Customer Reviews

Kwikset 991J 15 SMT CP Juno Entry Knob and Single Cylinder Deadbolt Featuring SmartKey, Satin Nickel

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I wondered about this and went to Lowes to check it out. They have it set up to demonstrate it for you. It's the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. Now I want to change every lock I have. If you need to give someone temporary access to your home, (to feed pets, clean, etc.) or if you give someone the keys, whom you thought you trusted, and change your mind- just re-key. It takes about 5 seconds. I like the idea that my home and my vacation home can all be keyed the same. Also, if you've ever had old kwikset keys hanging around, and you've forgotten what they're for, you can use them again if you need to re-key. I highly recommend.

ok, i have 3 houses and have installed a smart key lock in each of them to make it easier on me to just use one key.

i agree that the installation instructions are crappy. no matter how much time you spend reading them. the pictures are small and hard to grasp.

the biggest problem i see with these is that the long screws that keep the cylinder in place (inside to the outside). they are set in in the door and you have to have a Right angle screw driver to tighten them. if you dont, trying to twist the knob into place is a constant trial-error, which is annoying. If they are not set at the correct depth, often times the handle can be pulled out of the door or is loose.

The set screw is way too small and hard to install (since it's small). make sure to have needle nose pliers to get the plastic insert off (where the set screw goes), because it's impossible to remove just with your fingers (too tight of an area)

The lock feels solid, but the outer trim/skin should not be able to spin freely around. that gives it a "cheaper" feel.

the actual smart key works like a charm and NEVER had probllems. it takes 4 seconds to change a key and the old one does not work anymore.

i'd get it again even though there are a few quirks.

update: 12/8/11:

I purchased another house, and got another set of locks for the front and back doors. so now i have total of 10 sets of these if you count the garage doors.

anyway, today i had to let the inspector in the house and i could not unlock the deadbolt. i unlocked the bottom one, but the top one would not budge. went to the back door and was able to unlock the deadbolt, but not the bottom one. tried to mess with it for 30 mins and nothing. i was so frustrated and had to look for the spare key. found the spare (copy, not the original) and the copy opened the door right away. I have no idea how a copy could open the key, but the original can't.

Just called kwikset and they said the only way to fix it if i drill out the lock and replace it. they would pay for the bill and a new replacement.

Regardless, i will not get this lock anymore. reducing the stars from 3 to 2. sorry, they lost me as a customer. i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that feature to set the key to any key i want. but if i am on vacation and the tenant says "i can't unlock the door", it would be a nightmare.

I purchased two of these for my home. I had to exchange them both. One of them didn't program correctly. One of them didn't include matching keys, so I wasn't able to program it. (I also purchased another style of Kwikset knob for my front door that had no problems with the exception of the deadbolt not matching up exactly with my door frame, but I think that is the fault of my door frame.) I exchanged them for 1 identical knob and 1 Kwikset knob of another style (the store only had 1 of the identical knobs in stock). The other style was installed and programmed with no difficulties. The identical set was so difficult to install. Actually the deadbolt was flawed and will need to be returned again. Either the holes aren't drilled correctly or screws that were too long were included. Next time I replace entry knobs and deadbolts I'll go with another brand.

I bought this keyed entry and deadbolt combo pack on February 2008 for 39.99 to replace a rusted set on my front door. The Kwikset lock is very easy to install especially if you are replacing an existing lock where any additional drilling or cutting of the doorway is not needed. This set fits most standard doors and you only need a screwdriver to install it. The screws are also hidden so that they don't show outside after the install. The deadbolt is rated ANSI Grade 1 which is commercial security grade and better than the lower two residential grades which means that the cycles (opening and closing) of the lock usage is much longer. The keyed entry lock is rated ANSI grade 2. The lock also has the Smart Key feature which allows you to rekey the lock without having to buy a new set. A special metal key insertion device is provided for that if you want to rekey it later. The bright brass finish looks attractive and it is guaranteed for a lifetime against mechanical and finish defects. Overall, a very nice lock combo set if you need to replace or install a new set. The only issue that I had with my original set was that it was manufactured with the keyed lock mechanism upside down which meant that the key goes into the lock upside down to open the door on the side where I installed it. This was a manufacturing conflict with my door and could only be "corrected" by having the cylinder of the lock reinstalled within the lock unit. I got an exact identical replacement which did not have this issue and had the door locking mechanism on the other side.

I purchased the set, along with another handle for the garage, and keyed all 3 to use the same key without any issues. 2 months later the handle lock for the house randomly would no longer work with the key, and so I had to have a locksmith come out, who ended up destroying the lock to get into the house.

After searching around the internet, it appears this is a fairly common problem, and Kwikset doesn't really offer a solution ("Sorry you had to pay a locksmith, we'll give you another one that might fail down the line as well").

I'd say this is a good buy with the price and having the convenience of being able to re-key your locks, but only if you can over look the fact that the lock might randomly quit working.

When I recently bought a Kwikset lock with a keypad, I realized how easy it was to get it to work with my existing keys in a matter of seconds. I decided to change the other locks on my doors with this set (several actually,) since my old locks did not have the anti bump technology and were easy to pick.

The overall design is an improvement over models from years ago. The attachment screws for the handset can be adjusted ahead of time and then the inner knob assembly twists onto them before a final tightening. The attachment screws for the deadbolt go into an inner plate and are then hidden behind the escutcheon with the lever. The lock mechanisms and cylinders work very smoothly.

A big advantage of the SmartKey system is that if you have a pair of unused keys, and want to give keys to somebody for a short time, you can re-key the lock and then change it back later.

The only down side is that the knob assembly's cylinder cannot be flipped without a tool. Since some doors have the handle on the left side and others do on the right side, the cylinder will end up upside-down on some doors. Kwikset will send you the tool for free if you ask them, and then it's literally about a 15 second task to invert the cylinder, assuming you have not yet installed the handset. It might take a while to understand the instructions if you have never removed a cylinder before, but it's simply a matter of lining up the piece in the center of the shaft and releasing it by pressing a tab, pulling it off, and then pushing the tool into the hole that the shaft used to cover. The cylinder pops out and can be replaced facing the other way. You could also take the handset to any locksmith who will most likely do it for free since it's a 5 second task for them.

I'd give this 5 stars if they included the tool for inverting the cylinder, or if they made it as easy to do as it is to re-key the lock.

I just replaced my entry lockset and existing deadbolt with this combo-pack. Installation was very quick and easy in my existing doorway. The entry lock without the deadbolt is available also: Kwikset 740J 3 SMT CP Juno Entry Knob Featuring SmartKey, Polished Brass

Locks fit either of the two standard US backset sizes: 2 3/8" (default) or 2 3/4 (minor change, well described and marked, just sliding a spring.)

If you're adding a deadbolt for the first time, you'll need to bore a hole for the deadbolt, another for the bolt itself, and chisel out the door and frame for the strike. But that's true anytime you're adding rather than replacing a lock, no matter what deadbolt you buy. Kwikset provides measurements and a diagram for that. However, unlike some products, they don't provide a full-size template you can use to mark up the door.

I've replaced a lot of locks before, so I barely referred to the instructions. They're printed on a very tiny sheet in minuscule type. I do get why some reviewers claim the instructions are bad. If it's your first time installing a lock, you may want to go to Kwikset's website or a home-improvement site to get an idea of the very simple sets involved, from an easier-to-read view.

Some reviewers have some complaints that make me think they didn't follow or understand instructions - one mentioned that it only works on right-hand-close doors (I just installed it on a left-hand-close door), another says it installs upside-down (only if you're doing it wrong.)

This is not a high-security entry lockset and deadbolt combo. However, it's a lot better built than the typical cheap locks that landlords and builders use on non-high-end housing. At Amazon's prices, there's no penalty to upgrade to this quite sturdy lock, if you have the typical $12 junk.

I'll second what someone said that Kwikset is one of the few entry locksets where you have to work at locking yourself out. To open the door from the inside, you must turn the locking button. It remains unlocked, and so you typically have to use your key to lock the door when you leave. Now I can take down the big "Take Your Keys!" sign my wife and I put up inside our door! Yes, you can lock yourself out if after turning the button and opening the door, you deliberately turn the button back to locked by reaching back inside before you close it. But that's unlikely to happen, whereas the "turn the knob, go out, push the door shut, oops where's my keys?" scenario happens all to often!

I haven't used the self-rekeying "SmartKey" feature yet, so I can't speak to its ease or use or reliability. They include a tool and instructions for doing it. For example, if I wanted to key this the same as our second place which has a Kwikset key, I could just use my new key, the tool, and the key from my other place, and in minutes the same key would work here. Nice! Very handy if you do temporary rentals; you can re-key from your rental key to your personal, private key, whenever you and family are using it yourself.

We bought a bunch of these to replace all the locks in our house. One of the reasons we chose these locks is because you can re-key them yourself and they are bump-proof (if you don't know what this means you might Google for "Lock Bumping" and then come back and buy these locks). We have been quite happy with them. We have not used the re-key feature, but it will be useful when we need to give temporary keys out.

Amazon shipped us locks with matching keys which was one of the things we were worried about ordering online (it does not matter as much for these since you can re-key them easily). They installed easily and they look pretty good.

The only thing I don't like about these locks is the knob to lock the doorknob. It feels a little "odd" when locking the door. It is not a smooth motion like our old locks. At first I thought one of the knobs was messed up but after we installed them all we realized they were all like that. It is not a major deal and I have gotten used to how it feels but it was unexpected.

I just moved into a new house and I purchased some Kwikset door locks. I purchased them because of the anti-bump technology. I wasn't aware of the SmartKey system until after the fact. I asked my contractor to install these and he ran into nothing but problems. The first lock set had a defective lock cylinder. The second lock had a stripped knob. I exchanged both of these for working locks. About a week later, I wanted another lock for my garage door. This time, I wanted Kwikset due to the Smartkey system. Again, the cylinder was defective. I will never buy another KS lock again. As other people mentioned, the instructions are the worst.

In helping someone deal with rental properties, and trying to manage expenses, one that was standing out was the cost of rekeying the locks of a triplex when tenants moved out. Since the tenants were typically students, that's 10 locks every year on one building and 8 on another. Multiply your locksmith's rate for rekeying and it's not trivial.

A friend of mine told me about these locks and as I read about how they worked, I also learned about 'lock bumping' and how virtually all pin and tumbler locks can be rendered ineffective. If you look for any articles or videos on that topic you'll see what this is.

We were forced to make a choice on these locks or a locksmith when a real estate agent's lock box (with a thin shackle) was cut from an apartment door. We needed to change the locks before the keys were taken and used to access the apartments. The cost of an 'emergency' visit from a local locksmith was high enough that I decided to try these locks. Even with the markup for the in-stock ones on the store shelves as opposed to mail order, this turned out to be a great decision. The installation was not complicated at all, so the owner replaced the existing locks instead of paying a locksmith or contractor. Once installed, changing the lock to another key can be done in seconds per lock.

We were prepared to pay a premium for a solution, but fortunately these locks are not expensive at all. They're only a few dollars more than a simple pin and tumbler lock, but offering greater security and convenience. My opinion is that for the price we paid compared to a cheap pin and tumbler lock, these are a great value, and for the flexibility they offer, I see no reason to install a pin and tumbler lock when these are available at their low price point. I'm sure that with enough thought, a number of techniques can be thought of to try to circumvent the security of the lock using it's change mechanism, but any such technique would be more complicated than bumping is on the regular lock.

This doesn't seem to be an ideal landlord/tenant system though. Master keying doesn't really work here (as far as I can tell). However, Kwikset does have a solution for that, but only in deadbolts with an option called Smart Master. If that was available for knobs and handles as well, it would be worth paying for, IMHO. We are considering removing the knob locks and going with a Smart Master setup.

There are other options for higher security locks and for quick rekeying, but the ones I've seen so far are notably more expensive. This is a very good value.

I've also read that the finish can wear quickly on these (polished brass in my case) but Kwikset seems to have a more durable finish (look for 'lifetime' in the color description), but that's a minor consideration in my case.