By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy , a smart home reporter who’s been testing connected gadgets since 2013. Previously a contributor to Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, and US News.
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The latest smart lock from Eufy is its first product to support Matter. The Eufy Smart Lock E30 ($169.99) works over Thread, which should allow for faster responsiveness, longer battery life, and better connectivity than locks that work over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
The E30 is also the first smart lock from Anker’s smart home arm that works with Apple Home, although Home Key is not supported. While Eufy offers a handful of older security cameras with HomeKit compatibility, it hasn’t released a new Apple Home product for years.
The E30 can use a traditional key but also has a fingerprint reader for biometric access and a keypad for keycode access. It can be controlled through the Eufy app over built-in Wi-Fi, including out-of-home control, and with any Matter-compatible app, such as Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or Samsung SmartThings, via Thread.
Using an app allows for home automation, including the ability to set schedules, add the lock to routines, and control it via a voice assistant.
To use the E30 in a smart home platform via Thread, you’ll need a Matter controller from that platform and a Thread border router. These can be the same device, such as an Apple HomePod or a Google Home Nest Hub, or separate, such as an Amazon Alexa Echo Dot and an Eero mesh Wi-Fi router.
We’ve seen very few smart locks with Thread and only a handful of Matter-over-Thread locks
As a low-power mesh networking protocol, Thread makes a lot of sense for a door lock. Door locks are located at the edges of your home where Wi-Fi may be weak and are battery-powered. Using a less power-hungry protocol than Wi-Fi should keep them running for longer between battery swaps.
But we’ve seen very few locks with Thread. Schlage has one, but it doesn’t support Matter, and so far, there are only a handful of Matter-over-Thread locks, including the retrofit Aqara U200, the Yale Assure Lock SL, and the Nuki (Europe only). U-tec announced one at CES, but it isn’t available yet, and while Level said its locks would be upgraded to support Thread and Matter, we’re still waiting on that.
The E30 works with eight AA batteries, which the company claims will provide up to eight months of battery life. According to listings on the Thread Group website, Eufy is also developing a version with a rechargeable lithium battery.
I’m looking forward to testing this lock, as it’s one of the first fully featured, full-replacement smart locks with Matter and Thread support. Eufy was not on my list of the companies I thought would release a lock with these capabilities, but I’ve tested a few of its locks and have been generally impressed by their function, if not so enamored by the form.
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