In the fall of 2023, when it became clear that we were nearing our first home purchase, I highlighted three purchases we were making as soon as we closed on the house. One of those items was locks — including the possibility of purchasing a smart lock. Well, sure enough, we decided to purchase the Assure Lock 2 for our home and installed it the day after the house became ours.
Specifically, we went for the Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch, which includes a fingerprint reader. We also opted for the WiFi-enabled model and bought a “keyed” version that will still open the old-fashioned way if needed. In total, this cost us $279.99 — although a 10% off coupon I found brought our total to $252. In other words, it wasn’t exactly cheap — so was it worth it?
The Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch has a front panel screen that’s blank until activated. When you tap the Yale logo at the top, it will activate a keypad, allowing you to enter an entry code. Alternatively, with this model, you can program a fingerprint and place your finger over the Yale logo to gain entry. Then, on the back of the door is a cover for the batteries (it takes 4 AAs) and the Smart Module for WiFi.
Although the installation process was surprisingly simple for the most part, we did run into one issue. As turns out, our front door’s deadbolt slot doesn’t have the rectangular cut out that I’ve been used to. Instead, it’s just a circle — which, since we’d just purchased the place, I didn’t realize until we started this project. The problem is that the deadbolt chamber that comes with the Yale Assure Lock 2 includes a plate that cannot be removed and, thus, wouldn’t fit our door.
Originally, I thought that, perhaps, I could just use the existing deadbolt cylinder in the Yale Assure Lock. After all, everything still lined up and I was able to manually lock the door without issue. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the automated locking features. While the door would actually lock when instructed, it would still give off an error. Similarly, even after seemingly successful calibrations, the app would instruct me to do it again.
Given this experience, I headed back to the Yale site to see what could be done. That’s where I spotted a $5.90 part that looked like it would fit my door — so I went ahead and ordered one. The only problem was that the shipping for the part exceeded the cost of the part itself. Luckily, this alternate part did the trick and I was immediately able to calibrate the lock properly after installing it.
Speaking of calibration, this is done via the Yale Access app. Here is also where you can invite people to your lock, create entry codes, etc.. It also keeps a log of all the times the door has been locked or unlocked. Since we sprung for the WiFi compatibility, we can even monitor this while away.
So, now that I have my lock set up properly, how is it? Well, it’s been pretty great so far. I’ll admit that I love the ability to take my dog for a walk and lock the door behind me using nothing but my fingerprint. Plus, in the more than a year since we’ve had the lock installed, we’ve only had to change the batteries once (although this is partially due to low usage).
Recently, when we had our first overnight house guest, I also got to see what it’s like to set up temporary entry codes in the Yale app. While it was pretty easy overall, I will note that the app almost makes it seem as though you’ll need to invite a contact in order to set them up in the system. In reality, though, you can just enter a name and tab the yellow arrow at the top to continue with manually assigning a code. As you’d expect, deleting that code afterward was also simple, requiring only a couple of taps. Overall, this trial was encouraging as I now know that I could remotely grant temporary entry to a neighbor, dog walker, or perhaps a future guest.
Ultimately, we probably didn’t need to get the Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch as regular deadbolts and keys still work pretty well. But, as new homeowners we were changing the locks anyway, I’m glad we decided to install this handy tool now so that, when it comes time to take advantage of its features, we’ll know how to use them properly. I’m also very glad that I was able to fix my issue regarding the door cut-out shape, but paying an extra shipping fee did annoy me a bit. Then again, if you know what type of door you have ahead of time, you could add this single part to your initial order and avoid the separate shipping charge.
All in all, while the Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch may not be a “must-have,” I think it’s a nice upgrade with a pretty high convenience factor if you can afford it.