When Assa Abloy purchased August in late 2017, it brought to light some interesting options. Now owning both Yale Locks (and their smart line of Assure locks) and August, Assa Abloy had a wealth of opportunities in its hands. In acquiring August, it also acquired a lot of savvy ideas that the company had brought to the smart lock market. Nearly a year after the acquisition, Assa Abloy has now taken a major step forward to help grow the Yale Smart Lock brand by announcing “Connected by August.”
“Connected by August” for Yale Assure Locks is Assa Abloy’s way of enhancing the Yale Smart Lock footprint without reinventing the wheel, or having existing customers buy all new locks. Rather than release a new generation of Assure Locks and render the old ones obsolete, Assa Abloy have taken the same approach that they did with Z-Wave and HomeKit enhancements to the product line. “Connected by August” is a small plug-in module that slots into the top part of the inner casing of a Yale Assure lock and gives it the ability to be controlled by the August App and gain access to all of the unique features it brings to the table.
The following Yale Assure Models are available right now at Best Buy and are supported through “Connected by August”:
Yale Assure Lock SL (YRD256)
Yale Assure Lock Touchscreen (YRD226)
If you don’t own any of the current Yale Assure locks, you can also pre-order the entire kit, complete with lock and all of the Connected by August components.
When the “Connected by August” kit is released, it will come with the following pieces in the box:
- The Connected by August plug-in for your Yale Assure Lock
- August’s Connect Wi-Fi Bridge
- August’s DoorSense sensor
- A One Year Warranty
If you would like to know more about the two August pieces, please feel free to read a previous review done on both.
With the “Connected by August” module in your Yale Assure lock, you now have access to arguably the most comprehensive feature set in the smart lock market today.
One huge benefit of this is that if you own the Yale Assure Lock SL, it means that you can now have all of the features of August in a completely key-free lock. August doesn’t currently have any key-free locks in its lineup, so this feature is completely exclusive to a “Connected by August” setup.
This August feature announcement brings to life some options that Yale Assure Locks also previously did not have. Here are some of the new things you’ll be able to do with your Yale Assure Lock when you Connect with August:
Lock and Unlock from anywhere: When you connect to your Yale Assure Lock with the August Wi-Fi Bridge, you’ll have the ability to lock and unlock your door from anywhere in the world, as well as use existing Yale features like granting temporary virtual keys to friends and family. You’ll also have full access to logs of whom has entered and left your home.
Voice Assistant Access: For the first time ever, you can now lock and unlock your Yale Assure Locks with Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri!
Partnering with August DoorSense: With the August DoorSense sensor, you’ll be able to check any time if your door is open or closed and whether you are in fact locking (or unlocking) a closed door.
Compatibility with August Doorbells: One of the most convenient parts of the August smart lock ecosystem is how the original lock bridges with the doorbell. With Connected by August, your Yale Assure lock will get that same functionality!
While this plug-in is arguably the most comprehensive one that will be available for Yale Assure Locks, it’s important to remember that you can only have one at a time. This means that if you already have another attachment (like the Z-Wave plugin), you’re going to have to choose which one is best for your home based on what you already have set up.
Look for the “Connected by August” upgrade kit for your Yale Assure locks when it comes soon to Best Buy. It’s targeted to land on shelves in early November. If you haven’t already, you can start the process by checking out the full line of Yale Assure locks at your local Best Buy, and online at BestBuy.ca
