Yale Conexis L2 Review: Remote Controlled Smart Lock

Price under consideration

Not available in the US

In the UK, a multi-point locking door is a familiar sight. This is the type where you have to lift the handle up to engage the locking mechanism and then you use the key to lock it in place.

Yale was one of the first companies to launch this type of smart door lock and was the first to receive the BSI IoT Kitemark, ensuring that it is not only mechanically secure, but has also been tested against tampering by software.

The problem – at least one of the problems – was that there was no way to remotely control the lock due to the lack of Wi-Fi. The solution was to install a £49.99 Z-wave module and pair it with a home automation system like Samsung SmartThings.

Now, however, Yale has released the Conexis L2, which comes with the new Yale access module and Wi-Fi Connect Bridge, so you get remote access out of the box.

However, the smart lock itself is the same, so you can upgrade the L1 to L2 by purchasing the module and bridge kit, which Yale sells separately for £99.98.

Since the smart lock itself hasn’t changed, you can read my Conexis L1 review to learn how to install it and learn more about the hardware itself.

It is available in the same range of finishes: white, black, chrome, satin nickel and polished brass.

Here, I will only focus on how to use L2, its features, and the Yale Access application. The only difference in installation is that you install the access module in a special lock slot before inserting four AA batteries.

There is still no HomeKit support, although if Yale adds Matter support with a firmware update, that could solve the problem for those who prefer HomeKit-enabled smart home devices.

Yale University App

Another big difference is that the Conexis L2 uses the Yale Access app, which replaces the Conexis L1 app.

This will be great news for anyone upgrading their L1 lock as the app doesn’t have many fans.

Once the lock is installed, you will complete the setup by installing the app on your iPhone or Android phone. The first step is to create a house, give it a name, and then choose where your smart lock is installed, entering a custom name if you like.

You then scan the QR code on the access module and follow the instructions on the app to pair it with the lock.

You then scan another QR code on the back of the Connect Bridge, connect it to the network, and follow the instructions to pair it with the access module and connect it to your home Wi-Fi network.

Finally, and optionally, you can attach a DoorSense magnet to the door frame next to the lock if you want to be notified when it is accidentally left ajar. It comes with a white plastic cap to help it blend in. This is great if you have a white pvc door like mine, but you can paint it if your frame is not white.

Again, in the app, you can set this in the lock settings, where it will walk you through the DoorSense calibration with the door closed, wide open, and then ajar. You can set how long the door must remain open before you receive a notification.

There is integration with Alexa and Google Home that allows you to check the status (locked or unlocked) and unlock it.

Lock and unlock

It is extremely important to understand that the Conexis L2 (and any smart lock that works with multi-point doors) is that it cannot lock the door for you personally or remotely. This is due to how doors work from lift to lock: a person must lift the handle.

When the handle is up, the motor automatically turns on and drives the actuator, which replaces your old eurocylinder. This is equivalent to turning a key to lock a door.

Similarly, when you use one of the unlocking methods, the motor turns the drive to unlock the door, after which you can press the handle to open the door.

There are three ways to unlock Conexis L2.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

First, you can attach one of the supplied RFID cards to it and it will immediately unlock. This may be the method that most people will use, but it’s not much different than using a key. If you forget to take your card or key fob with you, you will not be able to log back in.

Second, use your phone. On the main screen of the Access app, you simply tap and the red broken circle changes to green while the L2 unlocks.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The beauty of this is that it works whether you’re standing at the door or in another country. Obviously, you need to be careful not to unlock it remotely if there is no one around to lock it again.

But this is a good way if you need to let the visitor in remotely.

If you try to block it without lifting the handle, you will see this error:

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The third, perhaps the most convenient: auto-unlock. Once configured in the Lock Settings section of the app, the Conexis L2 will switch to Away mode when your phone moves the set distance from home and you set both the exact location of your home and the distance you should be. before it happens.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Then, when you return and your phone is found just a few feet from the lock, it will automatically unlock.

The reason for “away from home” geofencing is to prevent accidental unlocking as you move around the house: you don’t want it to unlock every time you walk up to the door with your phone.

Guests

As with the Conexis L1, you can grant access to other people, be it family, friends, cleaning lady, etc.

For each person, you can choose whether they will have access to the application or only a proximity key. If you designate the former, you can later register a proximity key to their account.

Unlike Conexis L1, you can grant unlimited access to an application without paying for “virtual keys”, which is nice to see.

When you send an invitation to someone, either by entering their mobile phone number or by selecting them from your phone’s contact list, you can choose whether they have ‘always’, ‘recurring’, or ‘temporary’ access.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Recurring is a step down, allowing you to choose one period of time during which they can use the app to access your home. You can then set which days of the week this period applies.

Too bad it’s not more customizable as you can’t define multiple periods or set different times on different days.

Finally, there is a temporary mode that can be a workaround for this limitation as you can set a start date and time as well as an end date and time. In both cases, you can set the time to the minute.

It is worth noting that if you have registered a contactless key for a user, you also cannot configure scheduled access: his key will grant him access at any time.

For each person, you can designate them as a guest, owner, or not. In addition to real guests, you can give your kids guest access, as it prevents them from inviting or removing other guests and owners, setting blocking options, and it also means they can’t see the activity feed or the guest list.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

This also means that they can’t use auto-unlock, which is reserved for owners, like other features.

Spectacle

I installed the Conexis L2 on my French doors, where the white model matched well with the handle of the next door.

As you can see, it is much larger overall, and the inside is even larger. Unlike some other smart locks, it’s not so bulky that it can only be installed on inward opening doors. I tried this on two outward opening doors and it worked well on both.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The Access application is much better than the Conexis L1 application, although it was not immediately clear how to register a key card or key fob, since this is done through the guest list. You select a person, then you can assign a key to them. The ones that come in the box are pre-paired, but pairing a new one is a simple case where you touch the reader when prompted by the app.

Surprisingly, the auto-unlock worked really well, unlocking the door as I approached the house. Only once it was a bit slow and didn’t open until I stood in front of the door for a few seconds.

One feature I couldn’t get to work was DoorSense. I went through the calibration process twice and both times it claimed to be successful but thought the door was permanently open. This meant you would see confusing messages in the app such as Open | Blocked, which doesn’t make sense.

Part of the problem is that the app shows the Yale smart lock with keyless connection, not the Conexis L2, and asks you to turn the lock as part of the process.

Also, when I initially had difficulty pairing the Connect Wi-Fi Bridge, I pressed the help button only to go to the August website, which caused irritation.

Yale bought August a few years ago, and the bridge (actually the entire Access kit) is just a rebranded August device.

Price and availability

As a UK smart door lock, the Conexis L2 is only sold in the UK. It costs £289.99 at Yale, or £400 if you want someone to come and install it for you.

By comparison, the original Conexis L1 costs £199.99 and you can upgrade it to an L2 if you buy the Connect Wi-Fi access module and bridge for £99.98.

This means the L2 offers savings of around £10 overall. It’s also £20 cheaper than Ultion Nuki (including Nuki Bridge for remote access). Nuki offers several benefits: it retains your original external handle and still allows you to use the key, and it offers an additional keyboard that provides guest access without requiring them to download the app and create an account.

Blusafe’s Origin Smart is another alternative that costs £299 including Wi-Fi Bridge. It has a fingerprint sensor and is therefore the only multi-point door lock that allows you to return to your home even if you have forgotten your keys, phone and key fob.

Verdict

The Yale Conexis L2 is a good smart lock that is much better than the L1 simply because it uses a different app and now has Wi-Fi connectivity.

It’s still a shame Yale didn’t provide a keyboard for it, which would have made it a more attractive prospect for Airbnb real estate, but for homeowners who want a smart lock for their families, this is a decent choice.