August Wi-Fi Smart Lock (4th Gen).

The Gavler Review.

August Wi-Fi Smart Lock (4th Gen) Review: The Retrofit Classic, Still Worth It

The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock (4th Gen) ranks number 4 on Gavler's Best Smart Locks list with an 8.9, and it's the lock that essentially defined the retrofit category — bolt it over your existing deadbolt, keep your keys and exterior hardware, and gain built-in WiFi plus auto-unlock geofencing without replacing anything visible from the street. Android Police's review scored it 8/10 and was blunt about the appeal: "It couldn't be any easier to beef up your deadbolt with some new features." The trade-off, also from that same review, is just as direct — no NFC Apple Home Key, no alternate unlock method if you're locked out with a dead phone, and "a bit too expensive when it's not on sale."

What it is

The August retrofits onto a standard single-cylinder deadbolt in about 15 minutes — pop off the interior thumbturn, attach August's mounting plate with the original screws, snap the lock body over it. Nothing changes on the exterior of the door; your existing key still works exactly as before. What you gain is built-in WiFi (no separate hub required), DoorSense (which tells you whether the door is actually closed, not just locked), and auto-unlock triggered by smartphone geofencing as you approach home.

Smart-home compatibility is broad on paper: HomeKit lock control, Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings, Ring, and a native Airbnb integration that makes this a common pick for short-term-rental hosts managing guest access on a schedule. The one specific and important gap: this is HomeKit lock-tile control only, not NFC Apple Home Key. If tapping your iPhone to unlock the door the way you'd tap to pay is the feature you actually want, the August doesn't have it — that's reserved for locks like the Aqara U200 or Schlage Encode Plus.

In use

Installation is where the August earns most of its reputation, and Android Police's testing backs that up in detail: unscrew the thumbturn, save the screws, attach the mounting plate, pick from four included mount adapters to match your door's hole size, and snap the lock into place. "As long as you can unscrew your deadbolt's thumbturn... then installing the Wi-Fi Smart Lock is a breeze," the review noted, putting the whole process at a few minutes rather than a home-improvement project.

The auto-lock and auto-unlock functionality is the real payoff, and it's genuinely deep — you can set the door to lock automatically the moment it closes, on a timer after it's been shut for a specified duration, or trigger unlock as your phone crosses a geofence roughly 200 meters out. Android Police called this "redundancies upon redundancies, and exactly what I like to see in a smart lock." The app also handles guest permissions cleanly, letting you grant scheduled or one-time access to family or visitors without giving them full owner controls — the feature that makes the Airbnb integration a genuine differentiator rather than a marketing checkbox.

The most specific and honest criticism from real testing is worth repeating directly, because it's the kind of caveat that doesn't show up in a spec sheet: "The worst part of August's Wi-Fi Smart Lock (4th Generation) is that it reminded me that I have a crooked front door." The lock's automatic deadbolt doesn't apply the same force a person naturally would when manually turning a key, so on a door that doesn't close perfectly flush, auto-lock can repeatedly think it's jammed and fail to actually lock. That's not a flaw in the lock so much as a mismatch with imperfect doors — but it's real, and it means results will vary by household.

Strengths

• The fastest, simplest retrofit installation in the category. No new exterior hardware, no rekeying, and a process most people can finish in well under 20 minutes.
• DoorSense plus auto-unlock geofencing — the combination that made August's design famous, and it still works as advertised for most doors.
• Built-in WiFi with no hub required, which simplifies the setup compared to locks that need a separate bridge.
• The broadest smart-home surface on the list, including native Airbnb integration for short-term-rental hosts — a genuinely unique differentiator.
• Regularly discounted. Android Police's advice to "look for a sale" is well-founded; the lock is frequently available well under its roughly $230 list price.

The trade-offs — who should skip it

No NFC Apple Home Key is the biggest single gap for anyone shopping this category specifically for tap-to-unlock convenience. The August's HomeKit support stops at lock-tile control from the Apple Home app — real, but a step down from the frictionless tap-your-phone experience that Home Key locks offer.

There's also no built-in alternate unlock method. If your phone is dead or you've left it inside, your only fallback is the physical key — there's no keypad or fingerprint reader on the lock itself, unlike locks such as the Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch. And as Android Police's testing flagged, a door that doesn't close perfectly flush can genuinely undermine the auto-lock feature, which is arguably the lock's headline selling point — worth checking your own door's fit before assuming the feature will work flawlessly.

Finally, the lock only connects on 2.4GHz WiFi, not 5GHz. That's rarely disqualifying, but in a WiFi-congested environment like a dense condo building, it's a real factor in connection reliability that buyers should know about going in.

How it compares

At the top of the same list, the Aqara Smart Lock U200 at rank 1 costs about the same but adds native NFC Apple Home Key and Matter-over-Thread — the pick if Home Key specifically is what you're after. One rank up, the Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch trades built-in WiFi for a fingerprint reader in a slimmer profile, at the cost of needing a Zigbee, Z-Wave, or add-on Wi-Fi module to get full smart-home connectivity. Pick August specifically when auto-unlock geofencing and the Airbnb-ready guest management matter more than Home Key or biometric unlock.

The Gavler verdict

An 8.9 and rank 4 on Gavler's smart lock list. The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock remains the retrofit category's defining product for a reason: it's fast to install, keeps your existing hardware, and its auto-unlock and DoorSense features work as advertised on most doors. The honest caveats — no Home Key, no keypad fallback, and a real dependency on your door closing flush — matter enough to check before buying, but for buyers who want August's specific mix of convenience features without replacing their whole deadbolt, it's still the class standard.

Common Questions

Is the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock (4th Gen) worth it in 2026?

It ranks number 4 on Gavler's Best Smart Locks list with an 8.9. Android Police's testing scored it 8/10 and called it 'a solid addition to your smart home for a reasonable price,' though it's 'a bit too expensive when it's not on sale' at full retail — deals regularly bring it down from around $230 to around $150.

Does the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock support Apple Home Key?

No. It supports HomeKit lock control — meaning you can lock and unlock it from the Apple Home app and Siri — but not NFC Apple Home Key tap-to-unlock. Buyers who specifically want Home Key should look at the Aqara Smart Lock U200 or Schlage Encode Plus instead.

Will the August lock work on any door?

It retrofits over most standard single-cylinder deadbolts and installs in about 15 minutes without replacing your exterior hardware or keys. One real caveat from testing: if your door doesn't close perfectly flush with its frame, the auto-lock feature can struggle to apply enough force to catch, since it can't force the deadbolt the way a person naturally would.