Smart Lock Installation in Orlando, FL

Which locks hold up in Florida

Heat, humidity and a daily rain shower are hard on electronics mounted to a door. The models that last here have sealed keypads, a real deadbolt inside, and a battery compartment on the interior side. Schlage Encode is what we install most: built-in Wi-Fi, keypad, backup key, and one most HOA boards already know. Yale Assure suits people who want no key at all. August fits over the existing deadbolt, which keeps a landlord's key working. For a gate, a garage side door or a pool door, a plain keypad deadbolt with no app is often the better tool.

A west-facing door with no overhang gets a different recommendation than a shaded entry. The technician looks at the exposure, checks the Wi-Fi strength at the door, and then suggests a model, or installs the one you already bought.

Vacation rentals and guest codes

Orlando has more short-term rentals than almost anywhere, and every one of them turns over on a lock. We install the locks hosts actually use, connect them to the host's app so codes can be set from anywhere, and set up the first guest codes together. A code that starts at check-in and ends at checkout means nobody keeps a key and the cleaner never waits on the porch.

When a code fails on a Friday night, the guest's problem becomes the host's problem. We open the door for a locked-out guest with the owner's or manager's authorization and fix the cause, whether that is dead batteries, a lock that lost its network, or a door that shifted. Hosts and managers with several doors in Kissimmee, Davenport or ChampionsGate get one number and a standing rate.

• Guest, cleaner and maintenance codes set up with you
• Auto-lock timing set so a door left open by a guest still locks
• Low-battery alerts turned on in the app before we leave

Door prep, batteries and when the Wi-Fi drops

A motorized bolt has to slide with no resistance or it drains the batteries, jams and throws errors. Most smart lock complaints trace back to a door that was slightly out of line when the lock went on. We adjust the strike and the hinges, then calibrate the lock and test the auto-lock with you before leaving.

Batteries last months, not years, and the lock warns you weeks ahead. Models with a cylinder still open with the backup key when the batteries die; many have contacts for a 9-volt battery to wake the keypad. When the Wi-Fi drops, the lock keeps working at the door: every code already stored still opens it, and only remote changes wait until the network is back. We show you both on install day.

Bring your own lock or let us supply one. If you bought a model that will not suit your door, the technician says so before the box is opened and quotes the right one instead.