ULTRALOQ U-Bolt Pro Smart Lock with Door Sensor, 6-in-1 Keyless Entry Door Lock with Built-in WiFi, Fingerprint ID, Smartphone, Auto Unlock, WiFi Deadbolt, ANSI Grade 1 Certified

I've owned an ULTRALOQ U-Bolt Pro Smart Lock with Door Sensor for about five (5) months now, and then about a month and a half ago, I purchased a second one (the same model). So clearly I'm a satisfied customer.This review will cover my experiences with both locks.I put the first one purchased on the front door of my home and intended to put the second on my side garage door. That plan went awry when I was unable to consistently get the "new" lock to connect to my home wifi. As part of my troubleshooting, I moved the "old" lock to the garage side door and installed the new lock on my front door. When I did that, the new lock connected without any issues, while the old lock (which had never had a wifi problem) connected sporadically. So clearly my wifi was the issue. I left the locks as installed.I will say that the Ultraloq customer service was quick to respond when I thought that the issue was one with the lock itself. They continued to follow up with me as I went through my troubleshooting efforts and offered to replace the lock if I thought that was the issue.As stated, the oldest lock is now about five (5) months old. I've had to replace the batteries once in those five months, about 3 weeks ago. I'm not sure if the wifi issue will cause the batteries to die earlier, but I suspect that might be the case. The app (I'll talk about it later) gives you plenty of notice that the batteries need to be replaced. It is recommended that regular AA alkaline batteries be used rather than rechargeable batteries or lithium batteries due to the rapid fail time once they start to die. In the event your batteries completely die, you can use a 5-volt USB source to power the lock to allow you to open it, or you can simply use a key.Installing the locks is fairly straightforward. All you will need to use will likely be a Philips screwdriver. That was the case with both of my locks. Something to keep in mind is that if your existing deadbolt doesn't close "cleanly", that is, if you need to pull/push the door to engage the deadbolt, then you'll have to do some work to remedy that for ANY automatic deadbolt to work properly. At my home, the front door was not an issue while the garage side door was. All I needed to do for the side door was clean out the material inside the strike plate some, and the deadbolt engaged freely. You might need to do the same and/or relocate your existing strike plate if you have an issue.The instructions included with the Ultraloq are clear and concise, and walk you through the installation process. Be sure to follow them in order to complete the steps in the correct sequence…it does matter when the batteries are installed, when the app is launched, etc.Please be aware that as with most IOT (internet of things) Smart Home devices, the Ultraloq requires a 2.4 GHz network connection, NOT a 5 GHz network. If you have a network that cannot be separated, then you may have some challenges connecting the Ultraloq to your wifi.Once the lock is installed and connected through the app you can then begin to configure it. I’m not going to try to explain all of that <smile>.For me, the biggest selling point of the Ultraloq was the number of methods you can use to unlock the device. They are:1. Via a physical key – the entire face of the lock can pivot down revealing the key slot. Obviously, that’s not the preferred method, but it’s nice to have that option if needed. A note about the keys…they’re big and probably not the kind you want to carry around. I had copies made at my local Lowe’s. From discussion on the Ultraloq support forums, it seems that some of the locks have Schlage key styles while others are Kwikset key styles. Both of my locks were the Schlage style and the copies worked fine. Something that my OCD self would desire would be the ability to have both of my locks keyed alike, but alas…2. Via the keypad – there is a round numerical keypad on the front of the lock. The lock can store user codes for up to 50 users. Your code can be as short as four (4) digits and as long as eight (8) digits. The lock allows you to enter a “vague” user code of up to sixteen (16) digits as long as YOUR USER CODE is contained within the string. This is an anti-peep measure. Once you enter the code and press the ULTRALOQ button, the unit will unlock. This has worked flawlessly for me.3. Via the fingerprint reader – this is likely why you’re looking at this model, and for the most part, it works well. Each user can register up to two (2) fingerprints. Note that registering a fingerprint involves multiple scans of the finger. In my use, the lock ALWAYS recognizes the fingerprint of my wife. Me…not always…probably about 75% of the time. I’ve registered and re-registered my fingerprints and typically it will work great for a couple of weeks then I’ll start having some issues. In the lock’s defense, my fingerprints (particularly on my thumbs) are very faint.4. Via the smartphone app – this works well. Just press the button in the app, and voila, your door locks/unlocks.5. Via smart-home devices – my home uses Amazon Echo devices and this works flawlessly as long as there is a wifi connection to your lock. So in my case, the front door always works and sometimes the garage side door works (see above). I simply say “Alexa, lock/unlock the front door”. If I am locking the door, nothing else is needed. If I am unlocking the door, then I have to say a 4-digit code to confirm that “itsa me Mario”, just kidding. You can also include engaging the lock in your routines. For example, I have a nightly shut-down routine that tells both doors to lock. Of course, you need to enable the Ultraloq skill for any of this to work.6. Via geo-fencing – this quite honestly has been very hit-or-miss for me. Sometimes I’ll come home and the lock will unlock…sometimes it won’t. I don’t personally feel this is a big issue, but if you do, it might be a deal-breaker.To lock the device, you can use many of the methods above or you can engage it manually from inside or by pressing the ULTRALOQ button from the outside.The locks I purchased were the ones with the door sensor. This is a small unit that mounts beside the interior lock piece that helps the device determine if the door is open or closed. Once configured, both of mine have worked flawlessly. This allows you to check the status of your lock remotely using the app.The U-tec app is fairly straightforward. It allows you to manage multiple (or single) locks, add users, see the usage logs (lock/unlock), etc. It’s pretty easy to use.Something that I saw either in a review or on the support forum was a suggestion to put a piece of white electrical tape on the raised section of the inside lock knob. This makes it easier to see the lock status in a dark room, from a distance, etc. when glancing at the lock. I’ve done this with both of my locks and it helps.So, would I buy it again? Yes, I would. In fact, I’m planning on purchasing the lever version of this lock to complete the exterior locks on my home.

I'll leave my original review in its entirety after this paragraph. I just edited this to a single star because the lock completely failed (bricked) in less than 6 weeks. Its completely physically frozen, buttons all unresponsive, not connected to wifi, and none of the online remedies work. When the batteries are in, it freezes in the OPEN position but is completely offline. If you manually turn the lock (which takes a LOT of force and clicks loudly), it will immediately return to the open position. I had to remove the batteries just to use the key so I could secure my home. I came to our home one day with the home completely unsecure because it was frozen open. This is a HUGE design flaw in my opinion, I had no way to remotely secure my home because it failed and was not connecting to wifi. I also have no ability to know whats wrong, because the app has to connect to the lock to view the logs (also terrible design flaw). I just reverted back to a normal old boring $50 keyed deadbolt for now. I coupled this complete hardware failure alongside my mild complaints (underpowered motor, terrible mobile app) below and I cannot justify giving this item a second star.5 stars overall. I bought this one because of how well it was reviewed in comparison to others on wire cutter.After ironing out bumps I’ll explain soon, this lock is awesome. It’s super responsive to the user as they interact with it directly on the door. Fingerprint reader is very accurate and responsive and keypad intuitive. Feels very high quality as well. Looks great on the door paired with a Kwikset handle that matches.The only real issue I had with installing this lock is that my deadbolt needed adjustment to make sure it moves freely. I get it, that would be the same with any lock. But, like, zero resistance or else the lock jams. I admittedly don’t know if it has an underpowered motor or if this is normal for smart deadbolts. Seriously though, if it rubs your door jamb or the deadbolt plate at all it will jam. This just took some adjusting of my door and how the lock aligned, but had to be perfect.The second issue I have with this is the mobile app. I’m using an iPhone, and the app is horribly slow for setup. After setup, it’s tolerable since I generally use it to lock/unlock with a single push. Occasionally onboard a new user. But, during setup, get used to staring at the “loading” circle a LOT. Hopefully fixed with app updates over time.