It's been a week since I've installed the Level Bolt (wanted to test it out before leaving a review), and it's been great! I've previously used other smart locks in the past but didn't love them due to various issues so I thought I'd might as well give the Level smart lock a try. I first heard about Level from a friend over a year ago, and recently decided to try the Level on my last remaining "dumb" lock. In an effort to maintain social distancing in light of covid, I've installed the Level Bolt to my street level side entry, which is the primary entrance for our guests and home maintenance personnel (access to our in-law suite and backyard).

As mentioned, I have a number of other smart locks installed in my home, including the August Yale for my front door. However, it loses connection several times a week because it is dependent on our wifi. Compared to the August, I prefer the use of bluetooth for the Level Bolt. Our living space is two floors up from the side entry, and after a week, I can attest to the connectivity being on point! I'll continue to test in the coming weeks but will likely make the switch to the Level smart lock for my other doors.

What appealed to me about the Level Bolt was how discreet it was. Since we already had a smart lock on our main entrance, I wanted a lock that was unassuming for our side entry. I also wanted a lock that allows me to keep the original knob and key, which is helpful because my 65 year old dad doesn't like change, and he often uses the side entry to access the in-law suite when he visits. Not only that but the smart lock allows us to unlock the door for our home maintenance personnel (e.g., gardener, handyman, pest control, etc.), allowing us to maintain social distancing. I also like the ability to give specific access to other visitors, whether they have an iPhone or Android.

I had some initial troubles with the install, since the side entry door was built in the 1930's (typical San Francisco house), and the strike plate provided was a bit bigger than my door frame cutout. I called Level Support who kindly and patiently walked me through how to chisel the frame (using a Philips head screwdriver and hammer), and I'm proud to say I got it to fit in under 2 minutes.

Once I got over the initial hurdle, I'm happy to say the rest of the install was a breeze, and the whole process took less than 30 minutes. The app is responsive, easy to use, and I appreciate their font choice! Overall, I'm very happy with the purchase, and look forward to seeing more Level products. I may switch it out for the Touch model once more colors come out.

The lock itself was awesome, probably the fastest lock to install. But wait a minute, the latch would not fit into my striker plate on the other door. The bolt is round and the plate it's going into is a rectangle. They supple you with several plate options. I had to drill the other metal door that was rectangle out to round it out to make my lock fit to work smooth. Replaced the knob lock so everything works smoothly. You have to adjust the lock to function smoothly, all aligned so it works very easy. If you don't you will get errors. This lock is a little higher priced but the design is very good. For as much as the lock is it should have come with the optional key pad. Cause with out one only a few who have access will get to use it. If the latch had straight sides it probably would have been better. But I am not sure that can be done. Because the battery goes into the latch. I do like the fact this it fits so nicely and you don't even know it's a smart lock as its conceal door carry.

Absolutely in love with this lock! I've been wanting it for so long and I was very excited to see it go on sale for Prime Day. We had the kit installed in less than 15 minutes and that was without really reading through the instructions. It set up with Apple Homekit instantly and now I can easily locl/unlock the door with Siri, set automation to lock/unlock based on time of day, sunrise/sunset, and if my phone is home or away. Truly do love how it integrates with your current lock.

I did try to set it up with Ring to automate it with our security system but as of June 2021 it is only compatible with the 1st Gen Ring Pro Doorbell. That doesn't work for us because we have the 3rd Gen non-pro doorbell and this lock isn't for our front door. We actually have this on our back door and have the Schlage Connect Smart Deadbolt Z-Wave that we ordered with our own system on our front door.

Comparing the two, the Schlage app is an absolutely terrible experience and we never got our lock to sync with their app. The Level Lock app was very straightforward and synced instantly once the battery was put into the lock. The Level Lock is also MUCH MUCH MUCH quieter than the Schlage. You can hear the Schlage lock in every room of our house, but you can barely hear the Level Lock even when you're in the same room. While the Schlage has a loud, mechanical sound to let you know it's locked, the Level Lock has a soft little chirp to confirm it's locked.

I'm a big fan of electric locks because I believe the ability to automate them helps make sure that you're being safe and locking the doors behind you or in the evenings, even when you get busy or forgetful. I also value being able to double check if I've locked up my house to have peace of mind with the app. I plan to order another Level Lock for the door between our garage and laundry room just to make sure our house is always secure. The fact that the level lock can go into an already existing lock, is very straightforward to set up, and works right out of the box is what's sold me to be a repeat customer.

Things I wish I'd known from the beginning:

I had so much trouble setting up this lock. I couldn't get the lock to connect. Then I couldn't get the Level Connect to connect (for wifi). I called Level's customer service hotline and got help from a really great guy. I was on the phone with him for over an hour but he helped me to get everything connected and I could not have done it without him. But then I couldn't get the lock installed.

I have a Schlage deadbolt (Camelot, single cylinder). Single cylinder means a thumb turn on one side an a keyed lock on the other. Some deadbolts actually need a key on both sides. This is called a double cylinder. The Level Bolt does not work with double cylinder locks. So my deadbolt was on the list of compatible locks but it just wasn't lining up. So I called Customer Service again. This guy had me send him pictures. It clearly was not lining up. He couldn't figure it out.

I ended up calling a friend who knows a lot about locks. He was able to see that the tailpiect (the long nail file looking metal bar) was not turning the same way as the level lock. Think of a clock with a hand that only turns from 10 to 2 compared to a clock with a hand that only turns from 12 to 3. The Level Bolt bar turns from 12 to 3 but the bar on my Schlage deadbolt turned from 10 to 2. I had picked the wrong tailpiece adapter. (The Bolt comes with 3). Two of them look very similar, but they aren't. Two of them are long narrow rectangles, the other one is a square. If you happen to need one of the long narrow rectangle pieces, make sure you pick the right one. If you've picked one and your original exterior hardware isn't lining up, try the other one. I really hope that this helps someone. I am so glad my friend was able to help me as I was about to return the lock. I am glad that I didn't. I really like the Level Bolt so far and I'm so glad I can use my original deadbolt. And it was such a simple fix!

This is the smart lock I've been waiting for ever since I bought the August smart lock. I owned two versions of the August smart lock for about 8 years. While they worked well, I always disliked how bulky the lock looked on my door. This Level Lock solves that problem - you can't even tell you have a smart lock.

The lock is very sensitive to bad installations. So, yes, you need to spend quite a bit of time installing the lock and making sure it is not rubbing anywhere and not to overtighten the bolts.

The Level Connect is essential to be able to connect the lock to WiFi and then to Alexa or Google Home. I have it connected to Alexa and it works rather well. This also allows you to control de lock when away from the bluetooth range or away from home.

I've only just now got it working. I'll updated this review after a few weeks.

Update 22Nov23 - So far so good. I love the fact that I can operate the lock while away from home, and the delay or lag is minimal.