've put it all together, (which will hurt your heart). Just take your time. Order more key tags/cards/phone stickers with the lock. When you go through the registration of the first tag, ignore the video which tells you to register one tag and use the app for the rest. The app appears to have been developed on a school dinner budget, don't trust it. Register all the fobs, cards etc at the same time. So, you press R once as guided in the video, and hold up each tag/card/phone sticker thing in turn, do not press R after each one, just hold them all up in turn; be quick as it does time out after 30 seconds or so, (red lights and beeps). Once you have registered all your tags etc, then press R. (Each one you hold up should be greeted with a beep and a green light, just keep holding each one up and registering. Register like your life depends on it!) Test each tag/card etc, with the door open, just pull up the handle, wait for it to churn and lock, then use the each fob to unlock, and so on. Now you have a bunch of registered things you can give to people, hide in your socks or whatever. Next; download the app and go through the directed motions. It worked okay for me, but your mileage may vary. The key here is you're not too bothered if the app doesn't work because you have a whole load of tag/card things that do work so you can take your time with the app. Troubleshooting Tip: If the handles are misaligned when you've finished, and you decide to remove the inner plate to realign the screws etc, take the actuator out and reset it, otherwise, when you put it all back together you could find it churns away and no longer locks properly. I did this and was thoroughly disgruntled until I worked out the problem, You have to treat this thing with kid gloves. Each mess around you do, be prepared to reset from the beginning, which is why it's good to get it right first time. Check and double check handle alignment. Don't lose heart with it. If it isn't working, I would say that it is because it needs resetting from the start. The actuator is sensitive, if it's not all aligned properly it will not lock properly. It's a good product, you just have to follow the video instructions to the word, until you get to the fob registering, ignore what she says on the video and register all your fob things at once, as I have said above. I would have given 5 stars but this thing is new, so I'm holding out to see if there are more horrors it presents. In short. If you have a composite door with multi-locks, it's your only option in the UK. But don't be put off, you can make it work for you if you don't get sloppy and follow the instructions on the video to the letter, word, whatever. EDIT: I've had the lock for getting on a year and it's still going strong. I have had no issues with it apart from occasionally it keeps spinning after locking, you just lift the handle again and it stops. The lock has been incredibly useful, my kids have a tag stuck to their phones so they no longer lose or forget keys, because, as every parent of teenagers know, they never, EVER forget their phone.

I am heavily into home automation but locks were something I did not consider as most required drilling or redesigning of the locks altogether. Then came the Yale L1. I had been watching this lock for a while on the various sites but the mixed reviews always pointed me to buying from somewhere I can get warranty/support/returns and Amazon is great for this. Once arrived, I was shocked how big it is. But how many times do you see a door handle in your hand and off the door -it turned out it's actually only slightly bigger than the existing one I had - about the same as removing the battery module on this handle. Fitting SHOULD have been easy but took almost 6 hours. This will not be the same for everyone buying as in my case, my existing lock screw was rounded off and so we spent ages trying to hack it off, going off to buy screw removers and so on as by then, we could not put the old handle back on. Once this was removed, everything went on fine but the door just would not lock. The lock engaged however not fully. After numerous attempts at refitting, we pulled the locking mechanism put by one notch despite measuring up to what the manual stated it should be based on our door size and voila, everything started to work perfectly. So the advice would be - Go slow with the existing lock screw to start with. The problem is these screws bond with uPVC doors and is a known issue so after years of not budging, it aint gonna budge! And on fitting the L1, check check and double check sizing and alignment. There is also an issue with certain Z-wave modules for this lock where the battery drains very quickly - Yale support has been excellent regarding this and where I was getting 9 days battery life, I'm on day 12 now so I think it is resolved. I'm still not entirely happy with the way the App works for this lock but maybe thats just my understanding - as I use the home automation app more, the Yale app itself rarely gets used and is not of any importance at this stage. Also with pairing up to HA, remember the lock has to be included in secure mode and be practically touching the HA hub/controller otherwise it will not pair properly. Looking at the lower end reviews: For those where you have to lift to the top - remember this lock unlocks the "key" part you would have. But you still have to raise the handle to engage the manual locks built into the door. This is by design and has no other way around it. To be honest, this is good in terms of safety too or should you get locked out. If your lock does not engage fully, check the handle is fully up. Again, this is no different to the manual way of locking ...you would not be able to turn the thumb screw fully to lock the door until the handle was engaged up fully.

I’d wanted one of these for a while and finally got one, I put the reviews saying that adding and removing keys was problematic were from probable technophobes but how I was wrong! Installation is fairly straight forward as long as you have the right size (between handle spindle and lock barrel) lock mechanism. The lock its self is well constructed and feels nice and solid. The hardware it’s self I can’t fault. After installing it, I paired the master key and paired the app. So far so good…… NOW comes all the problems in the form of the app! The app comes with 5 virtual keys you can create and send out to friends / family as either a temporary key or a permanent key. I created one of these and sent it out fairly easily and doing reduced my virtual keys available to 4. Now comes the problem… this Yale lock says you can add up to 50 key fobs to it and I had a few additional fobs and phone sticker tags. So expecting this to all just work as the lock has been around for a few years I would have expected any kinks to have been ironed out a long time ago. BUT NO. I added my additional fobs and stickers testing each one by one and all seemed to go well. EXCEPT, and thank god I’d not gone outside and locked the door!, I found out that as I added each fob, the app was removing all credentials added before it… So if you add fob 1 and test it. It works… and your master key will work. If you add fob 2 and test it fob 2 will work and your master key will still work, however fob 1 will no longer work! If you add sticker 1 and test it sticker 1 will work and the master key will work, but fob 1 and fob 2 will no longer work! DUMB, not smart…. DUMB!. I tried to contact the number on the packaging for Yale and that just said the number was no longer in service… What the heck! So I went via the website and found a number. That said they were closed (they’re only open mon-fri and sat morning URGH) but if its regarding a smart lock press 1, I pressed 1 but nothing happens and it just tells you tough luck, phone a locks smith and contact us when we’re open. NICE one Yale! So when I called back the person was helpful and said I should try a reset of the lock and re-installing the app. This involves actually taking the handle off and disconnecting a fragile cable connection in order to do this (DUMB!). So I did it, the keys I’d shared through the app were lost as a result and resetting the lock consumes a virtual key count! I did complain about this and they reset my key limits in the app thankfully. However this made absolutely no difference and I had the same experience. I was then told there was a work around and the app team are aware of the issue and working on it. I was told to reset the lock again and when adding the master key, instead of just adding the one fob as a master key as directed in the instructions present all the fobs and stickers one after the other. This worked and all credentials were accepted by the lock and I could issue a virtual key out again. HOWEVER! The app got in a pickle and despite being able to issue a virtual key for someone else would not unlock for me and then refused to connect to my phone at all for any settings sharing or updates etc. Again thank GOD I’d not gone out without a fob assuming the app would work for me. This is also dumb as using the work around means if my daughter lost a fob for example I couldn’t revoke it, without gathering all they remaining key fobs, resetting the lock, loosing another virtual key count, having to re-issue all the virtual keys again and scan in all the remaining fobs again! THIS IS NOT SMART IT IS DUMB!!! So I contacted support again and was told a new version of the app had been released last night and I was to reset the lock again (taking of apart again….. dumb….. as that little connector isn’t designed to be repeatedly removed and will fail if that was a regular occurence) and after adding all they keys at the master key stage I should be able to then go into the app and attempt to add a fob I’ve already added and the lock will then sync all the other fobs etc to the app. So I did this and after trying to add the fob to the app, it only added the one fob to the list of credentials, not all the others… URGH…. I added all the others one by one and they seemed to work…. except after adding one of the fobs, the other stopped working….. DUMB!!!!!!!!! So I removed both fobs and added them again and only the last fob worked and one of the stickers stopped working. I wondered if since the app is so shoddily written if they were messing up the table view and when I’m picking one fob in the app its actually editing another because it wasn’t updating views properly or something. So I left the app and removed a credential, left the app, removed the next one etc etc etc until they were all removed, then I added one, left the app, added another and low and behold only the last one to be added worked again, I tried the remaining credentials and this continued, as you add a credential, it disables all others before it. So they’ve not fixed it at all. DUMB! So yup, you guessed it to get my fobs back I had to …….. RESET and take it apart yet again to re-assemble and manually add all the credentials back in as master keys yet again. So again if my daughter loses a key for example I can’t just disable it if someone find it and works up to my house…I’d have to as I said, remove the lock , reset it, present all remaining keys again, re-issue any virtual keys and either buy more if I’ve run out or plead with support to re-fund the keys counts. This app is so shoddily written it doesn’t even support light and dark mode and assumes your phone is running in light mode. If it’s in dark mode, parts of the text are hidden as the phone colours are wrong. Dark mode was introduced to iOS back in 2019 for goodness sake Yale! 3 YEARS AGO! And you can’t make you app work with it yet? If you can’t even make that simple UI fix I hold zero hope in your ability to fix you app properly and it seems like most people have been moaning about it since then as well! So all in all, I have it working, for now as long as anyone doesn’t loose a key and I don’t want to add any more! This smart lock could be so good but it is well and truly let down but the application turning it from a smart lock to a dumb lock…….. Come on Yale… it’s not hard, SACK your app development team and hire one that knows how to write an application. Hell I’ll do it for you for free, its really not that hard! If the app worked things would be great but as it stands, its absolute garbage. I’ve wasted so many hours on this lock that was supposed to make life simpler but instead its had the opposite effect so I wouldn’t recommend it at all. Save your money, time and sanity.

After going through 5 locks. Hours waiting and talking to customer support. I can conclude that this lock and it’software is seriously flawed. Some of the problems you may encounter *The app with only pair one key while deleting previous keys that you’ve paired as you go. Leaving you with the latest paired key. * The app will not let you delete keys. ( It fails to connect when you try * When you reset the lock by taking it apart and disconnecting the inner wire and reconnecting, it doesn’t truly reset. I found that the master key fobs still worked and I couldn’t set up new ones. * If you install the access module this will permanently turn off manual Bluetooth. This means, if your access module doesn’t work or connect properly with your phone (as was the case with me) you will never be able you pair keys as Yale only allow you to add keys via the module once installed. As said previously, full reset of the lock doesn’t work and the module is always paired to your lock. Only Yale can reset the module at their end. I did this several times but the module failed to pair. The lock itself is rendered useless now because it will neither pair key fobs manually ( because the access module permanently turns off manual Bluetooth ) and if the module fails to connect to lock you can’t pair keys that way either. This is what has happened to me. * You may have problems setting up new account on Conexis app. Even though all fields were filled in while setting up, I would constantly get a pop up message saying “all fields must be filled in. So frustrating!! I have wasted two weeks going back and forth to stores buying these locks only to return them as faulty. I have contacted Yale several times so to receive limited support. They are fully aware of all these bugs, glitches and problems but seem to have no remedies. In short, I would stay away from these locks, which is actually a real shame. The lock itself is really well built and sturdy, made of quality chrome, but at the end of the day it’s really unreliable. Even if you set this up successfully you may find in time if you ever need to uninstall, pair new keys, delete old keys, upgrade to access module or z wave module you could run in to some serious issues and permanently disable the lock and not be able to re-setup. Take only need to get a team of experts to write the software to iron out all the bugs and glitches. My advice. Find another solution.

Ok, I'm updating this after living with the lock over 18months. I've now taken one more star away as I have had repeated issues with the lock not engaging properly (even though door is securely locked), and thus it plays an error tune all night /day which kills the batteries. Yale Support have been abismal, I think I know what the issue is, but I can't get them to send me a small metal part which gets bent causing my issue. Overall its so frustrating as the potential is there for this to be a great device. Now back to my original review. This would be a four star review for the product if Yale didn't rip customers off by charing you £2.99 each time to assign someone a virtual key for your new lock. You do get five virtual keys to start, but you use one of those right off the start to setup the lock (I actually ended up using three as I had issues setting up the lock). Once your remaining four virtual keys are gone, anytime you want to give someone access to your home via a virtual key sent to thier mobile phone (you can give them a physical RFID card/tag at no cost) you start to pay. What upset me most about this is that thier web site does not explain this fact at all. It refers to getting five virtual keys and the ability to buy more, but it does not explain that the virtual keys are not re-assignable. Once you assign a key a license is used and can never be recovered. This seems at odds with Yales corporate goals of "putting customers first", and "building trust". Clearly I'm not the first to have this gripe as when I spoke to Yale support it was clear they heard this all the time. They did offer me an additional five keys for goodwill, as I had lost some setting the lock up, but this is of little value if you want to use virtual keys regularly. So now you know my biggest gripe, I will provide some comments on what is good/bad about the lock. First off the quality of the unit is top notch. It looks and feels very solid and well made, and from a security persepctive (that's what locks are all about after all) it is very good. It is also one of the few options if you have a multipoint door lock, although I beleive there are some new competitors entering this area too. Physial installation is a little fiddly, and I highly recommend you read the instructions through several times and watch the YouTube installation video to avoid the potential installation traps. While it is supposed to be a universal fit, in my case I still needed to drill some holes in the door as the level of adjustment did not cater to my door. Once installed, setup of the software is hit and miss. All the reviews I read trashed the software, and while I wouldn't quite go that far it is far from perfect. I set the lock up and paired the unit to my phone first time without issues, but when I tried to add some new RFID tags using the software, everything stopped working and I had to factory reset the lock, delete it from the app and start over again. (As advised by Yale support. No attempt to troubleshoot, just told to reset). Second time all did work, and can't fault the actual function of the lock. It can take a few seconds to read the card / tags, especially if they are in a wallet or case but if you play about with where you store the RFID keys you can find a good solution. Its simpe to operate and thus far battery life look very good. I love that I can leave and lock the door by simply lifting the handle as I go. If you want to do anything more fancy with the lock, you will need to spend more money and buy one of thier interface modules to work with any home automation solution you might use. Its disappointing that these are not included given the cost of the lock, but I can understand that not everyone would want to integrate the lock into a home automation setup. I have purchased the Z-Wave module and will update my review once I get this setup.