How to Use Auto-Unlock for Android

Yale uses two states to enable Auto-Unlock to function: Home mode, and Away mode. These modes indicate where Auto-Unlock thinks you are: at home, or away from home.

When you are at home (in Home mode), Auto-Unlock is not actively doing anything. It is waiting until you leave home.

When you approach your door, Auto-Unlock will unlock your door via Bluetooth. This means Auto-Unlock cannot operate your lock when you are away from home.

You are considered away from home when you leave your immediate neighborhood, which is about 200 meters, or a couple city blocks. It is only active when you return to your home area.

Tips for good auto-unlock performance

Leave Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned ON.

• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth must be enabled to use the Auto-Unlock feature. Your phone uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to determine your location. If your location is not accurate, Auto-Unlock will not work correctly or at all.

Leave location services ON

• Auto-Unlock uses phone’s location to determine when you are close to Home. Location services must be enabled in order for Auto-Unlock to work correctly.

Location permission (Android 10 and higher)

• Set location permission to "All the time".

Take advantage of the notifications.

• Android 8 and above use notifications to communicate to you about Auto-Unlock. Notifications for previous versions of Android can be turned on in the settings.

Open and use the Yale App at least once a day.

• This teaches the operating system that Yale App is a commonly used application.

Whitelist the Yale App for battery savings (Android 9).

• Preserve battery life by whitelisting the Yale App. From your home screen, go to Settings > Apps > Yale > Battery > Optimize Battery Usage.
• PLEASE NOTE: These steps may vary from model to model.

For best results: Enter and exit your home through the door where your Yale Smart Lock is installed.

• If you enter through a door without Auto-Unlock enabled, the Auto-Unlock feature will still attempt to unlock the Smart Lock enabled door the next time it sees it. If you have a large house, this could be minutes or hours later.
• If you plan to enter through a different door, you can cancel the Auto-Unlock through the notification that appears when you approach your home area.

Home and away modes explained

Home mode

Nothing happens automatically.

What does it mean?

You are assumed to be at home, and Auto-Unlock is not actively doing anything.

How is it activated?

Automatically

You are placed in Home mode after Auto-Unlock successfully unlocks your door when returning home.

Away mode

Your phone will attempt to unlock your lock the next time you are near it. 

What does it mean?

You are assumed to have left home, as well as your immediate neighborhood.

How is it activated?

Automatically

You are placed in Away mode when your phone leaves the area around your home. This is typically about 200 meters away from your Yale Smart Lock, or a couple city blocks.

Manually

If you've suspended Auto-Unlock, you can re-enable it by simply opening the Yale App.

Troubleshooting

My door didn’t unlock when I expected it to

You may not have gone far enough away from home

• To enter Away mode, you must go further than 200 meters or a couple city blocks. Only then will Auto-Unlock attempt to unlock your door when you arrive home.
• You can make sure Auto-Unlock tells you when you’re far enough away by enabling the notification. Auto-Unlock notification settings can be found in Lock Settings > Auto-Unlock. 

My door unlocked when I didn’t expect it to

• Auto-Unlock incorrectly thought you left home
• If you have very poor Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity. Your phone uses these to determine your current location.
• Auto-Unlock didn’t see your lock when you came home
• You entered through a door other than your Auto-Unlock enabled one.
• Bluetooth on your phone was turned off when you came home.
• Your lock’s batteries were very low.

How does yale use my location data?

Your location data is only stored on your phone within the Yale App. Yale does not collect or store your data remotely, and has no way of looking at your location data. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.