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"Kwikset\u2019s Kevo Powered by Unikey Lock Review \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAttention to Detail\nThe attractive packaging is the first hint that the Kevo lock system is built to be an easy addition to your home set-up. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhat You Get\nThe components are simple and installation is fairly straightforward. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA View From the Inside\nThis is what the Kevo looks like from inside your home. Sleek, simple and only slightly techie as far as design aesthetics. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nUnder the Hood \nInside the Kevo's housing is an easy to use reset and calibration mechanism. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTouch to Open \nAside from the Kevo's security features, the device is also fun to use, with an embedded LED indicator that lights up when your door is ready to open by touch. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSecure keyless entry to your home via smartphone would make life significantly easier in any number of instances: arms full of groceries, or a guest who needs to get in without keys, to name a few. Several companies have developed smartphone-controllable deadbolts, with the development of Bluetooth LE (low energy). \nOne of the first of these smart locks to hit the market is the Kwikset Kevo powered by Unikey lock ($219), available in polished brass, satin nickel and Venetian (dark) bronze from Amazon, Brookstone, Build.com, Home Depot, Lowe's and Newegg. \nKevo adds an extra twist to smartphone control: it's touch sensitive. Tap to unlock it. Tap to lock it.\nLocking and unlocking your deadbolt simply by touching it is kind of 21st century cool and, maybe by the next decade, 21st century normal. With some cars having already gone keyless, maybe door keys will soon join the likes of rotary phones and  vinyl records. \nWhile definitely cool, I wish Kevo offered more.\n\nKevo's Capabilities Shine\nWith the included fob or free Kevo iPhone app (no Android version is available) nearby, just touch the lock to bolt or unbolt it. You don't need to have your phone out or the app open.\nAs a backup, you also get a normal key; other than the Bluetooth and touch-sensitivity, Kevo is a standard Kwikset deadbolt lock. Kevo operates on four AA batteries, which will last about a year of normal touch operation.\nBut Kevo is more than a touch lock. You can also send \"eKeys\" to whomever needs to get into your place. You email an eKey to someone, who then downloads the Kevo app to their iPhone to accept the key. \nYou also can get notifications, such as eKey acceptance, low battery alert and software updates. \nSome Tricky Installation Required\nInstalling Kevo is neither as complicated as all the parts in the photo might make it seem, nor as easy as I'd like. If you have a standard deadbolt lock, the kind where the bolt goes into the door jamb, it's a simple replacement job. Kevo installs nearly the same way; taking apart the old lock will inform your installing the new one.\nFor everyone else \u2014 unless you're Bob Vila \u2014 call a locksmith, the neighbor with a full Black &amp; Decker set or your super.\nIn all events, there are a few installation wrinkles. Two wires have to be connected within the mechanism, and you have to explicitly follow the directions when installing the battery pack. \nIf you have some lock installation experience, it shouldn't take more than 10 to 15 minutes to install.\n\nCalibration Takes Longer Than Installation\nCalibrating the fob and the iPhone to the Kevo, and so both work only when you're outside facing the door, can be time consuming. Remember, Kevo operates on proximity to the programmed Bluetooth key. You don't want someone outside to be able to touch open the lock when you're standing with the fob or your phone inside the door.\nThe back cover of the Kevo easily slides up and off to reveal a program and a calibration button. You press the calibration button, then touch the fob or iPhone to the lock mechanism to activate the calibration sequence.\nYou then go outside and close the door and go through a touching procedure until the lock recognizes the fob and iPhone.\nEach calibration process \u2013- for the fob and for the iPhone -\u2013 is done separately, and each likely will need to be repeated several times. With the fob, it took me three tries. Calibrating my iPhone took an annoying eight tries. It took longer to calibrate the fob and the iPhone than the physical installation.\nLocking Works Smoothly\nOnce installed and calibrated, Kevo operated perfectly, if slowly. \nFirst you have to securely register your Kevo account and eKey. You're given a choice of up to three security questions (e.g. your oldest sibling's birthday, your childhood phone number, etc.). You then have to name your key. This process also takes about 10 minutes.\nWhen you touch the lock, it lights up with a blue circle. Kevo then takes three or four seconds to lock (the light turns green) or unlock (the light glows orange). That's probably faster than the time it takes you to reach into a bag or pocket, pull out your keys, slip the key into the lock and turn it, then return the key to your pocket. But in this Bluetooth/smartphone/instant response age, that three or four seconds can seem long.\nA triple tap locks the door if you don't have a fob or iPhone. This is handy when a guest is leaving after you; they can now lock the door behind them without a key. But triple tap has to be enabled via switches on the rear of the mechanism.\nYou can hear the bolt operating, a good thing since you can't feel it as you would when turning a key. It then beeps when it lights green or orange when the bolt operation is complete. Your iPhone also vibrates when the lock is activated. \nSending an eKey can be annoyingly involved for the recipient. Once the eKey invite is received, and the invite opened on the iPhone, the recipient has to download the Kevo app and go through the whole Kevo registration and security process you did. \nAn LED on the rear of the Kevo flashes red when the door is locked and green when it's open.\n\nKevo Could Take Cues From the Competition\nMy biggest concern with Kevo is proximity security. Kevo works on Bluetooth, which has a 30-foot range. This means someone could touch-open your door if you're somewhere within this range. In my own informal tests, Kevo locked or unlocked when my iPhone was further than 20 feet away from the door. \nWhat's needed is some sort of user proximity settings, such as those offered on a Kevo competitor, Goji (which is not touch sensitive). You should be able to tell Kevo to work only if the fob or iPhone is within a specified distance of the lock.\nI'd also feel more comfortable if the Kwikset lock opened with a more Medeco-like key rather than the easy to duplicate Kwikset key.\nMuch of the exterior of the Kevo lock looks metallic but a lot of it is plastic, understandable considering we're dealing with radio waves. But too much of the Kevo housing on the back of the door feels cheap.\nThe installation manual is also needlessly complicated.\nOn the operational side, there are only two eKey choices: anytime and administrator. Time-limited, specific eKeys good for specific programmable times (such as from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Tuesday), a feature also available on Goji, would be useful. \nI also would love some remote key operation, also offered by Goji, but that's more of a wish than a critique. I assume some of these advanced customization features will be available at some point; one of the four switches on the back of the Kevo is labeled \"Future Feature.\"\nThese quibbles aside, Kevo performs as advertised and could represent the vanguard of all whole new door lock paradigm.\nThe Lowdown\nThe Good\n\nTouch-to-open and touch-to-lock\nSend eKey to other people\nFour AA batteries provide year-long usage\n\nThe Bad\n\nNo customizable proximity limits\nNo temporary, time-specific eKeys\nNo Wi-Fi remote access\n\nBottom Line: Kevo is the 21st century way to keylessly touch lock and unlock your home's door, but lacks customizable convenience and security options.\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.\nImages: Stewart Wolpin, Mashable"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/11/29/unikey-kevo-review/>