ULTRALOQ U-Bolt Pro Z-Wave Smart Lock with Fingerprint ID, Work with Z-Wave Plus, Home Assistant, Compatible with SmartThings, Hubitat etc, WiFi Bridge Included, IP65 Waterproof, 1 Year Battery

So I'm writing this review almost one and a half year after having installed the lock and using it, and there's a good reason for that: the amazing customer support.The lock itself is great - I won't spend too much time on that. You can see all the features listed on the product page as well as in other reviews. Because it's Z-Wave, it seamlessly integrated into my Ring Alarm system and then into both HomeKit and Home Assistant using Ring-based integrations, so I've had a stellar experience. But what prompted me to write this review now is how U-tec stands behind their products.About 2 weeks ago, my door sensor died (app would show door is open even when it was closed), which meant the auto-lock function went away. Given that I was already over a year into using this, I'd assumed that my warranty was over, but I still reached out to U-tec to see if they had any solutions suggested for me. After a couple of emails exchanged, they shipped over a new door sensor free of charge, and that immediately fixed my issue. This company genuinely cares about their customers' experience with their products and puts more value in customer satisfaction than anything else, which in my book earns them 10 stars instead of 5 for being amazing! I already didn't have any complaints with the lock to begin with, now they've won me over even more! Go with this lock or another one from U-tec, but you can trust this company.

Installation of this lock is a breeze. It took longer for me to create an account, connect with Bluetooth and make the z-wave connection than it did to physically install this lock.The lock is solid and feels as sturdy as the standard manual Schlage deadbolt that I removed. Setting things up in the app was painless for me and adding fingerprints was also very easy. I will say that the fingerprint reader works well for me, but for my kids (< 6 years old), the reader is not reliable. I’m not sure why this is other than maybe their small fingerprints don’t register on the device. Not a big deal for me because I don’t anticipate my small children ever needing to unlock the deadbolt except in the event of an emergency.On to the z-wave functionality. First and foremost, if you don’t know what z-wave is, please don’t bash this product like others have and give it 1 star because it doesn’t come with a z-wave hub. I read a review complaining about this and that person has a fundamental misunderstanding of what z-wave is. This lock DOES work with z-wave, but it did not connect to my z-wave stick with “s2” security. I had to use “s0” security to connect the lock to Home Assistant. I think this is why some are complaining that the z-wave functionality isn’t working for them. Contrary to Mr. IT’s review (who claims he’s “no amateur”), the z-wave does in fact work if you connect it correctly to you z-wave hub or stick. For those that aren’t able to connect to z-wave, you are either trying to connect via s2 or are connecting as an unsecure device. I could possibly deduct a star for the manufacturer not explaining this, but the rest of the lock features are too good to dock a star. Mr. IT is an amateur when it comes to home automation so disregard his review.While I don’t anticipate using the app other than setting up users, it’s actually pretty good. The initial setup process for the lock was painless and adding new users with fingerprints was a very straight forward process. Kudos to the developers for making the app pleasant to work with.The fingerprint sensor works great for me and my wife, but not so well for my kids. Again, I don’t care so much about that because I don’t anticipate my kids needing to use it ever, but something that’s worth noting.Overall, I’m very pleased with this product and if you’re looking to use z-wave, just make sure that you add the device correctly and don’t listen to Mr. IT, who is not a home automation expert.

This lock was easy to install (similar to other smart locks I've done) and was able to be added to my Z-Wave hub (Hubitat, though features should be similar with other full-featured hubs, too--probably not so much with Wink and others). I mostly plan on using it via Z-Wave (besides manually), which was the draw towards this particular model for me, as opposed to their others. However, the Z-Wave support leaves something to be desired:1. Inclusion/exclusion mode can only be initiated from the manufacturer's app, not anything on the lock itself, according to the manual. So, unlike pretty much any other Z-Wave lock (or device of any kind) on the market, if the manufacturer goes out of business, even your ability to add it to your Z-Wave network will disappear.2. "Unlock" reports sent to the hub do not include the PIN/user, just the fact that the lock was unlocked. It is therefore not useful for lock-code-based automations, as some may wish to use it for; again, this is different from any other Z-Wave (and Zigbee) lock I've used.3. The built-in contact sensor, while neat, also did not originally report via Z-Wave, but apparently a recent firmware update changed that. I have another sensor so do not rely on the one built-in to this lock, but some may wish to know this. But again, unlike nearly any other Z-Wave device on the market, the only way to update the firmware is via the manufacturer's mobile app.There are some good things to say about the lock: the fingerprint reader is a neat feature, the design is sleeker than many, and (at least when I got it on sale) the price was decent. It was also easily "re-keyed" with the old Schlage cylinder from the lock it replaced.However, with only basic Z-Wave functionality, I would suggest a different lock to anyone for whom Z-Wave features are important. Schlage Z-Wave or Zigbee would be my current choice (as picky as some of their older Z-Wave models were--I think the new ones are better?), though I've talked to fellow Z-Wave users who use Yale and other brands without problem as well.