Smart Home Lock for iPhone Owners

The Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus successfully integrates Apple’s Home Key tech so you can unlock your door by simply hovering your iPhone or Apple Watch over it. Although it doesn’t do so cheaply, starting at just over $200, it is more affordable than some other Home Key compatible locks on the market.

Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus

Using Apple Home Key, accessing your home is now easier and more secure than ever before. A simple tap with your iPhone or Apple Watch is all it takes to unlock your door.

Brand

Yale

Connectivity

Bluetooth; Wi-Fi optional

Integrations

Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa

Battery

4 AA

Keypad

Yes

Pros

• Minimal appearance and compact number pad
• Home Key support
• Wide support for multiple smart home platforms

Cons

• Wi-Fi for remote access is an additional cost
• Motor is louder than competitors

Yale Smart Lock Style and Design

The exterior part of the Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus is a small, compact numberpad making it convenient for doors without much room available. On the inside, the part with the thumb turn isn’t tiny, but it isn’t bulky and still allows room for its four AA batteries.

I didn’t have any problem installing the lock on an exterior utility door. Its size was manageable and its in-app video instructions were each sufficient to get the job done. This model launched with Satin Nickel and Black Suede colors, but there should be a bronze color in the very near future.

Although I wouldn’t install the nickel version prominently on my front door that has a bronze handle, most of this lock’s viewable surface is its all-black light-up number pad. No matter what color you choose, you’ll be seeing a lot of black.

Making Sense of Apple Home Key and Yale Locks

Yale announced this new Plus lock along with another one, and the combination of all available Assure models means there’s a lot to unpack. The two new Plus and Touch options join the existing entry-level Yale Assure Lock 2, all of which have a Bluetooth connection for local interactions or can be upgraded to Wi-Fi, for an additional cost, to add remote support.

The Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch has the same connectivity options but also adds a fingerprint sensor into the lock for biometric authentication. The Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus is the one that supports Apple’s Home Key, despite all of them being able to work with Apple’s HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa, among other platforms.

Confused Yet? On certain models, you can also select whether you want a keyed version or physical buttons or not. Don’t forget the multiple color choices!

Luckily, the one being reviewed here, the Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus, has the least amount of options to decide on. The reason to chose it over the Touch is for Home Key access—to be clear, the Touch model with a fingerprint sensor does not support Home Key.

Why Do You Even Want Home Key Support?

Home Key is the digital key that instantly communicates between Apple’s devices and smart locks. This key lives in Apple Wallet and can be used by other people in your family. The real joy of this technology is that it allows iPhones and Apple Watches to unlock doors by simply touching them—or getting really close.

Using this method for unlocking means not worrying about passcodes or using an app to fiddle with. Home Key can even work with an iPhone if its battery is dead. It keeps a tiny bit of juice tucked away for this type of emergency.

After installing the Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus, I was able to leave my house to go on a run with only my Apple Watch. I walked out of the door and then tapped my Ultra 2 to the Assure Lock 2 Plus and it instantly locked itself.

I streamed music and recorded a workout on my wrist computer, and then when I returned home, I raised my arm and touched the watch to the lock again, and it let me back in. I could have touched the Yale logo to light up the numbers and punch in my PIN code, but even that felt like a lot of work after going on a run.

Using a Home Key may also be a way to alleviate privacy concerns. If the lock is in a visible area, there’s a risk of someone looking over your shoulder to snoop on your code. Touching your phone or watch to the lock does away with the threat of shoulder surfing.

Again, Home Key is separate from HomeKit support, which allows you to use Apple’s Home app to lock and unlock connected devices. Home Key is just another method to control a smart lock that requires very little effort. I’ve used other Home Key support locks like the Schlage Encode Plus and the Level+ Connect and Assure Lock 2 Plus compares very similarly, in performance, to those other options.

Assure Lock 2 Plus Battery Life and More

Since Encode Plus, Level+ Connect, and Assure Lock 2 Plus all perform a lot of the same utility, one area of differentiation is around battery life and the type of batteries each lock uses.

Both the Encode Plus and Assure Lock 2 Plus employ very standard AA batteries—four of them in each case. The Level+ Connect uses a single CR2 Lithium battery, which the company advertises gives the lock a 6-month of power.

I found Level’s battery claims generous and was getting closer to three months of battery life, which meant replacing a non-standard battery four times a year. Neither Schlage nor Yale highly tout their battery life estimates so it can be hard to find. Yale told me it expects about nine months of battery life with the Bluetooth-only option and about three to six months using Wi-Fi.

I found the Encode Plus to get somewhere between seven and 12 months in my moderate usage. It’s far too early to cite my actual battery life numbers from the Assure Lock 2 Plus, but based on what I’ve seen so far with the Wi-Fi option, the company’s estimates ring true.

One other tidbit I noticed was that this lock’s motor was the loudest of the three different brands I have in operation at the moment. There’s no motor noise from the lock if you manually twist the thumb turn, but operating it electronically makes a noticeable sound to get the deadbolt moved into place—same for unlocking.

Of the smart locks I’ve tried, the Level+ Connect was the quietest, and the Encode Plus was just a bit louder. None are silent, but the Assure Lock 2 Plus makes the most noise. If used in a tile-clad entryway, it would be possible for it to disrupt a nap.

Yale Access App

If you’re not using an iPhone, this Plus lock probably isn’t worth its higher cost. I would recommend sticking with the Touch or base-level Assure Lock 2. Each of those can still plug into HomeKit for use on an iPad or Mac if you need that capability.

While iPhone users can completely interact with the Assure Lock 2 Plus from Apple’s Home app, Yale has its own mobile app as well. Yale Access is available for iPhone or Android, which is the same app used for August products, too.

There are plenty of features and settings in the app, including options to customize the volume level of the lock’s chimes and the device’s indicator light. I did find Yale’s guest access to be slightly lacking. The app allowed me to give people access on a temporary basis, a recurring basis, or a permanent basis. But I couldn’t find a way for it to do a recurring schedule that varied per day.

It seems like a big omission that I couldn’t let my son’s access code work for one hour after he got out of school, which is a different time on certain days. Similarly, what if a housekeeper has a recurring schedule with different times on different days?

The activity section in the Yale app will show who locked or unlocked a door and what method they used, so there is at least a digital trail if you decide to grant a wider window of time to make up for the limited recurring schedule access.

Price and Availability

The Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus is available now, starting at $209.99 for Bluetooth. The Wi-Fi option retails for $289.99. Both of those connectivity options come in Satin Nickle and Black Suede colors—with a bronze option on the way. There are no keyed options for the Assure Lock 2 Plus.

I had a chance to try the Assure Lock 2 Touch with a fingerprint sensor, and it worked well. I have a hard time dreaming up scenarios where I would want this unlock method over another one, but maybe for some people, it would be easier to give a teen in the home access via their finger so they can’t lose, forget, or accidentally divulge a PIN code.

Should You Buy the Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus?

At the moment, there’s no better way to enter or exit a home for iPhone owners than using Home Key—especially those wearing an Apple Watch. You don’t have to rely on flaky Bluetooth proximity to guess when you’re nearby. No passcodes are needed. From a pocket or wrist to the lock is one smooth motion to lock or unlock a door.

I would highly recommend iPhone owners consider getting a smart lock that supports Home Key. In terms of picking the Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus over one from Schlage or Level, it’s a strong contender that should absolutely be in contention for your money.

The Assure Lock 2 Plus is smaller and even more modern-looking than any Encode Plus design choice. It also has a longer battery life and built-in number pad compared to the Level+ Connect. If any of those things are important, this should probably be your next smart lock.

Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus

Using Apple Home Key, accessing your home is now easier and more secure than ever before. A simple tap with your iPhone or Apple Watch is all it takes to unlock your door.