Smart Door Locks Can Lock You Out of Your Home. Here's What Every Family Needs to Know

Troy Hunt, a well-known cybersecurity expert, came home late at night after 33 hours of travel from Paris only to find himself locked out. His smart door lock had run out of battery power, and he couldn't get into his own house. This real-world failure shows that smart home technology can create problems that old-fashioned keys never did.

This affects anyone using smart locks, smart doorbells, or other internet-connected devices to control access to their home. If you rely solely on these devices without a backup plan, you could find yourself locked out during a power failure, internet outage, or simple battery death.

The problem gets worse if it happens late at night, during bad weather, or when you're exhausted from travel.

1. Check the battery level on your smart lock today and replace batteries if they're below 50%.
2. Set up low-battery alerts in your smart lock's app if available.
3. Keep a traditional physical key in your wallet, car, or with a trusted neighbor.
4. Test your backup entry method monthly to make sure it actually works.
5. Consider keeping spare batteries in your car or outdoor lockbox. For long-term protection, remember that convenience should never replace reliability when it comes to home access. Smart home devices are helpful additions, but they should not be your only option. Always maintain a non-digital backup for critical home functions like door locks, garage doors, and security systems. Regular maintenance checks on all smart devices, including battery replacements and software updates, should become part of your monthly routine just like testing smoke detectors.