Schlage Encode Plus Review

Who the Schlage Encode Plus is for

The Encode Plus is the lock for the person who wants the sturdiest, best-built smart deadboltand, ideally, lives in Apple’s world. Its signature trick is Home Key: with a compatible iPhone or Apple Watch, you tap the lock and the door unlocks — no app, no code, no fumbling. That alone sells it to a lot of Apple households. But even if you never touch Home Key, this is the lock that feels the most like a real lock, because underneath the electronics is a Schlage ANSI Grade 1 deadbolt.

It suits a front or main door where you’ll appreciate the heavier build and the tap-to-enter convenience. If your household is on Android, you lose the Home Key headline feature and the value proposition changes — a Yale Assure Lock 2 gives you most of the smarts for less.

What it gets right

Start with the mechanicals. ANSI/BHMA Grade 1is the highest residential grade for a deadbolt, and it’s why the Encode Plus feels reassuringly heavy where cheaper smart locks feel plasticky. The smart layer sits on top of a serious lock, not in place of one.

Connectivity is the other strength: Wi-Fi and Thread are both built in, with no separate bridge. Thread is the low-power, mesh-friendly radio — paired with a border router like a hub or a HomePod mini, it keeps the lock responsive without the battery penalty of always-on Wi-Fi. And Home Key aside, it works with Alexa and Google Home too, so voice status and control are covered across ecosystems.

Where it falls short

The obvious one is price: this is the most expensive lock we cover, and you’re paying for the build and the Home Key support. If neither matters to you, the premium is hard to justify over a Yale. Second, the exterior keypad is large — handsome, but not discreet the way a Level lock hides its hardware. Third, as with every Wi-Fi lock, keeping that radio always on drains the AA batteries faster; leaning on Thread through a border router is gentler if you have one.

Setting it up and living with it

Getting the most from the Encode Plus depends a little on your home. Home Key and remote access lean on Thread, which needs a border router on your network to shine — a job an Apple HomePod minior certain hubs quietly do — while the built-in Wi-Fi covers remote control if you don’t have one. Physically, it’s a full deadbolt replacement, so budget a bit more install time than a retrofit lock, and expect a heavier, more substantial feel on the door once it’s in. Day to day you have three ways in: tap-to-unlock with an iPhone or Watch via Home Key, a code on the keypad for guests, or app control from anywhere. That redundancy is part of the appeal — if the phone’s dead, the keypad still works; if the network is down, both the keypad and a nearby phone still open it, so an outage costs you the remote features, not entry.

The running-cost reality

Good news on the recurring cost, which is the number this site cares about most: there is no subscription. Home Key, Wi-Fi, Thread, codes and remote access are all built in and free to use. Your only ongoing outlay is batteries, and Thread-plus-a-border-router is the way to make those last. So the real cost of ownership is the (high) sticker price and a few dollars of AAs a year — expensive to buy, cheap to run.

The usual hygiene applies to any connected lock: a strong, unique account password, two-factor authentication, current firmware, and guest codes treated like keys — issued narrowly and revoked promptly. CISA’s consumer guidance on securing connected devices is a good two-minute read.

The verdict

The Schlage Encode Plus is the best-built smart lock here and the one to buy if you want Apple Home Key and a deadbolt that feels genuinely solid — a real premium product rather than a gadget. If build and tap-to-unlock aren’t your priorities, the Yale Assure Lock 2 delivers most of the smart-lock experience for meaningfully less, which is exactly the trade-off we lay out in Yale vs Schlage. Either way, see the full field on our best smart locks roundup before you commit.