Our testers factor these features into our ratings under headings that include ease of remote access, convenience, and security add-ons. We investigate features such as smartphone alerts, remote locking and unlocking, geofencing (the ability to automatically lock or unlock the door based on your phone’s location), third-party app and voice control (via Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Assistant, and Apple Home and Siri), shareable electronic keys, access logs of who comes and goes, and even tamper alarms. As a result, a retrofit smart lock’s resistance to kicking, picking, and drilling is entirely dependent on the deadbolt it’s paired with.īoth types of smart locks also get additional testing. These locks replace only the interior side of your existing deadbolt, essentially adding smarts to the lock you already use. The only exception is retrofit smart locks. And for the picking test, we assess the internal mechanisms of each lock to see how easily it can be picked.Īll models, including smart locks, receive a score in each of the four break-in tests, allowing you to easily compare a lock’s strengths and weaknesses in the face of a physical assault.
Again and again, CR’s experts have found that this basic do-it-yourself upgrade improves security for any lock (more on that later).įor the drilling test, we evaluate how well each lock can withstand attack from a cordless drill. The models that fail-and at least half do-then go through another test round with a reinforced box strike plate installed on a new lock sample. They repeat the test eight times, dropping the weight from increasing heights, or until the lock fails. The deadbolts, electronic locks, and smart locks that enter CR’s labs get kicked, picked, and drilled into oblivion.įor the kick-in tests, CR’s test engineers built a custom jig that allows them to swing a 100-pound steel battering ram at a replaceable section of door with the deadbolt installed.