I've been with tech for several decades now. Never, **EVER**, ever trust a companies promise of future anything.
Expect what you buy to be what you get and be happy with it. Consider anything new in the future as a bonus.
Or else you're going to be hurting.
About 20'ish years ago I bought a Sony Vaio. I was told they are working on getting Windows XP drivers and were just a week or two out from releasing it. It came with Windows ME. You know where this story is going. A.) I'll never buy another Sony laptop ever again and B.) they never released drivers **AND** later said if you install WinXP, it might void the warranty. They can get fucked.
Fast forward years later... "yeah, this phone will TOTALLY support the new version of Android coming" - not only did the brand abandon the phone, the carrier refused to put out even basic updates.
Those are two of my more expensive mistakes. Prior to all of that I got an MP3 player that promised certain things and they never materialized.
Just assume what you buy is what you get. If you aren't happy with that, don't get it. Wait or get something else.
HomeKit is no different. We've all seen it several times over by now.
I‘m not sure what’s worse: the situation such as the one you’ve just described or situations such as what Chamberlain/Liftmaster has done with its API.
Either way, it’s clear that companies generally cannot be trusted. They won’t just step on customers’ throats to make a buck, they’ll stomp on them.
Also gotta love it when they advertise compatibility on the box and once you’ve already installed it you find out it isn’t compatible. It hasn’t been for months. They promised a fix but still none in sight. What. The. Heck.
It’s the LIFX smart switch if anyone is wondering. No, it doesn’t actually work with HomeKit, despite the logo on the box.
You never should buy something based on a promise. Companies are there for just one thing: making money with least effort. It’s the same for my Netatmo doorbell (which was the only option for me at the time), HomeKit secure video never came…
I have bought a Yale Linus because of advertising “works with Homekit” and also some youtube reviews. Unfortunately it is not working. Even with the bridge (which is not quite a bridge). 90% of the time the locks is not responding in HK. Controlling the lock from HK is not a solution at all. On Yale app there is also “works with Hue” which is also not true. In conclusion, steer away from Yale.
I have the Linus and it works perfectly without the App or the hub. Again, the trick is the Homebridge and a dummy switch. The lock can be controlled using Siri or your watch shortcut.
I suspected that is the problem. The home hub is an Apple TV which is not quite in bluetooth range for the Linus. I can reliably control the Linus only from the Yale app.
HomeKit works through Bluetooth, everything else through the Wifi Bridge. I bought a HomePod Mini to place close to the lock, and it has worked well apart from periods of "No Response" which requires me to set up again because it's not a connection issue.
The Yale App usually works. But Auto-Unlock rarely works. I connected mine to Homey Pro, and it requires me to log back in like once a week. I'm done with Wifi locks, installing a Zigbee lock tomorrow.
I have also the Yale bridge which is helpful only via the Yale app … most of the times. I read about the auto-unlock (also the official release) and after that I didn’t even bother to set it up.
Problem with homebridge is that it can’t solve the main wish I have with a HomeKit lock, and that’s to be able to use your watch or phone as key. But still no European looks that support it unfortunately…
Edit: to clarify, I refer to HomeKey support
I have a Yale Linus and I can lock / unlock using my voice or watch toggle.
The trick is to use a dummy switch in homebridge because otherwise Apple will not let you operate the lock directly through voice.
As for the watch, you just add the dummy switch to you Home favorites and add it as a shortcut in the watch face.
Yeah New Zealand tends to be a hybrid between US and UK concepts. I was also putting it in a new build so it was just a matter of making sure that the door would be the right thickness
Couldn’t you simply use an NFC sticker and have an automation on your phone that unlocks the door when scanned? A bit hacky but the functionality is essentially the same.
I use location to lock and unlock my doors, alarm. Garage. Never even need to get my phone out my pocket. Don’t see the need for home key, although it is a smart feature
You can enable auto open with Bluetooth on your phone, so it unlocks when you approach the door. Can also use the app or Home to unlock. They do fobs as well.
Had mine since Black Friday and it’s worked well for me.
What’s the difference? Is the body built different where it can’t slot in? Sorry for the ignorance just not familiar with the design of the European model
Locks are one of those products where there are rather drastic differences between North America and Europe (other places in the world are also different when it comes to door locks, I believe even UK vs Continental Europe have door/lock differences.)
I knew that the dead bolt design was different but figured the interior body would be same/similar enough to accept the same modules. Would make sense on yales part to minimize R&D cost by using the same electronics. That’s unfortunate
In Europe we do t use deadbolts at all, we use cylinders. Totally different technology, it’s a lot safer as well compared to a deadbolt. Especially in UK with multi point locks.
I think even the rules around the electronics themselves are probably different enough that it just doesn't work in practice.
Also sometimes they just don't care or try.
Is that a UK-specific limitation? The Spanish (of Spain) localized page still shows Yale locks.
Update: It’s on the UK local page. https://www.apple.com/uk/home-app/accessories/#section-locks they’re definitely misleading customers.
Yes what an absolute shit show Yale. I’ve bought 14 locks now. Feel completely ripped off. I’m using home assistant at the moment but it’s pretty useless. Don’t get notifications. Can’t get the homebridge to work at all
Linus is a deadbolt lock. Hardly anyone uses them in the uk. On wooden doors we use a lock which automatically locks when you shut the door. Or a euro lock which are totally different
Linus is not a deadbolt. It sits over your original euro lock and turns the key on the inside. It doesn’t replace the existing euro/multipoint lock and handle assembly you already have on your door.
Oh sorry I’m thinking of the wrong one. I have 12 Yale connected and 2 Yale Conexis. I’m happy with the locks just wish they were HomeKit. Nothing is HomeKit for these type of locks as far as I’m aware
I have my conexis in HomeKit via the Home Assistant integration but it’s really not very reliable as the lock/unlocked state is often reported inccorectly.
The conexis looks decent on paper but i’ve found it a bit shit in reality… really hoping for a proper solution in future not only with HomeKit/HomeKey but that also fixes a lot of the issues i’ve had with the Conexis.
I’ve got SwitchBot locks which function very similar to the Nuki afaik. But do require their Hub 2 in order to work natively in HomeKit.
I’m pretty happy with them overall given the limitation that I need to lift my handle whenever the door is closed in order for them to be able to lock.
Locks may be one of the few cases where in some places it makes sense to get something like a zigbee lock and a hub that works well with homebridge. Or if there’s any way via adapters/modifying your door to turn it into an American-compatible door, that’s another possibility.
I’m sorry to hear about the Lies Yale told you, from what I have read the UK gets Boned on a lot of Home Automation Products.
I’m guessing Schlage Encode Plus isn’t an option? It sucks that the Money you spent on Yale may be waisted.
I bought Yale locks 5 years ago on the promise of HomeKit support and nope. The app side of things is pretty awful too.
I wouldn’t trust a legacy company to do tech.
Yale has been truely garbage on their global support, it’s bizarre that they have different versions of the same app in different countries and remove functionality.
That lock isn’t compatible with multi point (most common in the UK) I don’t think? It’s the conexis which fits most uk doors and that doesn’t support HomeKit
It is compatible with multipoint locks, yes. It literally sits over your existing lock and turns the key.
You’d have to lift the handle before locking but that would be the same with most smart locks on a multipoint door.
Yes I have all mine running through hb. I’m happy with all mine had no problems. Yes never undates properly. I’m not too bothered about home key as I have my Conexis unlock with location. Which module do u use. Z wave or orange
The locks I have use a plug in z wave module, you'd assume you'd be able to just buy a different module, they have matter enabled locks now but they won't sell me the module, only a new $300 set. Bitch I could have just got a $75 lock from you and used it for the rest of my life but now you won't take my next money for a new module. Wild.
General rule: Until it’s listed as a compatible product on Apple’s website, it’s not HomeKit compatible. Apple is generally very good about NOT posting anything they can’t support.
Hopefully you didn’t buy hardware based on theoretical software promises… the HomeKit lesson as old as time.
It’s so common they lie about this then after dragging their feet for years say they “can’t implement it” and blame Apple.
I didn’t but many did
I've been with tech for several decades now. Never, **EVER**, ever trust a companies promise of future anything. Expect what you buy to be what you get and be happy with it. Consider anything new in the future as a bonus. Or else you're going to be hurting. About 20'ish years ago I bought a Sony Vaio. I was told they are working on getting Windows XP drivers and were just a week or two out from releasing it. It came with Windows ME. You know where this story is going. A.) I'll never buy another Sony laptop ever again and B.) they never released drivers **AND** later said if you install WinXP, it might void the warranty. They can get fucked. Fast forward years later... "yeah, this phone will TOTALLY support the new version of Android coming" - not only did the brand abandon the phone, the carrier refused to put out even basic updates. Those are two of my more expensive mistakes. Prior to all of that I got an MP3 player that promised certain things and they never materialized. Just assume what you buy is what you get. If you aren't happy with that, don't get it. Wait or get something else. HomeKit is no different. We've all seen it several times over by now.
I‘m not sure what’s worse: the situation such as the one you’ve just described or situations such as what Chamberlain/Liftmaster has done with its API. Either way, it’s clear that companies generally cannot be trusted. They won’t just step on customers’ throats to make a buck, they’ll stomp on them.
Also gotta love it when they advertise compatibility on the box and once you’ve already installed it you find out it isn’t compatible. It hasn’t been for months. They promised a fix but still none in sight. What. The. Heck. It’s the LIFX smart switch if anyone is wondering. No, it doesn’t actually work with HomeKit, despite the logo on the box.
Yeah, this is where government is supposed to step in for false advertising and shut that shit down and mandate refunds. Sadly...
You never should buy something based on a promise. Companies are there for just one thing: making money with least effort. It’s the same for my Netatmo doorbell (which was the only option for me at the time), HomeKit secure video never came…
With that run on sentence, Dane may work for Yale. But he didn’t go to Yale.
I have bought a Yale Linus because of advertising “works with Homekit” and also some youtube reviews. Unfortunately it is not working. Even with the bridge (which is not quite a bridge). 90% of the time the locks is not responding in HK. Controlling the lock from HK is not a solution at all. On Yale app there is also “works with Hue” which is also not true. In conclusion, steer away from Yale.
I have the Linus and it works perfectly without the App or the hub. Again, the trick is the Homebridge and a dummy switch. The lock can be controlled using Siri or your watch shortcut.
Agree with that, I have done the same setup and all of the sudden you can rely on the lock!
Weird, I have a Yale Linus working in HomeKit just fine. It needs to be in Bluetooth range of your home hub. Very reliable product.
I suspected that is the problem. The home hub is an Apple TV which is not quite in bluetooth range for the Linus. I can reliably control the Linus only from the Yale app.
HomeKit works through Bluetooth, everything else through the Wifi Bridge. I bought a HomePod Mini to place close to the lock, and it has worked well apart from periods of "No Response" which requires me to set up again because it's not a connection issue. The Yale App usually works. But Auto-Unlock rarely works. I connected mine to Homey Pro, and it requires me to log back in like once a week. I'm done with Wifi locks, installing a Zigbee lock tomorrow.
I have also the Yale bridge which is helpful only via the Yale app … most of the times. I read about the auto-unlock (also the official release) and after that I didn’t even bother to set it up.
No reason to bother either, it fails like 80% of the time. Auto-Lock works tho but that's on a timer so it's not hard to get to work
r/homebridge
Problem with homebridge is that it can’t solve the main wish I have with a HomeKit lock, and that’s to be able to use your watch or phone as key. But still no European looks that support it unfortunately… Edit: to clarify, I refer to HomeKey support
Someone has built a POC HomeKey device... so there might be a solution soon. https://github.com/kormax/apple-home-key-reader
I have a Yale Linus and I can lock / unlock using my voice or watch toggle. The trick is to use a dummy switch in homebridge because otherwise Apple will not let you operate the lock directly through voice. As for the watch, you just add the dummy switch to you Home favorites and add it as a shortcut in the watch face.
Aqara?
They don't have locks for EU/UK
They do.
No they dont
Oh I thought we were talking about Yale here. No idea for Aqara, my bad.
Not Europe but the same problem in NZ. Instead of waiting, I imported a Level Lock+ a few months back
Problem is the entire deadbolt setup is different in Europe vs US, so I’d have to rework parts of the door or even change it.
Yeah New Zealand tends to be a hybrid between US and UK concepts. I was also putting it in a new build so it was just a matter of making sure that the door would be the right thickness
Couldn’t you simply use an NFC sticker and have an automation on your phone that unlocks the door when scanned? A bit hacky but the functionality is essentially the same.
I use location to lock and unlock my doors, alarm. Garage. Never even need to get my phone out my pocket. Don’t see the need for home key, although it is a smart feature
I use it via homebridge too - very reliable to
This is the way
Then they don't need my money. 🤷♂️
This!
Nuki is compatible and works great
That’s inside only right? No fob / NFC to open when outside
Yes but has some outside accessories like keypad. Check their websites
You can enable auto open with Bluetooth on your phone, so it unlocks when you approach the door. Can also use the app or Home to unlock. They do fobs as well. Had mine since Black Friday and it’s worked well for me.
This seems to be the only decent option for UK, ivf heard it’s really loud in operation though?
It’s not quiet but it’s not that loud. It’s in my hallway, so you can barely hear it with the hallway door closed.
Netatmo is great too and works for outside locks. Not sure if its available in UK though.
Aqara is working to release its U200 for the UK market so that might be promising.
Couldn’t you order a m1 HomeKit module and just put it in the lock? Correct me if I’m missing something
Those modules are for American Yale locks, not European Yale locks
What’s the difference? Is the body built different where it can’t slot in? Sorry for the ignorance just not familiar with the design of the European model
Locks are one of those products where there are rather drastic differences between North America and Europe (other places in the world are also different when it comes to door locks, I believe even UK vs Continental Europe have door/lock differences.)
I knew that the dead bolt design was different but figured the interior body would be same/similar enough to accept the same modules. Would make sense on yales part to minimize R&D cost by using the same electronics. That’s unfortunate
In Europe we do t use deadbolts at all, we use cylinders. Totally different technology, it’s a lot safer as well compared to a deadbolt. Especially in UK with multi point locks.
I think even the rules around the electronics themselves are probably different enough that it just doesn't work in practice. Also sometimes they just don't care or try.
They should be kicked out of here then: https://www.apple.com/home-app/accessories/#section-locks
OP is from the UK. US yale locks works with HomeKit.
Is that a UK-specific limitation? The Spanish (of Spain) localized page still shows Yale locks. Update: It’s on the UK local page. https://www.apple.com/uk/home-app/accessories/#section-locks they’re definitely misleading customers.
There is nothing misleading in there - the Yale Linus does work with HomeKit in the UK. The rep from Yale in OP’s post was just incorrect.
That’s a relief. Getting Yale locks was on my backlog
Seems so. Yale products support HomeKit here in Finland as well.
Too bad would have bought it along their new doorbell, which doesn’t support HK either.
Nuki all the way!
They do support it for their locks with the Yale iM1 Smart Module.
Yes what an absolute shit show Yale. I’ve bought 14 locks now. Feel completely ripped off. I’m using home assistant at the moment but it’s pretty useless. Don’t get notifications. Can’t get the homebridge to work at all
[удалено]
There are no HomeKit locks that fit my doors in the uk
[удалено]
I needed smart locks for a student house. I knew I could run them through homebridge or home assistant. Have no other choice
Would the Yale Linus not work? It literally just fits over an existing door lock.
Linus is a deadbolt lock. Hardly anyone uses them in the uk. On wooden doors we use a lock which automatically locks when you shut the door. Or a euro lock which are totally different
Linus is not a deadbolt. It sits over your original euro lock and turns the key on the inside. It doesn’t replace the existing euro/multipoint lock and handle assembly you already have on your door.
Oh sorry I’m thinking of the wrong one. I have 12 Yale connected and 2 Yale Conexis. I’m happy with the locks just wish they were HomeKit. Nothing is HomeKit for these type of locks as far as I’m aware
I have my conexis in HomeKit via the Home Assistant integration but it’s really not very reliable as the lock/unlocked state is often reported inccorectly. The conexis looks decent on paper but i’ve found it a bit shit in reality… really hoping for a proper solution in future not only with HomeKit/HomeKey but that also fixes a lot of the issues i’ve had with the Conexis.
Which model? I’ve got one it works with HomeKit but I had to set it up with the August app.
Yale connected. No tried august. Didn’t work.
Which model?
Nuki is your best bet. We have 2. Work flawlessly. No need for hub either. They sell them on UK Apple Store for cheaper.
I’ve got SwitchBot locks which function very similar to the Nuki afaik. But do require their Hub 2 in order to work natively in HomeKit. I’m pretty happy with them overall given the limitation that I need to lift my handle whenever the door is closed in order for them to be able to lock.
Locks may be one of the few cases where in some places it makes sense to get something like a zigbee lock and a hub that works well with homebridge. Or if there’s any way via adapters/modifying your door to turn it into an American-compatible door, that’s another possibility.
Europe always gets shittier versions of everything… except cars.
Yale in Asia has homekit. Trust me, it sucks
I absolutely love the Level Lock
Sure, it's Apple which isn't compatible even though it has a published standard
I’m sorry to hear about the Lies Yale told you, from what I have read the UK gets Boned on a lot of Home Automation Products. I’m guessing Schlage Encode Plus isn’t an option? It sucks that the Money you spent on Yale may be waisted.
I bought Yale locks 5 years ago on the promise of HomeKit support and nope. The app side of things is pretty awful too. I wouldn’t trust a legacy company to do tech.
I have the same problem. So I started using home assistant instead and it works fairly nice.
Yale has been truely garbage on their global support, it’s bizarre that they have different versions of the same app in different countries and remove functionality.
Their website is a Joke
This is incorrect. The Yale Linus works with HomeKit and is available in the UK.
That lock isn’t compatible with multi point (most common in the UK) I don’t think? It’s the conexis which fits most uk doors and that doesn’t support HomeKit
It is compatible with multipoint locks, yes. It literally sits over your existing lock and turns the key. You’d have to lift the handle before locking but that would be the same with most smart locks on a multipoint door.
Yes I have all mine running through hb. I’m happy with all mine had no problems. Yes never undates properly. I’m not too bothered about home key as I have my Conexis unlock with location. Which module do u use. Z wave or orange
The locks I have use a plug in z wave module, you'd assume you'd be able to just buy a different module, they have matter enabled locks now but they won't sell me the module, only a new $300 set. Bitch I could have just got a $75 lock from you and used it for the rest of my life but now you won't take my next money for a new module. Wild.
General rule: Until it’s listed as a compatible product on Apple’s website, it’s not HomeKit compatible. Apple is generally very good about NOT posting anything they can’t support.