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August Home still makes the retrofit smart lock to beat if you rent, or if you want to keep your deadbolt and your existing keys. The Wi-Fi Smart Lock is $199.99, fits over the lock you already own, and rates well on every measure except one: battery life. Skip it if you need Matter or Thread.
This is a compiled verdict from six named sources read between 19 and 20 August 2026: the merchant's own product and warranty pages, two independent lab tests (Tom's Guide and TechGearLab), aggregate verified-buyer ratings on Amazon, a retrofit-lock assessment from Reviewed, and Consumer Reports' door-lock test programme.
We did not fit an August lock to a door ourselves. Every claim about living with one is attributed to the source that made it.
What August Home actually sells
August Home is a San Francisco smart-lock brand, now part of Fortune Brands Innovations. The August and Yale lock lines sit under the same owner and share an app, which is why the shop sells both names side by side.
The core idea has not changed in a decade. An August lock bolts onto the inside of the deadbolt you already have, motorises the thumb-turn, and leaves the exterior cylinder alone. Your landlord's key still works, and nothing about the door looks different from the street.
The current range is short enough to summarise in a paragraph. The Wi-Fi Smart Lock at $199.99 is the flagship: 72mm across, 46mm deep, dual-band 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth Low Energy, and Apple Home, Alexa and Google Assistant support built in. The Yale Approach Lock with Wi-Fi at $139.99 is the cheaper route to the same trick.
Around those two sit the add-ons: keypads at $119.99 (a press-button Yale Keypad, or a Keypad Touch that adds fingerprint entry), the Connect Wi-Fi Bridge for older locks, and matching lever hardware from $29.99.
Two features do most of the work in the marketing and, going by the sources, most of the work in real use. DoorSense is a small magnetic sensor that tells the app whether the door is actually shut rather than merely locked. Auto-unlock uses your phone's Bluetooth to release the bolt as you walk up.
What the testers agree on
The consensus across independent testing is unusually tight for a smart-home category. The August retrofit is treated as the default recommendation for anyone who cannot or will not replace their deadbolt, and the reasons given are always the same three: the fitting is trivial, the auto-unlock works, and the app is simple.
TechGearLab scored it 85 out of 100 and named it their best overall smart lock. Their category breakdown is worth reading closely, because it is where the shape of this product shows up: security 10.0, keyless entry 8.4, installation 8.4, smart features 7.4. The hardware is not the weak part; the software layer is.
Tom's Guide gave the same lock an Editor's Choice badge, summarising it as smaller than the previous generation and better for having Wi-Fi built in rather than requiring the old Connect bridge. Their one recorded gripe is that the keypad is sold separately.
Verified buyers land in the same place but with more friction visible. Amazon's aggregate for the Wi-Fi Smart Lock sits at 4.1 out of 5 across more than 10,000 ratings, with the recurring praise being ease of installation, app access, auto-lock and the compact size.
| Source | What it says | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| TechGearLab | 85/100, Editors' Choice, best overall smart lock | 20 Aug 2026 |
| Tom's Guide | Editor's Choice; built-in Wi-Fi improves an already strong lock | 20 Aug 2026 |
| Amazon verified buyers | 4.1 / 5 across 10,000+ ratings | 20 Aug 2026 |
| Reviewed (Yale Approach) | Recommended for renters on a budget, with features traded away | 20 Aug 2026 |
| Consumer Reports | Yale Approach included in its lab door-lock programme; scores are member-only | 20 Aug 2026 |
| august.com spec sheet | $199.99, two CR123 cells, up to three months, one-year warranty | 20 Aug 2026 |
Where the sources split
Three genuine disagreements survive once you line the sources up, and all three matter to what you pay or what you get.
The price nobody quotes the same way. August's own page says $199.99. TechGearLab worked from a $230 list price. Retail listings drift between roughly $180 and $250 depending on the week, and the same lock has been reported below $200 on Amazon during sales. Treat $199.99 as the merchant-direct anchor and check the street price before you commit.
Battery life is quoted two different ways. The product page says up to three months. Several independent write-ups repeat a three-to-six-month figure attributed to August. Owners are blunter than either: the Wi-Fi models drain faster than the older Bluetooth-only ones, and CR123 cells are not cheap to keep replacing. We have scored this section on what owners report, not on what the box says.
The Yale Approach is a different lock, not a cheaper one. Tom's Guide rates it as a strong budget retrofit but records three real losses: it needs a separate Wi-Fi bridge plugged into a socket, the motor is loud, and there is no Apple Home support. Reviewed reaches the same conclusion from the other direction, calling it a good renter's lock for people who do not mind giving things up. The $60 you save is a feature trade, not a discount.
If you run an Apple household, the $139.99 Yale Approach is the wrong end of the range to shop from. Apple Home support lives on the $199.99 Wi-Fi Smart Lock.
What you are really paying
Buying an August lock on its own is the expensive way to do it. The range is priced so that the lock and the keypad together cost far less than the two bought separately, and the gap is wide enough to change which product you should be looking at.
| Bundle | Bundle price | Bought separately | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi Smart Lock + Yale Keypad | $210.99 | $319.98 | $108.99 |
| Yale Approach + Keypad | $179.99 | $259.98 | $79.99 |
| Wi-Fi Smart Lock + Keypad Touch (fingerprint) | $249.99 | $319.98 | $69.99 |
Read that first row again. The Wi-Fi Smart Lock with a keypad costs $11 more than the lock by itself, which makes the standalone $199.99 lock the worst value in the range unless you are certain nobody will ever need code entry.
On top of the bundle pricing, the shop runs a sitewide discount code on the sale page that is already applied to the prices shown there, so the struck-through figures are the code doing its work rather than a separate markdown. There is also a standing welcome discount for new email subscribers and a give-and-get referral credit worth $40 to each side. Shipping within the US is free with no stated minimum.
Two smaller programmes are worth knowing about, with a caveat. Multiple discount trackers describe a 20% programme for US students, military, veterans and first responders, verified through SheerID and issued as a single-use code. The merchant does not advertise it on its own storefront, so treat the depth as unconfirmed until you see it in your cart.
What owners praise and complain about
Strengths
- Fitting takes about ten minutes with a screwdriver, per both lab tests and thousands of verified-buyer comments.
- The exterior of your door is unchanged and your original keys keep working, which is what makes it the standing recommendation for renters.
- Auto-unlock is the feature independent testers single out as genuinely reliable, not a gimmick.
- TechGearLab scored security a full 10.0, largely because the deadbolt itself is untouched.
- Apple Home, Alexa and Google Assistant all work on the Wi-Fi Smart Lock without a hub.
- Free US shipping with no minimum, and a 30-day money-back window.
Sore points
- Battery life is the loudest complaint in verified-buyer feedback, and the merchant's own “up to three months” is the optimistic end of it.
- CR123 cells cost more than the AAs most competing locks use, so the running cost is real.
- No Matter or Thread support, which puts it behind locks like the Level Lock+ on future-proofing.
- Intermittent Wi-Fi drops and Apple Home pairing trouble both recur in owner feedback.
- One year of hardware warranty is short for a $200 door fitting, and returns ship at your expense.
- Locks and app are supported in the US and Canada only.
Who should buy one
Buy it if you rent, or if you own a deadbolt you like and have no interest in replacing it. That is the entire premise of the product and it is the scenario every named source rates it highest in.
It also suits households that hand out access frequently: short-term hosts, shared houses, anyone tired of cutting spare keys. The activity feed and the ability to issue and revoke access from the app are the point.
Skip it if you want a Matter or Thread device, if you are already replacing the deadbolt anyway (in which case a full keypad lock is better value), or if the idea of changing lithium cells three times a year annoys you more than carrying a key does.
Better picks for some doors
| Alternative | When to prefer it |
|---|---|
| Yale Approach Lock with Wi-Fi ($139.99, same shop) | You want the cheapest retrofit and can live without Apple Home, plus a bridge in a socket and a noisier motor. |
| Schlage Encode Plus | You are replacing the deadbolt anyway and want a built-in keypad with a heavy-duty commercial security rating. |
| Level Lock+ | You want the smart parts hidden inside the deadbolt with nothing visible, and Matter-over-Thread support. |
- The Wi-Fi Smart Lock is $199.99 direct, and the lock-plus-keypad bundle is $210.99, so the standalone lock rarely makes sense.
- Independent lab testing puts it at the top of the retrofit category; owner feedback puts battery life at the bottom of the same product.
- The sale page prices already have the sitewide code applied, so the strikethroughs are not extra savings.
- No Matter or Thread. If that matters to you, this is not the lock.
- US and Canada only, one-year warranty, 30 days to change your mind.
Does the August smart lock work with my existing deadbolt?
It works with most single-cylinder deadbolts. The lock replaces the interior thumb-turn only, leaving the exterior cylinder and your keys in place, which is why fitting takes minutes rather than an afternoon. August publishes a compatibility chart on its site; check yours before ordering.
How long do August smart lock batteries last?
August's own product page states up to three months from the two CR123 cells supplied. Independent write-ups cite a three-to-six-month figure, and verified buyers frequently report the shorter end, with the Wi-Fi models draining faster than the older Bluetooth-only versions.
Does August Home work with Apple HomeKit?
The $199.99 Wi-Fi Smart Lock supports Apple Home and Siri alongside Alexa and Google Assistant, with no extra hub required. The cheaper Yale Approach Lock does not support Apple Home, and independent testing flags this as its main limitation.
Is the August smart lock secure?
The physical security of your door is unchanged, because the deadbolt and exterior cylinder stay exactly as they were. TechGearLab scored the lock 10.0 on security for that reason. What you are adding is a motor and a radio on the inside, plus DoorSense to confirm the door is genuinely shut.
Does August ship outside the United States?
The merchant states plainly that its smart locks and app are for use in the US and Canada only. Shipping within the US is free with no stated minimum order.
Can I return an August smart lock?
Yes, within 30 days of the original purchase for a full refund, per the merchant's returns and warranty page. Return shipping is prepaid by the customer. Hardware carries a one-year limited warranty, extended to two years for Certified Pro customers.
Bottom line
August Home earns a 7.9 from us: the best answer available if the constraint is that the deadbolt has to stay, and the sources are close to unanimous on that point. The category-leading part is the fitting and the day-to-day reliability, and the part that drags is entirely batteries and radio stability.
Confidence in this estimate is moderate to high on price, policy and specification, which come from the merchant directly, and moderate on longevity, which comes from owner reports rather than our own door. If you buy, buy the bundle: $11 more than the bare lock is the easiest decision on this page.