Level Home makes fabulous smart locks, but only Apple iPhone users have been able to get the full benefit from them. There’s been an Android version of their app, but you couldn’t use it to remotely control the lock via the internet, To do that, you needed an iPhone and a HomeKit-based smart home hub. That changes with today’s announcement of Amazon Sidewalk network compatibility.
There is a catch, however; in order to remotely control any of Level’s locks you must have either an iPhone and a HomeKit hub, or an iPhone or Android phone plus a Sidewalk Bridge device, such as a Ring Video Doorbell Pro installed in your home. A number of other Amazon Echo and Ring products are also slated to become Sidewalk Bridges (you can find a list at this link to Amazon’s website).
Level’s locks will communicate with a Sidewalk Bridge over a Bluetooth connection, and you’ll be able to monitor and control the lock from either Level’s or Ring’s smartphone app (Android or iOS). With a Ring Video Doorbell Pro, you’ll also be able to see who’s at the door and remotely unlock the lock to allow authorized visitors into your home. This new compatibility applies to all three of Level’s locks: The Level Touch, the Level Bolt, and the all-new Level Lock.
As already mentioned, the Level Lock is a complete smart lock—it’s just like the Level Touch but without the touch and NFC card features. You’ll be able to operate it with your smartphone, with a physical key, or with voice commands (provided you have a Sidewalk Bridge device or an Apple HomeKit home hub). The beauty of Level’s products is that the device’s motor and all its brains fitinsidethe door, so that the only visible components are the key cylinder in the exterior escutcheon and the paddle on the interior escutcheon. The battery that powers the lock, meanwhile, is hidden inside the bolt itself.
The all-new Level Lock is available now at Level.co with your choice of matte black, satin nickel, satin chrome, or polished brass finishes. We hope to have a review unit we can put through its paces soon.
Also effective today, Level has reduced the cost of the Level Bolt retrofit kit from $229 to $199. The Level Bolt converts an ordinary dumb deadbolt into a smart lock without adding a lot of visual junk to your door. No one will know the lock has changed unless you tell them, because everything fits inside the door. And as with Level’s other two products, you’ll be able to remotely control the lock over the internet if you also have either an Apple HomeKit home hub or a Ring Video Doorbell Pro operating in your home.
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