Review: Yale Approach Smart Lock

The smart home doesn't always feel smart. I test a lot of devices for a living, and they take a lot of babysitting and steps to do everything you want. Whether you're setting up skills on an Alexa speaker or getting your smart lights on the right schedule–shout-out to Daylight Savings for ruining my existing one—it takes work.

While the Yale Approach Lock still has plenty of hassle (Physical install! Accessory calibration! App setup!), its ability to unlock all by itself when it senses you've arrived home feels actually smart. It's all done within the Yale app, with the help of your phone's location. As someone whose arms are often full of toddler things (Why are his shoes never on his feet?), it's been a relief to just walk up and not worry about what pocket my keys ended up in after leaving the parking lot.

Slick Setup

Photograph: Nena Farrell

Installing the Yale Approach was easy, thanks to the short video clips and steps inside the app to guide you through installation. Since you'll remove part of your existing lock, I recommend having a sandwich bag handy in case you want to use it again in the future (or need to put it back when you move out, like I will). It took me about 10 minutes, including video-watching time.

You'll also be prompted to set up the included Yale Connect Wi-Fi Bridge and Door Status at this time. The Wi-Fi Bridge will look familiar if you've ever used an August Lock (8/10, WIRED Recommends). (Yale bought August in 2017 and now uses the same Wi-Fi connectors.) The little white square sits in a nearby outlet and connects via Bluetooth to the lock, and then connects the lock to Wi-Fi. The Yale Approach didn't like my outlet location, which was around a corner about 3 feet away, and told me so during setup, but it's worked perfectly fine.

Meanwhile, the Door Status lets the Yale app tell you whether the door is shut, along with whether it's locked. It works great and is easy to pop onto your door frame, since it's just a little sensor you'll line up with the lock. Especially since I have a door that resists shutting, I love that I can use the Yale to check if it's open.

Digital Keys

Photograph: Nena Farrell

You can choose to buy the lock with or without the keypad. The default pricing includes it, and it does pack some features I really liked, but it's not a perfect fit to install outside every home, the way the lock is.

The keypad's easy to set up, but you need the right kind of home exterior: either something flat that the sticky backing option can stick to, or the freedom to screw something into an exterior wall. I tried to stick it on the textured stucco exterior of my apartment building to no avail. It fell off the wall within half an hour (because yes, I tried it anyway).

I was bummed, since you lose some handy features without having the keypad. It allows you to set up codes for other members of your household or visitors, and even a code for yourself. Those codes can have set time windows to work, be toggled on and off, or set for one-time usage depending on what kind of access you want to give someone. It also gives you the option for a one-touch lock, where you press a button on the keypad and the door will lock behind you. I'm the most bummed to lose access to that.

If you're a renter, you might want to scout out if any wall area is flat enough to hold the keypad; if not, you can skip the keypad and buy the lock solo ($130).

Range Game

Photograph: Nena Farrell

The Yale is easy to use in the app, with a big colorful circle you tap to either lock or unlock your door. It's nice and quiet, too, and I could barely hear the lock working from outside my home. I didn't like using a key with it, though—it felt more resistant than other locks I've used, and felt like I was turning the key too far each time.

But the real point of the lock is in the name. You can allow the lock to use your phone's location to unlock the door when you return home. In the app, simply place a little icon around your home. When I placed the icon on my entryway patio, it opened the lock by the time I got to the door. That worked a little better than placing the icon in the center of my house.

It worked smoothly, but you do have to get far enough away for it to trigger upon your return. Coming back from my apartment complex gym a few doors down wasn't enough for the door to think I left and then reapproached the building. But it felt like a real smart-home experience because my door was always magically unlocked when I came home. You also get an alert when it unlocks this way, so you don't have to worry that it's just sitting unlocked while you're gone.

There's no option for it to lock when you leave range. Instead, you can set up the lock to relock itself if left unused for a certain amount of minutes. (I chose to have it lock after 20 minutes, but you can go down to as quickly as 10 seconds or as long as half an hour.) If you're able to install the keypad, you can press the Yale button on top to lock the door behind you. I would choose that option if I could—I love the convenience of it, especially as someone who can barely keep up with her running toddler when the door opens. But I guess I'll settle for locking it from the car.

It's a great price for an easy-to-use, actually smart lock, whether you add on the keypad or not. It's more for folks who want to quit their keys entirely, rather than just keeping an eye on your door, but I loved going key-free between the car and my home.