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United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi
1 Level
696 Review
30 Karma

Review on HARFO Electronic Keypad Deadbolt: Secure Your Home With Aged Bronze Fingerprint Door Lock Set by Jon Dunn

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Convenient and secure with lots of options

I installed a name-brand electronic keypad deadbolt 5 years ago, and I've been fighting with it ever since. Battery life is less than a month sometimes, random beeps if the sun hits the keypad, it often sticks and doesn't open or close correctly, and the keypad sensitivity changes with weather.The features that made me choose this model:- No app. I don't want any wi-fi connectivity and questionable apps to deal with. I just want to be able to unlock my door.-Fingerprint reader. Faster, easy to program, and (hopefully) extremely secure-Keytags.-Look and shape. I like the black color, and since I was replacing an existing lock, I hoped it would fit in the holes I already had (it did not, but we worked it out.)-Battery life. Anything is better than what I've been dealing with, but this set promises up to a year on 4 AA batteries.Installation was relatively easy. For background, I'm reasonably handy and have installed a few lock sets before. Also, I'm not afraid to make a mess and some mistakes, which happened here. The existing holes were just a fraction off from where they needed to be, and I had to do some creative drilling to make things fit. The doorknob is still sticking, which I think is an alignment problem and not an issue with the hardware.I had a hard time understanding the instructions for adjusting the latch for a 2.5" distance from center. Basically, hold in your left hand, rotate about 15 degrees clockwise, and pull to the right to lengthen. It took me a few tries to catch on to that step. Most of the issues I had were unique to my door and the fact that the existing holes weren't positioned quite right. The pieces all went together smoothly, no parts were missing, and there were no surprises. All the components were similar to other brands I've installed before and the process was familiar. However, even though my previous latch-style handle looked the same, the mounting screw was 1/4" lower on the new one, so I had to go to town with the drill and make a very ugly but functional hole.I will add that round is my least favorite shape for interior doorknobs. As soon as I can, I'll swap that for a lever which is more accessible and easier for me to use. An offset Phillips screwdriver will be handy for installing the interior doorknob, if you have one. It's a little awkward to get in there because the knob blocks the screw holes.Once the mechanical part was done, it was time to move on to programming. That went according to the instructions and was very quick. The "Set" button on the inside of the door is quite hard to see and I will be painting it with nail polish. Note to manufacturers: it is VERY difficult to read embossed text on dark plastic. Labeling with contrast and larger letters really helps for anyone over 40. When trying to select a language, I accidentally switched to Chinese, and that took about 5 minutes to untangle (there are instructions in case yours ships with Chinese language, but not for a case where you accidentally switch it yourself!) Fingerprint programming was really easy. I plan to ask a couple of other people to test their fingerprints, to make sure it is secure.The deadbolt locks and unlocks very quickly compared to my old one, and it confirms with voice prompts which can be turned off. There are on-screen prompts so you don't need to have the paper instructions in hand to make changes.The set looks very nice on my door. It is slightly smaller than the set I replaced, so I ended up painting the door unexpectedly. Installation time doubled but my door looks better now, AND it's much easier to open! This set is a winner!

img 1 attached to HARFO Electronic Keypad Deadbolt: Secure Your Home With Aged Bronze Fingerprint Door Lock Set review by Jon Dunn



Pros
  • great addition to our new door, easy for all family members to use
Cons
  • The aged bronze finish may not match all home decor styles