Battery drain is ridiculous

Wishlist
1

I installed the UBolt Pro WiFi in September 2023. I have gone through eight sets of brand new Duracell batteries. The average time it takes the lock to drain the batteries is 3 weeks. This cannot be normal!!! What is going on here? When the lock works, it’s great. But I just came home from vacation to a completely drained lock. I was able to use a battery pack to get in, but not before incurring $150 in locksmith charges! (I got the lock open just before the locksmith arrived.)

2

I agree. Have gone through many, many batteries. We have gotten to the point where we take the batteries out if we are home so as not to drain them.

3

The lock has a key as well which I’ve used once or twice. Just keep it in the car. Quite easy to use and does the job if the battery’s flat.

4

I too find battery consumption terrible, don’t get 30 days from a set of any type. Terrible power management. Will be looking for alternatives.

5

I just installed mine 2 months ago and it’s still going strong on the original batteries…

6

The company agreed to send me a replacement lock at no charge under the warranty. They state that the battery drain is a known issue that has been resolved in the latest production run. Fingers crossed that once the new lock arrives, it performs as promised! The technician stated that even with WiFi enabled, batteries should last 6 months.

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7

My keys were inside the house (my bad), but I belatedly realized that I could use a battery pack and a micro USB cord to power the lock temporarily.

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8

I don’t have a huge battery drain problem but I’v thought about using a WPT system to recharge batteries in the lock. The only problem is the price, for example: https://www.sdcsecurity.com/docs/PS-PWRTRNSFR.pdf . Has anyone found a cheaper solution? I have in the past drilled a hole through the thickness of a door for a ring doorbell but I would rather not. I could put a flat wire strip on the surface (like 16 AWG speaker flat). I need to figure out what current I would need for the 6volt charge to 4 NiMHs or if the utec can run on the slightly lower 1.2 volts per cell.

9

Yes, same thing happened to me - it’s a manufacturing/design defect that is fixed with the replacement part. Mine has been working fine since I replaced the part.

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10

Thank you for posting that. Is there a way to identify the model/part/version or lot number that has the fix? We have two Utec locks that have some battery drain issues. I’d like to know what to check in terms of serial number or whatnot to identify whether a model has said manufacturing defect. No White Paper or Recall on this matter released by Utec?

11

I’m not sure of the specific serial numbers but if you contact support they will be able to help you figure it out. They never indicated what #s were affected when they replaced mine.

12

Update—U-tec sent me the replacement part promptly and I was able to install it easily. It has only been a few weeks, so time will tell, but so far the battery is going strong.

Customer service was quick and pleasant to work with on this.