Customer Reviews

Kwikset 985 15 SMT CP Double Cylinder Deadbolt Featuring SmartKey, Satin Nickel

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm told that lock bumping to break and enter has been done for 50 years or so, however, I was unaware of it until seeing a youtube video from a locksmith. He showed a reporter what to do and in two seconds he had opened a "good" deadbolt lock. I looked on ebay and confirmed that the keys were available for $2 and concluded that my 5 exterior doors were effectively unlocked. I replaced the deadbolts on all my exterior doors with these. While I did not test the anti bumping feature, Kwikset claims the "sidebar technology" protects them from "bumping". I can say these locks are very sturdy, and easy to install, and I love the feature that allows me to rekey all the locks to the same key, without using a locksmith.

I have installed several of these locks. They install within minutes, with only a couple of screwdrivers. I installed the locks, and then rekeyed them to the existing key. Rekeying the locks takes under 30 seconds. Installing the locks takes under 10 minutes each. The locks are (so far) proving unbumpable, and the research I have done on the locks suggests they are difficult to pick, even for an experienced lock-picker. Locksmiths reportedly hate these locks, because once installed, the locks can be rekeyed by the consumer, without having to pay a locksmith big bucks to come to your home and rekey your locks. You can also temporarily rekey a lock when you're going to be out of town, and give the temporary key to a neighbor to watch your house. When you come back, you easily rekey the lock to the original key. Kwikset sells a rekey kit Kwikset 83262-001 SmartKey Re-keying Kit with a pair of keys for such a purpose. If a key is lost or compromised, simply buy a different key, rekey the locks yourself, and within minutes, the original key is worthless -- great for people with disgruntled relatives or spurned boyfriends/girlfriends. The deadbolt locks are Series 1 rated, which suggests they will stand up to most attempts to pick them. Higher expense, Locksmith-only locks are highly touted to be unbumpable, but Medeco, for example, seems to be vulnerable -- and Medeco locks cost over $100 a lock, plus installation costs and high costs for the blanks. These locks are reasonably priced, and the keys can be duplicated by any locksmith or hardware store -- but they afford an increased level of security because of their internal design. I've changed most of our locks to this lock, and have just a few to finish changing this weekend. I bought this polished brass finish, but Amazon offers most of the other finishes, as well.

I have posted positive reviews of the Smartkey Locks in other parts of Amazon and will soon be revising them from 4 or 5 stars to 1, unless Kwikset provides an acceptable remedy to the inherent security weakness of these locks that was exposed at the DefCon 2010 security hacking convention. Just Google "Kiwkset" and "Defcon" and you'll find links to the findings on the Internet. Essentially, a short key, a screwdriver, and about 30 seconds ... and this deadbolt can be opened. The reports came out around the end of July 2010 and the beginning of August 2010. [...] has an informative article and analysis that anyone considering this lock should read and consider before buying.

For me, the DefCon 30 demonstration of how any common criminal could defeat the Kwikset smartkey in 30 second shows that this product is not the security I thought I was buying.

In fairness to Kwikset, I called customer service to ask about the DefCon report in early August. They said they didn't have a response, yet, but would respond within a couple days. Since then, I've contacted the company in writing twice, but have not received any response. It's not August 30th, so it's been a month.

Maybe they are working on a fix, but as a consumer, I will not be buying any more Kwikset products until they provide a credible response and fix. Also, Kwikset, I'd like my money back for the 13 smart key devices I had bought.

I was skeptical when I decided to purchase these. I could not imagine they would work as advertised. Well I have to admit I was wrong. They installed very easily and the technology to change the keying of the lock is amazing. In about 10 seconds you can change the key for this lock. You put the key that came with the lock in, put in the little tool, remove the key and put in your old key and you are done. Really it is that simple.

The only suggestion I would have is that I wish they put in more than 2 keys with the new lock. Wish it had 4.

Originally I really liked the SmartKey, the single locks are easy to install and seem to work well, BUT the DOUBLE CYLINDER DEADBOLTS
RE-KEY THEMSELVES WITHOUT WARNING. I've had this happen to 2 different deadbolts and locked myself outside. The key will suddenly not work on one side of the lock. It's without warning & very bad! Thought maybe I just had a bad lock the first time it happened, so bought another one and 7 months down the road I was locked out again. I'm waiting for some kind of response from KwikSet.

Great quality product. Easy to install. Took only seconds to change the key using the Smartkey feature. After changing to the new key, the lock worked as smoothly as it did with the original key that came with the lock.

I was using Kiwkset before and I lost my key, I have no choice but to engage a locksmith. He was trying to pick the lock for 2 hours and in the end, he had no choice but to drill the cylinder to break the lock. I bought this Kwikset with good discount from Amazon. Installation is easy and the instructions are clear. Key can be changed easy by using the SmartKey provided.

These are the best locks I have ever bought. Very easy to install, easy to re-key and best of all look great. We had another well known brand of locks that the finish failed on and thought we would try these. We were a little skeptical on the ease of the re-key. They are as advertised....very easy!!! We also love that they are bump guard protected. We bought 4 separate locks for all of our exterior doors. Would recommend to our friends!!!!

I am a woman, and never thought I would be able to do this project by myself. The instructions made it simple, and they also include an 800 number for you to call with any questions. The locks seem very secure. They give me great peace of mind, as I installed them on all of my entry doors. Not to mention the satisfaction of being able to do it myself. The 'SmartKey' system is also wonderful, and simple as well. Great product!

Already had Qwikset single tumbler deadbolt, but decided to upgrade to these to keep toddler grandkids from wandering outside unsupervised (We keep a keybin the lock to use as a regular deadbolt, but move it to an out of reach hook when the kids are here.
The locks are very solid, and use the 'smartkey' rekeying feature which is handy and a big plus for us. The installation is pretty simple especially if the door is already set up for a deadbolt lock, as was the case for us. The price was great - easily half of what big box stores were asking, and much less than any other on-line outlet I found.