WiFi vs Bluetooth Smart Locks: Its Differences & How to Choose

Digital Lock - Basically, ensuring your safety in your own home is very important. That is why you need to install an extra security system for extra protection.

By installing a digital smart lock, for example. However, you might be confused about how to choose between WiFi vs bluetooth smart locks. 

So, in this article you will learn about what is the difference between bluetooth and WiFi smart lock. You can also compare the two choices by their own pros and cons. By doing that, you will know which one is the best choice for you. Here is more explanation about those two types of smart locks! 

 

Get to Know WiFi Smart Locks

As you might already know, robbery is one of the crimes that is difficult to solve. In fact, only 14% of the cases are successful to solve, meanwhile the 86% remain unsolved. This is why prevention is the wisest thing for you to do in order to not getting robbed. 

One way to prevent burglary is by installing a digital lock. For example, by using a WiFi smart lock. The lock will integrate with your smartphone through an application. So, you will immediately know if someone is trying to open your door, even if you are not at home.
 
As its name suggested, you can lock and unlock the door as long as you have a WiFi connection. So, you can control it even if you are away from home. It is definitely more simple than a conventional key. Because you most likely will forget to not bring the key than forget to not bring your phone. 

Aside from that, using WiFi smart locks is also more secure. Even though you forget to lock the door, it will lock itself when you leave the home. Because, for your information, 25% of people most likely forget to lock their door. This definitely opens up opportunities for people to rob your home.
 
So, what is a WiFi smart lock? In short, it is a type of digital lock that integrates with your smartphone. You can gain access to lock and unlock the door easily by using an application. However, you can only open the apps when your phone is connected to WiFi.
 
The Pros

Then, what are the advantages of smart locks? Especially the one that you can control through WiFi. As you already know, you still can lock and unlock the door even if you are away from home. However, beside that, there are some other advantages that you can gain when you use this type of lock.
 
Here are the lists :

• Easy to use, you can control all the things regarding the lock by using an application. 
• Keyless, so you will have no problem opening the door for your kids, teens, babysitter, maid, etc even though you are not at home. 
• Up to date, because you will receive an alert at real time whenever someone opens or is trying to open the door. 
• Neatly organized history data, regarding when the lock gets unlocked.

• Temporary eKey, that you can give to a certain someone in some time frames and will expire when it is finished. 

• Customizable Key Kode, either with PIN or password in case you cannot use your phone to open it.

 
The Cons

Aside from the pros, of course smart locks have its cons too. Especially if it is connected through WiFi. Because, if you are curious about how safe WiFi smart locks are, then it is not 100% safe. WiFi signals can be hacked.

[3] That is why you still need to be careful. 
So, can a WiFi lock be hacked? The answer is yes. The hacker can breach your application and mess up its authorization to unlock the door. However, the percentage is smaller than breaking in when you are using a conventional key.
 
Beside that, what are the disadvantages of smart locks? Especially the one which uses a WiFi connection? Here are the lists :

• It relies on the Internet, so it will be difficult for you to use the application when there is no Internet. You can still open the door by using a PIN or password, but you cannot do that remotely.
• All the controls are in the phone, so it will become unstable when you lose your phone. You need to hurry up and log into the account with a different device, then change the PIN, password, etc.
• The battery is short lived, so you have to prepare a battery backup just in case it dies.

 

Get to Know Bluetooth Smart Locks

Not only connected to WiFi, there is also a smart lock that can connect through bluetooth. You might know that as bluetooth smart lock.
 
In general, the concept of this lock is not that different from the WiFi one. You can control it through an application that integrates with your lock. Also, you might need to connect to the Internet while controlling the lock in distance. 

However, you did not have to connect to the Internet when using the lock. As long as the bluetooth on your phone is detected within a certain distance, your door will unlock automatically. It is simpler in many ways, because you do not have to struggle to search for the key before unlocking the door. 

Aside from an automatic unlock, there is also an automatic lock feature. So, you do not have to worry about forgetting to lock the door when you leave the home. It definitely can reduce the probability of burglary and illegal trespassing. 

So, what is a bluetooth smart lock? It is a digital lock that can be controlled by using a bluetooth connection. You might also have to install an app to control it when you are away from your home. If the bluetooth on your phone is on, the door will unlock immediately. This is how a bluetooth smart lock works.

The Pros

As you already know, you can lock and unlock your door without actually locking and unlocking it when using bluetooth smart locks. However, aside from that, there are some other advantages that you can gain while using it. Here are the lists of bluetooth smart locks' pros that you need to know! 

• You do not have to connect to the Internet, so you can still use it when there is no Internet or when there is a power outage. 
• Customizing access control, so you can program when to lock and unlock your door at certain times. 
• Last longer battery, so you did not have to change it for years.

 
The Cons

Aside from the pro, this kind of lock also has its own cons. If you are curious about, are bluetooth smart locks secure? then the answer is yes. It is well built, and the risk of someone breaking into your home is so small. However, it is definitely not 100% secure. It is because bluetooth can be hacked. 

Even though it can be hacked, using a bluetooth smart lock is more secure than using a conventional key. It is because the trespasser needs extra effort to break in. 

Not only because of the bluetooth's vulnerability, there are some other bluetooth smart locks' cons that you need to know. Here are the lists :

• Your bluetooth needs to be on constantly, especially when you are near the home, so it might make your phone battery drain faster. It can also make your phone more vulnerable and easier to hack. 
• It is more difficult to control the lock remotely, because you need to program it further. 
• You cannot unlock the door for other people when you are away from home, so you need to send them an eKey which can be used one time.

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Related Content : https://www.hoz.sg/blog/a-clear-winner-picking-the-best-smart-lock-for-glass-doors 

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WiFi vs Bluetooth Smart Locks: Which One Is Better? 

After knowing its differences, you also need to know which one is better between WiFi and bluetooth smart locks. So, here are some things that you can compare between those two!
 

The Security

Is bluetooth more secure than WiFi or vice versa? Obviously, before choosing the lock, you are curious about this kind of question. However, you have to know that both WiFi and bluetooth have their own strengths and weaknesses.
 
Basically, WiFi can connect two devices with the help of the Internet. But, anything that connects on the Internet can easily get hacked. Its reach is also wide, so the hacker does not have to be near your home to hack your lock. However, you can protect your connection by using a password.

It is kind of different with bluetooth, because the range is limited. So, the hacker needs to be as close as possible to you to hack the lock. However, the risk is larger than WiFi, because it is not protected by using a password. That is why you need to turn off the bluetooth when you do not use them.

So, in conclusion, which is less secure between Wi-Fi and bluetooth? The answer is bluetooth, because WiFi has an extra protection feature that is harder to hack. Which is why if you fancy security more, you can choose WiFi smart lock. 

The Simplicity 

Then, how about the simplicity? Which one is better? 

Interestingly, the bluetooth one is more simple because all you need is to turn on the bluetooth feature on your phone to open the door at your home. Meanwhile, on the WiFi one, you have to connect to the Internet, open the application, and then unlock the door before you can open it. 

However, if you have someone that constantly comes over when you are away from home, then choosing the WiFi one is wiser. It is because you can unlock the door remotely even if you are across the town. You did not have to send them an eKey, so it is no problem if that someone did not have the lock app installed. 

So, how to choose between WiFi and bluetooth smart locks? If you do not constantly have someone who comes over to your home when you are away, then the bluetooth one is simpler. You can still unlock the door even though you are online and during power outages.
 
On the contrary, if you have that someone, then choose the WiFi one. Because you can control it remotely even if you are not in the home. 

The System

If talking about its system, then the WiFi one is definitely more well built than the bluetooth one. Actually, you can integrate both of the lock's types easily on your phone by using an application. 

However, the WiFi smart lock is better because you can control all of the lock's system on your phone. 

In general, the settings for locking, unlocking, and sharing the key of the WiFi one is more complete than the bluetooth one. However, you can only set them up when you are connected to the Internet. You cannot access them when you are offline or when there is a power outage.
 
But still, if you are searching for a smart lock that has a better system, then choosing the WiFi one is wiser for you. Aside from that, the WiFi smart lock also has history records that you can see. So, you will know when someone unlocked the door, starting from the date to the time it was opened.

The Price 

When choosing between two products, its price is definitely one of the most important things that you have to consider. In general, the price between a bluetooth and WiFi smart lock did not have that much difference. 

It will rely on the features that exist in the lock. 

However, most of the time, the bluetooth one is more expensive because you can use it offline. But, the battery will last longer than the WiFi one. On the contrary, the WiFi smart lock is usually cheaper than the bluetooth one. But, the battery will run out faster. 

So, that was the comparison between WiFi vs bluetooth smart locks. There are some differences between the two, so you can compare them and choose according to your needs. 

If you need help to choose, you can contact Hoz. Here, you can find high quality smart locks, both the WiFi and bluetooth ones.

Cheers,

 

Hoz,

Best Digital Lock Provider