The Lockly Vision Elite is large, bulky, and has a design that says "I am a high-tech door lock." But it has a lot of function into its large frame. A smart lock and video doorbell in one is designed for someone who wants both of those things but doesn't have the space or setup to install them.
While this is an excellent smart lock, it is only an okay video doorbell due to its spotty motion detection and lack of package detection. No one will ring your door lock if you tell visitors to press the button on the door lock.
The Vision Elite has an absurd number of features. In addition to the built-in camera, it has an integrated door sensor that can tell you if it's open, as well as an integrated keypad, a lockly app, and voice control.
There is no auto-unlocking as you approach, but there are plenty of other options.
The Lockly app allows you to create and share digital keys through the app. You can give them an offline keycode if they don't want the hassle and you're not at home.
Lockly calls it "PIN genie" technology, which means three numbers in every interaction. It's not possible for anyone to guess your code because of this. It can be set to random mode so the buttons don't stay the same. It's more difficult to input your code as you have to look for the numbers.
There is a doorbell camera above the keyboard. The lock emits a loud noise when a visitor presses the doorbell and the app sends an alert. Only a few other video doorbells offer live feeds and the ability to control the door lock from the same screen. Apple HomeKit can be used with Ring's video doorbells, but only if both the smart lock and video doorbell are HomeKit compatible.
Since the doorbell camera footage is stored locally on an included hub, there is no subscription to view it. You have to pay $3 to $6 a month to see recorded video. The hub can hold up to 81 hours of video on its non-expandable storage, and it can act as a bridge for out-of- home control and smart home integrations. Apple HomeKit isn't compatible with it. Plans to support Matter are being worked on.
This is a great lock, but not a great doorbell. It's alright. It isn't that surprising that it's squeezed into a door lock The Lockly Vision is the only other option you can get right now. I didn't like the doorbell features when I tested that a few years ago.
This model has a better camera and a better portrait aspect ratio for a top-to- bottom view that both packages and people will enjoy. The audio is clear and full, like a phone call and not a walkie-talkie, and there's now night vision.
When someone comes up to your door but doesn't press the button, it will record. Someone pressed the button in the earlier version. You will still get a recording of the event if your delivery driver just drops and runs and you miss the motion notification.
Right now, this is the best video doorbell combo you can buy.
You will have to check the notification every time because there is no people or package detection on the video doorbell. Lockly's software is very slow and makes it difficult to show videos in the app.
There are some other problems with the software. At first, motion detection didn't work for me. Lockly suggested setting the motion detection notification in the app to zero-second motion duration, which worked for a while, but then it stopped working again. It's possible to record video whenever someone unlocks the door with a code or fingerprints.
After 30 seconds, any video recording will stop, followed by a 10-second retrigger. I would like to record longer and more frequently if I wanted to. The camera only records the visitor's audio and not yours.
It was easy to miss the doorbell if I was upstairs because it was loud. You can't change the sound of the chime or amplify it, either.
It works well as a doorbell. When you respond to a notification, the app will open and show you a live feed of your doorstep. The video is stored in the app's log if you don't make a call.
A video camera and motion sensor are included in a door lock, and I would expect it to run out of battery quickly. A built-in solar panel on the lock's key cover will trickle charge the battery, but it's very small and would need a lot of sunlight to make a difference. The Lockly Vision Elite uses two batteries, one in the box, and the other in a cable that can be used for charging.
If you run out of battery here, you can use a 9V battery to shock it back to life from the outside, if you don't have a key.
Installation of a full replacement smart lock was slightly more complicated than a standard one due to the cables you have to connect between the exterior and interior parts of the lock. It was easy to set up access codes and fingerprints. The app takes you through the process of assigning your fingerprints to a person. Both the app and the fingerprints were reliable. The log in the app shows you when and how the lock was operated, as well as by whom, and the push notification gives you this information.
If your doorjamb is on the right side, you may have a hard time getting your finger onto the reader. When I tested the original Lockly Vision, I had an issue with it, so I put a lock on my back door, which has more space, so I could use the fingerprints. Direct sunlight hits my back door. The solar panel won't do you much good if you have a covered porch
The Lockly has an auto-lock feature that you can either use or not use. There is a scheduling feature in the app that you can use to lock it whenever you want. Voice control of the lock using a PIN is possible with it. The video doorbell doesn't have smart home integration, so you can't pull up a live feed like you can with most other video doorbells
Connected devices bring with them concerns about how the data they collect is protected. Each company whose smart home products we review is asked what data it collects and how it is protected.
The data collected by a smart door lock is when you lock the door and how. Video and audio are collected by a video doorbell. Lockly doesn't have access to the video doorbell's footage at any point.
Signing up for an account is required to use Lockly's app. Lockly says it transfers all data from the app to a secure location. In addition to using the data to improve the device, Lockly may use personal information for other purposes. It is not possible to opt out of data sharing without affecting the lock's function.
The Lockly Privacy Policy can be found here.
For around $500, you can buy a great smart lock and a great video doorbell, but the Lockly Vision Elite is a good smart lock. Lockly sells a non-camera version of its smart lock for $300 or a fingerprint-only version for just $160, and you get a lot more function from your doorbell, including viewing.
You have to pay a subscription fee to use Ring. Eufy offers both fingerprint-enabled smart locks and video doorbells with no subscription fees, as well as a two-in-one video doorbell smart lock for $400. Schlage, Yale, and Kwikset have good smart locks for less than $300 if you don't want to use fingerprints.
If you don't have enough room on your front door to fit multiple smart devices, no doorbell wiring, and you only care about the people that ring the doorbell, the Lockly Vision Elite is a good option.
The photos were taken by Tuohy.
Every smart device has a set of terms and conditions that you have to agree to before you can use it. It is not possible for us to read and analyze all of them. We started counting the number of times you have to agree to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people can't negotiate.
You need to download the Lockly app and create an account in order to set up the lock. You need to agree to this in order to do so.
It's time to tally three mandatory agreements.
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