Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Smart Locks for Common House

[Diane Craig (ddcraig]

Good question We have one common house with two doors that are locked 24/7.
It currently has a keypad lock that runs on batteries, not wifi.  We have
two other buildings (workshop/garden shed) and will continue to use a
keypad on those.  We don't use keys at all. The fob/card drawback is you
have to carry it around (not a big deal) and the cost (a big deal).

On Thu, Oct 23, 2025 at 5:59 PM Scott Drennan <scottd [at] pobox.com> wrote:

> We chose fobs/cards instead of cell phone or keypad.
> The fobs are individually assignable and can be activated and deactivated
> separately.
> We wanted something which operates independent of Internet and WiFi
> access, for improved privacy, security and long-term usability. We have one
> person who manages activating/deactivating/changing fob permissions, with a
> backup person for resiliency.
>
> How many locks do you have on your Common House? We have a total of 10
> across 3 buildings, so your needs may be simpler, but I'd still recommend
> something which is locally controlled. And what do you currently have?
> Locks with keys?
>
> cheers,
> Scott
> Treehouse Village Ecohousing
> Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
>
> On Thu, Oct 23, 2025, at 1:16 PM, Diane Craig via Cohousing-L wrote:
>
> Gainesville Cohousing is looking to upgrade its common house locks.  We are
> looking at two that can be opened with a cell phone (Apple or Android),
> along with a keypad.  We want to be able to change codes more frequently
> without frustrating the community, assign or remove guest codes to
> non-members, and lock/unlock the door remotely.
>
> The two we are looking at are the *Ultraloq Bolt Fingerprint (with u-tec
> app)* and the *Schlage Encode Smart Wifi Deadbolt Lock*.
>
> Does anyone have experience with either of these products or another smart
> lock with remote access?
>
> If yes, do you have one person who logs into the app to manage the codes or
> multiple members who can do this?   What are the pros and cons of using
> these locks in your community?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Diane Craig
> Gainesville Cohousing
> Gainesville, FL
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