National HardwareN109-080 N109080 Smart Key Gate Lock, Black

I purchased this item and fitted it to my back gate. After installation I discovered that they key supplied with the lock did not in fact fit it, requiring me to remove the lock (and leaving a large hole in the gate) and ship it back to the US for a refund several weeks later. This just shouldn't happen.

Works well gets a little sticky in cold weather.

I was skeptical of other reviews that said the lock did not stay locked and would unlatch when “jiggled.” I was wrong. About half the time, the locking pin just does not fully engage and so it unlocks itself if jostled or disturbed. That makes it basically useless out of the box.I was able to fix the lock by replacing the spring with a stronger one purchased separately. It now works perfectly well. The overall design/mounting configuration of the lock was the only one that would work for our purposes so I’m glad I found a work around. But unless you’re willing to rehab the lock don’t buy it.The way I fixed it was to open up the lock by unscrewing the back plate, and then remove the small locking pin. (The locking pin can be made to falls out of a little window in the metal casing if you engage the pin fully; you only really need to replace the spring on one of the pins—depends on whether you’re using it in right-handed or left-handed configuration.) I then replaced the compression spring on the locking pin with a stronger/somewhat longer one that was included in a “spring assortment kit” I had previously bought elsewhere—also available on Amazon here: Everbilt Spring Assortment Kit (84-Pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FI6XHV0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_5NJ0K39WKXC02RVZ387ROnce the spring was replaced it worked great. The stronger spring makes sure that the locking pin properly seats every time. It now locks tightly and does not jiggle loose ever. The fact that the company is manufacturing and selling this with a clearly deficient spring is ridiculous. The product is defective as sold and they should take it off the market if they refuse to sell it with the appropriately-tensioned spring.

I’m a contractor, & yes, with our tools & knowledge we could make any regular deadbolt work on a gate... regular deadbolts aren’t built for full exterior use & furthermore, you wouldn’t want someone reaching over to flip the latch to unlock your gate.This unit the way it’s designed, it’d be very tough for someone trying to break in to unlock it from the interior side, it’s shielded (you’d have to have it in your hands to understand what I’m saying) to protect intruders.A great unit, just bought 2 for my own house after installing them for customers.Btw, you don’t need any fancy tools. You’ll need some drill bits, driver, & a 1.5” hole saw.Only other nice things to have would be some chisels or a router if you want to go above & beyond.

Purchase three based partly on the high review rating - bad idea. Install went well without any issues. Love the smart key idea. The lock on two out of three broke in little over a month. That's a 66% failure rate. What kind of company makes a product that fails 2/3 of the time!!! If they don't improve their product quality, they will not be in business for very long. Now I have to go through its warranty service which based on the existing reviews is not particularly great. Addendum: Amazon provided me with the manufacturer phone number. I contacted them and spoke with support technician, Hector. After some discussion, he doesn't think the locks can be fixed and need to be replaced. I was then transferred to their Amazon liason. She told me they would let me return the items within 90 days of purchase if I had purchased the items on their website. But since I purchased the items through Amazon, I need to go through Amazon. Even though I was outside the 30 days return window, Amazon did allow me to return the items for a full refund. This reinforces my conviction to continue to shop through Amazon and not through shady 3rd party websites. Thank you Amazon.