Science & Technology
The Level Smart Lock hides within your existing door hardware
By hiding within your existing door hardware, Level Lock brings smart lock functionality without changing the look of your door. TechCrunch is a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news.
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Ms Taylor
January 13, 2020 at 2:58 am
Elon Musk is building an earth wide surveillance network using Teslas and his earth wide internet infrastructure starlink that bypasses any government and aggregates the surveillance data directly to himself hidden anywhere in the world. I know because I came up with everything about startlink. Except for the horrible execution.
Andrew Osterman
January 13, 2020 at 8:19 am
Now that’s good comment etiquette
Drewheeler
January 13, 2020 at 8:19 am
Now that’s good comment etiquette
Ms Taylor
January 13, 2020 at 2:41 pm
@Andrew Osterman Reetard stalker.
Andrew Osterman
January 13, 2020 at 10:28 pm
Ms Taylor How’d you know?
Drewheeler
January 13, 2020 at 10:28 pm
Ms Taylor How’d you know?
Sebastian Andres Sanfilippo
January 15, 2020 at 5:47 pm
And that´s what happens when your parents are related…. are you wearing a tinfoil hat, aren’t you?
Wolf of Dubai Stocks Investing Channel
January 13, 2020 at 3:44 am
Finally one Gadget that you do not see
Alain Portant
February 2, 2020 at 10:01 am
i Have heard of a vibrating gadget that you insert into your rectal passage, I can help you setting it up
B C
January 13, 2020 at 8:22 am
What could possibly go wrong.
Simon
January 13, 2020 at 9:34 am
Thieve : Thank you for telling that.
Richard Servello
January 13, 2020 at 2:34 pm
This reply makes no sense… The obvious point is that it’s invisible.
Mircea
February 26, 2020 at 12:08 pm
@Richard Servello it doesn’t change anything
NNS POWER
January 13, 2020 at 9:02 pm
Great ???? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ????????
James Petkwitz
January 16, 2020 at 3:40 am
This is stupid, so they took the actual bolt, hollowed it out and put the battery in there, plus by it’s design the bolt is only about a little over an 1″ that is stupidly unsafe for strength
James Petkwitz
February 1, 2020 at 8:49 pm
@Coral Chaser no disrespect taken, you are just wrong about most break ins. Most break ins are from physical forced entry. Doors with inadequate deadbolts or not properly installed strikes are quite easy to kickin. And if they are newer steel or fiberglass doors with thermal pain windows, often times easier to kick in than breaking the glass. There are things I can tell from looking at this product and the literature and videos about it.
1.) It had a proprietary bolt. 90% of deadbolts have 1 of 3 style bolts and as a professional I can tell you that even the best ones can break, when they do it is often no big deal and it will cost maybe 10-15 dollars for a new part. This will likely be much more, and it will likely only be available through them.
2. It will only work on doors prepped for a 2 1/8″ thick hole. Which means if you have an older home with older locks that are not prepped for that. And the older standard was usually about 1 1/2″ diameter hole, now you likely need a new deadbolt and have the hole enlarged to use the product.
3.) The bolt, by virtue of it’s design will likely be not as strong because it will be adjustable for either 2 3/4″ or 2 3/8″. Adjustable backsets are inherently weaker than fixed. But are easier for end user installation. On to of that the bolt needs to slip into the center disc motor.d that is another point of vulerablitilty to breaking either through force or just long term use.
4. The bolt is hollow to allow the battery to fit inside. Hollowing out the bolt and filling it with a softer metal like that of a battery will mean the bolt if easier to cut (bad if you have an outswinging door). Plus the metal that the bolt is made of will be thinner and eaiser to bend and break.
5. Because this works with a variety of modern locks.. it will have to have swapable parts for each manufacturers tail prices. (Like those plastic colored pieces for your August lock) because they are chanagle and removable, they are more prone to breaking, cracking, and wearing out.
6. The strike plate they have shown in their videos looks attractive, simple and minimal. But is tiny, doesnt appear to have holes for longer screws to re-enforce (vital for making the door harder to simply kick in) and allows for very little shifting in the door. Which means if there is any shift in the door (very common in homes) this bolt will have a hard time locking and will wear out motors quicker, potentially break parts quicker.
You are right, that until it is in my hands I will have no really facts. It is an interesting product, but from everything I have seen it looks like it is going to be very stupid from a duribility, security, sevricability and reliability standpoint.
These residential locks regardless of brand are for people who want conscience and do not care about quality or security.
Personally I think out of all the residential products in the “smart lock category” the one dislike the least is the August lock. Simply because I can pair it with a lock of my choice and ensure that I have a very strong and reliable fixed backset bolt to go with it.
Coral Chaser
February 1, 2020 at 9:57 pm
James Petkwitz,
All good points and a good read for all home owners regardless what lock they use. If you’re out in the sticks or neighbors just don’t care about noises around their home, i would be worried. I’m in a floor where we all watch one another’s property. There were break ins in the sub 5th floors. They are al windows. All our doors are metal with metal frames. They are very loud when they close, and even when you knock on the door. So while this product might not be for everyone, it suits me fine.
I agree that it will have wear and tear. I can live with ordering spare parts from them after a year or two. But at the speed of home automation, i will probably move this lock to my home office before CES 2022.
I get that your profession requires scrutiny. As a security consultant, we scrutinize everything from the ground out. But unless we get our hands on the system and a thorough walk through, we can’t jump the gun. I’m waiting for my notification to purchase this product. I hope to see one of your critiques of this product when you get your hands on it.
The August Smart Lock pro works great if it want so butt ugly and i didn’t have to restart the Connect bridge every now and then for it to work. And if i didn’t have to remotely unlock the door for friends and fam because the keypad is a complete failure.
Mircea
February 26, 2020 at 12:12 pm
@James Petkwitz just by watching these videos, none of the other types of smart lock dead bolt installations look any more safer, neither the original dead bolt itself. All flimsy doors and frames. Almost all of them ar just about convenience rather than physical security.
James Petkwitz
February 26, 2020 at 12:42 pm
@Mircea I personally dislike most smart locks.. unless I need them for a specific purpose. With that said there are ones that I prefer more are simply the motors that retrofit to existing deadbolts (like the August) that is because I can pair it to a bolt that is more more resiliant to physical force. Emtek makes one of the best bolts out of any of the residential companies. It is a fixed backset with a construction very similar to Medecos bolt construction. That bolt, with a nice strike plate and 3 1/2 screws reinforcing it.
That being said the “smart lock component means that you are still sacrificing some quality… But at least I can make make those as strong as possible.
Mircea
February 27, 2020 at 5:51 am
@James Petkwitz
Dan Pettersson
February 9, 2020 at 5:14 am
Yet another example of a US company with myopia.
Sent this to level lock…..
Hi there.
Some months ago I expressed interest in the level lock.
I received an email saying I can now order one, wooohoo!
Then the small print says US only.
WTF?!?
The last time this happened was with a NAVDY head up display for a car.
Then they decided to ship to the USA only 1st despite my initial kickstarter seed money.
By the time shipping to australia came around there was an exact chinese copy at half the price, and china is closer.
So… are you shipping to australia or shall I wait for the chinese one?
Kind regards,
Dan Pettersson
Australia
Ben Rimmasch
March 5, 2020 at 1:13 am
Completely uninterested. Another company that developed exclusively for iPhone, added Android as an afterthought and went exclusively for HomeKit support. This mentality is sooooo far behind the times. Add that to the fact that they are selling in the US only… This could have been good but after their initial idea they REALLY missed the mark. Hugely dissatisfied.
joshx413
March 10, 2020 at 10:40 am
I’ll get it over the competition solely BECAUSE of homekit support. It’s much easier to make an app for iOS and port to Android than vise versa. Restrictions on apples end are much stricter and therefore not always able to port FROM Android. And if limiting it to US only for launch will make a more reliable product. I’m all for it. I’m just curious how reliable it will be compared to an August lock. Because those aren’t too reliable
Skyy Ever
March 30, 2020 at 7:42 am
Both cofounders used to work for Apple. So it’s probably easier and quicker for them to launch the company with just HomeKit support for now, since they’re already familiar with the tech, and probably still have connections at Apple.
joshx413
March 10, 2020 at 10:36 am
Homekit support?
Jordan Richards
April 19, 2020 at 3:05 pm
Yes is support by HomeKit as long as you have a home Hub (Apple TV, HomePod, or Ipad )
Matt Faraday
March 30, 2020 at 9:28 am
so .. only for the US market then (EU uses locks that look nothing like this)
Drew E
March 30, 2020 at 5:53 pm
Works with Apple Homekit? WTF uses homekit. I don’t know a single person that has invested in that ecosystem. The rest of the world uses Google Assistant and Alexa, if you’re in the US. Get with it or you`ll be out of business quickly!!!