Top 5 Best Smart Locks that Work with Vivint

Traditional home security has been of the regular door lock and key system. If you had any break-ins, you wouldn’t know unless you heard noises downstairs or windows breaking. But now smart home connected devices, you have seamless integration to a single smart home app that will notify you and others of potential break-ins.  

One of the first steps for any smart home setup is onboarding smart locks. Vivint provides professional installations of smart home security systems. We take a look at the Best Smart Locks that work with Vivint smart home packages. 

There are a number of other home security systems like Ring Alarm and SimpliSafe, but Vivint is a popular one for their smart home pros.

If you’re in a hurry, here’s a narrowed down list of my favorites based on price and performance. 

What is Vivint Home Security

Vivint is a smart home system provider that’s set up smart homes for more than 1.5 million customers throughout the U.S and Canada.

They install home security systems, security cameras, video doorbells, smart door locks, smart thermostats, smoke detectors, smart speakers and displays, lighting, garage doors, and basically anything that’s home automation related. 

The smart home pros at Vivint customize and install smart home systems based on what you want.

They’ll help with setting up Google Home and Google Assistant, or if you prefer Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant controls through an Amazon Echo, Vivint can set that up for you.

Their security system will continue working while you’re sleeping with their door sensors and motion detectors. 

Vivint provides top-notch equipment with their good customer service for their home security automation services. They have monthly service plans and equipment packages, that can also include a professional 24/7 monitoring. Their highest smart home package includes video monitoring surveillance.

An added benefit of Vivint is the Sky Control Panel that they give you for greater control over smart home accessories and devices. 

Smart Lock Compatibility Requirements with Vivint

Vivint’s home automation system runs on the Z-Wave network, so all smart devices will need to be compatible with Z-Wave. Whether you have the Vivint doorbell, Kwikset smart locks, a smart doorbell camera, smart outlets, door sensor, motion sensors, they all need to have Z-Wave compatibility. 

If your smart home devices don’t have full connectivity on the Z-Wave technology, you may be able to buy additional equipment like a smart home hub that would act as your medium to Z-Wave. There are many complete guides on the Internet to do that, I like the one provided by August for their smart locks. 

Searching for the perfect best smart lock for your home is hard enough, and finding one that is 100% compatible with your Vivint home system can start to confuse you with all that’s available on the smart lock market today. If you use Vivint as your smart home solution, here is a list of 5 of the best smart locks that work with Vivint.

The 5 Best Smart Locks that Work with Vivint

1. Kwikset SmartCode 916 Z-Wave Plus Deadbolt – Editor’s Choice

Vivint partnered up with Kwikset for Kwikset’s own smart locks to be the officially operated smart locks that Vivint provides in their smart home packages. 

Kwikset doesn’t have their own smart home app that works with the SmartCode 916, but it does have Home Connect technology that allows it to be connected by other smart home apps. So you can look at Vivint’s control panel or other smart devices and voice assistants like Alexa, SmartThings, and Wink smart home hubs. 

Kwikset does have a mobile app, but it’s only used with the Kwikset Halo and Aura smart locks. The 2 Kwiksets here do not have apps.

The Kwikset SmartCode 916 uses Z-Wave Plus technology to connect to your Vivint smart home system. The Z-Wave Plus technology has superior wireless encryption and extended wireless range, ensuring that you always have a seamless connection to your smart lock in your smart home no matter what.

The trimming and build is classic, and it comes in 3 colors sure to suit any kind of door you own. It features keyless entry, smudge proof SecureScreen Technology, and has an Auto lock function that’ll lock the door when you’ve left the house. 30 reprogrammable and shareable user codes are available on this version as well.

Kwikset smart locks may seem basic and out-dated, but they still have the latest technologies and get the job done, helping to keep homes safe. 

2. Yale Assure Lock SL with Z-Wave – Best Value

Yale has been a trusted brand in security and is well known for the quality of their traditional lock and key products. They’ve continued that reputation with smart locks.

The Yale Assure Lock SL with Z-Wave has features including the vital auto-lock function that locks the door behind you when you leave the house. The Yale lock is 100% key free, which is great for when you’re out for a run or you rush out of the house and forget your keys. 

The keypad uses 4 to 8 digit access codes. You have complete control over the access codes and who gets them. If you have a guest staying over for a night, create a one-time access code for them. 

Easy creation and management of access codes is just one of the smart lock perks that you can take full advantage of. If you rent out your place on Airbnb, you’ll fall in love with that. 

The Yale smart door lock syncs with Vivint and other smart devices through the Z-Wave protocol. Think about this, the smart lock connects to the lights, so when you come home at night, the door unlocks and your lights turn on. Super convenient. 

3. Kwikset SmartCode 888 Smart Lock Touchpad Electronic Deadbolt – Best Budget Friendly

The Kwikset SmartCode 888 has a great feature that makes it stand out from others – SmartKey Re-key Technology. That allows you to re-key the smart lock by yourself in just seconds using the SmartKey tool and any other key you have in your home. This is an added security measure that ensures complete peace of mind.

You can program up to 30 access codes to share with family or guests to use at the door, and notifications are sent to your phone via the Kwikset Smart Lock app whenever anybody tries to enter an access code into your smart lock.

By connecting your Kwikset SmartCode 888 Smart Lock to your Vivint Smart home system via Z-wave, you’ll be able to do things such as configuring the AC or heat to turn on as you come through the front door. 

4. Schlage Connect Smart Deadbolt, Z-Wave Plus

The Schlage Connect Smart Deadbolt, Z-Wave Plus comes in two designs that fit with the style of most types of doors. The “Camelot” design works well with antique wooden style doors, while the “Century” design works better with a modern door. 

When you need to share access codes with your family or friends for temporary or permanent access, you can program up to 30 codes. These codes are easily managed through the Schlage Home app. The built-in alarm and door sensors notify you when it senses that a potential door attack is happening via the Schlage Home app.

The Z-Wave compatible Schlage Connect smart lock is easily paired with Vivint equipment packages through the Schlage Home smartphone app. 

5. August Smart Lock Pro (3rd Gen) + Connect with Wi-Fi Bridge

The August Smart Lock Pro (3rd Gen) + Connect with Wi-Fi Bridge will take a little more work to get it working with Vivint and the Z-Wave Network. But August locks are a favorite, so I wanted to include it here as to how to get the two connected. 

The August Smart Lock Pro is compatible with Wink, SmartThings, and other Z-Wave network hubs. You’ll need one to connect it with Vivint. Visit August’s site to get the steps to set up the August Smart Lock Pro with Z-Wave

Now, let’s look at the features and benefits of the August smart lock. People love its circular design and brushed metal color. It’s simple to install as it works with your existing deadbolt hardware. From the outside of the door, no one can tell you even have the August lock, so it’s pretty stealth. 

Using the August app on your smartphone, you have remote access to your smart lock from anywhere. The apps gives you the ability to lock or unlock your front door when you need to. I don’t know how many days I’ve left the house and 30 minutes later, I wonder if I locked the door. 

For those instances, there’s also the Auto Lock function that locks the door automatically after you’ve left the house for some time. August locks have geofencing to know when you’ve left to activate Away mode. When you return home, there’s also the auto-unlock feature that will automatically unlock the door when you go near the door. Super convenient when you just went shopping.  

However, there is one slight inconvenience besides the Z-Wave setup. In order to connect to Wi-Fi, you need to use the Connect device, which is a WiFi bridge adapter that’s included as a package. The Connect plugs into the wall and allows the August lock to connect to WiFi networks.   

Apart from that, pairing your smart lock with Vivint smart home system is simple, as this smart lock is Z-wave compatible. Once connected, the August app ensures seamless connection so your smart lock syncs with the smart devices connected in your smart home.

You’ll be able to control all the functions of your August Pro Smart Lock remotely, including via voice commands if you pair it with Alexa or Google Assistant. 

Final Thoughts

Vivint Smart Home solutions are great in that their smart home pros will go to your house and set up your home automation for you. You’ll usually be tied to the smart home devices that they specialize in due to partnerships, but there are occasions where you can create workarounds. 

Workarounds are more likely to have some inconvenient disconnections once in a while, so unless you’re ok with that, you might want to stick to Vivint-approved products. 

Based on Vivint’s smart home platform and the Z-Wave protocol, I’ve narrowed down the top five to the top three for different price and performance points for your front door. 

Best Overall

The Kwikset SmartCode 916 Z-Wave Plus Deadbolt has it all – great design, intuitive interface and a responsive touchscreen keypad. This Kwikset smart lock also comes with an auto lock function. 

Best Value

Value hunters will love the Yale Assure Lock SL with Z-Wave, which comes from a trusted home security brand. It’s a great lock that offers most of the key features of a smart lock like remote lock/unlock and auto locking. 

Best Budget Friendly

The Kwikset SmartCode 888 Smart Lock is the best for those on a budget. It has the smart lock features that you need and an affordable price. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Vivint, do check out this great review of Vivint.

Read this article if you’re looking for smart locks without deadbolts.