RemoteLock LS-5i Deadbolt Lock (WiFi-Enabled) (Oil Rubbed Bronze)

Let's face it...there are lots of locks out there that are "smart" but most charge a hefty monthly fee to get their brains to your phone. The Lockstate lock is not too expensive (I think $0.99 per month) and has all the same functions as those with 10x monthly fees. I've had a few momentary ins and outs of signal but this has never prevented me or guests from accessing the house. Overall, this is well worth the money and the ongoing maintenance costs are way lower than competitors. The simple push button is accessible by everyone (not all cleaning ladies have smart phones with bluetooth enabled and synched to open your fancy August locks, etc). They type in their number and get in...you get a text when they arrive and when they leave. So if they charge $25 per hour and spend 2 hours but charge you 4...haha, you know already and you can negotiate for better rates or get a new cleaning lady. Same deal with dog walkers. Pay for the 30 minute walk and they spend 10 minutes door to door with the little pooches...couple the door entry data with some Nest Dropcam video footage and you can be sure to get your money worth on these household services performed while you are away. Easily these two trust but verify uses of this lock will pay for the lock itself.

2018 Review- I'm leaving my 2016 review of the Lockstate deadbolt I bought at that time. Since 2016, Lockstate significantly improved their app and website interfaces. I manage vacation rental company and have found that Lockstate has the best product offering available, which could have gone downhill in 2016, 2017, etc, but they've focused on customer needs and quality and they've leaped ahead.Pluses: battery life is actually very good (not always the case in the past). If you set your lock to a "1 hour heatbeat" interval, you should get about 3-4 months out of a lock that's used a few times each day, which is impressive, considering what it does on 4 AA Costco brand batteries.Drawbacks: 1) When I send the lock a command to unlock or lock, it only receives the command when it "wakes up", which is whatever the heartbeat interval is set to. I've had clients book a last minute vacation rental less than an hour before showing up, so when I log on to create their personalized code, it may not get to the lock for up to an hour. I've got a workaround, however, and I've created an emergency guest code for these type of situations. 2) The power of the motor is a bit underwhelming. When a door seal causes a door to put the least amount of pressure of the deadbolt, the Lockstate Lock will not retract without wigling the door back and forth while it's retracting. Trying to explain this to guests who don't speak english very well (let's say) is sometimes difficult. I get calls during MANY of my guests' check-ins complaining that the lock won't open. It's a simple fix for me to help them figure out how to manipulate the door so that it opens, but it should have a bit more power to be able to retract in almost every situation. 3) I've had to modify the deadbolt receiving area of every door I've placed a Lockstate Lock on. If the part of the deadbolt that extends out from the door were tappered, or shaved a bit, it would work much better. The problem is that the end of the deadbolt is basically the flat end of a spherical cylinder, which doesn't align up with the door frame perfectly. Therefore, when guests try to lock the door and it's not lined up perfectly, the deadbolt won't completely extend and it ends up retracting.Overall, I'm revising the stars to 4/5 as I love this concept and like the product, but there are improvements that must be made.2016 Review-I've ordered WiFi locks in the past, by LockState, and this is the poorest performing version. I don't recommend it as I've discovered it's difficult to explain how to use it to others who use our cabin vacation rental. I'd strongly recommend purchasing any of the other fine products LockState sells, but this one is terrible. I've given it two stars because I don't have problems using it, but every other person who attempts to use it, fails.Also, the app to access it used to work wonderfully well. In August 2016 (approximately) the developers released a new version of the app that is terrible. For the past month, when I try to update access codes or view access history, the app completely crashes. The website is slightly better, but not by much. I hope they are working on getting the functionality of the app and website to work at least as good as they used to.

Update review 12/26/2017: We have had this for 3 years now and it is too unreliable. It fails to update new access codes multiple times over the past year even though it is clearly able to connect to WiFi because we see the "access denied" in the event log on the Lockstate web site. It's caused us a lot of problems with guests because of its failures to update access codes and several times the company has changed the website which caused additional problems with access codes not working. I can't recommend this lock anymore.Initial review: Installation was standard for a deadbolt, I had no problems there. Account programming was not so easy, but I followed the instructions step by step and got it done (caveat: I'm a software engineer). It does work well (I've only had it installed for 1 day). I can add access codes using their website. So far, I like this lock a lot.

THAT WAS THEN: Installed this on a public building for 25+ members. Easy to install, and set up. Batteries will run out fast if you set the connection time too short. I may use an ac/dc converter in the future to power ours. Very simple online interface to add and control new users. Very good reporting with just the basic pay once a year subscription (under $12).THIS IS NOW: Got a second one. Installed and after connecting it to my WiFi network it would update but not activate the lock. Lights properly flashed but no motor noise. Called Lockstate's help support line twice, 2nd time was told I'll be high priority. More than 24 hours since my first call....no return support call. 5hrs+ since the second call when I was told I'm now the highest priority..... Wonder what low priority is? Now they want you to use these for your rentals? With this type of support they have to be out of their minds.

Major improvements have been made. The locks are working reliably, guest access has been consistent along with permanent users. I have six of these locks which is an investment so I decided to stick with Lockstate as they worked through their issues. The locks at this time are working as advertised. Hopefully I can update to five stars soon!

Original setup and pairing with WiFi was difficult and as-far-as-I-could-tell a matter of trial & error. Generally satisfied now (at one month out) but app, online controls are difficult to use as stated in other reviews (but not unusable). Have yet to test Ring integration.

work well but not made to always be connected without killing the battery. you have to set it for the times you want it to be connected. difficulty in entering if you need enter in the off cycle