Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock Review

Today we are here with another smart lock of Kwikset company. Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock will be reviewed on our blog. Since we know that our readers examine the features of the smart locks in a very detailed way before choosing to buy them , we will try to provide you all the details and cons/pros of Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock.

Connection Standards and Smart Home Controller Options

The most important feature of smart locks is their connection technologies. Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock has both Bluetooth and Z-Wave connection options. Using Z-Wave, it can connect to almost any Z-Wave compatible smart hubs. Using Google and Alexa voice assistants, you can use voice commands to lock/unlock and find out if your door is locked or unlocked. Unfortunately, this model does not support Apple Home Kit.So if Apple Home Kit is a priority for you, we suggest you look for another model such as Kwikset Premis Touchscreen Smart Lock Review , Yale Assure Lock Touchscreen Connected By August Review or Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt Review.

Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock can connect to many smart hubs. Unfortunately, we do not have all of these hubs. So we did our own tests with the ones we have and shared our experiences with you below. We don’t have with ADT Pulse and Vera Smart Home Controller but we have learned the capabilities for you from the users of them.

Google Assistant

If you have one of the following Z-Wave devices as Samsung SmartThings, Nexia Z-Wave Bridge, Wink ,Vera, ADT Pulse, Ring Alarm System at your home newtork, you can use them to connect your Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock to the Google Assistant. By using voice commands, you can unlock your door, lock your door , or find out if your door is locked or not. Each time you want to unlock, you will be asked for a pin, and there is a delay of approximately 5 – 8 seconds between commands to be processed. You can use Android Wear watch to use voice commands too. We have seen no problems about Google Assistant performance of Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock.

Some of the voice commands are:

To lock the door: “Hey Google, I’m leaving”

To unclock the door: “Hey Google, lock the front door” for locking

To check whether door is locked or not: “Hey Google, is the front door locked?”

Amazon Alexa

As another alternative, you can control your lock with your voice by Alexa with Echo or Echo Dot . With Alexa voice commands, you can ulock your door, lock it or ask if it is locked. To connect your Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock with Alexa, you need to have one of the smart hubs such as Samsung SmartThings, Nexia Z-Wave Bridge, Wink ,Vera, ADT Pulse and Ring Alarm System at your home network. Pairing process is fast and simple.

Below you can see some voice commands to control your Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock. At these commands we are assuming the name of the smart lock as “Home”.

“Alexa, lock Home.”
“Alexa, unlock Home.” (you will be asked for your pin)
“Alexa, is Home locked?”

Home Automation Systems

Wink:

• Remote locking and unlocking from anwhere outside of the house or inside the house
• Check the battery level of your smart lock over the app
• Setup Robot to work with other connected devices. E.g. turn off the lights and lock the door when alarm system is armed
• Create Wink widgets to trigger automation series like “Goodnight” to turn off all of the devices and lock the door
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant
• Get notifications when a user code is entered
• Schedule to auto lock the door at any time you want

You can not add, delete or manage user codes remotely with Wink.

Nexia:

• Remote locking and unlocking from anwhere outside of the house or inside the house
• Create scheduled codes which will work at the time range you will define. Suitable for home services as handyman, dogwalker and for rental purposes.
• Get alerted when a user code used
• Check the battery level of your smart lock over the app
• Receive notifications when door is locked / unlocked by hand or using code
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant
• Set automation series with triggers as locking the door and turning off all of the connected devices

There is no option to add, delete or manage user codes remotely with Nexia.

Ring Alarm System:

• Remote locking and unlocking from anwhere outside of the house or inside the house
• Get notifications when a user code is entered
• Check the battery level of your smart lock over the app
• Disable the Ring alarm when user code entered
• Receive notifications when door unlocked/locked
• Set automation series as starting to record when door is unlocked
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant

There is no option to add, delete or manage user codes remotely with Ring Alarm System

SmartThings:

• Lock and unlock your smart lock remotely from anywhere outside of the house or inside the house
• Use the app to delete or add user codes remotely with Lock User Management app by RBoy Apps
• Set scheduled codes to work in the time range that you defined. Suitable for home services as handyman, dogwalker and for short term rentals as Airbnb. Lock User Management app by RBoy Apps needed for this
• Receive alerts when a user code is entered
• Check the battery level of your smart lock over the Lock User Management app by RBoy Apps
• Set automation series with triggers as locking the door and turning off all of the connected devices
• If you have more than one smart locks installed, you can check status of all of them from the app
• Receive notifications when door is locked / unlocked by hand or using code
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant

If you pair Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock with Samsung SmarThings and use the default app, you won’t be able to set user codes remotely and set scheduled user codes as out of the box . You must download User Management app by RBoy Apps in order the gain access to these features. It is easy connect Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock to Smartthings.

ADT Pulse

• Remote locking and unlocking from anwhere outside of the house or inside the house
• Create scheduled codes which will work at the time range you will define. Suitable for home services as handyman, dogwalker and for short term rentals as Airbnb
• Get alerted when a user code used
• Disable the ADT Pulse Alarm when user code entered
• Check the battery level of your smart lock over the app
• Receive notifications when door is locked or unlocked
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant
• Set automation series with triggers as locking the door and turning off all of the connected devices

You will need ADT Pulse app to have all of the features stated above. ADT Pulse Smart Home Security System must be installed in your home network to use ADT Pulse.

Vera

• Remote locking and unlocking from anwhere outside of the house or inside the house
• Create scheduled codes which will work at the time range you will define. Suitable for home services as handyman, dogwalker and for short term rentals as Airbnb
• Get alerted when a user code used
• Check the battery level of your smart lock over the app and get low battery e-mail
• Receive notifications when door is locked or unlocked
• Voice control with Alexa and Google Home Assistant
• Set automation series with triggers as locking the door and turning off all of the connected devices

Both Vera Plus and Vera Edge devices are compatible with Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock.

Keypad Of Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock

Keypad is designed in an extremely simple way. It is very easy to use. There is a keyhole at the bottom of the keys so that you can use your key when necessary. Locking button, located just above the keypad, allows you to lock the door with a single press and also illuminates the keys. The illumination of the keypad is very bright so you can easily use Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock at night in dark environments.

Programming Codes

Programming process is done in two different ways. As the first method, you activate the programming mode by pressing the programming key inside the indoor unit. It is not mandatory to add master code, but we suggest you to add a master code to make programmig user code process more secured. Make sure that you are not programming duplicate codes. You can find the user manual of Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock which explains the programming steps at here.

Since this lock does not have its own app, you can add user codes by using the app of the smart hub in your home to add new user codes. Only Samsung SmartThings, Vera or ADT Pulse have the ability to program codes over the app remotely. Vera and ADT’s own apps are already supporting remote user programming but if you will use Samsung SmartThings , you will need Lock User Management app by RBoy Apps for Samsung SmartThings. By using these apps you will also be able to program scheduled codes depending your needs. Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock You can store 1 master code and 29 user codes with 4 to 8 digits length.

It is a bit more difficult to add user codes to this smart lock when compared to other competing smart locks on the market. To press the programming buttonon the indoor unit, you need to remove the screw of the cover of the interior unit. This makes process relatively difficult.

Weather conditions

We wanted to test how Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock performs under bad weather conditions, but since we didn’t have enough time for it, we reached out to other users of this smart lock and asked about their experiences. As far as we learned , Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock works without any problem in hot, cold, rainy and snowy weather. It is not affected by bad weather conditions as all electronic and mechanical parts are inside. We can recommend you to buy lithium polymer rechargeable batteries because cold weather will run out batteries fast so lithium batteries will perform better under these conditions.

To summarize, weather conditions are not effecting Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock too much except battery performance. It would be better to buy rechargable batteries as Energizer AA Lithium Batteries to prevent battery drain problem.

SmartKey Security

SmartKey Security is a new kind of technology desgined by Kwikset in order to prevent your lock from lock picking and lock bumping attacks. Lock bumping is an attack on a lock to unlock it by using Bump Key. This technique had worked for many of the locks but Kwikset have a protection for it. Kwikset SmartCode 910 Z-Wave Smart Lock uses KW1 which has bump proof mechanism to protect your door. Bump Key and lock picking attacks will not work on your lock but of couse no one can guarantee your 100% safety. Additionally, this smart lock has also BHMA Grade 2 certificate which shows that it is safe enough to be used at house.

Smartkey Rekey

Kwikset presents SmartKey Rekey at the KW1 keyway compatible locks. Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock also has KW1 keyway so Smarkey Rekey is possible. At your house you might want to use 1 key to lock/unlock multiple different locks to prevent having lots of keys. In this case, you will need rekeying by a locksmith but thanks to design of Smartkey Rekey, you can do this on your own at your house without a locksmith. Whole rekeying process will take around 3-4 minutes to finish. When compared with Schlage locks, we can easily say that Kwikset Smartkey Rekey is extremely more easy. Here is the step by step guide for you to rekey. You can also jump below to watch video.

1) As the first step, remove the battery and set deadbolt to locked position

If you have a knob or lever, make sure it is in the lock position

— Make sure that your door can not be closed by wind or other factors while you are at the outside

2) Insert Currently Used Key :

— FULLY insert your currently used key then rotate 90 degrees clockwise (note that instructions are the same regardless of cylinder orientation)

3) Insert SmartKey tool fully and firmly into the SmartKey hole :

— You may feel the tool click inside the lock which is normal

— Remove SmartKey tool

— Remove current key

4) Insert New Key

— Insert Kwikset (KW1) keyway compatible key you wish to use with lock

— Make sure that the key is FULLY inserted

— The edge of the key touched the indent on the cylinder surface

— Rotate the key 180 degrees clockwise but please don’t pull or push the key

— Finally, pull the key without too much force to make sure it will NOT come out in this position

Auto Lock Feature of Kwikset SmartCode 910

One of the most beautiful features in smart locks, automatic locking, this feature is perfect when it has flexible time options. However, with Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock , unfortunately we only have a 30-second option. 30 seconds may be insufficient at some times, so your door can be locked again until you go out of your house to do something in a minute and come back, so we think that this feature is not working well in this smart lock. We would like to see different timing options as 1-2 minutes and more.

Auto lock is disabled by Kwikset as out of the box. If you want to enable it, you will have to slide up the cover of the interior unit by removing 2 screws on it. After that, you will see 4 switches. As finl step you have to change the position of switch 2 from left to up and auto lock will be enabled. At this point, you door will be locked after 30 seconds passes over the unlocking time.

Similar smart lock Kwikset SmartCode 910 Z-Wave Smart Lock, has more flexible auto lock timer options by using the app of your smart hub so it would be a better choice if 30 seconds will not be enough for you.

Battery Life of Kwikset SmartCode 914

This smart lock works with 4 x AA Alkaline batteries and these batteries are not sent to you as out of the box , so when you buy the product, battery will not come to you. It is really important to choose a good battery. Therefore, we definitely recommend you to buy a lithium battery such as Energizer AA Lithium Batteries . Alkaline batteries are not performing very well with Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock. Kwikset claims 1 year of usage with 10 operations each day but this is not true.

Smart locks, which have a lot of features in this style, will also show different battery life for each user. The most important factors affecting the battery life are the quality of the battery, weather conditions, condition of the door, frequency of use and enabled features.

To give you accurate information about battery life, we installed this smart lock on different doors and calculated the average battery consumption. We also reached out to the other users who had Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock and asked about their experiences. When we put all this information together, we can say that if you use normal alkaline batteries, they will need to be replaced within 2 months with 3-4 uses a day. If you use lithium batteries as we suggested you, you will have a usage time of more than 6 months.

To prevent the battery drain, you can track the battery status through the app of your smart hub. Sometimes you may receive a low battery warning even though the battery is not finished due to a problem caused by smart home system. Please do the following to confirm this. Turn on switch #1 so that the status LED flashes every six seconds. If the LEDs turn amber or green, followed by a red flash, the battery is low. If the red flash is not seen, the battery is not low. This is an error on the smart home system side that will often be fixed when the lock is manually locked or unlocked.

There is also another way to check your battery status. After entering a usser code, if your keypad flashes red three times with three beeps then this means your batteries are low and need to be changed as soon as possible.

Installation process of Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock

Kwikset SmartCode 914 Z-Wave Smart Lock has an extendable latch inside the box which will fit to all standard door preperations. This latch can be used as 2-3/8″ or 2-3/4″. Below we are sharing an image to explain you all the dimensions clearly. Please check it before you buy this smart lock.

Our experienced team completed installation of Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock in a total of 12 minutes without drilling. If you need drilling, you can find templates inside the box to help you drill correcly. We have just used a ruler and a Phillips Head Screwdriver for the whole installation process. Depending on the condition of your door your might need some extra tools as hummer and wood block.

Any user who does not have any experience with these kind of operations probably will finish installation within 20 minutes at most. We share the Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock installation manual at here. Everything is explained in this installation manual as step by step, but we recommend you to watch the installation video of Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock for faster installation. You can also find the installation video below.

Technical Details Chart of Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock

Item Weight	3.43 pounds
Product Dimensions	10.5 x 8 x 6.25 inches
Voltage	1.5 volts
Batteries	4 AA batteries required. ( not included)
Style	Deadbolt
Connection	Z-Wave
Included Components	Exterior keypad, interior assembly, latch, mounting plate, allen wrench, adapter ring, strike, keys, smartkey tool, fasteners
Batteries Included?	No
Batteries Required?	Yes
Battery Cell Type	Alkaline
Warranty Description	1 year manufacturer, lifetime mechanical and finish warranty.

Cons and Pros of Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock

In the past, we havedone some reviews for Z-Wave enabled smart locks such as Yale Assure Lock SL with Z-Wave , Schlage Connect Smart Deadbolt , Kwikset SmartCode 916 Z-Wave Smart Lock and Schlage FE599NX Connected Keypad Lever with Z-Wave.  All of these smart locks including the Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock that we are reviewing now, does not  have their own custom app.

In order to reach the maximum capacity of the smart lock, you need to use the software of the smart hub connected to your home network. Only the exception is August Smart Lock Pro 3rd Gen + Connect as it has it’s own custom app. The fact that a smart lock does not have its own application can bring some disadvantages. To give an example, it can be very complicated to find and enable a feature you want to use.

We are looking at Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock from the eyes of a user and we can easily say thay it will not disappoint you if you install it on your door.  It has many features waiting to be discovered at the apps. Of course, you have to dig through the apps to find these features. If you love to dig  around with electronic devices then you will enjoy this smart lock even more.

Can we suggest you to buy Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock? Yes, we can suggest because when you buy this smart lock, you will get all the promised features.It is not the best smart lock on the market as it does not have long battery life, not easy to add/delete user codes, not having flexible auto lock time options. Besides, if you already own Samsung SmartThings, Nexia Z-Wave Bridge, Wink ,Vera, ADT Pulse or Ring Alarm System at your home network then you can directly buy this smart lock without any hesitations. Below you can find cons and pros of Kwikset SmartCode 914 Smart Lock.

Pros:

Clean design

Multiple smart hub options

Voice control over Alexa and Google Assistant

30 user code memory

Remote lock/unlock

Scheduled codes over some apps

Stable keypad with backlit

Suitable for Airbnb and short term rentals

Battery drain warning

Key usage if battery drains completely

Solid structure

Smartkey Rekey

Bump Key protection

Code usage logs

Receive notifications when user code entered

Works well under bad weather conditions

Cons:

No custom app

Features are not easy to access

Big dimensions for interior unit

Not very easy to install

Short battery life with Alkaline batteries

No timer options for auto lock

Needs unscrewing for battery change

Nt easy to program user codes