A guide to the Yale Access app
Apps. They help us to control all areas of our lives. From checking in with friends and family on social media to controlling the heating in our home with just the touch of a button. Apps on our smartphones allow us to stay connected from anywhere in the world at any time of the day or night.
And as smart home technology has continued to grow in popularity, it’s no surprise that our connected devices are now home to numerous apps designed to control our appliances. From lighting to smart speakers, heating to security, our smartphones have quickly become the ‘hub’ for these smart-controlled devices.
With our range of smart security products, we also have a portfolio of apps designed by our in-house experts to make controlling your smart security devices even easier. Our smart door locks, for example, are controlled using our Access app.
An introduction to the Access app
The Access app was designed to help improve lives by making entering your home quicker, easier and more convenient via a smart lock from the Yale portfolio. And whether you’ve been using the Access app for a while or are looking into investing in a smart lock for your home, our experts are here to help. This guide will share everything you need to know about Yale’s Access app from the experts who helped create it.
Alongside offering easy access to your home when paired with a smart lock, the Access app also has a range of other key features. For example, the activity monitoring function is a great addition that allows users to monitor who is coming and going from the home. This allows homeowners to always be ‘in the know’ over who has entered or left their home, and when.
As well as this, the Access app also gives users the opportunity to create digital keys and grant these to trusted friends, family and service professionals. A great addition for busy families and working professionals who need convenience and peace of mind when it comes to their home security.
How to use the Yale Access app
If you’re new to the world of apps, or simply just first downloading the Access app to your smartphone, this guide will highlight exactly what you need to do to use the app efficiently.
Firstly, you will simply need to download the Yale Access app, which is available from all leading app providers. Simply search ‘Yale Access’, and you’ll spot the familiar Yale logo on your app store.
Once you have downloaded and opened the free app, you will be prompted to create an account, or simply login if you have one already, and you’ll be ready to use your new app.
Accessing your home with Access
As the name suggests, the main purpose behind the Access app is to gain access to your home. So the leading functionality of the Access app is to give you full control over entering and securing your home.
The Access app allows you to control exactly who has access to your home, check who’s coming and going and simply open, close, lock and unlock your door.
Granting digital keys
Being able to grant keys to users from afar is one of the many great benefits of the Access app. And what’s more, this is so easy to do, you can have this setup in seconds.
Assuming you have your smart lock already up and running, all you need to do is open your Access app and send each guest an invitation to download the app on their own smartphone.
Once they have downloaded the app, they’ll quickly and easily be able to gain access to your home based on the personalised settings you provide to them. If they already have their own smart lock and Access app, the key you’ve provided will appear in their keychain. For those with a Yale Smart Keypad, you can also just send your guests an entry code to grant them access.
The Auto-Unlock function
As we already know, smart locks are a great way to make entering your home even more easy and convenient.
And what makes Yale’s range of smart lock even more convenient is their ability to ‘auto-unlock’. This handy functionality removes the need for users to search in their pockets or bags to find their phone or keys – they simply just need to get close to their door.
This works by allowing users to set different functions when required. These are called ‘Home’ and ‘Away’.
When the user is at home, the app will move to ‘Home’ mode, which ensures that the auto-unlock functionality won’t activate. The app can also check when you’re more than 200m from your home, automatically putting your smart lock into ‘Away’ mode and activating the auto-unlock feature.
Once you return home, within a radius of 200m, your Access app will automatically search for your smart lock. When you are in a close enough range, the system will go into ‘Home’ mode once again.
DoorSenseTM
Another handy feature of the Access app is the addition of Yale’s DoorSenseTM functionality. DoorSenseTM has been designed by the Yale experts to help keep homeowners ‘in the know’ over their door security, particularly to highlight if the door has been left open or is closed.
We’ve all at least once in our lives left home and worried if we’ve shut and locked the door behind us, and DoorSenseTM removes this worry straight away. It allows users to check the Access app to confirm whether they’ve secured their door behind them when they’ve left.
What’s great about this feature is that users can also set the smart lock to automatically lock as soon as the door is detected and closed. This means that even if you do leave your home unsecured, the Access app will be looking out for you and secure it straight away.
App schedules
The Yale Access app also allows homeowners to set schedules for all those who have access to their smart lock. These are handy if you want to, for example, grant access to your home to a service professional, but only for a set time.
The three different Access app schedules include:
Always – This setting is mainly for the homeowners or occupants. The ‘Always’ schedule gives unlimited access to the home for users, also having the ability to create, revoke, change and delete access to other individuals anywhere at any time.
Recurring – This setting is useful for trusted individuals who require recurring access to a home. For example, if a parent drops off your children from school once a week, you can grant them access for a set time every week within a certain set timeframe.
Temporary – The ‘Temporary’ setting allows short-term access to your home through a limited invitation. This means it will expire after a set amount of time. This is handy if you have a trusted service professional entering your home whilst you’re not there, offering them one-time-use access within a certain timeframe, as set by the homeowner.
What access levels are available for Linus Smart Lock users?
For those that have a Linus Smart Lock, there are also different access levels for both ‘lock owners’ and ‘guest users’. Lock owners are those that have an ‘Always’ schedule, and guest users have either ‘recurring’ or ‘temporary’ access.
‘Lock owners’ of the Linus Smart Lock can do the following:
- Lock and unlock the door via the Access app
- Lock and unlock the door via a Personal Entry code (using a smart keypad)
- Use the Auto-Unlock function
- Invite and revoke other owners through the app
- Control all the settings of the lock
- View all activity feeds and the lock’s guest list
‘Guest users’, of course, have fewer controls over the smart lock and corresponding Access app, but they can:
- Lock and unlock the door via the Access app
- Lock and unlock the door via a Personal Entry Code (using a smart keypad).
They cannot:
- Use the Auto-unlock function
- Invite or remove other owners from the app
- Control all lock settings
- View the activity feed or the guest list.
And with such an array of benefits to the Yale Access app, after reading this guide, you’ll now be able to use your smart gadget to its full potential.