Yale Conexis L1 Locks using Z-Wave Module - changes are coming, heads up

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Just a heads up for anyone that uses the Conexis L1 Door Locks from Yale with the Blue Z-Wave module, it seems Yale don’t want to allow integration with all Smart Home Systems or at least they are not going to make it easy. I currently use this so you can unlock doors using Homey Presence, unlock if smoke detectors go off, reminder to lock if late at night etc. All this is set to change as they plan to phase out the Yale Conexis L1 App by end of July and replace it with the Yale home App.

In their own words “To enable integrations: You must purchase the Yale Access Module and DoorSense PLUS Connect Wi-Fi Bridge (Save 50% on Connect Wi-Fi Bridge. Applies at checkout)” which means you cannot use the Z-Wave module and must rely on their bridge which currently only supports integration with Alexa, Google Home and Apple. Worse still the design means you need a separate Wi-Fi bridge for each lock you have as you cannot have multiple locks on a single bridge, so you have to buy bridges at £70 each plus a new Yale Access module at £5 per lock.

If you want to continue to use the Z-Wave module then the process to add and remove new users/fobs etc. becomes very awkward as follows:

/************** Extract from their web - see link below ******************/

You can still use Z-Wave and not use our module if you wish. However, if you ever wanted to add or remove tags, you could not do this via your app.

This can be done manually however by using the below process. *

*Please be aware that this involves a factory reset, which wipes all credentials and requires setup of the lock, module, and credentials again.

Factory reset the lock with the module removed (Page 29 of Conexis Manual).
Reset the actuator inside the door so that the tail-bar is vertical (see pictures A and B on page 8). Once done, refit the handle and Hand the lock (Page 15).
Scan all of your cards and tags into the lock- when doing this, once you have single pressed the R button- 1 by 1 scan in ALL your Cards/Tags carefully but quickly (you only need to press the R button once to do this). Once you have scanned in all the tags- press R to finish.
Once this is complete, you can reinstall your Z-Wave Module.

/*******************************************************************/

I personally think this is a real step backwards not allowing general integration with other Smart Home Systems and forcing users to buy and install multiple hubs.

There doesn’t appear to be any IFTTT support either so probably any automation would have to be via Alexa or Google which is not the most straightforward.

I phoned them to have a chat about this and ask how they expected existing Smart Home systems to work and they are not interested, they just want you to buy their own eco-system and that’s it. I’ll probably look to replace these now with something that allows better control and doesn’t restrict me to their App.

I’m not sure if there are any plans to integrate via Wi-Fi into the current Homey Pro App (Yale Digital Lock App for Homey | Homey) but I’ll ping the developer to see if that is a possibility.
Just a heads up if you are using these types of locks.

Link to the upgrade details

Link to the Z-Wave instructions

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I have that lock, but didn’t have the z-wave module.

I accepted the offer of the access module/door sense, plus I also bought the wifi bridge.

I had a lot of problems with getting the new Yale Home app to work with the lock. The helpdesk was responsive, however, and after a couple of different methods got it working well.

I use the Yale Home (official) app to connect the bridge to Homey…

That’s for users outside USA and Canada (who have a different app).

Unfortunately, both the Alexa Yale Home skill and the Homey Yale Home app aren’t great. The Android Yale Home app seems OK and can connect via Bluetooth and WiFi. Using Alexa to unlock by voice and code seems to work well, but unlocking by app doesn’t seem to work at all (yes, I have that option switched on) I always get a ‘something went wrong’ message. The status recorded in Homey lags a lot as does unlocking - to the extent you wonder if they’ve worked at all.

Having said that, I could never get my phone to work with the Android Conexis app - I had to use an old phone if I wanted to update access - and that took multiple goes. The new Yale Home app works well and once I overcame the initial issues, re-adding my old fobs and cards worked without a hitch. Given the phone app came in for a lot of criticism, that’s some kind of progress.

Andy

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An update on my last post.

I tried an unlock flow in Homey and it works well. There’s still a lag getting the status back but it’s variable. Sometimes it’s immediate.

The issue unlocking with the Amazon skill seems to be Bluetooth -related. It works OK if I’m close to the door - but maybe that’s coincidence.

Anyhow. It’s a little academic because Alexa doesn’t allow you to put an unlock operation in a routine, and you can’t provide an unlock code with a voice routine.

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Now that’s really interesting as I was using the other official App to link via Z-Wave

And, Yale were adamant it wouldn’t be available to anything other than Alexa, Google and Apple.

So just to be clear the Yale Home App (Official one) supports a cloud connection via the Yale Wi-Fi Hub?

What issues did you have and did you have to buy a hub for every lock (that’s the bit that bugs me, why oh why did Yale not allow their hub to support multiple locks as it is highly likely people will have more that one) - not to mention the £70 needed for every lock!!!

Thanks for the info

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Forgot to ask, have the definitely removed the option to stop auto-relock in the App? they told me this would not be allowed but is currently in the L1 App. I find this a pain when you remote unlock for someone and it relocks in 30 secs before they have got through the door!!!

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Can you not add a PIN in Alexa to unlock via voice? you used to be able to do that?

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I think it uses WiFi connecting to the bridge, but I can’t be sure. The graphic in the App page shows a bridge. FWIW I’d prefer that if it means less drain on the lock batteries.

The instructions provided initially didn’t work. The second version didn’t work either. Eventually the help desk suggested a factory reset of the lock which worked. FWIW it looks like my entries in the Yale database were screwed up because I was unable to transfer ownership from my old phone’s Conexis app to either app on my new phone. After the reset everything worked smoothly (and much better than the Conexis app).

I have just one lock. The range of the Bluetooth connection might be a limiting factor in any case.

Yes, there’s a lock config option to allow/prevent auto-relock in the Yale Home app.

Yes, that’s how I have it.

My point is that I can’t see how to create an Alexa routine to unlock because only the lock operaton is allowed and using a voice routine to say “Unlock front door 1234” or similar doesn’t work.

Home flows can unlock directly.

Andy

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Andy
Thanks for the update really useful info and better than I got from Yale, especially around the Autolock function. I was about to abandon them and look for an alternative but may give it a try using this option first. I still struggle to see why their design needs a hub for every lock and within 3m of each lock - seems a poor design but no point in sticking with Z-Wave as without the new App managing the tags will be a nightmare!!
Cheers

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@Darrell_Etherington @Andy_Henderson
Where are the auto-locking settings in the Yale Home app?
All I can find is volume settings

I sent Yale an email today as I don’t have enough time to get out of the car and to the door before the door auto-locks

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I misread the 'auto-unlock setting. I also assumed I didn’t have auto-relock because it’s not happened to me. Just tested though, and it does. I’m really sorry about that.

FWIW, I use tags stuck on my car key and the back of my phone to unlock the door.

Andy

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This is the issue I had, used to open door for a Paramedic to visit elderly mother and before they get out and in, the door has relocked (30 secs I think) and in new App it seems they have taken away the ability to define the time or disable. I’ve gone back to them on this but they are simply not interested. Annoyingly as I thought they had fixed this I just ordered two hubs but seems from latest message they haven’t fixed it. Seems a step backwards in functionality.

Also, why they need a hub for each lock is crazy, we are all trying to slim down the number of hubs so forcing us down this route and taking away Z-Wave I see as a step backwards.

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Andy
No worries, I did decide to bite the bullet and order two hubs but figure this will be an issue. I assume then if you have an unlock in a flow, for example, triggered by smoke sensor, the door will relock if you don’t open within the 30 secs, have you tried this at all?

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I felt obliged to give that a go. I don’t have connected smoke sensors, but I tried creating a flow that unlocked, waited 25 seconds and unlocked again. The second unlock was ignored (I suppose that’s reasonable - if unfortunate) and the door relocked automatically in 30 seconds.

I guess you could create a flow that loops round unlocking every, say, 5 seconds so you are less reliant on getting the timing right. You could include a test for the door opening (if you fit and implement the doorsense magnet) to stop the loop. I’d suggest a fall-back of testing for a variable in the loop to make sure you can stop it manually.

Thinking about it, that might be the basis of a solution to your ‘race to the door from the car’ issue.

Andy

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Thanks for testing, that is a real shame they have removed that setting, I assume their own Geo unlock in the new App is checking for Bluetooth so activates as you approach door? From a ‘Smart’ Perspective I feel this is a backwards step …

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I’m going to try putting the z-wave back in and disable the auto-lock and see if it sticks when I put the new module back in

Otherwise I feel I will need to go back to zwave and only put the new module in for key card changes

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I just popped the zwave module back in and changed it too a minute and that has worked, when I get a moment I will see if when I set it to disabled it stays disabled

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When I spoke to Yale they said as part of moving to Yale home, the lock needs to be reset and from that point on it will revert to 30 seconds auto lock and is not configurable in the new App. I’m not on the new App yet so I cannot test this properly. After July the old App is being removed completely I believe. It’s odd as cannot imagine it is difficult to add this setting to the new App, it must be something a lot of users want I would think. If you don’t use the new App then adding new fobs will be a real pain.

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I never reset mine, I just popped it in and it did a firmware update which seemed to do the resetting anyway.

There’s no reason you can’t switch back to zwave I’m very close to doing so, I guess the only reason is if you want to give digital access via yale home for guests.

How I managed to change it too a minute it’s definitely better but I prefer to be in full control, I will use my hubitat hub to alert me the door is unlocked after so long or if door hasnt opened in 5 mins lock.

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Got this from yale support
What a joke

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Pretty much as helpful as the message I got!!! They seem to have taken a step backwards so I’m still looking at options. the Simpled Locks look good but don’t believe any Homey Support yet.