Yale Connect Wi-fi Bridge Support
The Yale Connect bridge allows your module to connect to the internet, which gives you the ability to control your lock from anywhere using the Yale Home app. Remote features include, being able to check your door status, lock and unlock your door from anywhere and grant access to others. In addition, installing the Yale Connect gives you access to existing Yale Home integrations – including Google, Amazon Alexa, Apple Home Kit, Samsung SmartThings.
Yale Connect plugs into any power outlet near your Yale Smart Lock and uses your home's Wi-Fi and Internet connection to control your Yale Smart Lock. With Yale Connect, you can unlock or lock your door for guests, check your lock's status and receive instant notifications from anywhere through the Yale app.
Yes. Yale Connect was designed to work with Yale Smart Lock.
To optimize Yale Connect's always-on connection, one Yale Connect is currently needed for each Yale Smart Lock.
Yale connect supports 802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz) Wi-Fi networks.
Yale Connect should be installed within 30 feet of your Yale Smart Lock, but we recommend within 15 feet for optimal performance and reliability.
Yale Connect supports 100-240V ~ 50-60Hz 0.1A.
Requirements
- Make sure your iOS device has Wi-Fi turned on (Apple Settings > Wi-Fi)
- Make sure your phone is connected to your home Wi-Fi network (Connect is compatible with 2.4 gHZ Wi-Fi)
- The Yale Connect requires an active Yale Smart Lock and needs to be installed using a compatible phone. Please visit our phone compatibility page to ensure that your phone is compatible.
To install your Yale Connect:
- Plug In. Plug your Yale Connect into a power outlet within 15 feet of your Yale Smart Lock for optimal performance and reliability.
- Wait for the flashing green light on your Yale Connect. If you don’t see the flashing green light press and hold the button on your Yale Connect for 3 seconds.
In the side menu, tap Set Up New Device
Choose Set Up An Yale Connect
If applicable, choose a lock to associate your Connect with.
When prompted, plug connect into an outlet near your door. Follow the in-app instructions.
Apple’s accessory setup interface will ask you to choose your home Wi-Fi network.
Once your Connect has successfully joined your home Wi-Fi network, the Yale Home app will check the signal levels of your Wi-Fi and bluetooth connections.
If your signal levels are good, you’re just about finished.
If your signal levels are low, you will be guided through adjusting the location of your Connect to improve its connection.
Your Connect is now set up and ready to use!
Some Samsung mobile devices have a feature called smart network switch. This feature attempts to give you the best internet connection by automatically switching to mobile data usage when you have poor internet access over your Wi-Fi connection. When this feature is turned on, your device may appear to be connected to Wi-Fi even when it is using your carrier’s mobile data.
Why is it affecting my Connect setup?
During the setup process, the Yale Home app will temporarily connect to your Yale Connect over Wi-Fi. Since this temporary connection does not provide internet access, the smart network switch feature will attempt to provide a better connection by using mobile data instead of Wi-Fi.
This interruption of your Yale device’s Wi-Fi connection makes it impossible to continue setting up your device.
How can I resolve it?
You will need to temporarily turn off the smart network switch option on your mobile device while setting up your Yale Connect.
To turn off the smart network switch, navigate to your device’s advanced Wi-Fi settings: from your Home Screen tap Apps, and then Settings. Tap Wi-Fi, then tap the 3 vertical dots for More Options and tap Advanced. From there you can turn the smart network switch off.
Once the smart network switch feature has been turned off, try setting up your Yale device again.
Manual Wi-Fi connection
In some cases, turning the feature off may still result in a similar error during setup. If this is the case, you will need to manually connect to the Wi-Fi network being broadcast by your Yale device. Make sure the smart network switch feature is still turned off, and perform the following steps:
- Open the Yale Home app and begin the setup on your Yale device
- During setup the app will have you connect to your home Wi-Fi network. Choose your home Wi-Fi network, entering the password if applicable, and tap the “Next” or “Continue” button.
- While the Yale Home app is attempting to perform its next steps, open your smartphone’s Wi-Fi settings by navigating to the Home Screen. Tap Apps, and then Settings, and then Wi-Fi.
- Connect to the Wi-Fi network that is being broadcast by your Yale device. The network name will look something like “Yale Connect-XXXXXXXXXX-WAC” for Connect. It should not require a password.
- Once your smartphone has connected to your Yale device’s network, return to the Yale Home app and resume setup. Once setup is complete, your smartphone should reconnect to your preferred Wi-Fi network automatically.
Once your Yale device is successfully set up, you may turn the smart network switch feature back on if you wish.
Yale Connect displays its current status through 4 different LED indicator lights on the front of the device.
LED Indicator Light Flashes Green Steadily
A steady blinking green light indicates that Yale Connect is ready to be set up. Go to Lock Settings and tap Connect to Wi-Fi
LED Indicator Light is Solid Red
A solid red light indicates that Yale Connect needs to be setup. This can occur when:
- The initial configuration period of 30 minutes times out
- Your Yale Connect is on the WiFi network but not setup to operate your lock
- Yale Connect is unable to join the local WiFi network
Preparing to try setup again requires the following steps:
- Put Yale Connect into configuration mode. (Hold the button for 3 seconds. The Device will begin flashing a Steady Green Light)
- Go to the Lock Settings screen, if the WiFi settings option is there, go to WiFi settings and tap Disconnect
LED Indicator Light Flashes Red Steadily
A steady flashing Red Light indicates a communication problem, either between Yale Connect and your Yale Smart Lock or between Yale Connect and the internet. This typically represents a temporary problem.
Yale Connect uses Bluetooth Smart to talk to your Lock. There can be multiple reasons for poor communication between your Yale Smart Lock and Yale Connect:
- Make sure your Yale Connect is within Bluetooth range (typically up to 30 feet, we recommend less than 15 for best performance)
- Make sure the batteries in your Yale Smart Lock are strong
- Make sure your Yale app can operate your Yale Smart Lock in normal mode (not remote connect mode) standing near where your Yale Connect is located
Yale Connect needs a good WiFi connection with access to the internet to function.
- Make sure your home network has access to the internet
- If you are still encountering problems, remove Yale Connect from the power outlet, restart your home Access Point and plug Yale Connect back in
LED Indicator Light Flashes Green Quickly
The green light flashes quickly when connecting with your Yale Smart Lock. A green light indicates normal remote operations are in process and requires no action
How Connect works
Yale Connect works with your Yale Smart Lock so that you can operate the lock when your are away from home. Your Yale Connect acts as a “bridge” between the bluetooth connection of your Yale Smart Lock, and the Wi-Fi connection of your wireless router. For this reason, the Connect needs to have a reliable connection to both devices.
The placement of Yale Connect can greatly impact its performance. Since bluetooth has a shorter range than Wi-Fi, your Connect will likely need to be positioned much closer to your Yale Smart Lock than to your Wi-Fi router. We recommend placing Yale Connect within 10–15 feet of your Yale Smart Lock for best performance. The required distance from your wireless router depends on many variables, including the model of the router, its distance from Yale Connect, the overall speed of your internet connection, physical obstacles, etc. A good rule of thumb is to make sure your smartphone shows a full set of Wi-Fi “bars” at the location of the Connect.
If you are experiencing connection issues when attempting to operate your Yale Smart Lock remotely, this article will help you optimize the performance of your Yale Connect.
Check the signal levels of your Connect
In order to get an accurate picture of your Connect’s current performance, you can check the signal levels of both the bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. These level readings are located in your Yale Connect’s settings.
How to check the signal levels of your Connect:
iOS
From the Lock tab screen, tap the “Settings” gear icon and select “Connect Settings” from the list. Here, you can view the signal levels of your Yale Connect. The two items to take note of are “Wi-Fi RSSI” for Wi-Fi signal, and “BLE RSSI” for bluetooth signal.
Android
Tap the top-left menu icon and select “Settings”. Choose “Connect Settings” for the house and door your Connect is attached to. Select “Signal Strength” from the list. You should see a list of signal readings, the two items to take note of are “Wi-Fi RSSI” for Wi-Fi signal, and “Bluetooth RSSI” for bluetooth signal.
Both signal strengths should read either “Good” or “Excellent” for proper performance. If they indicate a poor signal for either reading, moving your Connect to a different AC outlet may improve performance.
Move your Connect to a different outlet
Since Yale Connect can be positioned wherever there is a working AC outlet, there may be locations in your home that allow better connectivity.
If one or both of your Connect’s signal levels are poor, you can move Connect to a working AC outlet closer to the weaker signal. The goal is to find a position that gives the Connect both a Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connection strength of “Good” or “Excellent”. (Occasionally an outlet slightly further away will work better - for best performance, try more than one nearby outlet and compare the performance).
When moving your Connect to a new location, you should simply unplug the unit from its AC outlet and plug into a new one. Make sure NOT to press the button on the front of the Connect while plugged in - this will factory reset the device and you will have to set it up again to work with your Smart Lock. Once the Connect is plugged into a new outlet and the green LED has stopped blinking, check the signal levels. You may repeat this process with a new AC outlet until your Connect’s signal levels are improved.
If you can’t find a position that has a good signal to both connections, make sure to position the Connect so that bluetooth has a good connection. There are further steps you can take to improve the strength of your Wi-Fi connection.
Connect placement tips
- Whenever possible, plug the Yale Connect into your outlet right-side up. The top and sides of the Connect provide the strongest bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals.
- While the location closest to you lock and/our router will usually result in the best signal, this may not always be the case. If your signal needs improvement, try several outlets in the general area and compare the best signal results.
Consider moving your wireless router
Depending on your current setup, moving the location of your home wireless router closer to the location of your Yale Connect may dramatically increase its connection strength.
Try moving your router as close to your Connect as possible. You can then check the Wi-Fi connection strength in Connect Settings, and adjust your router’s position if necessary. If you are unable to position your router to sufficiently raise the Wi-Fi connection, installing a Wi-Fi extender may greatly improve performance.
Install Wi-Fi network extender
You can improve the performance of your Yale Connect by extending your Wi-Fi network’s range.