Turbolock TL88 Bluetooth fingerprint elegant lock review: An affordable, if primary, biometric entry lock

Turbolock’s most up-to-date elegant lock lacks Wi-Fi, the usage of handiest Bluetooth for its wireless connectivity. For Turbolock, that’s no longer a fault, it’s a characteristic: Attributable to here’s a so-called “Non-Wi-Fi-enabled (NWE)” elegant lock, it’ll’t be hacked via the secure, per the firm. (There’s also no physical keyhole, so the lock can’t be picked, either.)

Unlike most elegant locks in the marketplace, the TL88 isn’t a deadbolt but moderately a lever lock with a frequent latch assembly. The entire smarts are constructed into electronics jammed straight into the handles.

This review is segment of TechHive’s protection of essentially the most attention-grabbing elegant locks, where you’ll secure reports of the competitors’s offerings, plus a buyer’s recordsdata to the edges you ought to composed take into legend when procuring for this style of product.

While it streamlines the spoil, it does originate for a mildly no longer easy physical installation. The TL88 comprises appropriate three main sides (inner lever, open air lever, and inner latch), with out a plates or escutcheons to contend with, and the total affair is held along with appropriate two bolts (plus the two screws wanted to connect the latch to the door).

Turbolock

Making this connection is a piece tricky though, in segment on account of 1 of the bolts is positioned in the aid of the door take care of. That it’s doubtless you’ll pull the take care of down to secure correct of entry to this breeze, but this places a couple of stress on the mechanism and makes the bolts, that are already hard to indicate, contrivance more resistant. After I finally acquired the entire lot connected, the breeze heads (that are no longer covered in the final assembly) were partly stripped and removed from aesthetically appealing.

Four AAA batteries (no longer included) energy the machine, which Turbolock says will final up to 12 months. Sadly, one other bid is that the batteries are kept awkwardly for the length of the inner take care of, under a quilt on the take care of’s aid aspect which is secured by two minuscule screws, one of which I straight lost the moment I took the quilt off the first time. Getting the batteries in scheme without falling out while the take care of is hooked up to the door is extremely hard, so bring your persistence with you. (A micro-USB port is constructed into the exterior take care of ought to you’ve to give emergency energy ought to composed the batteries die.)

Christopher Null / IDGS

As soon as the hardware is in scheme, it’s time to put in the Turbolock app and role up the lock. Right here’s the simpler segment of the system, though present that the manual I acquired doesn’t jibe with the app, potentially on account of it modified into written for an older model. Since it’s a Bluetooth-handiest lock, registration is modest: The app discovered my take a look at lock straight and things were willing to head in a topic of seconds—though it turned out the lock wanted a producing facility reset sooner than it could pick up any instructions. At the least here is readily and without disaster completed inner the app.

You’ve got got appropriate two alternate choices for gaining entry via a Turbolock-equipped door: Exercise the app, or employ your fingerprint. For the archaic, you’re appropriate a brief tap away from gaining entry, and secure correct of entry to (either permanent or time-restricted) will also be shared with various users by creating a client legend for them that’s tied to their phone quantity. I’m elated to file that Turbolock’s fingerprint scanner is also a high-shelf abilities, though it handiest helps the storage of 20 fingerprints total.

Fingerprints will also be enrolled inner the app swiftly and seamlessly, with appropriate three sample scans of a fingertip required. Oddly, all fingerprints are time-restricted, but there’s no restriction on how far out that restriction will also be: The machine helps expiration dates as far-off as 2098, which appears to be like to be like a great deal of time. I had about an 85-percent success rate in getting Turbolock to glimpse my fingerprints, and handiest infrequently ever did it require more than two makes an strive to scan my digits.

Turbolock

Successfully unlocking the door via app or fingerprint permits the latch to be turned as soon as and as soon as handiest. As soon as the take care of is turned and released, the door relocks straight inner a 2d or two. There’s no solution to alternate this conduct, and Turbolock users will have to secure archaic to the idea that that here’s a door that is definitely continuously locked unless you manually set up the lock into a non permanent “passage mode” via the app. In every other case, there’s no solution to alternate any of Turbolock’s settings—such as whether or no longer to disable the sunshine on the fingerprint scanner or turn off its audible beeps. Presumably the most attention-grabbing alternate choices in the settings menu are to rename the lock, strengthen its firmware, or manufacturing facility reset it.

Available for your sequence of brushed nickel or matte dusky, either one for appropriate $90, the Turbolock TL88 is a decidedly affordable option for a unit with a fingerprint scanner. For oldsters that don’t thoughts the dearth of Wi-Fi (or a deadbolt), and its restricted configurability alternate choices don’t disturb you, it’s a decidedly life like solution to study for your listing of considerations.

• Turbolock TL88 Bluetooth fingerprint elegant lock

  This latch-style lock involves a top quality fingerprint reader, but it’s short on tweakability.

  Specialists

  • Streamlined hardware spoil
  • Stable fingerprint reader performance
  • Reasonable

  Cons

  • Bolts strip without disaster at some level of installation
  • Battery placement makes for hard secure correct of entry to
  • Cramped configurability

Christopher Null is a veteran abilities and enterprise journalist. He contributes continuously to TechHive, PCWorld, and Wired, and operates the web sites Drinkhacker and Film Racket.