So after two years of struggling with a simple European-style multi-point lock in the United States, I can finally breath a sign of relief in that I can remotely control the lock! Well, sort of. The thing that you have to remember is that the kind of multi-point lock that we have requires the handle to be lifted (engage multi-point) before engaging the deadbolt. This makes it basically impossible to remotely lock the deadbolt if someone forgot to raise the handle.
Despite the “raising the handle to lock” caveat, everything else works. I can see when the lock has been unlocked in Home Assistant. I can also unlock the door remotely or via presence automation!
This is a huge deal as now I can notify on state changes and get my Home Assistant or node-red systems take action based on lock state (and maybe battery status, if I spend some more time).
This project all started with trying to find the right way to retrofit a multi-point locking mechanism with something that is at least electronic and preferably Z-Wave controllable. After weeks of research and cost-benefit analysis, I settled on taking the plunge on importing a Z-Wave lock from the UK. I ended up with pretty much the only viable option at a sub $2,000 price, the Yale Conexis L1:
The bad news is that Yale is not necessarily the most adept at making software to manage their decently built locks. So once my UK imported lock arrived in the US, I installed it, and was immediately stuck with being unable to download the Yale Conexis L1 Android app. Naturally, there had to be a geographic restriction on a lock. Why? I have no clue. Doesn’t seem like there’s any “licensing” issues. I’m sure someone will tell me it’s related to encryption export restrictions, but that seems a ridiculous argument for a consumer lock mechanism.
To get around the app issue, I found an APK on the many APK repositories that do not have geographic restrictions. With the help of a geographically diverse VPN I was able to activate the app as if I was in the UK. After that, I linked the app with the lock and was able to unlock it via Bluetooth. This was good but I’m not one to shy away from going further. To be fair, unlocking the door by having to pull out your phone and open an app seems pretty cumbersome when you’re trying to automate your home. So the next step was to be able to control the lock via Z-Wave.
Cue importing a Z-Wave module that is inserted into the top of the lock.
Once you install this module, you realize that it runs on EU Z-Wave frequencies. Cue importing a EU Z-Wave controller from Amazon UK. After waiting for almost 10 days to receive said controller, Amazon lost it at my front door. Marked as delivered, nowhere to be found. The next step in the journey was to order a similar controller (Aeotec Z-Stick S2 UK) from eBay. This arrived in one piece.
The next challenge was how to integrate a second Z-Wave module into an existing Z-Wave network. I ended up installing the controller into the same server as my first Z-Wave controller but spun up a second Docker container for another instance of Home Assistant dedicated to the lock. This worked well and I did a happy dance when I clicked the UNLOCK button in the Home Assistant and it actually worked.
The only thing left was to duplicate state and control over to my primary Home Assistant instance. This wasn’t too hard to do but did require some Home Assistant automations and some MQTT communications channels between the two home assistant instances. After a few hours of tweaking I now have full control of the lock from my primary Home Assistant instance!
What’s the overall message? Where there’s a will, there’s a way! Don’t give up on your home automation journey!