The overall reputation of Yale smart locks is very solid.
While many report using their Yale lock for multiple years without any notable hiccups or issues there are others who have run into various intermittent problems.
Below I list the typical issues owners of Yale smart locks have run into over the years. Some of these are relatively more common than others.
Most Common Yale Smart Lock Problems
- Connectivity issues
- Nest integration problems
- Battery drain
- Lock jamming problems
- Touchpad and keypad failures
- Wrong door status reports
- Motor failures
- Calibration and pairing issues
Battery Drain
One of the frequent issues and complaints among some users is that their Yale smart lock seems to drain batteries super quickly. Some report that they have to change their batteries once every couple of weeks to at least once a month.
There have also been instances where owners claim to have never even received a low-battery notification, which made matters even worse.
There are various reasons why a smart lock could drain batteries very quickly.
Poor signal coverage and some access point devices, misaligned lock, using the wrong type of batteries, or even cold weather can exacerbate this issue and cause batteries to die sooner than expected.
Also, battery drain is a common problem with many smart locks that use Wi-Fi.
In comparison, low-power communication protocols like Bluetooth, Z-wave, or Zigbee require less power, and as a result battery life is greatly improved.
Yale smart locks that use the Wi-Fi bridge to connect to the internet normally shouldn’t run into those problems. However, battery drain can be more common with Yale smart locks using the Wi-Fi Module.
The was also a specific firmware version that had bugs leading to increased battery drain, which has since been fixed. Usually updating the firmware to the newest version has been found to fix that issue.
Friction can also cause problems with battery life since the lock will have to work harder to overcome it. Ensuring everything is installed and aligned properly and that there isn’t anything in the way to prevent free movement of the deadbolt will fix this problem.
Most users are very happy with the overall battery life of their Yale smart locks. As long as the right batteries are used, the lock is within a short distance of the hub, and the lock has been installed correctly your batteries should last a good couple of months to even a year or two.
Jamming Problems
Another somewhat common issue reported by some users is their Yale smart lock jamming or not engaging properly.
There have also been reports of people receiving random lock-jammed notifications.
Generally, those issues are associated with improper installations where the lock and deadbolt are not aligned properly causing friction during operation. In certain cases, there could be something obstructing the way and preventing the deadbolt from fully extending.
This issue can easily be fixed with some realignment of the latch and strike plate and drilling of the hole to ensure there is enough room for the deadbolt when fully extended.
Another common problem is that some doors can warp over time. A good telltale is if you suddenly need to push on the door in order to close or lock it.
However, there have also been reports where the lock would jam even when the door is completely open. A common fix found by some owners was to loosen the bolts holding the lock a bit, as sometimes people would overtighten them.
Nest Connectivity Issues
One recurring issue with Yale smart locks is their unreliable integration with Nest—namely, the frequent disconnects.
Many users share that while other devices will remain online in the app the Yale lock would be the only one that would often disconnect and go offline.
There have also been isolated cases of Nest x Yale locks that would suddenly stop working or have various different problems after replacing the batteries or after leaving the batteries to completely run out of charge. Those problems can range from displaying the wrong door status, increased battery drain to entry codes not working.
Although according to Nest customer support, this is generally considered to be a Yale smart lock issue, people believe it has something to do with Nest firmware bugs.
Lock Going Offline
Users report problems with frequent connection dropping.
In order to fix that and bring the lock back online you may have to reset, power cycle, or even factory reset the Connect bridge or the smart lock.
This issue can also be caused by spotty Wi-Fi, or if the different devices are too far away from each other.
Even though this issue is easily fixable, in most cases, it brings about a lot of inconvenience especially if the lock keeps going offline every week.
Touchscreen and Keypad Issues
Another somewhat common problem reported by some users is the touchscreen or keypad not working reliably all the time or even complete failures.
Generally, the keypad, with the actual physical buttons, is considered more reliable than the touchpad. However, there have been issues with both.
Status Report Issues
Another issue experienced by some owners is that sometimes their Yale lock would show as locked or unlocked while that would not be the case in real life.
Over the years different causes have been considered to lead to these problems such as software issues, low battery issues, or a misaligned lock where the problem would be caused by an obstruction preventing the deadbolt from working properly or overtightening of the screws.
Motor Failures
There have been reports of motor issues and motors failing after a couple of years.
Oftentimes this is accompanied by clicking noises or the motor struggling to operate the turning component as usual before eventually failing.
Overall total motor failure is rare and happens after a couple of years of use.
Blocked Lock Due to Geo-Locking
A recent Yale app update that was forced on users that geo-locked certain Yale smart lock models, preventing them from working outside of North America has raised a lot of concern among users.
Unfortunately, one of the issues here is that some of these locks are sold on Amazon outside of the US, which should not have happened in the first place.
If we take a look at Yale’s website for the appropriate region these same models may not be available, while that would not be the case if we search on other places such as Amazon.
Miscellaneous Issues
Over the years there have also been a small amount of various miscellaneous problems reported by some users.
There have been cases where the virtual keys for the Yale Conexis have been completely lost during the setting up process. Those locks come with a limited number of virtual keys and extra virtual keys need to be purchased.
There have been some issues where Yale locks would not respond properly during the initial calibration and pairing.
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I haven’t proved it yet. But I’ve been unable to connect my Yale Assure 2 locks to WiFi that has spaces in the password. I created a Guest network and password without spaces and it connected right away.