U-tec’s app supports multiple locks, each accessed from this screen. Finally, all this activity is logged in a surprisingly robust and easy-to-read history menu. Temporary users can be limited by date, by certain times of day or days of the week, or by the total number of instances in which they can unlock the door. is one of the smart home vendors offering support for the U-Bolt Pro.Ī simple submenu of users lets you add new residents and temporary visitors, and you can easily assign them a 4- to 8-digit PIN, share the app with them, and (assuming they’re in front of the lock) register one or two fingerprints on the scanner. You’ll need this Wi-Fi bridge to control the lock over your network. Red means it’s locked, green means it’s open. Tap the big button on the main screen to lock or unlock the deadbolt. Inside the app, everything is fairly intuitive and for the most part right where it should be.
I encountered a slight hiccup when first pairing the lock to my phone, but after a couple of tries everything was up and running. I tempered my expectations-only to find that U-tec’s mobile app is surprisingly full-formed. With the lock finally installed properly, I was ready to begin working with the app. This bridge needs a permanent home in a power socket within 10 feet of the door. I learned all of this through numerous rounds of trial and error before finally reaching an equilibrium where the lock would stay attached to the door while allowing the deadbolt enough freedom to spin.įinally, note that a small Wi-Fi bridge, included as part of a bundle or priced at $50 if purchased separately, is required in order to connect the lock to your home network, bridging its internal Bluetooth radio with your Wi-Fi. Overtighten any of the four internal screws that hold the lock together and the deadbolt won’t be able to turn, resulting in a jam. This is the first time we’ve ever needed a hacksaw to install a smart deadbolt.įinally, the U-Lock is very temperamental about screw tightness. Another installation pro tip: Note that the tailpiece must be oriented horizontally during installation and the deadbolt knob must be carefully oriented vertically, or else, again, the system won’t work. It’s a neat idea (and it beats drilling a third hole), however, do note that if you remove the locks, it will leave a pair of indented “bite marks” on your door. Note that the exterior escutcheon has two sharp teeth on each side, designed to help keep it in place and to prevent the lock from listing to the side, a common problem. With the tailpiece finally trimmed, I was able to piece the two escutcheons together. The manual shows this tailpiece being simply snapped off with a couple of sets of pliers, but I couldn’t get the extra material to budge with pliers alone, due to the strength of the metal. Unless your door is extra thick, U-Lock’s tailpiece must be trimmed down, or else it will put too much strain on the motor (as was explained to me by a U-tec technician). The biggest issue involves a piece of the lock called the tailpiece, a flat metal bar that passes through the deadbolt mechanism, allowing it to rotate. The long tailpiece on the U-Bolt Pro can accommodate an extra-thick door, but you’ll need to trim it for a more typical one. Mess any of these up and the lock won’t work-as I painfully discovered after more than an hour of putting the lock on and taking it off my test door, over and over again. While installation seemingly follows the usual procedure of sandwiching the two escutcheons together with your door in the middle, snaking a power cable through a hole to connect the two, a careful reading of the dense manual will reveal that a few extra steps must be followed along the way. It’s not the most handsome of locks, though, particularly on the exterior, where a ring of numeric buttons gives the lock the appearance of a wall safe in some evil-doer’s lair, although to be fair, few smart locks make a great visual impact (some might say the Array by Hampton smart lock, which hides its keypad behind a solar panel, is an exception). The all-black U-Lock Pro is a compact device, which is a pleasant change of pace in an industry dominated by enormous lock systems. The other two methods include automatic unlock via geofencing and “Magic Shake,” though both of those are just features within the mobile app.īut before we get to all that, let’s look first at the U-Lock hardware and the installation process. U-tec’s Ultraloq U-Lock Pro is billed as “the ultimate 6-in-1 smart deadbolt,” and sure enough you’ll be hard-pressed to find a lock that offers more means of potential ingress: The lock can be operated via U-Lock’s app, a numeric keypad, your fingerprint, or with a physical key.