SMONET Smart Lock Review

We will share with you a detailed review of the SMONET Smart Lock of SMONET company. This smart lock’s popularity has grown rapidly recently so we wanted to present it to our readers. You will find all cons and pros of SMONET Smart Lock at our review.

We know that our readers want to see the maximum capacity of all smart locks that we review. For this reason, SMONET company sent us both the smart lock and the separately sold Wi-Fi gateway which is required for remote access. Thanks to this review, you will find answers to all your questions about SMONET Smart Lock.

Connection Standards and Smart Home Controller Options

SMONET Smart Lock has Bluetooth connection by default. You will need to use popular and reliable TTLock application in the Bluetooth range to control your lock. However, if you want to access your lock remotely, you need to purchase a SMONET Wi-Fi gateway.

By using a SMONET Wi-Fi gateway, you can control the smart lock with Alexa Assistant and Google Assistant by your voice. The fact that it supports both voice assistants is a big plus because not all the smart locks on the market which has Wi-Fi connection support both of these popular voice assistants at once. For Alexa you will need Echo or Echo Dot and for Google Assistant, you will need Google Home.

It does not have Apple HomeKit support so you can not use Siri with this smart lock. If Apple HomeKit support is a must for you, then you can have a look at Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt Review and Kwikset Premis Touchscreen Smart Lock Review but both of these does not support Google Assistant and they don’t have fingerprint reader too.

Alexa Voice Assistant

Alexa is one of the most widely used voice assistants worldwide. You can lock, unlock and check if your door is locked by using just your voice. In addition, by integrating Alexa’s connected home automation system, you can ensure that the lights turn off when you lock your door or disarm the alarm when you unlock the door.

We completed the pairing process of SMONET Smart Lock with Alexa in about 5 minutes via the TTLock app without any difficulty. Depending on our tests, we saw that all the commands we give with our voice are performed quickly by this smart lock. We can say that its performance is quite impressive.

You can refer to the list below for examples of sample voice commands. In these examples, we assume that the name of the lock is “Front Door”.

“Alexa, lock Front Door.”
“Alexa, unlock Front Door.” (you will be asked for your pin)
Alexa, Is the Front Door Locked?”

Google Assistant

If you do not like using Alexa or if you have Google Home in your home, you can control SMONET Smart Lock with your voice by Google Assistant.

These are the voice commands which you can use on Google Assistant

• Lock: “OK, Google, lock my front door.” (use the name assigned to your door in the app)
• Check Status:“OK, Google, is my front door locked?”
• Unlock: “OK Google, unlock my front door.” (you will be asked your pin to complete unlocking)

We have tested these commands at least 50 times. During our tests, we have not seen any problem about the communication between SMONET Smart Lock and Google Assistant. It worked flawlessly every time.

Fingerprint Reader of SMONET Smart Lock

The fingerprint reader is located in the round place at the top of the lock. You can register 250 fingerprints in total. 250 fingerprint memory is perfectly enough for both home and commercial usage in most places. Fingerprint registration is done extremely quickly via the TTLock app.

When you put your finger on the reader, it takes about 0.5 to read and unlocks the door immediately. If it accepts your fingerprint, a very aesthetic green light appears around the reader. If it doesn’t accept your fingerprint, the same light appears asred.

We made various tests by registering the different fingers of the members of our team and as a result we saw that it worked at a rate of 90%. We have tested fingerprint readers of different locks many times before and to be honest we can say that SMONET Smart Lock has very responsive and fast fingerprint reader which is in the top 3.

We recommend you not to use the fingerprint reader when your finger is wet, because fingerprint readers do not work properly with wet fingers. Just dry your finger or use keypad if it is very wet.

Keypad of SMONET Smart Lock

The first thing that catches your eye when you look at this smart lock is the OLED touchscreen keypad. The keypad is located just below the fingerprint reader on the upper side, and there is a keyhole at the bottom of the keypad to unlock your door with your key when necessary.

The illumination of the keypad is very sufficient for day and night use. Keypad lights automatically turn on when you press any key. Keypads with a touchscreen often experience sensitivity problems, but in all our trials, we did not have any problems with SMONET Smart Lock and each time the keys were pressed correctly. When you want to lock your door, press and hold the # button on the bottom right for two seconds and your door will automatically be locked.

There is nice protection against possibility to have your code seen by someone else while you are entering it. If you are suspicious that someone is watching you then you can just enter your code with random digits before or after it. As an example, let’s say that our code is 45789 so 36345789, 943784578943 and 457894366 will work as they all include our original code 45789.

In general, we can say that the keypad performs very well. Touchscreen keypads do not like prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. For this reason, we recommend you to avoid being under sunlight for a long time. If exposed to the sun for a long time, you may experience sensitivity problems while working and even cause the screen to crack. This notice applies to all smart locks with touch keypad, not just SMONET Smart Lock.

Operating temperature is announced as 32 °F and ~ 104 °F. This is a good temperature range which will satisfy most of the users. This smart lock has also IP5X which means it is resistant against water splashes but it is not 100% waterproof. A small rain drops or water splash will not be a problem for SMONET Smart Lock.

User Code Types of SMONET Smart Lock

Programming of SMONET Smart Lock is done only through the app. For all smart locks using the TTLock application, programming is done only through the application. We have already stated that we see this as a constraint, and we want to repeat it here as well. We would like to have the option to be able to program user codes by using the keypad too.

There is no difficulty in programming user codes through the app. You can handle programming very quickly. It took around 2 minutes in total to program different types of user codes for us. You can program an unlimited amount of user codes to SMONET Smart Lock. User codes must be between 4 – 9 digits.

There are different user code types according to various needs. SMONET offers us a wide selection about user code types. We will explain in details the types of codes you can program at the below and for what purposes they can be used.

Permanent: As you can see from the name, this code is a permanent code and will continue to work until you delete it from the system. It is the most ideal code type for people living in the home. The person with this code can always unlock the door without any date or time restrictions.

Timed: If you are giving your home for short term rental such as Airbnb, it is the most ideal code type for you. What you need to do is select the date range and time range you want the code to be active. It will run during this interval and will be automatically deleted from the system when the time expires.

One Time: One time code is a very practical and life-saving type of code. If there is someone who needs to enter your house and you do not want to give a permanent or time limited code, you can have that person enter your home only once with a one time code. The most common uses of the one time user code are home services, gardener, handyman, neighbor visits, and friend visits. After using one time code, it is automatically deleted from the system and cannot be used again.

Erase: Thanks to the erase code, you can instantly delete all the codes you have saved in the SMONET Smart Lock by entering a single code. You need to be careful when using this code because if you accidentally program erase code and while trying to program another type of code and use it, you will delete all the codes.

Cyclic: Do you have a visitor to your home every week on certain days and times? If yes, then this code comes to your rescue. To give an example about this code, if there is someone who comes to your home between 10 am and 11 am every week on Monday, Thursday and Friday, you can program a code that is will be active on these days and at the time interval. Once you program this code, it will be active every week on the days and time interval you set, until you delete it from the system.

Custom: This code gives you option to program permanent code and time limited code. It is technically grouping these 2 code types together under a single type. Only the lack of this code is, it lets you to program only 8 digits length.

There is a point to be aware of about these codes. After programming any kind of code, if you do not use it within 24 hours, it is automatically deleted from the system. This is a feature that is intended as a kind of security measure.

If you want, you will be notified when any user code is used. In addition, you can follow the code usage in details from the logs section in the app. We tested all these code types one by one and did not encounter any problems. Each code we tested worked exactly according to the specifications we had set. We can say that user code performance is impressive.

We share the SMONET Smart Lock user manual including programming steps at here. If you just launch the app, you can do the programming without the need for the programming manual.

IC Cards

IC Cards are extremely useful for elderly and kids by its simple and easy to use design. You just need to touch the IC Card to keypad screen and your door will unlock instantly. There are 2 pieces of IC Cards included inside the box but if you need more you can buy them.

IC Cards are easy to program by using the TTLock app. You can program them as permanent or time limited in a specific date range. ALL TTLock compatible IC Cards can be used with SMONET Smart Lock. SMONET suggests this IC Card if you need more.

We tested performance of IC Cards with both time limited and permanent options and have not faced with any problems. You can use IC Cards confidently.

E-Keys

One of the alternative ways to unlock your door is E-Keys. You can generate all types of user codes (except erase) as E-Keys. The difference of the E-Keys from a user code is that the E-Keys can only be used on the TTLock app. For this reason, when you generate and send an E-Key, the person you send it needs to install the TTLock app. In other words, the E-Key you generate is not used on the keypad and the only usage of it is through the TTLock app.

According to the tests we have done, we have obtained the same successful results for the E-Keys. All the E-Keys we generated worked seamlessly on different phones according to the features we determined.

Auto Lock Feature of SMONET Smart Lock

Auto lock is a very nice feature found in smart locks and makes our life easier. It fully automates the locking of the door and offers a very ideal solution for people and crowded families who do not want to deal with it anymore.

SMONET Smart Lock gives us a wide and sufficient timer options between 5 seconds and 200 seconds. In order for the auto lock to be activated, the time you specified must pass after the unlocking operation completed. When the time you have chosen passes, your door locks automatically.

In our tests, we made the choices of 5, 27, 64, 135, and 190 seconds and made 3 trials for each. When all the times we chose passed, the door was automatically locked without any problems. This feature works flawlessly so we suggest you to activate the auto lock of SMONET Smart Lock.

SMONET Smart Lock Wi-Fi Gateway

SMONET Smart Lock Wi-Fi Gateway is a must if you are looking for remote access and ability to control your lock with your voice by using Alexa or Google Assistant. In our opinion, this product is a great addon for SMONET Smart Lock to extend its capabilities.

SMONET Smart Lock Wi-Fi Gateway can also control all other smart locks that use TTLock app. We are listing all the features that comes to your smart lock with this gateway at the below.

• Lock, unlock your door remotely from anywhere
• Remotely add,delete and manage user codes and e-keys
• Connect, manage, and provide remote access to multiple locks at the same time
• Access your usage logs for user codes and e-keys remotely
• Check the status of your battery and get notifications when it is low
• Control your lock with your voice by Alexa and Google Assistant

Battery Life of SMONET Smart Lock

People who want yo buy a smart lock often worry about battery life and want to learn an approximate battery life before decide to buy the smart lock or not. SMONET Smart Lock requires 4 x AA Alkaline batteries to operate. They are not sending you batteries so you must definitely buy high quality batteries. We can suggest you to buy Duracell batteries or Energizer AA Batteries to experience the longest battery life with SMONET Smart Lock.

We have been testing SMONET Smart lock for almost 2 weeks and battery level is still at the top points. We made various tests on different doors with different enabled features and calculated the average battery consumption. We can say that it will have an ideal battery life of 3-5 months but we believe some people can even reach 7-8 months of usage. We have reached to some users of SMONET Smart Lock to confirm our estimations and heard similar things.

SMONET is a very honest company about battery life. They claim to have 3-6 months battery life depending on how it is used. There are many factors which directly affect the battery life such as enabled features, usage frequency, condition of the door, quality of the batteries and weather conditions. These are the most common factors that we can talk about.

There are 2 different low battery indicators at SMONET Smart Lock. One of them is, when your battery gets low, you will get an alarm while you are trying to use it. Second one is over the TTLock app as notification. This means it is almost impossible to forget to change the batteries before they finish completely. However, in case you forget to change them, you can still unlock the door with your key or use the micro USB port entrance to power your smart lock with a powerbank. This entrance is located under the lock.

Changing the batteries of SMONET Smart Lock is just as easy as sliding up the cover. After sliding up the cover of the interior unit, you will directly see the battery holder. It will take less than 1 minute to change the batteries.

Installation process of SMONET Smart Lock

One of the biggest concerns faced by people considering buying smart locks is the installation process. People wonder if they can manage to install the smart lock on their own to the door. We can confidently tell you that you do not need any special skills to complete the installation of SMONET Smart Lock.

Before we go into the details about the installation process that we have experienced, we list the door features that this smart lock is compatible with. Please confirm that your door has the features given at the below before buying SMONET Smart Lock or you will not be able to install it on your door.

Door thickness: 1-1/2” to 1-7/8” (38mm-48mm)

Backset: 2-3/8” or 2-3/4” (60 mm or 70 mm)

There are two holes required. Most probably your door is already drilled with a hole sized 2-1/8” (55mm) but you will need an extra small hole to fasten SMONET Smart Lock. You will find the drilling template which makes drilling perfectly easy for you inside the box.

Hole in the door: 2-1/8” (55mm)
Diameter of the small hole: 3/8”(10mm)

Please check the image below for all details

We completed the installation of SMONET Smart Lock in as little as 12 minutes in total, including the drilling process. Except drilling, we only used a Phillips head screwdriver during the installation. We have an experienced team and for this reason, we can complete the installation process faster than a normal user. However, we think that someone who has never installed a smart lock before can install this lock on the door completely within 15 or 20 minutes at the most.

There is absolutely no point causing difficulty in installation. Step by step, everything is explained in detail in the SMONET Smart Lock installation manual which is at here. We also share the installation video of SMONET Smart Lock at the below for those who want to watch rather than reading the manual.

Technical Details Chart of SMONET Smart Lock

Item Weight	3.34 pounds
Product Dimensions	6.3 x 2.56 x 1.77 inches
Voltage	1.5 volts
Batteries	4 AA batteries required. (not included)
Operating Temperature	-32 °F and ~ 104 °F
Material	Zinc
Batteries Included?	No
Batteries Required?	Yes
Battery Cell Type	Alkaline
Warranty Description	1-year warranty and free life-time technical support.

Cons and Pros of SMONET Smart Lock

In the last part of our review, we will summarize all the features we have mentioned and present you the pros and cons of SMONET Smart Lock as a list.

First of all, we would like to point out that this smart lock is really stylish, elegant and has an aesthetic design that appeals to the eye. It looks very stylish after you install it on your door. The feature we love the most is the options it offers to unlock the door. You can open your door with your fingerprint, keypad, TTLock APP, IC Cards and keys.

By using the SMONET Wi-Fi gateway  you can access the lock remotely, control the lock remotely , add and delete user codes, E-Keys. It is a great advantage that it offers a wide range of user code and E-Key types depeding on your needs. Also, thanks to SMONET Wi-Fi gateway, it is possible to control the lock with Alexa and Google Assistant voice assistants.

In terms of  battery life , we would like to point out that SMONET SMart Lock is on par with other competitors in the market. After all our review we just can’t find anything to say negatively or at least we cant find anything serious to be considered as negative.

You might have a final question in your head as “Should I buy this smart lock?”. Our answer to this question will be “absolutely”. SMONET Smart Lock offers you everything that a user expects from a smart lock with very good performance.

Pros:

Attractive and stylish design

Easy to install

5 ways to unlock

Easy to program

100 fingerprint memory

Fast and accurate fingerprint reader

Responsive touchscreen keypad

Anti-peep password protection

Unlimited user codes and E-Keys

One time, recurring, temporary and permanent user code types

Very ideal for Airbnb

Voice control by Alexa and Google Assistant (requires Wi-Fi gateway)

Remotely control every setting of the lock (requires Wi-Fi gateway)

Auto Lock with flexible timer options

Ideal battery life

2 different low battery warning

Micro USB port for power backup

Key usage in case of battery drain

Easy battery changing

Logs of usage for all user codes

IP5X certificate

Cons:

No smart hub connection options such as Samsung SmartThings

You should press and hold # key for 2 seconds for locking