I’m looking into installing a door lock w/ key pad at home for two use cases:
- I’m out of town and need to allow someone to enter my home, in an emergency or for any reason.
- Nice to have - “oh shit, did I lock the door” - ability to lock the door remotely from my phone, would also solve use case #1 by unlocking remotely.
If there are no privacy respecting / self hosted apps for remote control (use case #2), then a “dumb” electronic lock w/ key pad that enables me to set a PIN that I can give to a friend or neighbor in a pinch and then reset the PIN after I get home, that would be good enough. If no such keypad/electronic locks exist, then my backup plan is to just make a few copies of my key for trusted friends & family and/or hide a key, but I’d like to explore the keypad route.
I had these exact concerns after buying a house!
Anything connected to the Internet is inherently vastly less secure. Fortunately, your two usecases can be addressed with a “dumb” keypad lock with two features:
Multiple access codes. Set a different code for each trusted party, as well as an extra code that you can give out in case of emergency, which you can reprogram once you return.
Automatic locking. Set a timeout for the deadbolt to re-engage after a set period of time. If you forget to lock the door, it simply locks itself.
This is the route I took. All manual, multiple codes. There is a code for the gate, and a code for the door, per person I implicitly trust. With some 23 cameras on the property, I’m well aware of just about anything going down on my property while I am away.
I can’t help but wonder what else might be going on here.
22 acres of farmland
One camera per acre + one in the bedroom?
LOL Well, it would seem like it works out that way but the only interior cams I have are in the living room and there is one in the lab. I’m not really into sex tapes. They always seem like a good idea at the time, but they have the potential to become quite litigious, and I try to stay out of courtrooms.
And by “lab” you mean “sex dungeon,” right?
They meant their dog.
Ah, so like an endoscope. Kinky.
Brown chicken, brown cow.
Actually, pretty spot on.
Thanks for the idea. In your case, do you still need a phone app to program the various PINs or are they all programmable “on board?”
It’s all on-device. There is zero wireless connectivity, as that would present a security hole.
It does take a lot of tedious keypad tapping, but it’s not something that needs to be set up more than once per lock.
I’ve got one like this. A standard NON-CONNECTED keypad lock from the big box hardware store. I set a few extra codes and hand them out (and change hem) as needed.