Noob 2 Networking

Smart home misadventures: Eufy Smart Lock (Wi-Fi) Part 3

Part 1
Part 2

Well hello there. Another week went by pretty quickly since the last time I posted something, huh. Worry not; I plan to finish this series this week so we can explore more exciting things as you are probably already bored by now, I mean who would want to look at one smart lock for over 3 months am I right 😂. Let’s continue where we left off from the last part without further ado. Last time, we managed to install the hardware physically into the door. Now, all it left was to set up the software to ensure everything was working as intended.

Well before then, I assume that you have a smart device, either phone or tablet, right? Go to the respective apps store and download Eufy Security App. Go to the process of making an account with Eufy while you are at it, as this is required to set it up.

So Smartphone with Eufy Security app and account check? ✅. Then let’s proceed.

From the last step of hardware installation, we installed the battery into the device’s back panel. If you did not screw up anything or the device was dead on arrival, then we should be able to hear some sound and prompting us to follow the instruction. Of course, you could be one of the unlucky few and have their devices broken; my advice is to reach out to the vendor and have it resolved within the return period. Don’t just purchase the device and leave it for a while without doing anything with it until the return period runs out, only to realize you have a faulty device. That is a nightmare as you will probably either have to jump through so many hoops or eat the losses, and I’m sure you probably don’t want either of those. Of course, that was just a hypothetical situation, not from personal experience or anything, definitely not 😅. Anyway, I am trying to say that make sure your device is working.

First thing first, launch the Eufy security app from your smartphone or tablet. In my case, I’m using my iPhone and have already created an account with Eufy.

The Home Screen should look something like this. We want to add the device by pressing the “add device” option.
Please scroll down to find our device of choice, and this is a smart lock with Wi-Fi.
Unless you have multiple homes, select next.
I assume you can read the instructions, so that I won’t explain further. In some situations, you will ask to scan the QR code to add the device, and the code is on the back of the panel right below the battery pack. It shouldn’t be that hard to find.
It would be best if you had Bluetooth enabled on your phone. If not, ensure it is on; the setup will attempt to connect to the lock via Bluetooth during the initial setup. Why not Wi-Fi, you ask? Well, because they don’t know your Wi-Fi yet, you have to connect to the lock to tell it what your Wi-Fi is before it can connect 😂.
No select the Wi-Fi network you want this device to be on. Remember that most IoT devices do not like 5GHz networks, so make sure you have a 2.4GHz network set up. It was not a problem for me since I have a dedicated IoT network and the wireless network only operates at 2.4 GHz. You might run into some issues connecting to the Wi-Fi network if you have one of those 2.4GHz and 5GHz combined networks. To avoid this, you can go into the setting of your router and disable 5GHz Wi-Fi until you finish the setup.
Select the Wi-Fi network and password. Hit confirm, and well, that is pretty much it. If you typed your password wrong, you might have to do it a couple of times.
Now you get to name your lock, and I choose the most creative name: “Front door” dun dun dun 😈. Hit next.
Now close the door and calibrate the lock. If you are doing everything correctly, the door lock should lock and unlock without any issue. If you are me, however, you probably screwed up somewhere, like the strike plate was not mounted correctly, so the deadbolt could not close, for example, 😉. All I need is to go back and use a little more “persuasions” until I can lock/unlock the door without any issue.
Tada, the setup is now completed. Hit done.
Now we get to choose the passcode. Pick something secure and not 1234, please.
I also want to lock/unlock my door with my fingerprint because I’m cool like that 😎. Start enrollment and follow the prompt to put your fingerprint on the fingerprint reader in the front panel.
Last but not least, make sure your firmware is up to date for features and security. It should be pretty straightforward.

And there you have it. We have successfully installed a smart door lock. Now we can show off…I mean, enjoy the convenience of smart devices brought to us. For example, remote lock/unlock is a very nice feature that allows control of the lock anytime, anywhere. At least now you can say you have control over something insignificant as it might be 😉.

That is all for this week, folk, until the next post. I’m not sure what I want to talk about yet, so we shall see. If you have any suggestions or want me to cover some topic, you can contact me. Until next time.

-Laz

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