How to Use Auto-Unlock for iOS

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 respectively.

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.

Take advantage of the notifications.

• By default, Auto-Unlock will notify you when you enter Home and Away modes. This helps you to reliably predict Auto-Unlock’s behavior. It is recommended to leave these notifications enabled.
• You will also be notified if there are any errors that would prevent Auto-Unlock from working properly.

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.

Leave the Yale App running in the background - Do not force-quit it.

• Force quitting the Yale App will cause it to lose track of your Home or Away status. If this happens, the app will not try to Auto-Unlock your door as a safety precaution.

Do not power off your phone when you are away from home.

• Powering off your phone will cause the Yale App to lose track of your Home or Away status. If this happens, the app will not try to Auto-Unlock your door as a safety precaution.

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.

Manually

You can place yourself in Home mode by visiting Auto-Unlock Settings > Advanced Settings, and switching from Away mode to Home mode.

Errors

In cases where your state cannot be determined, Auto-Unlock may default back to Home mode. These cases include:

• Your phone restarts
• The Yale App was force-quit

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 the area around your home. Auto-Unlock will listen for your lock’s Bluetooth signal, and attempt to unlock your door the next time you are within 4.5 meters of your lock. This listening does not use significant battery power.

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

You can place yourself in Away mode by visiting Auto-Unlock Settings > Advanced Settings, and switching from Home mode to Away mode.

• PLEASE NOTE: If you are standing near your Yale Smart Lock when manually entering Away mode, your lock should unlock within a few seconds. This is expected behavior, and will only happen because you are physically near your lock. This will not happen when you are away from home.

Errors

If you are automatically placed in Home mode because of an error, you will usually be given an option to re-enter Away mode.

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.

Auto-Unlock may have reverted to Home mode because of an error

• Most of these cases will send you a notification, with an option to correct the issue before you arrive home. Causes include:
• Your phone was restarted
• The Yale App was force-quit
• A communication error with your lock

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.
• The location of your lock is set incorrectly. You can change this in Auto-Unlock Settings > Advanced Settings.
• 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.