Aqara U200 Smart Lock - In Depth Review - HomeKey is in the UK!
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- Homekey has arrived in the UK! - Join me for my in-depth review after using this new smart lock for a month. I'll be sharing the full spec, the locks it's compatible with, all the features and what it's like using Apple HomeKey.
I'll also touch on whether you need the Aqara M3 hub with this or not (spoiler...99% of people don't!).
Purchase one on amazon here: geni.us/Mxgu6tp
Thanks for watching!
✔️ 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭.
✔️ 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬.
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Purchase one on amazon here: geni.us/Mxgu6tp
I have today sent my Aqara back to Aqara. They were gracious enough to grant me an extra 14 days to try and resolve my difficulties but Bluetooth integration has remained a problem.
There’s also been a degree of unreliability unlocking the door without a physical key 😬 and even the physical key has have become jammed on occasions which it never did before.
Great vid! I wish i had waited for this rather than getting a switchbot lock pro. It looks really quick and i want homekey! Maybe switchbot will add homekey in the future???
As a PS to my comments elsewhere I’ve just found out that Nuki have no intention of adding Apple HomeKeys
You had me at the Interrupters signed poster 😎😎 Waiting on the Nuki Pro 4.0 versus Aqara U200 - I'll buy one of these. Would be great to learn about relative maximum torque. Locking my door in the winter is not easy!
Thanks, love The Interrupters...they did a great set a Slam Dunk this year 🙂
That video is out tomorrow afternoon...when you say torque do you mean how powerful they are or how much each can turn?
@@MarksTechVlogs Really the (motor) power before they 'jam'. My door is adjusted optimally and in the summer the key spins easily to lock. But once it gets cold, quite a bit of force is required to turn the key. I'm concerned these locks will jam in the winter.
That’s a tricky one, I’d say the Aqara probably has the more powerful motor but I don’t think the stats exist for them
Mark - I currently have the A100 Pro (China). Whenever I close the door it considers it closed and locked. Quite annoying when having guests walking in and out - but also a bit annoying when just taking out the trash 🤓
Does the U200 support
- I close the door but do not lift the external handle so door is closed but not locked
- I close the door and lifts the external handle so door is closed and locked
If door is only closed anyone can open it by lowering the external handle - but when also locked you need to authenticate by fingerprint, Apple key or whatever ?
It doesn't explicitly support that but if it tries to auto lock and the handle hasn't been lifted to engage the multi-points it will just flag as jammed.
I struggled with operation of the Aqara U200 partly because the handle face place of my existing door is narrow and I was unable to screw the lock plate to the cylinder and therefore needed to us the sticky pads. I suspect the turning force of the lock mechanism will, at some stage in the future, cause it twist off the sticky pad. I’ve not had the opportunity to physically feel how they work but methinks the Ultion Nuki combo or the Simpled lock system will work better in my situation.
The Ultion Nuki is the better of the two, at the moment though the Ultion Nuki comes with the Nuki 3 and Ultion Nuki Plus comes with the Nuki 4 Pro so the Plus is probably the best option
Would like to see a comparison with the Yale Linus 1 or 2. The version 1 is HomeKit compatible but version 2 I believe is not yet HomeKit compatible but will be with software update I think.
Thanks, they're not locks I've used...it does seem that the Linus looks similar but Yale seem to be pretty bad at updating software to work with HomeKit which means it wouldn't be a lock I'd personally spend money on as I use HomeKit for everything
Mark, thank you for the video!
I have a question: do you know (or perhaps can you check) if Apple Home Key would work if the keypad is mounted inside (i.e. near the aqara lock itself)?
I don't have a lever outside, so I need a "Pull Spring" feature. That means, I can't use the HomeKit shortcut, but need to use the Apple Home Key to get in (if the lock is not closed, but the door is). However, I would prefer not to show that I have a smart lock to anyone.
Hence, I wonder if NFC signal would pe strong enough to pass through the door and through the keypad if it was mounted inside.
Cheers!
Hey, I've just checked and because the range of NFC is a maximum of 5cm it doesn't work, especially when you add something in the way like a door. I did get it to work through the glass of my door but that involved the keypad keys being against the glass on the inside which would be fairly impractical to mount.
Depending on what the outside of your house is like you might be able to conceal it a bit, for example, I have a parcel box and did consider mounting it in there...in the end I opted for sideways on the frame which makes it easy to access when getting home and also slightly less obvious. (I also have the Aqara video doorbell so I would see if someone was tampering with the door straight away)
@@MarksTechVlogs Thank you very much for checking it, as well as for the ideas about concealing ;) I guess I'm gonna buy it anyways, as I just love gadgets :)
Just a suggestion. I really wanted to keep watching your video, but the static in the back sounds really bad on my AirPods Pro 2, my Sonys, and my Jabras. I would love to get clear audio and watch your vids.
Hello Mark, I live in the Netherlands where locks have an additional latch. ( slight turn of the key to open ). I am confused between nuki 4 pro are aqara u200.
As you mentioned, aqara u200 can handle the additional latch turn, using the apple home key. This makes it an obvious choice for me. What would you advise? I believe Nuki would require opening the app and use OPEN function to fully unlock the latch.( not so convenient).
Yes you’re right, the Nuki does also do this automatically if you’re using geofencing and there is a Apple Home Screen widget with a quick link to open too.
I’m not sure how Nuki handles this with the keypad as I’ve not used one of their keypads
@@MarksTechVlogs Thanks Mark, do you also know if Aqara is any less or more secure thank Nuki, in terms of security protocol.
@@prateekpratapsingh1147 I'm not sure, Nuki talk about online banking level encryption whereas Aqara say 'AES encryption algorithm' which is also pretty secure so I'm not sure if one is more/less secure than the other
Can I use this on an internal fd30 fire door?
I think it would depend on the type of lock you have on it
@@MarksTechVlogs it has no lock yet, but then I’m wondering if this is only for front doors then will it prevent me from having multiple home keys?
Or for example if I want the home key for my room only for myself will it put it on everyone else’s devices?
Your response is much appreciated, glad I stumbled upon your channel ❤️
@@MarksTechVlogs soz the heart wasn’t supposed to be there G 💪🏼
I’ve tried all the suggestions I can find. But I can’t bind the lock to the M3 hub in any way. Same thing with Homekit. I’m lucky there was a keypad with it 🤣
It does seem to be a bit awkward to add into home at the moment, I tried things like:
1. Check all firmware on Aqara is up to date and all software on Apple devices.
2. Restart iPhone
3. Reset the Aqara U200 and setup again
4. Restarting wifi, trying to switch it to 2.4ghz mode
It seems that persistence pays off...Aqara's support emails included things like this:
1. Update the firmware version and app version to the latest.
2. Confirm if the M3 Hub and your phone are connected with the same local area network.
3. Make sure if the enabled router is supported with iPV6. To add Matter devices, iPV6 should be supported. Turn it off and then turn it on again.
4. After connecting Bluetooth, unlock the door lock via keypad to activate the keypad.
5. Single press the "Set" button
6. If the keypad is in low battery, replace the batteries at first before binding.
Tried it all and still can’t get it to bind. I’ll wait for next software update. I’m in no hurry. It still works with keypad and Bluetooth 😆
Got mine installed today, and it's added in Apple Home and the Aqara app, but I can't get the NFC reader to register HomeKey from my watch or phone. It just doesn't do anything. Fingerprint works, Siri works, using the button in the Home app works, keypad works. NFC acts like it doesn't exist. There's no guide anywhere on what I should try to do to fix it.
Is a homekey present in your wallet app?
If not, what are you using as your Apple home hub and is it running the latest software? I think HomePod mini’s need software 17.5 for HomeKey to work
Have you considered changing your multi point lock to an auto engage one? That way you don’t have to lift the handle. I have this with the Danalock and it’s great.
Do you need to use the keypad for Apple home to work? I assume it cannot work through the door or directly with the lock?
Is the Danalock easy to fit? If so I may look into that
I think it needs the keypad but I’m not 100% sure, but you could always just keep it inside if you didn’t want it outside
@@MarksTechVlogs thanks, I didn’t fit the Danalock it came with the door when it was fitted. It’s quite neat as it’s integrated into the Ultion handle similar to the Nuki. We are moving house so I’ll likely try the U200 as I’d like the HomeKit integration and the Danalock was one or the other only.
The multipoint lock can be replaced separately for a slam shut auto engage, we have a winkhaus but Yale also sell them. You do need to replace the outside handle as well to non lift.
Avoid danalock like the plague!@@MarksTechVlogs
How well does the Yale autoengage work? My current multipoint system seems to "pull" the door tight which I am guessing you won't get to the same degree with a spring fired system? Does using the key or handle or both reset the AutoEngage spring?
Was it a simple job for you to swap out? It isn't clear from the drawings, etc that Yale provide if I would have to do any extra routing on the door edge and return.
@@leighrobinson I don't know as I've not got one, it is something I want to explore at some point but I need to learn about how multipoint measurements work first to see if it's something I can even fit myself!
I’ve had all sorts of issues with the installation and use with the U200. The Aqara App has been a bit quirky to set up and Bluetooth connectivity has been unreliable. Apple HomeKit does not always work as well. Locking and unlocking does not work and on occasions the physical key gets stuck requiring fiddling with the turn mechanism to release.
The features meet all my requirements to for family and guest visitor use (my wife and I have a couple of Airbnb rooms in our home) but the access has been so unreliable I don’t have confidence in the unit. In fact my wife got locked out unable to use the keypad, finger print or key.
I have reported these issues to Aqara and waiting for a detailed response, although initially it has been suggested it’s my cylinder (originally with a thumb turn) is the problem, but that would surely not affect the App use or Bluetooth issues!
That’s really interesting, the only issues I’ve had were getting it into HomeKit initially, everything else has been fine.
It’ll be interesting to hear what Aqara come back to you with, if you’re able to post an update it would be great to know the result
I bought direct from Aqara and at discount but with only a 14 day money back, no questions asked, guarantee. I am at day 11 and really feel I need to return the purchase!
Aqara have extended my return period till mid August but I’m still waiting for answers to my questions.
@@jimnewtonsmith that’s good, do keep me updated as I’m sure it’ll help other out too
I have a door where the lock opens by twisting the key anti - clockwise - Is there an option on the app - lock to configure which direction it goes to open close ? TIA
Just got mine yesterday but I’m still looking to get the cylinder with the emergency feature. Couldn’t find anywhere here in Ireland. Does anyone know where can I buy it and get it delivered to Dublin? Really appreciate!
They are really difficult to find! A good alternative is one with a thumb turn on the inside or even the Nuki cylinder which looking at it should work amzn.to/4dc5bG7
After finally getting the cylinder, the lock don’t connect to home app 😫😭
@@paullhenriquee I had issues with this too. What is operating as your Apple Home hub? What have you tried so far?
@@MarksTechVlogsI’ve a HomePod mini as my Apple hub. Following some tips on Reddit , I pressed the bottom “set” and then I scanned the matter code and it finally worked. Now I’m having problems with the password. I set a 6 digit number on Aqara app, and a 4 digit number on HomeKit, none of them are working. :/