Here is my review of the U600 Uk door lock with Apple homekey.
Compared to anything else Aqara currently provide, this is not just a door lock that goes over your existing lock…. It completely replaces it so becomes your lock, handle and keyless entry system all in one.
The beauty of this device is it’s specifically designed for UK homes with upvc or composite / wooden doors featuring a multi point locking system where you lift the handle to engage the deadlocks.
Installation
Installation was fairly straight forward, remove the old lock (and in my case my U200) then remove the barrel followed by the entire handle itself.
Once the lock is removed, take your U600 and line it up with the holes from your old lock. I was able to pass the cables through from one side to the other theough where the lock used to be.
Don’t forget to adjust your handles the correct way first.
We had to drill the hole in our door slightly larger where the spindle goes through as the outside section was not flush with the unit… this may not impact you at all making it a simple install.
Once both sides were connected and screwed together, we then installed the battery’s and followed the instructions in the app to pair it with HomeKit / Aqara home as this supports matter over thread like the u200 it replaced. You need a matter enabled hub if like me you want to add it to HomeKit.
Final thoughts
So how is this so much better than anything else, simple, it completely replaces your entire door lock/handle - the device is absolutely made to a very high standard and has worked flawlessly.
Map how does it work. Simple, it simply disconnects the outside handle from the inside handle in the lock so the outside becomes floppy and useless. No matter which way you turn it. The only way to engage the outer handle is to unlock the door with either Siri, homekey, your voice, finger print or pass code.
In all honestly, I know there are other locks similar to this but this fully integrated into HomeKit and as such, is super secure.
Conclusion
As always, I’ll tell you the good but I’ll also tell you the bad, in my experience…/
The good: it’s 100% wife approved and she’s even happier as we no longer have the U200 keyboard stuck on our door frame.
The bad: I’ve had to buy a new letterbox to match this handle now as out door had silver fittings
Aqara you’re into a winner here, for us Uk residents - I hope this becomes just second nature as our many many smart light switches and fp300 presence sensors have done
Thanks for your nice sharing!