Are Smart Locks Worth It? An Honest Assessment
Smart locks solve real problems and create a few new ones. Here is a locksmith's honest view of when they are worth installing and when a good deadbolt wins.
Written by the Locksmith Vaughan Ontario team, a mobile locksmith service covering Vaughan and the surrounding GTA. Last reviewed .
Smart locks get sold on the idea that keys are obsolete. That is overstated. What smart locks genuinely change is not security so much as control: who can get in, when, and whether you have to be there to allow it. Whether that is worth the money depends almost entirely on how your household actually runs.
What they genuinely improve
- No more hiding a key outside, which is the single weakest habit in residential security
- Temporary access for cleaners, dog walkers, contractors, or guests, with a code you can delete afterwards
- Children getting in after school without carrying a key that can be lost
- A record of who entered and when, which matters for rentals and shared properties
- Remote unlocking for a delivery or a family member, if the model supports it
Where they fall short
Batteries die, and they rarely die at a convenient moment. Most good smart locks warn you well in advance and keep a physical key override or an emergency power contact, but the cheap ones sometimes do not. Electronics also dislike Ontario winters, and an exterior keypad exposed to freezing rain has a harder life than the marketing photos suggest. Finally, the lock is only as strong as the deadbolt and the door frame behind it. A smart lock on a flimsy door is a smart flimsy door.
The question people forget to ask
Before buying, check what happens when things go wrong. Does the model keep a physical key cylinder as backup? Can you jump it with an external battery? If it is app based, does it still work when your internet is down? A smart lock without a fallback is a lockout waiting to happen, and we do get called to those.
Who benefits most
- Families with kids who come home before the adults do
- Anyone regularly letting in service people while at work
- Landlords and short term rental hosts managing changing occupants
- Households that have already lost keys more than once
Who should probably skip it
If you live alone, rarely give anyone access, and have a solid deadbolt that works properly, a smart lock is a convenience purchase rather than a security upgrade. In that case the money is usually better spent on a higher grade deadbolt, reinforced strike plates, and longer screws into the frame, which do more against an actual forced entry than any app will.
Installation is where it goes wrong
Most smart lock complaints trace back to fit rather than the device. If the door is slightly misaligned, the bolt drags, and a motor that has to fight the strike plate will chew through batteries and eventually fail to lock at all. Getting the door and frame right first is the difference between a smart lock that works for years and one that frustrates you into removing it.
