Tuesday 29 June 2010

Keyless Entry - keypad, electronic lock


Let me say first off, I've been a Realtor and owner of my own real estate company for 25-years. I know quality and I see new, neat, high-end products on a daily basis. I've opened 1000's of doors, locks and deadbolts over the past 25-years.



Well, I was at the Ft. Lauderdale Home Show this Memorial day weekend. I go every year, and usually find at least one neat, cool item at the show that's a "must have" for the home and buy it or order it if its not available at the show. Well, the Sunnect AP501SN easily fit the bill this year.



So I bought two Sunnect AP501SN Advanced Protection Digital Deadbolt Locks, one for my front door and one of the door leading into the house from the garage. I installed one of them today.



These are heavy, well made, well constructed, nice looking top-shelf deadbolt locks. The quality, fit and finish is second to none.



It was real easy to install where my original existing deadbolt was located, the directions and photos were well written and easy to follow.



What is even more impressive is the technology that went in to designing and building these deadbolts. The Sunnect AP501SN is by far superior to Schlage, Quickset or anything else on the market.

These are the finest digital keypad deadbolts on the market at any price.



Its got a ton of neat features, including the autolock feature, which automatically locks the door after 3-seconds of closing it. Wow, never forget to lock your door, its automatic, unless you don't want to activate this feature, no problem, you can.



The two included access keys (and you don't need to use them)are 21st Century technology. No key hole, therefore no getting key bumped by the bad guys.



The unit has blue/red colored lights and musical tones/sounds that easily communicate with you so you know by both sight and sound how to program the deadbolt for your personal and individual needs and the status of your lock after you complete the install.



This is a 5-star product, and deserving for any homeowner, apartment owner, property manager, as its been approved by this Realtor. Sunnect AP501AB Advanced Protection Digital Deadbolt Lock, Aged Bronze

This is it. Top of the line. There's nowhere to go after this. Impeccable fit and finish. Good looking, sturdy, easy to use, easy to install. Now that I have them in my own home, I can say that the product videos are very accurate representations of what to expect. Watch them. It really is that easy and convenient. The written manual is of similar quality, and clearly explains all the features. My wife was a little concerned about the potential for getting locked out of her house by a crashing computer, but after reading the manual and using them for only a day, she's very comfortable with them. The manual latch on the inside and the 9V terminal on the outside ensure you'll always be able to get in or out. They are a little expensive, but easily pay for themselves the first time you lose a key and DON'T have to call a locksmith. Not to mention the value that comes from knowing they're un-bumpable, and the convenience of being able to hand out temporary codes and keys to house guests, pet sitters, etc.



I will mention one minor snag with installation: the included magnetic strike plates were not the same size as any of the existing strike plates on the doors in my 20-year-old home. (The bolt and bolt plates fit perfectly.) I don't know if things have been standardized since then, or if my builder just didn't follow standards. Some were too large, some too small. Without the magnet, the deadbolts still work, but the more advanced features like auto-lock and alarm are disabled. Fortunately, it is just a magnetic sensor, so simply attaching a tiny neodymium magnet (available online, from hobby stores, or even out of an old hard drive) on the bottom lip of your existing strike plates activates those features without requiring any modifications to the door frame. I just happened to have a bunch of neodymium magnets in my parts box, but if Sunnect had included several sizes of plate, or a neodymium retrofit right in the box, I'd have given them 6 stars for going above and beyond. As is, I'll have to knock them down to "only" 5.



Bottom line, this is as good as it gets, and if you're already interested enough to be reading this, you should probably just click the order button now.

The Good

-Great security

-Easy to use and program entry codes and register keys

-Sleek design and looks just as good in person

-Long battery life, option to hookup 9V if runs out

-Installation was easy with existing door cutouts.



The Bad

-Priced a little high, but well worth the investment.

I first went to Lowes and Home Depot looking for a Deadbolt for my home. I have a 3 and 2 year old children. Babysitter, Maid, and friends are always coming and going and so I was always forgetting to lock the door. One time I found my two children outside since the door wasn't locked and I was busy with my 3 month old. Having such young children makes this household very, very, very busy! After the initial shock of my children being outside, I decided to change the lock. I first bought a lock from Homedepot but it didn't have autolock which was what I was really looking for. They did have one that did but the buttons and lock looked so cheap that I decided to pass. I installed their most expensive one which was around $120 but after two days I decided to order this lock from amazon. As soon as I received it, I could tell a huge difference in locks. This one was a lot heavier and seem more secure than the other lock. It did take me a bit of time to install it because the deadbolt was a different size than my existing one but I love it. On the door jamb side is a magnetic part which knows when the door is closed and auto locks the door for me. It looks ten times better than the home depot one. The only issue I have is that there is only one programable code for the lock. I think. The other was able to handle 20 different codes but I guess it is no big deal for me. I wouldn't be able to tell who opened the door anyway like my alarm company does when I use a code. If I didn't have the alarm, it would be a different story but overall I do love this lock. - Electronic Lock - Keyless Entry - Keyless Deadbolt - Keypad'


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