The high cost of simplicity

One of the first steps homeowners may take when modernizing their space is incorporating smart locks. All too often, however, these locks are significantly more expensive and bulky than their predecessors. In many cases, they add blocky battery compartments, charging headaches, and video components, which tend to be overkill if you already have surveillance from a video doorbell.

The Level Lock+ Connect is a smart lock option that promises the most compelling features packed in a covert package while not budging on the price premium of smart locks. It looks like a regular lock, but hides the brain of a smarter counterpart.

Price, availability, and specs

Get it from major electronics retailers

The Level Lock+ Connect retails for $349 in most locations, including directly from Level plus Amazon. The lock is available through Best Buy, but only bundled with the keypad, which adds $80 to the price. (At Amazon and Level, the keypad is an optional add-on.)

While shopping, you may come across a $249 version of the Level Lock — this does not include the Connect Wi-Fi bridge, the device that makes remote access and smart assistant integration possible. At the time of this review’s publication, the Lock+ Connect, sans keypad, is discounted on the Level site from $349 to $299.

What’s good about the Level Lock+ Connect smart lock?

Quick to install and easy to use

Most smart locks I’ve used require a fairly consistent 20 to 45 minutes for installation, especially when complications like video components or hardware troubleshooting occur. However, the Level Lock was extremely easy to install. Even with firmware updates for the Wi-Fi bridge and some hardware snafus outlined below, getting the lock up and running took less than 15 minutes.

Aesthetically, it’s a very pleasing lock, designed with discretion in mind. The size and profile are virtually identical to a plain old deadbolt lock, whereas some smart locks tend to stick out like a sore thumb with massive battery compartments. The variety of available finishes caters to a number of looks, too — there’s matte black, satin chrome, satin nickel, and polished brass.

The Level app has a well-polished user interface that is clean and easy to use. It offers everything from activity records to automations to temporary or permanent access sharing for household members or one-time visitors. My favorite feature of the Level app is its auto-unlock function.

With a geofencing boundary around your home, the app detects when the user leaves and reenters the lock’s range (e.g., going to work and coming home) and can automatically unlock the deadbolt when you’re in range. I can see how some people may not be sold on this, especially in multi-unit living situations, so note that it’s an optional feature.

A huge perk of the Level lock is its versatile locking and unlocking options. Every household member can unlock and lock the door in their preferred way, whether it’s with the included fobs, a traditional key, remotely via the mobile app, or with an NFC device like a smartphone or smartwatch. There’s also the geofencing mentioned above, plus touch-to-lock options.

While not exactly a perk of this lock, Level uniquely offers the inner mechanism of the Lock+ Connect — the deadbolt itself — as a standalone purchase to smartify existing locks. If you have a matching handle/lock set and don’t want to break up the set, the Level Bolt Connect can replace the deadbolt while keeping the existing facade. This isn’t something we’ve seen offered by anyone before.

What’s bad about the Level Lock+ Connect smart lock?

A few hardware hang-ups were the main issue

I ran into a few compatibility concerns with the hardware. While it’s unclear if this is the fault of my door, the lock, or both, I haven’t faced these issues with previously tested smart locks.

The strike plate is almost three times as thick as the strike plate of my door’s former lock and other past-reviewed smart locks. The strike plate wasn’t flush with the frame, and so with Level’s bolt plate and strike plates installed, the door couldn’t close without the two momentarily jamming against one another. As a consequence, every close of the door needed a good shoulder thump to get things into place, which is bound to be quite the inconvenience on a door used multiple times per day.

The other major plea I make of Level and other smart deadbolt makers is this: While I understand the reasoning behind the throw pocket — the hole on your door frame that the deadbolt itself slides into when you lock the door — needing to be at least one inch in depth from a security perspective, please understand that the holes on many residential doors were not originally drilled out to this standard.

Please allow users of your smart lock to override the calibration when the deadbolt can only extend, for example, ¾ of an inch into the throw pocket. The hole on the door frame where I installed this lock is not a full inch deep, and the lock will still engage when activated remotely, but not without a jam or error message every single time.

Every user whose deadbolt pin pocket is too shallow is more than likely aware that it’s more secure to have a one-inch deep pocket, but they lack the means to make it so — whether it’s because they don’t have a chisel or dremel kit, or because they’re a renter and can’t permanently drill into their door frame, or just didn’t sign up for the use of power tools when they bought a simple DIY-install smart lock.

I’d also hoped to see some time-based scheduling capabilities directly within the Level app for users not integrating the lock into an existing smart system. For example, I can put the lock on a schedule to lock every night at 8 p.m. through my Apple HomeKit, but such functions aren’t available without some sort of smart assistant. There are still plenty of automation options in the Level app, though, like locking on its own a set amount of time after the door is opened.

Should you buy it?

Functional and feature-rich, clouded by the price tag

The geofencing and NFC-based entry options are great. The ease of installation is fantastic. Playing nice with major smart assistants is excellent. But at this premium price point, dynamic unlocking and smart integration aside, the lock feels a little lacking.

I’d want a product to include some premium features, like video monitoring or a keypad, if I’m paying this much — but since the Level Lock+ Connect’s whole thing is being discreet and not obviously a smart lock, it feels like you’re paying for fashion. Plus, this one needs me to sacrifice precious outlet real estate for a Wi-Fi bridge. Competing locks from other brands like Yale and Wyze offer the same remote access capabilities without a Wi-Fi bridge, which adds to the cost and takes up an outlet for significantly less.

Perhaps the concept of paying a premium for minimalist design concepts has extended into the smart lock world. If so, shoppers who value the sleek, unobtrusive look here won’t balk at the asking price. As capable as the Level Lock+ Connect is, I just wouldn’t pay more than $200 for it — unless it incorporates Matter/Thread capabilities, as Level says it will sometime this year.