At a glanceExpert’s Score
Professionals
Wi-Fi connectivity
Voice management through Alexa, Google Assistant, and SmartThings
Customizable entry codes for friends, deliveries, and extra
Glorious battery life, with emergency energy backup
Cons
No Fingerprint recognition
No geofencing assist
Slight delay on distant unlocking
Not Matter licensed nor Apple HomeKit appropriate
Our Verdict
It’s neither the prettiest nor essentially the most succesful sensible lock in the marketplace, however TP-Hyperlink’s Tapo DL100 sensible deadbolt delivers much more than you may anticipate primarily based on its price ticket.
Value When Reviewed
This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined
Greatest Pricing At present
Value When Reviewed$69.99
Greatest Costs At present: TP-Hyperlink Tapo DL100
$59.99
Greatest identified for its cheap routers, TP-Hyperlink is quickly rising its Tapo line of budget-priced sensible residence units, and the Tapo DL100 sensible lock is a superb residence safety worth.
You’ll discover loads of sensible locks that look prettier, pack extra whiz-bang options, and assist extra sensible residence ecosystems, however you received’t discover a $70 lock that’s practically pretty much as good as TP-Hyperlink’s Tapo DL100.
Design and construct high quality
The Tapo DL100 isn’t flashy, nevertheless it doesn’t look low-cost. The black-and-silver end blends nicely with most doorways, and the keypad glows softly for nighttime visibility. Whereas the housing is plastic as an alternative of metallic, it doesn’t really feel flimsy within the hand.
The Tapo DL100 isn’t flashy, however TP-Hyperlink has delivered some of the totally featured sensible locks you should buy for lower than $100.
The Tapo DL100 is BHMA licensed as a industrial lock rated ANSI Grade 3, the bottom of the three ANSI industrial lock grades (the upper ranges being Grade 1 adopted by Grade 2). If you’d like a stronger lock, you’ll must spend more cash. You’ll be able to examine ANSI lock grades on the ANSI weblog. We clarify the BHMA’s residential lock requirements on the previous hyperlink.
By way of weatherization, the lock is rated a modest IP54, which in accordance with our IP code information, means it received’t permit mud ingress to the purpose of inflicting failure, and that it could stand up to being sprayed with water (however undoubtedly not from a strain washer).
The Tapo DL100’s inside (prime) and exterior escutcheons.James Barber/Foundry
I don’t know if I’d use it for an oceanfront seaside home, nevertheless it ought to stand as much as extra typical environments. That stated, lots of the locks we’ve reviewed recently have had the identical water resistance rankings as this lock, however they’ve been impervious to mud ingress (having a 6–as an alternative of a 5–as the primary digit of their IP codes).
Extra specs
The Tapo DL100 sensible deadbolt options each a numeric PIN pad with bodily buttons (it’s not a touchscreen) and a standard key cylinder, and it will also be locked and unlocked with the Tapo app in your cellphone through Bluetooth, or—when you’ve related it to your private home Wi-Fi community (2.4GHz networks solely)—with an Amazon Alexa or Google Dwelling voice command.
The lock additionally helps SmartThings and IFTTT, however not Apple’s HomeKit or, by extension, Apple’s Dwelling Key . There’s no assist for Thread or Matter, both, and the DL100 additionally doesn’t present the choice technique of unlocking it with a fingerprint. If that’s a should—have characteristic, think about the upscale mannequin Tapo DL110 that has that characteristic—plus an built-in doorbell; it’s priced at $150.
The lock operates on 4 AA batteries, which TP-Hyperlink says ought to final for 10 months utilizing a Bluetooth connection. That declare drops to seven months with the lock related to Wi-Fi, which I anticipate most individuals will go for, because it provides you distant entry to the lock. Ought to the batteries die when you’re out and about, you possibly can plug a smartphone or a transportable battery right into a USB-C port on the underside of the lock
Set up and setup
The Tapo DL100 sensible deadbolt previous to set up. James Barber/Foundry
Bodily set up must be a breeze for anybody changing an present deadbolt, and also you don’t want any form of hub or bridge to make the most of all its options with out the necessity to enroll in a subscription or different service plan.
I changed an present deadbolt lock, and your entire course of from eradicating the previous deadbolt to opening the DL100’s field to strolling away from a accomplished venture took lower than fifteen minutes. If you want to reduce into your door and jamb for set up, the method will get much more difficult—as it might with some other deadbolt.
The Tapo DL100 helps a lot of the sensible residence integrations you’d anticipate, save for Apple’s HomeKit.James Barber/Foundry
A Phillips-head screwdriver was the one instrument wanted for the venture and, after putting in the Tapo app on my cellphone and inserting the batteries into the lock, the DL100 related through Bluetooth virtually instantly. Your subsequent steps will probably be to create a 4- to 8-digit PIN and add the lock to your Wi-Fi community. You’ll be able to create as much as 200 distinctive PINs with various ranges of permission. You’ll additionally wish to activate the App Lock/Unlock setting if you would like to have the ability to unlock the door remotely through the web.
The app additionally means that you can generate a one-time code that friends, house-cleaners, contractors, restore companies, and different individuals can use to realize licensed entry to your private home. You’ll be able to select from preset occasions (as much as one full day) or set a customized time window on a future date. An exercise log retains tack of everybody’s comings and goings.
The Tapo DL100’s inside escutcheon with its battery compartment open (left) and closed.James Barber/Foundry
In case you’re involved that somebody may uncover your PIN by watching you unlock the door, or by learning which numbers on the PIN have telltale fingerprints, make the most of Tapo’s Scramble PIN code choice. This allows you to press as much as 20 random numbers, together with your PIN code included in sequence and/or after your PIN, and the lock will disregard the opposite numbers however unlock when it acknowledges your PIN.
TP-Hyperlink’s Unlock Try Limiter one other safety characteristic. It allows you to outline the variety of failed unlock makes an attempt earlier than the lock freezes for an outlined size of time: as much as 5 minutes, in 1-minute increments). You may also set an Auto-Lock timer that may routinely relock the door after the passage of an outlined variety of minutes after opening it: 15- or 30- seconds, or 1-, 5-, or quarter-hour.
Wi-Fi connectivity is a identified battery hog, so you possibly can program the lock to routinely flip its Wi-Fi adapter off at evening and fall again to Bluetooth connectivity solely. The lock will routinely reconnect to Wi-Fi at a time of your selecting. It’s a really cool characteristic.
So, what’s lacking?
You’ll set up the Tapo DL100’s mounting plate (left) to the within of the door after which mount the lock itself to the plate.James Barber/Foundry
Right here’s what you don’t get on the cut price value of $70: There’s no fingerprint recognition (once more, TP-Hyperlink gives a costlier lock that does have that characteristic) and there’s no geofencing assist, so your cellphone can’t routinely lock the door if you go away your private home’s geocircle or unlock the door if you come again into it. The Tapo additionally app doesn’t ship notifications on a per-user foundation (“so-and-so simply unlocked the door with their PIN”).
I additionally generally skilled a delay when unlocking through the app over Wi-Fi, often just some seconds, however lengthy sufficient to make me marvel if the message went by way of. Voice assistant instructions labored nicely however sometimes required a repeat. That could possibly be extra of an Alexa concern than a Tapo one. I didn’t check the lock with Google Assistant.
If you wish to use the distant Wi-Fi options, you’ll must arrange a Tapo account within the Tapo app. That’s to be anticipated if you would like long-distance entry to a tool, so bear in mind you possibly can’t be 100-percent in charge of your connection if you would like these options.
Do you have to purchase the Tapo DL100 sensible deadbolt
At this value, the DL100’s most blatant competitor is the Wyze Lock Bolt, TechHive’s earlier decide for greatest budget-priced sensible lock. Wyze gives native Bluetooth management and fingerprint recognition however not Wi-Fi connectivity. If distant entry and voice assistant compatibility are priorities, the Tapo DL100 is the clear winner.
The Tapo DL100 isn’t flashy, however TP-Hyperlink has delivered some of the totally featured sensible locks you should buy for lower than $100. For this value, getting Wi-Fi entry, real-time alerts, code and administration and not using a paid subscription is actually spectacular.
If you’d like premium options like fingerprint recognition or Apple HomeKit/Dwelling Key assist, you’ll must spend more cash—possibly even much more. However at this value, the TP-Hyperlink’s Tapo DL100 sensible lock is simple to advocate.
Additional studying: This evaluation is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the perfect sensible locks.
