August smart locks, much like almost any other product, are definitely not without their own peculiarities and issues.
Now, while the goal of this article is to provide a comprehensive all-encompassing resource of problems owners have faced with August smart locks, it is also worth mentioning that not all issues fall into the same category.
Some problems are more common while others are not so much.
Also, while focusing on the issues that may occur, this does not mean that all August locks are bad. The reality is that there are plenty of people who haven’t had any issues.
Most Common Problems With August Smart Locks
- Early low-battery alerts
- Battery drain
- Network disconnects
- App displays the wrong door status
- Lock unlocking on its own
- Auto-lock or auto-unlock not working
- HomeKit issues
- Lock shows as unavailable
- Problems during the initial setup
- DoorSense issues
- Keypad issues
- Unknown errors
- Lock working manually only
- Lock works only with the key inserted
Low Battery Alerts
One of the most common issues with August smart locks is in connection with early battery alerts.
In theory, on average, batteries should last between 2 to 3 months, and the low battery notification should be sent out when the batteries in your August smart lock reach about 25% charge. If the batteries are not replaced on time, then August will begin sending daily email reminders and push notifications.
However, the reality can be a little different for some users.
Many report that they sometimes receive low battery notifications even after a couple of days of switching to new batteries, regardless of the battery quality or price tag.
Some report that they would start receiving critical low-battery notifications at battery capacity anywhere between 40% to 95%.
This issue is made even worse by the fact that there is no way of checking the battery level in the August app.
It would seem that there are issues with the software, which may not be properly reading the voltage output of batteries triggering a low battery alert.
And even August’s Customer Support has said that those low battery notifications may not necessarily indicate a battery drain or low voltage. Allegedly, the low battery notifications may also be time-based according to an old statement made by an August employee.
Battery Drain
There have been many cases of August smart locks that go through batteries really quickly.
This can cause a lot of unexpected problems for owners, as not only are the batteries used expensive but owners or guests may run into a dead smart lock at an unexpected time.
The issue here seems to be mostly connected to the way these smart locks work.
Luckily, there are some fixes and workarounds that have been found to work and reduce the battery drain significantly.
August Smart Lock Keeps Disconnecting
There is another very common issue with August smart locks that has all to do with overall reliability, the frequent disconnects and reconnects, and the inability to remain online even during the initial setup.
HomeKit users also report various issues where their August smart lock will not respond at all.
These issues are observed with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.
For example, the August smart lock Gen3 has had recurring issues with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity where it will simply not respond to any of them.
Connectivity issues may require frequent troubleshooting and restarts of the smart lock or even factory resets and buying a connection hub in certain instances.
Many users question the technology used and the firmware as they experience frequent, sometimes multiple daily, disconnects. Even doing their best to keep internet routers and connection hubs close by have not been found to always work, and some of the fixes that do seem to work appear to be more than strange.
August Smart Locks Shows the Wrong Status
There have been cases where an August smart lock will not recognize the door is actually closed.
This can even happen multiple times within a very short timeframe, resulting in multiple notifications, back to back.
This problem can be annoying, but the more serious issue here is that if the owner is away they will have no idea as to whether or not the door is opened or closed and what is actually happening at that moment.
Fixing this issue requires some extensive troubleshooting because it can be a result of different things.
August Smart Lock Unlocks on Its Own
This is easily one of the most worrying issues that some owners have experienced. Something like this should never happen as it is a huge safety concern and puts one’s home and property at risk as well.
However, in most cases, this issue is associated with GPS or buggy firmware. Some minor troubleshooting may fix these issues.
Auto-Lock and Auto-Unlock Problems
One issue with some August smart locks is that the auto-locking and unlocking capabilities can be somewhat unreliable.
In some instances, the auto-locking and unlocking capabilities may not work at all, while in others they will work but with a significant delay.
Now, some people may be able to overlook the above-mentioned issue with August smart locks unlocking on their own sometimes, knowing that the lock can be set to automatically lock after a short delay.
However, considering that the auto-lock or unlock features can also fail at times puts things into another category.
Such problems have been found to be caused by different things, which are oftentimes fixable after some troubleshooting.
Also, those issues are not necessarily all because of August, but to a certain degree, how smartphones and iOS and Android location polling works and background apps are managed.
Unfortunately, even after extensive troubleshooting, some owners report that they were never able to get the auto-lock or auto-unlock features to work reliably all the time.
Guest Access Not Working
There are many homeowners that are using smart locks for their rental properties.
Some hosts have voiced their concerns and shared their experience about having frequent issues with various bugs when it comes to setting and sending guest access codes automatically, temporary codes, and sending out check-in emails, too.
There have been issues with the app not working with random guests while with others it will continue to work.
Oftentimes troubleshooting and talking to August Customer Support requires the owners to be physically present in front of the lock, which may not be possible for a number of reasons.
This can be fairly problematic not just for the hosts but their guests as well. Hosts may have to manually mail guest keys, which is also one of the reasons many opt for the keypad, and this ends up being anything but a pleasant experience for both sides.
August Smart Locks Not Working
There is a whole range of different issues people have stumbled upon during the years that fall into this category such as:
- The lock works only manually
- The lock works manually but not over the app
- The lock works only with the physical key inserted
- The lock is stuck on unlocking or locking
All of these issues require some troubleshooting and removal of the lock as they are often associated with improper installation.
And in other cases, the lock may also need to be reset as the motor can be jammed.
Problems With Accessories
Over the years there have been various types of issues caused by different things affecting some of August’s accessories such as the keypad, the DoorSense, or the Connect hub.
These issues are less common but can be very annoying nonetheless.
Most of these are fixable after some troubleshooting and knowing what to look for and what to do since some of these fixes may seem a little counterintuitive at first.
Unknown Problems
Unknown problems are extremely rare, however, there have been some interesting cases over the years.
For example, there’s been a very peculiar error that some users have experienced with their August smart locks.
This error is likely due to a possible app bug that can occur causing the return of a “we don’t know what went wrong” error.
When factory resetting the app and trying to go through the installation process again with a different phone, sometimes, a different error may be received that would indicate the setup has already been completed or that the user does not have the necessary authorization to set up the lock.
The only fix found by users so far is to contact August’s Customer Support and directly request that they disconnect the lock from their end.
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