Eufy Video Smart Lock Review

Part video doorbell and part door lock, the Eufy Video Smart Lock is a unique hybrid smart home device that lets you lock and unlock your door using your voice, a fingerprint scan, a mobile app, a touchpad or traditional keys. It’s also a smart doorbell that offers crisp 2K video, dual motion sensors, intelligent motion detection, and free local video storage. It’s pricey at $399.99, but its versatility, performance, and rich features earn it an Editors’ Choice award for smart locks.

Eufy Video Smart Lock Design and Features

Video Smart Lock is a complete lock kit that comes with everything you need to replace your old lock. It includes internal and external shields, a Wi-Fi clock box, an end plate and deadbolt devices, a pair of keys, mounting screws and other assorted mounting hardware.

With rounded edges and a matte black and dark gray finish, the exterior shield offers a sleek aesthetic, but at 7.2 x 2.8 x 1.0 inches (HWD), it’s one of the largest locks we’ve seen. The durable metal alloy housing has a waterproof IP65 rating for protection from the elements. It includes a fingerprint scanner on top, a 2K (2560 x 1920) camera, four infrared LEDs for night vision, a 12-button backlit touchpad and a microphone. The touchpad has 0-9 keys as well as lock/unlock and back buttons. The lock also offers motion detection, a feature you don’t get with the comparably priced Lockly Vision Doorbell Camera Smart Lock ($399.99). In fact, the Eufy lock uses dual motion sensors (PIR and radar) for improved detection.

A doorbell button below the touchpad lights up blue when pressed or when someone approaches the door. The bell button lifts away from the front of the lock to reveal a keyhole for opening the lock with traditional keys. A speaker, a reset button and a USB-C port for emergency charging are all located on the bottom edge. Around the back are the data and Wi-Fi cables that connect to the inner shield.

(Credit: Eufy)

The interior component shares the same finish as the exterior and measures 7.6 x 3.3 x 1.1 inches. It has a thumb screw button for manual bolt operation and a removable cover that hides the rechargeable 10,000 mAh battery pack. The battery is rated to last up to four months with regular use. Simply remove the package and charge it for several hours with a USB-C cable (not included). The battery compartment also contains a sync button to connect the lock to the included Wi-Fi bridge.

The combined call box/Wi-Fi bridge is the same plug-in device that comes with the Eufy Smart Lock Touch With Wi-Fi ($259.99). It contains 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios and connects wirelessly to the lock and to your home network. The bridge measures 3.7 x 2.0 x 1.0 inches (HWD) and features a gray fabric cover, two fold-out Wi-Fi antennas, and an LED indicator that flashes green during setup, glows blue when connected, and lights up red when the internet connection is broken. A microSD card slot on the left is used for local video storage, but you’ll need to supply your own memory card (up to 128GB).

Video Smart Lock offers intelligent alerts that can distinguish between movement caused by people and other objects. It will send push notifications and record video when it detects motion or when the doorbell button is pressed and saves the video to the micro SD card. The lock supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, routines and video streaming, but it doesn’t work with Apple HomeKit or IFTTT.

Eufy App Experience

The video lock uses the same mobile app as other Eufy devices, including the Doorbell Dual ($259.99) and the Floodlight Camera ($179.99). A panel on the Devices screen displays the name of the lock, an image of the last captured event, and a playback arrow. Press the arrow to start a live video stream which also has a Lock/Unlock button and manual record and snapshot buttons. There’s also a two-way talk button, a mute button and a quick response button that plays a pre-recorded or custom response when pressed.

(Credit: Eufy)

Tap the gear icon in the upper right corner to access the settings screen. Here you can create custom responses, configure motion detection settings and enable a Loitering Detection option. The latter will send a push notification, ring the chime or activate a quick response if someone hangs around your property for a certain period of time. You can also configure an exit detection option that will alert you when someone has opened the door but then leaves the area.

The Power Manager setting allows you to view battery life and choose between optimal battery life (ringer only, no motion detection), balanced battery life (limited motion detection times) and optimal monitoring (60 second video clip). One-Touch Locking allows you to lock the door with one long press of a button, and Auto-Lock will automatically lock the door after it has been open for a certain period of time. The Scramble Passcode setting allows you to unlock the door by entering random numbers before or after entering the actual passcode, and Wrong-Try Protection allows you to enter a specific number of incorrect passcode entries before the device enters a lockout period of your choosing.

Other settings include video and audio quality controls, notifications, ringtones with the ability to use Alexa as a clock, and calibration.

Install and use Eufy Video Smart Lock

Installing the physical video lock is as easy as installing any door lock. I started by removing my old lock (including the deadbolt and strike plate) and installed the new deadbolt and strike plate. I followed this with the outer shield, making sure to slide the tail piece into the locking slot and feed the data cable through the door hole, then attached the sign to the mounting plate on the inside of the door. I attached the data cable to the inner shield, attached the shield to the mounting plate and used my thumb to make sure the latch worked smoothly. Finally, I packed the battery (make sure you charge it beforehand) and was ready to add the lock to my Eufy account.

Because of the necessary bridge, setting up the lock requires two major steps. First, I opened the mobile app, tapped the plus icon on the Devices screen, and selected Wi-Fi Bridge & Doorbell Chime from the list of devices. I used my phone to scan the QR code on the bottom of the doorbell when prompted, plugged it in, and hit Next. I pressed the sync button until the LED flashed green, pressed Next again, and entered my Wi-Fi password. I waited a few seconds for the watch to connect to my network, gave it a name, and waited a few more minutes for the firmware to update.

Turning to the lock itself, I pressed Add New Device when prompted, selected Video Smart Video Lock, and selected the bridge that I had just installed. At this point, you can watch an installation video tutorial or skip it. I pressed the Sync button on the inner shield for five seconds until I heard a beep, pressed Next, and scanned the QR code that appeared on the app using the doorbell camera. Within a few seconds of hearing a double beep, the lock was paired with the bridge and added to the app. I pressed Next, gave the lock a name, followed the instructions to calibrate the lock, created a master password, and registered my fingerprint. After a quick firmware update on the lock, the installation was complete.

(Credit: Eufy/PCMag)

Video Smart Lock worked flawlessly in testing. The touchpad was responsive, as was the fingerprint scanner, which provided instant locking and unlocking every time. The lock had no problem following app commands or performing voice commands to lock and unlock the door, and the Auto-Lock feature worked as described.

The doorbell camera delivered colorful 2K video during the day and sharp black-and-white video at night. Motion alerts came quickly, as did doorbell taps and video recording of motion events. The camera did a good job of identifying human motion and disregarding motion caused by blowing leaves and passing cars. I created an Alexa routine to turn on a Wyze Bulb when the doorbell button was pressed and it worked without issue.

Unlocked potential

The Eufy Video Smart Lock may cost more than most smart locks, but the 2K doorbell camera and excellent feature set make the $400 price tag a little more palatable. This lock offers more ways to lock and unlock your doors than most smart locks, including your voice, your phone, fingerprint scanning, a touchpad and with a traditional set of keys. The integrated video doorbell provides excellent 2K video and accurate motion detection, and installation is relatively easy. We’d like to see more interoperability with third-party devices, but that doesn’t stop it from earning an Editors’ Choice award for smart locks. If $400 is too rich for your blood, the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro Wi-Fi (also an Editors’ Choice winner) offers a variety of ways to open and close the door and includes a fingerprint scanner, but it doesn’t have a built-in video door bell.