I don’t know of any data – that would be something Ultraloq might have collected based on returns/complaints and they certainly haven’t been talking. The only downside of the bridged version (if you don’t count having the wall wart which is the bridge) is that they say the bridge has to be within 10 feet of the lock (and you need a separate bridge for each lock) in order for, wait for it, the bridge to talk to the lock over bluetooth.
When I was setting it up I had the bridge about 3~4 feet away from the lock and it flashed a warning that the signal was weak and I should move closer! However, I ignored that (how much closer could I get?) and all is fine with the connection. When I check in the app it says the strength is fine. Also, when I’m in my bed, one flight up and laterally displaced from the lock by maybe 15 to 20 feet my phone still connects to the lock via BT, so I don’t know where the 10 foot limit comes from since the bridge, being wall powered, should not be the weak part of the link and the lock (at least MY lock) clearly can reach my bedroom. Also my daughter’s bridge seems to work fine even though it has to communicate with the lock through what used to be an exterior wall.
I have a theory that when you approach your house your phone picks up your home WiFi more or less at the same time as see the BT from your lock and that somehow screws up the BT communication with your lock for sending the unlock command.
I do know that the lock can only talk to one phone on BT at a time (empirical evidence) and maybe it can’t talk to a phone if the bridge is already talking to it because something came in on the WiFi side of the bridge – I have no way to (conveniently) test that – which could explain why there would be (for me) occasional times of AU not working. And another community member proved that unplugging the bridge solved his AU problem. No bridge = no conflicting BT communications. Of course, if you unplug the bridge you lose all remote control.
For the WiFi lock maybe the lock can’t take commands over both WiFi and BT simultaneously. In any case, you were never able to connect with the lock via BT, or not very often, which is a whole other issue that should be addressed by the new lock.
Bruce,
Was gone for Christmas. Just installed the new unit yesterday and was waiting to test it for a couple of days before posting. However, it appears to be better, 4 times out and back since installing and it unlocked for 3 of those times. Unfortunately the time it did not unlock it unlocked a couple of minutes after manually unlocking and then re-locking . That is a little scary. It appears to me that some times the Bluetooth takes some time to connect.
glad it is working, albeit not 100%. If you find the delayed auto unlock is a continuing problem, try flicking off AU after you get in manually, and then turning it back off again. Hopefully, that will make your phone forget it was trying to unlock the door for you.
Apropos delayed BT connection - I have come to believe that therein lies most people’s problems with AU. I think the lock has problems walking and chewing gum at the same time - that is, when it is communicating over its WiFi channel or with some other device over its BT channel it doesn’t talk on BT to your phone for autounlock.
Bruce,
1 more data point where unlock performed as advertised. I’m hoping they will work on improving the communication so that it can be relied on to work 100% of the time.
I think your reasoning is 100% on this. The lock just cannot multitask the 2 communication paths successfully. That would account for most of the current performance…… or lack of.
The latest:
Two firmware updates and essentially no change. Works sometimes, sometimes unlocks a couple of minutes after I had to use my fingerprint to get in and then manually locked the door and sometimes does nothing. Recognizes away and back OK.
Away and back are strictly in the app. Auto Unlock has two components - the app recognizing it is in BT range of the lock and transmitting unlock signal over BT AND the lock accepting the BT command.
Every evidence points to the lock not being able to deal with information on WiFi channel and BT channel simultaneously.
Behavior you describe fits this model - sometimes BT connection is available as you approach lock and everything works. Sometimes it is not available initially but becomes available after you’ve manually relocked the door, so the app unlocks the door inappropriately ( the app can’t tell what you did… it will send the BT unlock signal even if the lock is already unlocked)
Sometimes BT is unavailable initially but if you stand outside and wait it becomes available and AU kicks in. Finally, sometimes the app sees the BT but by the time it transmits the unlock command the lock is no longer listening - in which case you do not get the inappropriate AU after you have manually unlocked and telocked the door
My guess is that it might be firmware fixable, but obviously they don’t have it yet. My guess at the problem, that if it is listening to WiFi it can’t “hear” the BT channel, could be firmware fixable by adding a once per sec interrupt in any WiFi messaging to check the BT channel (and then pausing WiFi if there is something on the BT channel). That would work for WiFi locks.
For locks with the bridge… there isn’t any internal WiFi channel to interrupt! All messages come into the on BT channel.
Hi - my BT only lock (with added bridge) autounlocks pretty reliably - I’d say 100% of the time WHEN THE BRIDGE IS UNPLUGGED, which is to say, when there is no WiFi. When the bridge is plugged in, I’d guess it AutoUnlocks 75% to 90% of the time.
Note that the remote operations afforded by WiFi are not too important for everyday activities here at home so the bridge can be left unplugged. When traveling, having the WiFi available is more important (for example, I was just on vacation and wanted to check that I had locked the door on the way out) but then you don’t care about autounlock since you are away.
Although it would be nice if it worked 100% of the time, for me, this situation is good enough - I leave the bridge plugged in since I can enter my code if it doesn’t autounlock.
They requested that I do a total disconnect and then reinstall. I did that a couple of days ago and at this time I have a limited amount of new data. Unlocked successfully 3 times and unlocked 1 time after manually unlocking and entering then locking.
I have similar AU problems with my new Ubolt zwave. I occasionally see the red led indicator lit on the bridge eventhough it was properly set up. I installed a new electrical outlet to locate the bridge about 5.5 ft from the door. The geofence detection is reliable, the unlock almost never works (maybe a third of the time). This should be something you can replicate and resolve.
Tried Bruce4’s suggestion to unplug the bridge and …it worked today! So that function (AU) works when we omit the bridge that was designed to enable all the programming functionality. So now my only remote ability is LOCK-UNLOCK via my Smartthings HUB (Z Wave). What a waste. I will continue to monitor.
Depending on your situation, how often do you need remote programming? Although not ideal, consider only plugging in the bridge when you are “out of town” and can’t access the lock with BT, and leaving it out when you are around and want AU and can program via BT. You can also set up an unnamed regular user for use by unplanned visitors, to whom you can give the code and then change it next time you are home
First, thanks for the tip about the bridge. It is the problem. I can remote in from my Smartthings hub. I have no programming options in Samrtthings but at least I can see battery level and lock/unlock remotely. Setting the bridge aside, mostly useless if it interferes with AU.
So have been thinking about this issue. It seems to be iPhone related. I do not recall anyone mentioning issues with Android. I could be wrong. But I want to ask one more question.
How many of us with the auto-unlock issue have Apple HomePods? Either Mini or full sized ones?
I have not tried to unplug all the HomePods I have to test. But it could have begun when I added my first HomePod to my house. I know it has BlueTooth in the device and could it be taking over the BT module of the iPhones when they approach the lock as it also approaches the HomePod.
