Smart Lock and Video Doorbell Installation

Locks and doorbells are the most used smart devices in most homes, and it has very little to do with technology. It is that both of them remove a small daily annoyance you have stopped noticing: digging for keys with an armful of shopping, and walking to the door to find out it was a delivery.

What a smart lock changes day to day

A smart deadbolt replaces the one already in your door and keeps working with a key exactly as before. What it adds is everything else. You can lock the house from bed without going downstairs. You can let the dog walker in on a Tuesday without cutting a key. You can stop the argument in the car about whether anyone locked the front door, because you can just look.

Codes are the part people end up loving. A code for the cleaner that works Thursdays, a code for family visiting for a week, a code for the teenager who loses everything. Handing out and taking back a code is a ten second job, and no key ever leaves your hands.

Doors are not all the same

This is the part that catches people out. Deadbolt backset, door thickness, whether the door is metal or solid wood, and how well the door sits in its frame all decide which locks will actually work on your house. A door that needs a shoulder to close is a door where a motorised bolt will jam.

South Florida adds humidity and swelling to the list, particularly on older wooden doors. We check the door itself while drawing the plan, because the wrong lock on a slightly warped door is a support call every week.

Video doorbells and what they are actually for

A video doorbell answers one question from anywhere: who is at my door. Talk to the delivery driver and tell them where to leave the box. Tell the person selling something that you are not home without opening the door. See that your kid got in from school. Watch the dog walker arrive on time.

Two way audio means you can hold a conversation with whoever is outside from the kitchen, the office, or a car park in another county. It is convenience, and it happens to be the convenience people use several times a week.

Wiring, chimes, and the details that matter

Wired doorbells run off the transformer already behind your existing chime, and plenty of older homes here have one that is undersized for a video unit. That shows up as a doorbell that reboots itself, and it is entirely avoidable if it is checked first. Battery models sidestep the issue at the cost of charging them.

Angle matters more than people expect too. A doorbell aimed at your neighbour's driveway or straight at a white wall in afternoon sun is a poor result whatever you paid for it. Where it goes is part of the plan.

Bringing it into Alexa

On its own each device has an app. Together on Alexa they become one system. The doorbell can announce itself on the Echo in the kitchen, and the lock can be part of the phrase that shuts the house down at night, so "Alexa, good night" turns the lights off and locks the front door in one go.

What it costs

Price depends on the door, the number of entries, and whether the doorbell has usable wiring behind it. One front door on a modern build and three entries on a 1950s Oakland Park house are different jobs.

You get the number on your free smart home floor plan, after we have looked at the doors. Nothing to pay to find out, and the plan is yours to keep either way.

Common questions

Can I still use a normal key?

Yes. The smart deadbolts we install keep a standard key cylinder, so a key works exactly as it does now. The codes, the app, and the voice control are additions rather than replacements.

What happens to a smart lock if the batteries die?

They give you weeks of warnings first, in the app and on the keypad. If they do run flat, your key still opens the door, and most models also take a jump from a battery pack at the keypad.

Does a video doorbell need existing doorbell wiring?

A wired one does, and we check the transformer behind your chime is up to the job before specifying it. If there is no usable wiring, a battery model works and we will say so in the plan rather than quoting you for wiring that is not there.

Can Alexa lock the door for me?

Yes, and it is one of the most used routines we build. Locking by voice or as part of a good night routine is straightforward. Unlocking by voice is deliberately restricted by the lock makers and normally asks for a spoken code.

We plan and install smart locks and video doorbells across South Florida, including Coral Springs, Boca Raton, Parkland, Pompano Beach, Coconut Creek, and Deerfield Beach.

Our picks and how to choose between them are in the best smart locks and the best video doorbells.