Yale Linus Smart Lock Review
Yale company is a well known lock manufacturer that has been producing high quality locks for many years. Users are always very satisfied with Yale locks. It continues its successful works by being a part of the ASSA ABLOY which is leader in access solutions
We have previously made a review of 3 different smart locks from Yale company and we were very satisfied with them. This time, we will review the Yale Linus Smart Lock, the latest smart lock model that Yale has produced for Euro Profile locks, which are mostly used in the European market. Let’s check and see if Yale Linus Smart Lock is as good as Yale Assure Lock Touchscreen Connected By August, Yale Assure Lock SL with Z-Wave and Nest x Yale Lock with Nest Connect.
Before continuing with our review, we would like to point out that Yale Linus Smart Lock does not connect to the Wi-Fi when it is factory-made out of the box. For this reason, in our review, we will make our review by including the Yale Linus Connect Bridge and Yale Linus Smart Keypad which make usage easier. Both of these products are sold separately.
Design of Yale Linus Smart Lock
Yale Linus Smart Lock has a very strong structure. It is made of solid metal so it is really heavy. It has a beautiful led indicator activating while there is an operation on the lock.
As dimensions it is 58mm in width, 58mm in depth and 150mm in length. Yale Linus Smart Lock is a big smart lock which covers large area on the door. This is the biggest smart lock that we have ever seen so far in our reviews.
We have made reviews for 2 other models compatible with Euro Profile Cylinders. They are Nuki Combo 2.0 Smart Lock and Desi Utopic R Smart Lock. When we compare these smart locks as design, we can say that Yale Linus Smart Lock looks like a start-up project against them.
Just to compare the dimensions, below we are sharing you 2 photos. The first one is from our previous reviews while Linus was not on the market. In that photo you can see that Nuki Combo 2.0 Smart Lock was the biggest one with 110 mm x 60 mm x 60 mm dimensions. At the middle you can see Dana Lock V3 and as the smallest you can see Desi Utopic R Smart Lock.
At the second photo, you can do better comparison as we aligned all of these smart locks near Yale Linus Smart Lock.
Despite its big size and almost same functionality with other smart locks in the photo, Yale Linus Smart Lock won the 2020 Reddot Design awards and European Product Design Award. Maybe it is just because of the solid metal material structure but we want to leave the comparision to you without further comments.
Before going to next part of our review, we want to say one last thing about the design. Yale Linus Smart Lock is compatible with Euro Profile Cylinders but there is a problem. Due to its design, if you don’t have a cylinder with emergency function lets keys to be inserted from each side at the same time and rotated, you will not be able to unlock your door with a key from outside in case of an emergency.
This technical problem is creating a risky position for the user. Nuki Combo 2.0 Smart Lock also has the same problem but Desi Utopic R Smart Lock comes with a pre-installed cylinder on it. This design of Desi Utopic R lets you to use a key from outside when needed so you won’t need to pay extra money to buy a Euro Profile Cylinder with emergency feature but you will have to use Desi’s pre-installed cylinder.
Whether or not the cylinder in your door has emergency function, if you do not want to replace it, we can offer you another new smart lock model which we will review next time. Desi Utopic OK Type A Smart Lock will let your key to be used from outside whenever you want even if it is not an emergency featured cylinder.
Connection Standards and Smart Home Controller Options
As we mentioned before, Yale Linus Smart Lock cannot connect to the Wi-Fi as out of the box. By default, it has bluetooth connection. It, it does not support Z-Wave or Zigbee connections. Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa is supported by using Yale Linus Connect Bridge. Additionaly, it supports IFTTT web services and Airbnb.
We can easily say that these options pretty enough for a smart lock. Below you can find what you can do with these and what we have faced during our tests.
Amazon Alexa
Alexa is a widely used voice assistant. By using voice commands, you can lock your door, unlock your door and ask Alexa if your door is closed or not. Alexa voice assistant requires Echo or Echo Dot to pair with Yale Linus Smart Lock.
There some steps to pair Alexa and Yale Linus Smart Lock. You must add Yale Smart Living skill to Amazon Alexa app and give your lock a name so that Alexa will apply your commands. Don’t forget that you will be asked for a pin when you want to unlock your door by your voice.
We have tested voice commands for a while and seen that they are generally working without any problems but sometimes we have faced with connection problems. We believe this can be solved with a software update.
These are the voice commands which you can use on Alexa and assuming the name of your lock is “front door”.
- Check if your front door is locked or not: “Alexa, is my front door locked?”
- Locking your door: “Alexa, lock the front door.”
- Unlock your door: “Alexa, unlock the front door.” [you will also need to say your pin code]
- Set PIN code: [Configured in Alexa app]
These are the voice commands which you can use on Google Assistant
Easy to use application
Big dimensions
