Several of the most popular smart locks on the market are failing basic break-in resistance tests, and according to lab testing, the flaw usually isn’t the lock’s electronics at all. Consumer Reports found that when locks failed its kick-in and drill tests, the culprit was most often something far cheaper and less high-tech: the screws holding the strike plate to the doorframe.
What The Testing Found
Consumer Reports’ door lock evaluations put each model through repeated strikes from a 100-pound battering ram, along with lock-picking and cordless-drill vulnerability tests, before scoring smart features like remote access and setup. In its latest published rankings, several models failed those physical tests significantly, including the Delaney 345001, the Sure-Loc DK201-MD-15, and the Defiant Round Smart WiFi Deadbolt.
Per the outlet’s own findings, “the cause of failure is more often than not the short screws used to attach the strike plate” to the doorframe, a problem it notes can often be fixed for around $10 with a longer, reinforced strike plate rather than by replacing the lock itself.
Popular Models Also Flagged
The pattern extends beyond the outright failures. A rundown of the testing by BGR highlighted several higher-profile smart locks that scored poorly despite strong retail reviews, including the Level Lock+ Connect, the Aqara Smart Lock U100, and the Lockly Secure Pro. Reported issues ranged from vulnerability to cordless-drill attacks to software problems such as locks disappearing from their companion apps and missing low-battery alerts that left owners locked out.
On the other end, Consumer Reports named the Yale Assure Lock 2 its top WiFi smart lock, the Kwikset Juno 991J15SMTCP its top standard deadbolt, and the Eufy Smart Lock S230 its top fingerprint model, each scoring well on both brute-force resistance and smart functionality.
Why It Matters For Buyers
The takeaway for anyone shopping for a smart lock isn’t only which brand to pick. It’s that the lock is only as secure as the door frame it’s screwed into. A high-end deadbolt installed with the short screws that ship in most standard hardware kits can still be kicked in, while a mid-range lock paired with a proper reinforced strike plate holds up far better than its price tag suggests. Installation, not brand reputation, is doing more work than most buyers assume, and it costs a fraction of what any of these locks do at retail.
For homeowners and renters alike, that means the smartest upgrade in a security budget might not be the lock at all. Spending ten dollars on a longer strike-plate screw kit before spending three hundred dollars on a fingerprint deadbolt addresses the weak point these tests keep finding, regardless of which smart lock ends up on the door.
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