Nuki Combo 2.0 Smart Lock with Sensor Review

Nuki is another brand which has stable smart lock for Euro Profile Cylinder locks. Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 compatible with Euro profile cylinders with emergeny function, Swiss round cylinders, knob cylinders and UK oval cylinders. In this blog we will try to tell you cons and pros of Nuki Combo 2.0 Electronic Door Lock. We will explain you combo set including Wi-Fi bridge because of the additional functionalities as connecting to Smart Home systems. Hope you will enjoy reading and find answers to your questions in this post.

Connection Standards and Smart Home Controller Options

Nuki Combo 2.0 Smart Lock is compatible with almost all of the Smart Home systems when you purchase the combo set. If you want to purchase the lock alone, you can still use Bluetooth 5 connection and control your lock over Nuki app. Nuki claims they have 5x more coverage area with their V2 version compared to V1 and present more stable connection. Combo set with Wi-Fi bridge supports Apple HomeKit, SmartThings, Alexa via Echo Dot and Google Home.

Apple Homekit

Integrating Nuki Combo 2.0 Smart Lock to Apple Homekit does not require any special knowledge or experience. Simply just open the Home App on your iPhone or iPad and scan the HomeKit QR code. QR code is at the under of your Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 smart lock and also can be found on the small insert with the HomeKit logo on it. Finally, you will assign your smart lock to a house and a room to finish the installation process.

Amazon Alexa

If you prefer to use Alexa you will have to purchase Echo or Echo Dot. You can ask Alexa to lock the door, unlock the door and to check whether the door is locked or not. Here is the installation process step by step:

1. Activate Nuki Web in your Nuki app (Smart Lock Settings > Manage Smart Lock > Activate Nuki Web).

2. Search for the skill “Nuki Smart Home” on your Amazon Alexa app.

3. Activate the “Nuki Smart Home” skill and allow access to your Smart Locks via Nuki Web.

4. In the “Nuki Smart Home” skill go to “Settings” > “Manage Smart Home Devices” and select the desired Nuki Smart Lock.

5. Final step, you should give a name to your Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 on Amazon Alexa app. This is very important because you will include the device name at your voice commands every time so Alexa will understand the correct device and apply the operation you asked for. Tap on “Edit” button at the upper right and then on “Edit Name” and write your desired name.

Lets give and example on the commands. Imagine you have chosen name “Home” for your Nuki V2 smart lock. In this situation you can use the voice coomands as below:

Home:
“Alexa, lock Home.”
“Alexa, unlock Home.”
“Alexa, is Home locked?”

Note: Alexa will always ask for the pin to unlock your door.

Google Assistant

Google Assistant is another option you can use. You can use voice commands to lock/unlock your door but can not check if your door is locked or not. Below you can find steps to clearly integrate your Nuki V2 smart lock:

1. Activate Nuki Web in your Nuki app (Settings > Manage Smart Lock > Activate Nuki Web).

2. Link the “Nuki Smart Home” Action in your Google Home app.

3. Login to your Nuki Web account and allow the Google Assistant to access your Smart Locks via Nuki Web.

4. For unlocking doors with Google Assistant, set your personal security code (e.g. 1234).

You should always say the name of your Nuki V2 smart lock in the command. Here we suppose it as “Home”. Here are two example commands for you.

“Ok Google, lock Home.”
“Ok Google, unlock Home” (PIN required)

SmartThings

Integration of Nuki V2 smart lock is a little bit complicated for SmartThings so we decided to make another post for it in the future. You will need to spend some time on the process. If you don’t have time to wait you can have a look at the Nuki Developer Forums.

Auto Locking and Unlocking

Nuki V2 smart lock comes with auto locking and unlocking options which can be enabled over the app. Please make sure you have at least Nuki app version 1.12.0 (or higher) and the Smart Lock firmware version 1.6.2 to use this feature.

If you need to enable Auto Lock you should follow these steps on the app. Open the app, tap on your smart lock in the list and go to settings menu. Finally tap on “Manage Smart Lock”. App can ask you for pin so you can enter 1234 which is default. You will see a page where you can configure many options. Select “Auto Lock” on the list and when you activate it you will see timer options from 2 seconds to 30 minutes. After you choose the desired time Nuki V2 smart lock will trigger timer whenever you unlock your door.

As an another option there is feature called Lock ’n’ Go which is very useful. When you press on the button in front of the lock 2 times, it will unlock the door if it is locked and give you 20 seconds to leave the house. After 20 seconds finishes Nuki V2 smart lock will lock your door immediately. If you want to change 20 seconds you have options to change between 5 seconds to 60 seconds. In the app tap “Manage Smart Lock” and then “Lock ’n’ Go duration”.

Auto unlock is another great feature of Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 . It is not activated by default so open the app, tap on your smart lock in the list and go to settings menu. Tap on “Smart Actions(Auto Unlock)” button. You will see a list of options. Tap on “Auto Unlock” button to activate it. Once you activate it, your Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 will track your location by combining GPS, Bluetooth and Geofence (iBeacons) technologies.

Geonfence area is approximately 100 meters away from your lock so when you enter to this range Nuki App will start to scan for your smart lock. It will continue to scan your smart lock via Bluetooth for 20 minutes after you enter to Geofence distance. If you approach to your door around 10 meters, Bluetooth will find your smart lock and unlock the door.

You should not worry if you are thinking of “What will happen when i am in the house? Will it unlock again?”. This will happen only if you go out of the Geofence area and come back again. Otherwise, once your door is unlocked and your phone is in the Geofence area it will not trigger auto unlock again. If you come home with people whose phones having access to auto unlock feature Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 will only accept the first signal coming from multiple phones in 2 minutes. This means if door gets unlocked by the signal of your phone, smart lock will not accept the other signals coming from other phones near you in 2 minutes.

Door sensor

There is an integrated magnetic sensor at the Nuki Smart Lock 2.0. Working principls is very simple. In the box you will see the the other part of the magnetic sensor which should be installed to door frame to detect if door is opened or closed. You can easily track the situation of your door over the Nuki Smart Lock app. It also gives you a warning when you try to lock the door while it is not closed. Nuki plans to improve this feature so we are expecting a better performance every time they update the app.

Guest Access

Nuki Combo 2.0 Smart Lock presents you guest access feature. In the Nuki App there is a menu to invite a user and give access to them in the time range you defined. You can define dates and time range specific to anyone you wish. This could and Airbnb guest, medical care service or one of your guests. Nuki does not support OTP but there are some combinations which you can use. We will try to explain these as clear as possible. All of these examples need Nuki Smart Lock app installed on the guests’s phones.

1. If you need a one time password OTP you can not create this. You can only try to limit the password validity time as low as 5 minutes. Setting to 5 minutes will not prevent your guest to unlock your door as much as possible in 5 minutes. Also if your guest comes to your home 5 minutes later than your defined time then you will have to create another password. Another option is, once you receive the report of entrance you can cancel the password from the app so it will not work again. If there was a direct OTP option this would be as simple as setting a single usage at the selected date and selected time range.

2. You can create a code for multiple usage so your guest can use the code unlimited times e.g. at 01.24.20 between 04:00 pm to 06:00 pm .

3. If you need a guest code which will work repeatedly every week at the same day/days and between the same hours then you can do this over the app. Once you create this kind of code , you will not need to create it again until you deactivate it.

4. Airbnb has an integration for the Nuki Smart Lock 2.0. Just go to Nuki Web and login to your account. After, connect Airbnb to your lock. Once you establish the connection, you can create new codes for your guests. They will receieve an e-mail with details on how to install the app and use the code 72 hours before their check-in start time to your house. Full details can be foun at here.

IFTTT Options

If This Then That, is a web based service which you can create actions depending on the conditions. These are called applets. Nuki has a good integration with this service and lets you to set many different conditions for your lock with other smart devices.

As an example you can connect your Nuki 2.0 Smart Lock to Philips Hue lights and when you leave your home by Lock ‘n’ Go option, all lights will be turned off. Just like the opposite you can set your system to turn on lights when you return to home and unlock the door with Auto Unlock function. Some of the other functions are:

1. When someone specific comes to your house or unlocks the door via Auto Unlock, you can get an automatic notification on your phone and even record these actions to a Google Spreadsheet.

2. Configure the door to be locked at a specific time everyday.

3. Check if the door is locked at everyday at a specific time.

4. When you leave the house with by Lock ‘n’ Go option, your Sonos will automatically pause.

There are some more options. To get started or check all functions please click here. This feature is great and definetely worth to use. Note: you have to activate Nuki Web first.

Battery Life of Nuki Smart Lock 2.0

Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 is powered by 4 x AA batteries. Batteries are included in the pocket but they generally ship empty batteries so you would maybe need to buy new batteries. We suggest you to buy Panasonic Eneloop Pro rechargable batteries for the longest usage time. Nuki will automatically detect if you installed alkaline or rechargable batteries (except lithium batteries) and set the limits for the best working performance. You can expect to have 6 months for 6-8 locking operations daily at well conditioned door. This time can change depending on the temperature and situation of the door and drop to 4-6 weeks.

When your battery drops to 20% level, you will get notification from the app and light on the lock will start flashing 3x every 5 seconds so you will have a enough time to change your batteries before they finish completely. You should be careful while changing the batteries because when you press the unlocking button you can suddenly drop the battery holder by the effect of gravity.

There is a point that must be remembered. Nuki is installed on your existing key while it is on cylinder. This means if your Euro Profile Cylinder does not have emergency feature, you will not be able to unlock your door with a key from outside so if you forget to change the batteries and they drain completely, you will face with a problem.

Size of Nuki V2

Dimensions of this lock is quite big. When you compare it with other similar locks Dana Lock V3 and Desi Utopic R working on Euro Profile Cylinder Locks you can clearly see the difference. As an example we want to share 3 of them which we had a chance to compare. In short words difference is huge and does not look aesthetic on the door. Dimensions: 110 x 60 x 60 mm.

Contoller Options

There are 2 other controllers which can be used with this smart lock. One of them is Nuki Fob Smart Extension with single touch button which can be classified as remote controller. Other one is Nuki Keypad. We will share detailed reviews of these products in the next days.

Nuki keypad requires a 6 digit code. It can store up to 99 different codes at the same time.

Nuki Fob Smart Extension is a very small remote controller that will fit to your pocket easily. Works with Bluetooth connection.

Installation Process of Nuki Smart Lock 2.0

Installation is quite simple. It will take approximately maximum 5 minutes to finish all the process. There are 2 mounts available for cylinders with less than 3mm / at least 3mm overhang on the inside of the door. Steps are very simple. Take the desired mount, remove the protection layer on the mount to stick it on your cylinder, tighten 3 screws with allen key (included in the package) and attach the Nuki to your mount. Finally press the button for 5 seconds and you are ready to go. Here is the video to show this process:

Reports of Usage

By using logs on the app you can get all the list of who, when locked/unlocked your door and opened. This feature is enabled by default. When you enter to screen of logs you can find very detailed list of all the activities happened on your lock.

Technical Details Chart

Item Weight	460g
Nuki V2 Dimensions	110 x 60 x 60 mm
Batteries	4 x AA Alkaline (included)
Material	Plastic
Color	Black / Silver
Batteries Included?	Yes
Batteries Required?	Yes
Battery Cell Type	Alkaline
Compatible Cylinders	– Euro Profile Cylinder with emergency and warning function – Swiss Round Profile Cylinder with priority function – Knob Cylinder – Oval UK cylinder with emergency function(outside)

Cons and Pros

 Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 is very useful product if you want a simple and fast solution. It has perfecly wide options for connecting smart home systems. It is working very stable but making a big noise which is higher than other competitors’s products. We are also not very happy with the huge size of the lock but if size doesn’t matter for you then this is a very ideal solution for you.

Pros:

Easy to use application

Easy installation

Custom pins

Auto unlock and lock

Door sense

Multiple smart home controller options

Multiple controller options

Long battery life

IFTTT

Support community

Keypad contoller option

Cons:

Big dimensions

No direct OTP options

Loud working noise

Requires Euro Profile Cylinder with emergency feautre to unlock by a key from outside