We’ll look at smart lock technology to secure your front door or any door in your home with a deadbolt. The latest version of Ultraloq U Bolt Pro comes with Wi-Fi smart deadlock.
1.0 Design
First, it’s a straightforward design and one of the smallest locks you can find on the market. Second, it now has built-in Wi-Fi, and that’s the big difference from the previous version, which has Bluetooth. Third, it supports a mobile app, has a tiny fingerprint sensor, and has some cool features.
2.0 Features
The first feature for the Ultraloq U Bolt Pro is you can have multiple users in the actual lock, and we have it, and you can have temporary users. We’ve done this before as I’ve granted access to my home to family and friends to come in maybe if they’re house watching.
It is perfect for my Airbnb to unlock the door as I don’t have to hand over any keys to the guest. I can set the guest as a temporary user, and you can select the period for the door access. Once the guest checks out, you can delete the user and create a new user for your new guest.
You can also access a log of everyone, which is compatible with Alexa and Google devices. It uses IFTT technology, so it has a lot of flexibility and security of what you would expect.
It does use a battery, and the battery law lasts pretty long. We’ve used this for over a year now on our door and I have changed the battery four times.
3.0 What’s Inside the Box
In the box, you get your fingerprint sensor or pad and then the main compartment for the locking mechanism where you would put your batteries. There are some batteries that it includes with some bolts that you use to tighten things up. And then you have a set of backup keys just in case your finger doesn’t work or your battery dies.
You even get a screwdriver so you can; you have everything you need to install. The only thing you don’t have in this is if you have to bore a hole in your door like it’s one of those doors that does not have the cut-out. You don’t have that here, but you have everything else that you need to get this installed.
4.0 Installation
The installation of Ultraloq U Bolt Pro is straightforward. Since I had a previous version already installed, it was just as simple as removing two screws to replace it.
It was pretty much a snap. First, I had to undo the two screws in the battery compartment. It will come off, then you need to remove the old plate and replaced it with the new plate. Then, I removed the actual fingerprint sensor, which is on the outside, and reconnected everything.
5.0 Door Sensor
One of the things that this version brings, I just wanted to highlight it also came with a door sensor. So, when the door is left open, it will let you know if the door is open, it has a little white sensor, and you install this beside the main box for the locking mechanism inside your home. That door sensor works well because what ends up happening is that if your door is open, the auto-lock feature doesn’t kick off, which is super cool for me.
On my door, I have a little piece of felt there. It is the felt material like the one we put at the bottom of a stool or a chair so that it doesn’t rub the wood floor. And I put that out there because my kids would always leave the door open, and then the deadbolt would come out as in the previous model of Ultraloq U Bolt.
Then if someone went to close the door and didn’t notice that the deadbolt was open, it would just hit the wood repeatedly. So the felt function is to minimize the contact with the deadbolt so the door will not be damaged.
With the new sensor, the behaviour has changed. What I noticed is that if the door is open. The door will not lock until it’s closed. So it knows now that the door’s open, so you get a notification letting you know that the door is open, on the app itself. And then the lock does not pop as the deadbolt doesn’t come out until the door’s closed. So as soon as you close the door, the deadbolt kicks into place when you have that auto feature and door sensor.
5.0 Fingerprint Sensor
As you can see on the deadbolt itself, you have the fingerprint sensor. I typically like registering at least two fingers. I do my thumb and finger and sometimes do my other hand. So that would be three fingers. Putting more than one fingerprint is because you might not know when the sensor cannot read the fingerprint because of some reasons like your finger is hurt or you have a bandage on.
But if you do, let’s say the fingerprint doesn’t work. You have an included key that you can use, and there’s a hidden hole where you can insert a key to open the door. The key looks like a pretty standard key. It’s not one of those heavy-duty or secure keys that we’ve seen on some other locks that can’t be copied.
So the unit came with a standard key that you can copy. So you can give a copy to someone to go in manually and keep in mind that the app will track the access and everything.
6.0 App for Ultraloq U Bolt Pro
The app experience is slightly different from the one I had in the previous version of Ultraloq U Bolt Pro because it only has a few features that I didn’t have, especially the door sensor.
But as we can see here, you have a couple of things. First, here’s a picture of my door lock, and then you can lock, see people, and see settings.
If I were to go into the people area, you’d see that these are all the individuals that are part of my locking system. So I have a total of four users.
And as I take a look at any specific user. What I can do is I can see the number of fingerprints that they have—one to two fingerprints, if not more. You also have a password; the password you dial allows you to key in the numbers to unlock the door. So it gives you the ability to do that. And then you could access it with the app.
As mentioned previously, the app also has a log that will tell you all the different access you’ve had on the Ultraloq U Bolt Pro. So, on the log page, it can show you all the lock and unlock statuses. If someone manually unlocked it, it’ll show you even those users who have gone through the door and used their fingerprint to access it.
7.0 Setting Up New User
Setting up a user in the app is pretty simple. All you have to do is choose the user type. You can have an admin, a regular user or a temporary user, and this is pretty cool because you can set out the time zones.
So, the admin will have admin rights again, and the regular users can lock and unlock the door.
If you have someone who’s house sitting or family that’s come over for a holiday and you want to give them some access so they can go in, you don’t want to worry about forgetting they’re there.
I also have one of the Ultraloq U Bolt Pro on my apartment for Airbnb. This lock works amazingly well and saves me a lot of time giving access to the guest checking in and out. I hired a cleaner for this AirBnB so she also can use the fingerprint or code to access my apartment once I get notified that the guest has checked out.
8.0 Set Up Fingerprint
While setting up the fingerprint, you’ll press it several times, and it’s light on all the keys. Then, Ultraloq U Bolt Pro Review will beep and tell you when you need to remove your finger.
You can rotate your finger during the process to get a better imprint. So, what you can do is with every print, you can turn your finger to make sure if you have groceries in your hand and you’re grabbing it with an awkward angle, it’s going to get the best print or every possible print angle so that you can open the door when you need to.
9.0 User Code
The other thing you can do n Ultraloq U Bolt Pro thru the app adds a user code, which could be four to eight digits. So, if you want to use the keypad, that’s like someone doesn’t like using their finger. So, they could do that as well.
So, now, in addition to emailing the guest the fact that they have access. One of the things you could do is set when the access begins and ends. When does the access change or end, and then you can select the times. So literally, you can give someone access to your home and only say that they can unlock the door at specific times during the day and on particular days.
10.0 Setting
Now in the setting areas, there’s a lot that you’re going to see. You’ll see the Mac address, the time, the battery level, any smart notifications lock sounds and the lock’s status. You could enable the function magic shake to open the door with your phone.
In setting, you could also determine the direction of the lock depending on what side of the door, meaning if it’s a right hung or left hung. You have the auto-lock features, which I have, and then you can also set up some auto and lock so that as you get closer to the door with your phone, it will unlock the door automatically. You can choose the enable or disable the feature according to your preferences.
When the door is open, I want to get a notification, so when it’s left open, and then you can set the timing. The minimum that you can set is a minute. So when someone leaves the door opened, such as for a minimum of one minute, you will get a notification for that to close the door.
11.0 My Verdict on Ultraloq U Bolt Pro
So far, the Ultraloq U Bolt Pro is working great for my house and AirBnB without any problem. The fingerprint is very sensitive and accurate, the app is handy, and the lock and unlock mechanism has never failed.
As I mentioned above, for the past year, we have changed the battery four times, whereas the company said the battery could last for six months. In my case, the battery lasts me only three months.
Despite the battery drawbacks, I highly recommend the Ultraloq U Bolt Pro for anyone searching for a keyless deadbolt which works excellent and has high reliability.