Aqara Smart Lock U200 review: A retrofit lock with rough edges

Price When Reviewed

$269.99

Best Prices Today: Aqara Smart Lock U200

Aqara’s smart lock enters its second generation with the launch of the Aqara Smart Lock U200, bringing Matter and Thread support to the company’s smart lock ecosystem following the company’s Matter-certified smart home hub, the Aqara Hub M3. The hardware has evolved since the Aqara U50 and U100 locks, too—although whether that change is a positive is a question for the reader to consider.

Unlike the full-replacement U100, the U200 is a retrofit lock that maintains your deadbolt and exterior escutcheon as is. The interior escutcheon measures roughly 6 inches high by 3 inches wide, with both a rounded top and bottom that closely echoes the design of the August Smart Lock 3^rd Generation. It’s not unobtrusive, as it sticks out from the door a hefty 2 inches. The lock is available in either black or silver.

Installation and setup

Aqara doesn’t supply any printed installation instructions in the box, so users must either follow along with the guided setup in the Aqara Home app or find a QR code in the slim guide that leads them to this page. Note that the app’s setup guide glosses over a couple of steps, so less-experienced users would be wise to follow along with both simultaneously.

Christopher Null/Foundry

Christopher Null/Foundry

Christopher Null/Foundry

Installation isn’t difficult, but it can be tedious, beginning with the need to remove a plate that’s inset within the mounting bracket, flip it 180 degrees, and reinstall it back in the same place with four small screws. (This is requirement is only for U.S. users.) From there, the mounting bracket connects to the door with the two existing bolts retrieved from your existing lock, and then the escutcheon with the door motor attaches on top of that with more small bolts. A wide array of adapters are included that allow the lock to work with any shape tailpiece or, as noted, a physical key.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart locks.

If your door has an interior lock cylinder (namely, a European mortise lock) instead of a thumb-turn, the U200 is unique in that it can still be used—without removing any of the existing hardware—and can instead be configured to turn a key instead of the lock’s tailpiece. You’ll need to use a double-sided sticker (included) to complete this type of installation, however, and the extra adhesive might be a good idea to help with standard thumb-turn installations too, because I found the lock tended to list quite a bit during use.

Aqara

Aqara

Aqara

A second piece of the kit is a standalone keypad that provides users with access via PIN, fingerprint, or an NFC card in addition to access via the app. This device can attach to your door frame either via screws or an adhesive sticker, also included. While the lock is powered by a rechargeable 2000mAh battery, the keypad operates via four included AAA batteries. Alternatively, you can connect it to a 0.5A power supply, such as a standard doorbell transformer.

You’ll walk through the hardware installation alongside the software installation as you work through the steps in the Aqara Home app. Note that you don’t need an Aqara hub for this device (unless you want to create inter-Aqara automations), as you can connect it to directly to the mobile app via Bluetooth or connect it to any Thread border router with Matter controller functionality. That includes some newer Apple HomePods, Amazon Echo devices, Nest Hubs, and SmartThings devices. I did, however, test it with the Aqara Hub M3 I recently reviewed. Either way, the software side of the setup is a simple matter of scanning a Matter QR code and answering a couple of questions to complete the onboarding.

Christopher Null/Foundry

Christopher Null/Foundry

Christopher Null/Foundry

Using the Aqara Smart Lock U200

The Aqara Home app doesn’t feel particularly tuned for door-lock operations, with a “Hold to Lock” button situated at the bottom of the main screen where it’s easy to overlook. (For context, the “Logs” button is twice the size.) Options for managing users and configuring one-time passwords are, on the other hand, are located front and center, as is information about the lock’s status: Whether the door is locked or unlocked and where the battery level of both lock and keypad stands.

User management is one of the stronger parts of the app. Here you can create up to 50 users in total, assign them as admins, general users, or temporary users, and variously assign up to 2 PINs, 5 fingerprints, and 2 NFC devices per user. Temporary users can only use PINs and can have their access restricted by time, date, or day of the week. One-time passwords which expire within 10 to 20 minutes (this isn’t configurable) can also be generated on demand.

Christopher Null/Foundry

Christopher Null/Foundry

Christopher Null/Foundry

Various additional features are included, such as a Night Latch Mode (which blocks out some third-party access on demand), a Failed Attempt Lockout feature that lets you disable the lock after 10 incorrect attempts are tried, and a configurable Auto-Lock system. The former two worked for me, but I was never able to get automatic locking to engage; the lock remained open invariably unless I manually locked it. While it’s a noisy, aggressive lock and not the most attractive on the market, it otherwise worked well aside from this problem. The keypad is responsive, and the scanner never missed fingerprints when attempting to disengage the lock. Logging is robust.

I did encounter a persistent problem with the app misreporting the lock’s current state. The app would frequently say the U200 was locked when it was actually unlocked, and vice versa. This didn’t have any major impact on functionality—it was still easy to unlock the supposedly already unlocked door via any number of means—but for those looking to keep tabs on their locks from afar, that could be a thornier issue.

Should you buy the Aqara Smart Lock U200?

Thanks to Matter support, the U200 does work with a wide range of third-party ecosystems as mentioned earlier, including Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and SmartThings. Apple users will be keen to know that the lock explicitly supports the Apple Home Key feature, so you can use your Apple Wallet or even an Apple Watch to open the door.

At $270, the U200 is not cheap, particularly for a lock with this many lingering bugs. That said, it’s potentially a solid pick for those who want the absolute latest third-party ecosystem support (or have a Mortise lock), who are fully bought into the Aqara ecosystem, and/or who are willing to invest the time and patience in navigating some early-stage hiccups.