CONCLUSION

    The SECBN51 (SECBNEBL51) was designed with convenience and low-cost in mind and well, it delivers on both. It’s very easy to install (removing the door handle and cylinder, mounting the SECBN51 inside and attaching the door handle again took less than 5 minutes) and costs roughly the same as some of the premium Italian locks sell for where I live. Needless to say, using a fingerprint scanner (and an RFID one) is not for all, I for one happen to like it but some people (older people mostly) don’t feel very comfortable with such smart locks and well, I understand why that is. Luckily WELOCK also makes keypad locks and well, these tend to do better with older people (again, not great however). Worth pointing out is that WELOCK claims that the fingerprint scanner works 98% of the time but during my tests I didn’t encounter a single failure, so I guess that’s good news for everyone (must have used it at least 80 times). As for battery life since WELOCK states that three fully charged AAA batteries can last for up to 8000 locks/unlocks I never came near to that number so that’s not something I can really comment about (all I can say is that the battery level didn’t change at all from the moment I installed the batteries and up until the end of my 2 week review). If I had to nitpick, I’d probably point out the lack of tamper and forced entry alerts which is something other similar models do have in the market and personally find very useful (not as compatible and easy to install however).

    Just in time for this review WELOCK currently has the SECBN51 smart fingerprint lock on sale for just 144.84Euros inside the EU from Amazon.de (use code secbn063 for a final price of 132Euros) and 139Euros directly from WELOCK (use coupon VD50 for a final price of 139Euros), a price tag which is very balanced for what you’re getting. That being said if fingerprint identification is not for you then perhaps one of their keypad models would make a better choice (will try to get one in the lab to test). Still, the SECBN51 as a product delivers as advertised and for that the Golden Award is in order.

PROS

- Overall Quality
- Fingerprint, RFID & Smartphone Use
- Fingerprint Sensor Accuracy (98%)
- Door Compatibility
- Easy Installation
- Battery Life (Up To 8000 Uses)
- Emergency MicroUSB Port
- WELOCK App
- Current Price Tag (For Some)

CONS

- Requires AAA Batteries (Not Rechargeable)
- No Tamper & Forced Entry Alerts