Schlage’s new lever lock can smarten up all your other doors

Schlage has a new smart lock, but it’s not for your front door. The $309.99 Schlage Encode Smart WiFi Lever lock is coming this spring and is designed for doors with a single hole and no deadbolt. These include interior doors for a home office or a closet you want to keep locked, a shed door, or the door from a garage into your home — basically, any door that uses a simple lever / latch or knob system.

This isn’t a new category. Yale has had a smart lever lock for a while now, and has a version that works with Apple Home. Lockly has an option for $270 with a fingerprint reader, as does Ultraloq for $220 (although both of these require a separate Wi-Fi bridge and have a much more techie look to them).

The Schlage Encode Smart WiFi Lever has built-in Wi-Fi, so there’s no need for a separate bridge. Using the Schlage Home app, you can remotely access the lock, check the door status, and lock and unlock it. The app also allows you to create and manage up to 100 access codes, set schedules for those codes for recurring, temporary, or permanent access, and view real-time activity logs.

The Schlage lever lock has a touchscreen keypad and a keyhole for physical access plus buttons on the back for locking and unlocking the door from the inside. It has an auto-lock feature and will work with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Ring through the Schlage Home app for voice control and integration into smart home routines. Schlage told me it is planning a HomeKit-compatible version in the future.

This follows the company’s previous pattern for its Encode deadbolt. It has one version that works with Alexa and Google and another — the Encode Plus — that costs about $30 more and also works with Apple Home. The Encode Plus also has Thread capability, which the new lever lock does not. Along with Wi-Fi, Thread is one of the main wireless protocols for the new smart home standard Matter. None of Schlage’s locks currently support Matter, but the company says it plans to integrate the technology into future products.

As with Schlage’s deadbolt Encode line, the lever lock comes in a traditional or contemporary design and is offered in satin nickel, bright chrome, matte black, and aged bronze finishes. There are also four different lever styles.