Aqara U600 Review
Absolutely loving the Aqara U600. It’s a proper smart lock designed around UK multipoint doors rather than adapted to them, and after living with it, it’s one of the most seamless smart home upgrades I’ve made.
Installation
Fitting it was mostly straightforward. The instructions are clear, and if you’re reasonably handy it’s a very manageable DIY job. One caveat from my own experience: the existing holes in my door needed drilling wider to fit the handle’s fixings. I don’t know whether that’s universal or just a quirk of my particular door, as every multipoint setup is a little different, so yours may well take it without any modification at all. Just be aware it’s a possibility, and measure twice.
Pros
Ingenious all-in-one design. Everything lives on the outer handle itself: a fingerprint reader that matches in under half a second (with room for up to 50 prints), a numeric keypad that doubles as the NFC reader, and full Apple Home Key support for tapping an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock. No separate keypad stuck to the wall, no extra key fob to carry.
A genuine handle replacement, not a retrofit bodge. Instead of a bulky unit that clamps on and spins your existing cylinder, the U600 replaces both handle panels entirely while the existing multipoint lock body stays in the door. Locking works exactly as it always has: lift the handle to throw the bolts. No retraining of muscle memory for anyone in the house.
The price is honestly very reasonable, even more so when you consider you’re getting a complete door handle replacement with fingerprint, PIN, NFC and Home Key built in, rather than a compromise gadget bolted onto your existing hardware.
It plays nicely with everything. It’s Matter over Thread with Bluetooth, so it works with Apple Home, Home Assistant, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings. The Aqara Home app even works over Bluetooth without a hub at all.
Unknowns
Insurance validity. I don’t currently know whether my home insurance is actually valid with this fitted. It’s worth raising with your insurer before installation. The saving grace is that the original multipoint lock body and cylinder stay in the door, with two mechanical keys supplied as backup, but whether that satisfies policy requirements is something I still need to confirm.
How common the drilling requirement is. As mentioned, I had to widen the holes in my door, but I’ve no idea whether that’s standard or specific to my setup. Something to be prepared for rather than to expect.
Cons
No UWB. The spec sheet lists Bluetooth, Thread and NFC only, so Apple Home Key requires physically tapping your phone or watch against the keypad rather than the hands-free, walk-up-and-it-unlocks experience that UWB locks offer. Whether it’s been left out due to the slim panel size or battery constraints I don’t know, but it’s the one feature I genuinely miss.
Verdict: despite the missing UWB and the insurance question mark, the U600 is the smartest-looking and most natural-feeling way to smarten up a UK multipoint door right now. Highly recommended. Just keep a drill handy, you may or may not need it.
