Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt with Z-Wave Review

Today, we will share with you our review for Kwikset 910 Smartcode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt, which has a very simple design. Design is so much simple that at the first looking you are feeling as it doesn’t have any smart capabilies. We have seen common features with Kwikset SmartCode 910 Z-Wave Smart Lock

In the next parts of our review , we will sometimes compare Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary with some other competitors too. We would like to start our review without further ado. We hope that our review will answer the questions that comes to your mind before you decide to buy the Kwikset 910 Smartcode.

Connection Standards and Smart Home Controller Options of Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt

As it can be seen from the photo, this smart lock is almost compatible with any device that works with a Z-Wave connection. The list of devices is not limited to what is available here, but we will share the information of the devices that we have a chance to test for an accurate review. We do not have ADT Pulse and Vera Smart Home Controller , but we reached the people who used them and received the necessary information.

Kwikset 910 Smartcode Contemporary is not compatible with Apple HomeKit. So you have no chance to use Siri as our voice assistant. Instead of Siri, you can use Alexa or Google Assistant voice controllers. In our opinion, these 2 options are enough for Smartcode 910. If you insist on Siri then we can suggest you to visit our Kwikset Premis Touchscreen Smart Lock Review , Yale Assure Lock Touchscreen Connected By August Review or Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt Review. All of these smart locks support Siri.

When we compare Kwikset 910 Smartcode Contemporary and Kwikset SmartCode 910 Z-Wave Smart Lock , we have seen that they have the exactly same connection options so there is no winner at this category.

Google Assistant

Google Assistant is one of the options for voice assistant. We have tested it and never experienced any kind of fails at the commands. As a the one and only problem, we can say that you have to wait 5-10 seconds for implementation of your commands. If you are not impatient, this will not be a problem.

Checking the status of the door, locking and unlocking by voice is possible. To establish connection, you must have one of the Z-Wave Hubs like Samsung SmartThings, Nexia Z-Wave Bridge, Wink ,Vera, ADT Pulse, Ring Alarm System at your home network. Additionally, Android Wear watch can be used for your voice commands. Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt performs well with Google Assistant.

Sample voice commands for Google Assistant:

Locking the door: “Hey Google, I’m leaving”

Unlocking the door: “Hey Google, lock the front door” for locking

Checking if door is locked or not: “Hey Google, is the front door locked?”

Amazon Alexa

Alexa is arguably the most popular voice assistant for use in home environments. There are different types of Echo’s to control Alexa and at Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt, we have tested with both Echo and Echo Dot. Lock, unlock and check whether door is locked or not by your voice. We have tested all of these commands and we did not encounter a problem while using it.

Negative side of this smart locks is you will again need one of the smart hubs such as Samsung SmartThings, Nexia Z-Wave Bridge, Wink ,Vera, ADT Pulse and Ring Alarm System at your home network which means extra cost for you if you don’t already have one of these. In order to use Alexa, you should add skills of the hub you own to Alexa. Pairing is not difficult so you won’t need to worry about it.

Below we are sharing some example commands which will work with Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt. We are assuming the name of your lock as “Home”. Please don’t forget that Alexa will always ask your pin to unlock the door.

“Alexa, lock Home.”
“Alexa, unlock Home.” (you will be asked for your pin)
“Alexa, is Home locked?”

If you don’t want to spend extra money for hubs but also want to use Alexa or Google Assistant as out of the box , we can suggest you Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro with Wi-Fi Bridge and Kwikset Halo Touchscreen Wi-Fi Enabled Smart Lock.

Home Automation Systems for Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt

Wink

• Lock and unlock your door from anywehere over the world without being next to the lock
• Track the battery level through the app
• Create Robot to control with other smart devices connected to your home network. For example, you can have your door unlocked and the lights turned on when the alarm is disabled.
• You can create various Wink Widgets and process multiple smart devices from shortcuts. For example, after saying “Goodnight”, your lights will turn off, your alarm will be set and your door will be locked.
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant.
• When a user code is used, you can receive notifications
• Set a time for your smart lock to automatically lock the door every day

Wink gives you lots features but unfortunately, you can not add or delete user codes remotely with Wink.

Nexia

• Lock and unlock your door from anywehere over the world without being next to the lock
• Create user codes that will work within the time range you specify. Very ideal solution for gardener, cargo, handyman, dogwalker or home rental purposes
• Get alerted when a user code used
• Check the battery level of your smart lock over the app
• Receive notifications with details such as it is locked / unlocked by hand or using code
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant
• Set automation series with triggers as unlocking the door and turning on the lights

Nexia also does not support adding or deleting codes remotely. Nexia requires monthly payment.

Ring Alarm System

• Lock and unlock your door from anywehere over the world without being next to the lock
• Get notifications when a user code is entered
• Check the battery level of your smart lock over the app
• Disable the Ring alarm when user code entered
• Receive notifications when door unlocked/locked
• Set automation series as starting to record when door is unlocked
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant

Unfotrunately, yu can not add, delete or manage user codes remotely with Ring Alarm System

Samsung SmartThings

• Lock and unlock your door from anywehere over the world without being next to the lock
• Use the app to delete or add user codes remotely with Lock User Management app by RBoy Apps
• Set scheduled codes to work in the time range that you defined. Suitable for home services as handyman, dogwalker and for short term rentals as Airbnb. Lock User Management app by RBoy Apps needed for this
• Receive alerts when a user code is entered
• Check the battery level of your smart lock over the Lock User Management app by RBoy Apps
• Use triggers to set home automation series as unlocking the door and turning on all of the connected devices
• If you have more than one smart locks installed, you can check status of all of them from the app
• Receive notifications with details such as it is locked / unlocked by hand or using code
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant

Just like the similar smart lock Kwikset SmartCode 910 Z-Wave, if you don’t use the User Management App by Rboy Apps, you will not be able to add/delete user code remotely or set scheduled codes. You must download User Management app by RBoy Apps in order the gain access to these features.

ADT Pulse

• Lock and unlock your door from anywehere over the world without being next to the lock
• Create scheduled codes which will work at the time range you will define. Suitable for home services as handyman, dogwalker and for short term rentals as Airbnb
• Get alerted when a user code used
• Disable the ADT Pulse Alarm when user code entered
• Check the battery level of your smart lock over the app
• Receive notifications when door is locked or unlocked
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant
• Use triggers to set home automation series as unlocking the door and turning on all of the connected devices

You will need ADT Pulse app to have all of the features stated above. ADT Pulse Smart Home Security System must be installed in your home network to use ADT Pulse.

Vera

• Remote locking and unlocking from anwhere outside of the house or inside the house
• Create scheduled codes which will work at the time range you will define. Suitable for home services as handyman, dogwalker and for short term rentals as Airbnb
• Get alerted when a user code used
• Check the battery level of your smart lock over the app and get low battery e-mail
• Receive notifications when door is locked or unlocked
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant
• Set automation series with triggers as locking the door and turning off all of the connected devices

Both Vera Plus and Vera Edge devices are compatible with Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt.

Keypad Of Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt with Z-Wave

Kwikset really likes to design a 6 button keypad. In Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt , we can also see the 6-button design. It is a touchpad keypad with clean,simple and easy to use design. Keyhole is still available for you to use your key when necessary.

Keypad has backlit and you can any button or press the lock button in the middle to activate it. Brightness we have seen was good enough for night usage. You can also lock your door with a single press by pressing this button at the middle of the keypad.

Programming Codes to Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt

Programming process can be done in 2 different wats. You can either use the keypad or use the app of your smart hub. Programming over the keypad is easy. To start programming, you should press the programming button which is at the interior unit. You should press this button as much as the location of the user code. If you want to program a new user code to 5th location then you must press this button 5 times. Kwikset doesn’t force you to use a Mastercod but it would be better to use it because it adds extra protection layer to process. For the full details please have a look at Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt installation and programming manual at here.

As the second way, you can use the app of your smart hub. If you want to create new user codes remotely, your only options is to use Samsung SmartThings, Vera or ADT Pulse in order to program codes over the app remotely. Remote programming can be done directly over Vera and ADT’s apps but you will need Lock User Management app by RBoy Apps for Samsung SmartThings. Scheduled codes can be programmed by using these apps. You can program 1 master code and 29 user codes with 4 to 8 digits length.

Weather conditions

Due to lack of time, we had no chance to test the durability of Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt. We wanted to find some information about this and share with you so we have contacted to users of this smart lock and asked their experiences. What we have learned is you can use this smart lock in cold and hot weathers without any problems. Just install some well performing batteries and you won’t have any problems.

To summarize, you can use Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt under bad weather conditions including very cold and hot temperatures. We suggest you to buy Energizer Rechargable AA batteries to reduce the cost and have a longer battery life.

SmartKey Security

SmartKey Security is one of the great features that we love to see at Kwikset products. In simple words, Smartkey Security means that your lock is protected against lock picking and lock bumping attacks. Lock bumping is a widely used attacking method with using a Bump Key to unlock your door. Thanks to SmartKey Security, it is protected against these kind of widely used attacks.

Please keep in mind that this does not guarantee you anything. Your door might be protected against these 2 techniques but we can never say that it is 100% safe. Additionally, Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt with Z-Wave has also BHMA Grade 2 certificate which shows that it is safe enough to be used at house.

Smartkey Rekey

SmartKey Rekey is also another great feature which helps you to rekey your KW1 keyway compatible key. You can use one key for all the KW1 keyway compatible locks at your house. This is a life saver especially if you have many locks at your house.

Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt has KW1 keyway so it can be rekeyed easily without any need of a locksmith and additional complicated tools. Whole process will take around 3-4 minutes to finish and we believe almost everyone can do this without problems. We are sharing detailed information to show you how to do this on your own. You can also watch the video at the bottom of the instructions.

1) As the first step, remove the battery and set deadbolt to locked position

If you have a knob or lever, make sure it is in the lock position

— Make sure that your door can not be closed by wind or other factors while you are at the outside

2) Insert Currently Used Key :

— FULLY insert your currently used key then rotate 90 degrees clockwise (note that instructions are the same regardless of cylinder orientation)

3) Insert SmartKey tool fully and firmly into the SmartKey hole :

— You may feel the tool click inside the lock which is normal

— Remove SmartKey tool

— Remove current key

4) Insert New Key

— Insert Kwikset (KW1) keyway compatible key you wish to use with lock

— Make sure that the key is FULLY inserted

— The edge of the key touched the indent on the cylinder surface

— Rotate the key 180 degrees clockwise but please don’t pull or push the key

— Finally, pull the key without too much force to make sure it will NOT come out in this position

Auto Lock Feature of Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt

When you have a smart lock on your door, we believe it must have auo lock as a common feature. Families with kids generally love this feature and smart lock users which want to automate the locking process prefers to activate this feature. In our houses, we all also have activated this feature. It is really comfortable to stop spending time on locking your door every night and makes you sure that your door is locked even if you forget to lock it

Auto lock is disabled by Kwikset as deafult so you should enable it. Slide up the conver of interior unit by removing the screws on it. There will be 4 swithces in front of you. Change position of switch 2 from left to up to enable auto lock.

Once the auto lock is enabled, it will lock your door automatically after 30 seconds passes over the last unlocking time. If you want to change the time, you can use the app of your smart hub. You can even set an exact hour to lock your door as a part of the home automation system.

Battery Life of Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt

Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt requires 4 x AA Alkaline batteries. These batteries are not included in the package so you should buy your own batteries. For the best performance and longer battery life, we can suggest you to buy Duracell batteries. As you might remember, we have also suggested Energizer Rechargable AA batteries to prevent spending lots of money on the batteries. Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt finishes batteries quickly so if you prefer cheap batteries, you will have to change them very often.

Using quality batteries is one of the most important things to extend the battery life but we have to remind you that there are some other factors as weather conditions, condition of the door, usage frequency, enabled features which directly effect the battery life. To learn a correct information we have talked with some of the users of Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt and learned that you can expect to see 2-3 months battery life for regular usage. Some of the users have also stated that they have seen 6 months battery life with daily 2-3 usages.

When your batteries start to drain, you will see a red light flashing with a beep voice for 3-4 seconds. After this warning you should change the batteries as soon as possible. You can also check the battery level over the app that you use. To change the batteries, slide up the cover of the interior unit after removing screws on it. You will finish changing batteries in around 2 minutes.

Installation process of Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt

As out of the box, you will have an extandable latch which can be adjusted as 2-3/8″ or 2-3/4″. Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt will fit to all standard door preparations . Please check the below and see if your door is compatible with this smart lock.

Installation process was not difficult as we were expecting. It has exactly the same installation method with similar smart lock Kwikset SmartCode 910 Z-Wave Smart Lock. We spent 15 minutes to install it. It was an easy process with a ruler and Phillips Head Screwdriver. We didn’t have to make any drilling but depending on the condition of your door, you might need drilling. You will find the template for drilling inside of the box so you won’t need to worry about it too. You might need some extra tools as hummer and wood block depending on the condition of your door.

A user without experience would finish installation of Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt in 20 minutes. We are sharing installation manual at here. You might want to watch installation video of Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt so we are also sharing it below.

Technical Details Chart

Item Weight	3 pounds
Product Dimensions	5.5 x 3.5 x 10 inches
Voltage	1.5 volts
Batteries	4 AA batteries required. ( not included)
Style	Deadbolt
Connection	Z-Wave
Included Components	Exterior keypad, interior assembly, latch, mounting plate, allen wrench, adapter ring, strike, keys, smartkey tool, fasteners
Batteries Included?	No
Batteries Required?	Yes
Battery Cell Type	Alkaline
Warranty Description	1 year manufacturer, lifetime mechanical and finish warranty.

Cons and Pros of Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt

In the past, we made some reviews for Z-Wave locks such Yale Assure Lock SL with Z-Wave , Schlage Connect Smart Deadbolt , Kwikset SmartCode 916 Z-Wave Smart Lock, Kwikset SmartCode 910 Z-Wave Smart Lock , and Schlage FE599NX Connected Keypad Lever with Z-Wave. They have a common case as they don’t have their custom apps which forces you to use the app of the smart hub you are using at your home.

There is an exception smart lock for this case. August Smart Lock Pro 3rd Gen + Connect works with Z-Wave but it has it’s own app so it is much easier to control the lock and discover the maximum potential of it. We can say that except August, all of them are a litt bit complicated as you will find yourself digging around the see which hub and app supports which features of the smart lock.

We also want to say some words for the design. When you hold Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt in your hands, you will feel as you are holding a heavy-duty product which will work well without any problems. If you are looking for a solid smart lock with lots of features then we can suggest you to consider this lock.

After all our tests, we have Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt as an ideal smart lock for home usage. It has lots of features but at the same time it can be used just like an electronic keypad too. Can we suggest this smart lock? Yes, we can beacause it made us feel as the owner of Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary will not be disappointed.

We want to finish our review by these last sentences. Especially, if you have Samsung SmartThings, Nexia Z-Wave Bridge, Wink ,Vera, ADT Pulse or Ring Alarm System at your home network then this lock will be a perfect match for your system. This smart lock is very similar to the other Z-Wave smart locks we have stated above but 1 step behind of both Yale Assure Lock SL with Z-Wave and August Smart Lock Pro 3rd Gen + Connect. Below you can find the list of cons and pros. Thank you for reading our Kwikset 910 SmartCode Contemporary Electronic Deadbolt with Z-Wave review.

Pros:

Easy to install

Solid and simple design

Connection options for various Smart hubs

Alexa and Google Assistant compatible

30 user code memory

Remote lock/unlock by smart hubs

Scheduled codes over some apps

Stable keypad with backlit

Suitable for Airbnb and short term rentals

Easy to change batteries

Low battery indicator

Key usage if battery drains completely

Smartkey Rekey

Lock Bumping and Lock Picking protection

Logs for the code usage

Receive notifications when a user code is used

Cons:

No custom app

You should dig around to find all features

Interior unit is a little bulky

Loud noise while working