I've seen comments on various subreddit like "Lock the door well for safety" and "Unlocked houses are mainly subject to theft." Also in my short memory, houses and apartments often used the door key.

Why don't they just use the electronic lock? It locks automatically. It'll be a bit of a problem if the battery runs out, but those locks start to sound off at least a few weeks in advance when they run out of power (every time when we open and close the door), and they last at least a few months once they're plugged in.


40 comments

  4. Not worth the expense and hassle of installing one, then having to worry about batteries and power and privacy. Regular locks work just fine.

  5. There are a number of reasons why I at least wouldn’t want an electric lock to rely on like that but among other reasons electric locks are often pretty easy to break into.

  7. We have them and they only work like 80% of the time and we get so angry at them when it’s 11pm and we have to get out of bed to go lock the door since the lock didn’t work.

  8. I think you mean automatic door locks. We have ass tons of electronic locks. I have two electronic locks on my house and about to be 3 after finding homeless on my cameras going into my crawl space to sleep and leave Ill gotten loot for a second time.
    Always get a lock with a failsafe though. Make sure it has a key and not a manufacturer copied key. You spend more but at least when the battery dies you can still get in and not break into your own house.

  9. You can walk into any Walmart or hardware store in America and buy an electronic door lock.

    People don’t adapt to them for a variety of reasons ranging from the expense to distrust of IoT devices or battery failure.

    They are probably not universal in your country either.

  10. I have never seen one in use in a private home, so it never occurred to me which I think is typical.

    I guess this would be with a card swipe or a numeric code?

    I am not sure that locking automatically is that big a deal–key locks lock automatically if you set them to do so.

  11. Plenty of people do have electronic locks like you describe. Plenty of people have fancy alarm systems. Plenty of people have electronic locks that don’t lock immediately for whatever reason (they all work differently). And plenty of people have analog locks that they see no reason to replace because they work fine.

    Electronic door locks are very common, and I would guess that whatever country you’re from also has a decent number of homes with traditional locks.

  13. We have electronic locks at my job with a card but not needed at a home for most people.

  14. They’re pretty common in apartments/townhouses, but for other instances I can think of a few reasons… most people live in areas where break ins aren’t that much of a threat, you can’t give someone temporary access to your house like with a key (once they know the code they can let themself in whenever until you change it), lack of trust in the battery/security, cost, aesthetics (especially in older looking homes), reliance on/trust in other security systems like cameras

  15. I don’t even lock my doors at night. I live far enough off the road that I figure if someone wants to walk down my driveway they aren’t going to let a door lock stop them from breaking in. 

  16. 1. Batteries die

    2. The actual locks in most of them are super weak and easy to pick, override, or break

    3. They’re stupid expensive and for half the price I can get a deadbolt that’s more solid and harder to break or pick.

  17. They are not unheard of, but a lot depend on batteries which can be problematic.

  19. I’ve had an electronic look on my door for a few years now. Several of my neighbors do too. Not like a hotel lock, just one you punch a code into too. I’ve yet to have to change or charge the batteries.

  20. Unless you live in a high time area or are being specifically targeted, I don’t think people breaking into your house is something you need to worry about

    There’s basically nothing worth anything at my place. They can take the tv, but Walmart has big TV’s for like $200, unless it’s some crack head trying to get a fix what’s the point because it has little resale value.

  21. Our house has 4 exterior doors. One is electric.

    I feel like this is more common that having total electric doors. But most people have non electric.

  22. They’re plenty common. Readily available at any hardware store right next to the analog locks. 

  26. There’s an old joke.

    The tech enthusiast has smart home everything. They can see what’s in the fridge, adjust the thermostat, check the front door, all from their phone.

    The software engineer keeps a gun by the printer in case it makes weird noises.

    I don’t want a lock that can be hacked. If someone is going to pick my lock, at least they aren’t going to be a script kiddy.

  27. They are common. But personally I think locks are a solved problem and don’t want to add yet another battery operated device to my list of things to worry about. Also I automatically lock the door going in and out myself, it’s very easy to do this.

  28. For me, all the doors to the outside except one basically stay locked all the time. The one unlocked door stays unlocked all day, only locking when I go to bed (if I remember).

    We use that door a dozen+ times a day and it’s be annoying to have to unlock it every time if it locked automatically.  

    So basically, I don’t want to have an automatic lock because I don’t lock my door just because no one’s home.

    Funnily enough, that door DOES have an electric lock on it. I just leave it in the unlocked position most of the time

  29. It’s just not really something I would value spending that kind of money on.

    Mechanical locks work well enough and are dirt cheap

  31. I can’t speak for everyone in the US, just for me:

    1) Every electronic lock needs a mechanical backup, so all you’ve done is added a second way to break into your house.

    2) I can unlock my house with a key faster than I can type into a keypad.

    3) Remembering to lock your door should be like remembering to put on a seat belt or wear underwear: it’s an automatic reflex you don’t have to think about.

  32. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Manual locks work just fine and I trust it over electric. Besides, battery operated is worse for the environment and more expensive.

  34. We’ve used electronic door locks for 25 yrs. No complaints at all. Never lost a key. Never ran out of power. Never even needed to reprogram it. What’s really surprising is that I bought it from Home Depot. It’s about the only thing I’ve bought there that seems durable and reliable.

  35. No use spending the money and the time it takes to switch existing locks over to something else. And I’m happy with fewer things in my life needing to be charged or needing battery power.

    And it’s not like locking a door is difficult. You turn the key and…that’s it. Done.

  37. A solution fraught with it’s own problems I search of a problem.

    But they are fairly common. Any hardware store with have them readily available for purchase.

    With 350,000,000 you will see large numbers of everything.

  38. Electronic locks provide zero benefit to me, that’s why I personally haven’t installed any.

    No, a “white guy in informercial fumbles with packages and his key” is not a scenario that convinces me they’re worth it.

  39. I don’t need my door getting hacked or being used for a botnet. I’ll just use physical hardware.

  40. Home Depot is the biggest house hardware store in the US. It’s a common place to go to buy stuff to fix up or work on houses.

    https://www.homedepot.com/b/Hardware-Door-Hardware-Door-Locks-Electronic-Door-Locks/N-5yc1vZc2bd

    Here’s 331 options for electronic door locks.

    Just because people choose to still use keys or the cheaper easier option is stuff like deadbolts doesn’t mean it’s not available. There are *absolutely* people who use various forms of electronic lock and there are absolutely people who do not.

    The basic advice is still good advice: Lock your doors. No matter how they lock, lock them.

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