INTRODUCTION

   Safety at home and at work has always been among my main concerns when looking around about what to review next. IP cameras and surveillance systems in general have always worked both as a deterrent and as a failsafe in case something bad happens and so i expect they will remain a favourite among both consumers and professionals for many years to come. Aside surveillance systems in genera however I’ve always kept an eye out for new pin and fingerprint authentication door locks since I’ve always found them to be very interesting. Of course, we do live in the "connected" era so it's no surprise that lately we've seen many door locks which can be opened/closed both locally and remotely via your smartphone. Nuki has taken things a step further however with their latest Smart Lock 2.0 and so for the past month I’ve been using their Keypad Combo bundle.

   Nuki is a leading provider of retrofit intelligent access solutions for Europe. One team, one mission “We have set ourselves the goal of making existing access solutions more intelligent and thereby replacing the physical key. We're excited to take on the challenge because we believe in simplifying everyday life through the use of mobile technologies, “says Nuki CEO Martin Pansy, explaining his company's mission. Nuki Home Solutions GmbH was founded in Graz in 2014. After successful crowdfunding in 2015, the company has grown steadily and employs more than 80 people in Graz. In addition to the established Smart Lock in the current version 2.0 and an extensive range of accessories, Nuki is working hard to further develop smart access solutions for a completely keyless future. Further information can be found at http://nuki.io

   The Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 is a unique little device which mounts on the interior of the door and can easily transform your old lock into a smart one (compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant and Amazon Homekit) with which not only can you open/close both locally and remotely with your smartphone but you can also check its current status (open/close manually or automatically) via a tiny door sensor. Now even though the local function is performed via your smartphone's Bluetooth connectivity the remote function is performed with the help of the Nuki Bridge device which connects wirelessly with your local network (modem/router). The full bundle i received however also includes a very convenient 9-digit keypad which gets mounted on the exterior of the door and allows the end user to control the Nuki Lock 2.0 (open/close) by manually inputting his/hers very own PIN code. So at least on paper the Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 does sound quite impressive, what about real use however?

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Smart Lock 2.0 and Bridge bundle (Combo 2.0) arrived inside a box that has a picture of the smart lock at the front along with Alexa, Google Assistant and Amazon Homekit logos.

At the base of the box, we find the main product features whereas at the top we see the two main bundle contents.

A proper installation drawing is located on the left side.

Both the bundle contents and product requirements are listed at the rear of the box.

Everything is nicely placed inside a thick piece of black foam.

So along with the Smart Lock 2.0 and the WiFi Bridge you're also getting two lock mounts, Allen key, door magnet and the installation guide.

For this test i also received the keypad (available in the Keypad Combo) which is shipped inside a small box and just has the installation instructions and mounting screws inside the box.

THE NUKI KEYPAD COMBO

The plastic/aluminum body of the Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 weighs just 460g and measures 11cm in length, 6cm in width and 6cm in depth.

At the top of the device, there’s an aluminum knob inside which Nuki has placed a LED activity ring and a button at the center (you can use either the button to lock/unlock the door or the aluminum knob which you turn like you would the key).

For good or bad the Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 doesn't feature a rechargeable battery pack, instead you need to use 4 LR6 batteries which are located at the base of the device as seen above.

The way the Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 works is rather simple, you just mount it on the rear of the door with the key on which is in turn placed inside the gap seen at the back of the device (the device simply turns the key left and right).

EU customers will be delighted to learn that the Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 can be mounted on most doors, this is why it comes with two separate metal mounts (one is for cylinders with at least 3mm overhang on the inside of the door and the other is for cylinder with less than 3mm).

The rubber coated keypad measures roughly 8.9cm in length, 2.7cm in width and 1.2cm in depth.

You have two ways to mount the keypad, either you use the already attached 3M double sided tape or the bundled screws.

Unlike the Smart Lock the keypad uses two button cells (CR2032).

INSTALLATION

Since my office/lab doesn't have exterior direct access from the street the door to my office/lab is nothing exciting, it's basically a 20 year old wooden door.

For this door the proper mount is B (over 3mm overhang) and as you may be able to tell it attaches onto the door via a double side tape.

After that i only needed to place the key in the lock and mount the Nuki Smart Lock 2.0.

You may also want to mount the tiny door sensor so you may know at all times whether the door has been opened or not (again this uses a double side tape).

The keypad was mounted on the exterior of the door as seen above (close up cause the exterior of the door had quite a few scratches on it).

NUKI ANDROID/IOS APP

When you first start the smartphone app you can choose to either setup a Nuki device or enter an invitation code (don't know what the 2nd does to be honest).

The app is unified which means you can control every Nuki device you own from here.

Setting up the Smart Lock 2.0 is easy, just follow the on screen instructions.

Of course, if your smartphone is connected to the internet the software will also perform any necessary firmware updates.

After that the Smart Lock 2.0 will need to calibrate (you will also need to choose whether you'll be using it at home or at the office).

The smart lock sensor feature is still in beta but it works as advertised.

Next in line was obviously the keypad which can also be used to lock the door.

Finally, you will need to pair the bridge with your lock and then with your local modem/router so you can give it access to the internet.

Now there are far too many settings/options you can play around with in this app but i strongly suggest placing extra weight on the locking rotation one.

For my door the normal mode was too much so the Smart Lock 2.0 would turn the key almost 3 times (at least it would try since the key can only rotate twice - that would cause the Smart Lock 2.0 to move a bit).  By reducing the locking distance not only can you make it more "compatible" with your door but you can also make it quicker and save precious battery life in the process.

CONCLUSION

   No matter how you may “feel” about technology there are many devices out there that do make your life easier and the Nuki Combo 2.0 is without doubt one of them. Even however if you don’t see it quite the same way there’s one thing certain about this kit, it’s cool and certainly not something people see a lot. Yes, it may not look quite as “pretty” as some keypad locks which are made entirely out of aluminum and have their keypads attached at the front but in all likelihood the Nuki Combo 2.0 outperforms almost every single one of them when it comes to features and to me that’s all that matters. True it’s not quite perfect since the plastic part of the main body is not what I’d call durable (and it's quite noisy when it locks/unlocks the door) but unless you actually hit/smash it with something really big i don’t think that could ever become a problem (and the same of course goes for the keypad). My only tiny “problem” with the Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 is the fact that it uses regular batteries (not so much with the keypad since its batteries should outlast those of the lock) which will need replacing after a while (depending on the usage of the Smart Lock 2.0).

   The Nuki Keypad Combo currently retails for 329Euros (Nuki Webshop) and even though i believe this is a fair price for what you’re getting in return i fully understand that for some it may not seem quite “affordable”. At the end of the day the Nuki family of smart devices may not be meant for everyone but if you’re looking for ways to forget you ever had door keys (or if you'd like something new, exciting and cool for your house and/or office) this could be just the thing and since i really enjoyed (and still do) using the Nuki Keypad Combo and haven’t come across any issues to date it certainly deserves the Golden Award.

PROS

- Overall Build Quality
- Design (For Some)
- Local & Remote Lock/Unlock
- Remote Monitoring
- Keypad (Ease Of Use)
- Auto Lock
- Easy & Fast Installation
- Available Settings
- Compatible With Alexa, Google Assistant & Amazon Homekit
- Large Product Range (Available Devices & Bundles)

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Not Rechargeable Batteries
- Noise Levels
- Availability Outside The USA