Why a smart lock is a home security essential

Whether you're remotely worried about security in your neighbourhood, or you just want to be able to let guests and friends in without needing to hand over a physical key, there are a whole heap of benefits that you can get when you install a smart lock on your property.

Even better, there is a wide range of different types of locks, at this point, as demonstrated by our buying guide, which collects the very best options. These include some locks that still let you use a key as an alternative, if you want to have that sort of option in your back pocket.

If you're sceptical, though, we've done some of the hard yards for you, to gather a selection of reasons why you might want to install a smart lock – if you're not interested after casting your eye over them, you might never be.

Remote convenience

Probably the biggest convenience offered up by a smart lock is that you're no longer required to be right there in person to open or unlock your door. If you're caught out by a delivery while away from home, or want to let in a pet-sitter or some friends, many smart locks have companion apps that let you open them remotely with an internet connection.

Of course, this might not be the case on every single smart lock on the market – some are more affordable and strip the features back to the bare minimum. From most higher-end brands like Yale or Ultion, though, you'll find locks that let you not only open your door remotely, but even set up locking schedules.

This can make it way easier to plan your life if you're busy and often away from home, and it's probably the feature that you'll start to rely on the most.

Wave goodbye to keys

Keys have served humanity well – we've been using them to lock and unlock all manner of things for thousands of years, after all. Still, even the most expensive modern key isn't infallible, and if you lose it you could be in trouble. That's before you consider the risk of tumblers rusting up, thieves using lockpicks or any number of other issues.

A smart lock means being able to wave goodbye to that risky bit of hardware, and entering a world where you phone is generally your key – if it's not a keycode, or even a fob. Any of these is a nice upgrade compared to fiddling around with a key when it's dark out and you can't quite get it in the keyhole.

Simpler than you might think

Smart locks come in all sort of designs, and while you might assume that they're quite a big job to fit, the reality is a little more complicated. For one thing, you don't necessarily need to get a locksmith out to fit many of them – plenty of the best smart locks on the market can fairly easily be fitted with just a screwdriver and some patience.

In fact, there are even some smart locks available which just bolt onto your existing door – these work by turning your deadbolt handle using a robotic mechanism when needed. That means you not only don't need to get your old lock removed, but you can basically leave everything as it was and almost instantly enjoy a more seamless, internet-enabled way of locking and unlocking.

Biometrics for the win

We've already mentioned passcodes, fobs and apps, but there's another way to open certain smart locks that might be right up your street – biometrics. Plenty of smart locks now exist that use fingerprints to authenticate people trying to open their respective doors, which can be really handy.

After all, while it might be conceivable that you'd misplace your phone once in a blue moon, you're always going to have your fingers there and available. Plus, many of these locks have other ways to open as a backup, whether that's an old-school key or a combination code.

Fingerprint scanning also opens up the way to being able to add or remove people from your household easily by managing the fingerprints being stored. This is great for letting people use the lock while they're working on your house, or staying with you, but only for a short while.

A modern look and feel

While some smart locks have an undeniably chunky and robotic look to them, the best ones on the market, and our favourites, can actually be really classy and modern-looking. This means that doors in or outside your home can really run with the times, ensuring that you feel like you live in a real smart home, rather than just one with some tech on top of old bones.

Since many high-end smart locks also include handles and more, it can make it easy to get a really classy modern design on your doors, with all the bonuses that I've laid out so far happening to be built in.

The smart home dream

Speaking of living in a smart home, my final point is one that could really speak to someone who's invested in using tech to improve their daily life. Many smart locks, after all, make a point of being able to integrate with other devices in a smart home setup, whether they use the Matter standard or another mechanism.

This means that the best use cases for a smart lock come into play when you have other devices that dovetail with them. Nothing could be more obvious than a video doorbell, for instance – letting you check who's at the door with the added option of unlocking it if you're expecting the person you see there.

A good mesh Wi-Fi network makes this all the more robust, but you could also set up lighting scenes if you use something like Philips Hue. Imagine, for example, that the moment your smart lock is unlocked, it feeds into your network and your favourite lighting scene fires up, to make your lounge as cosy and welcoming as possible. That's just one version of how you could set it up.