REASONS TO BUY
High security rating
Convenience of a keypad
REASONS TO AVOID
Cannot easily grant time-limited access
Smart hub not included
Schlage Z-Wave Connect Camelot Review
A high security rating only slightly makes up for limitations in remote access sharing
RELATED: Best Smart Locks of 2023
Our Verdict
Designed for use with Z-Wave smart hubs, the Schlage Z-Wave Connect Camelot is geared towards people who have already adopted a Z-Wave platform for their smart home setup. If you're mainly looking for a decent smart lock that lets you quickly and easily share access to your home with others, we think it's worth spending the extra money on the Sense. But if you already have a Z-Wave hub and just want a smart lock that lets you check its status remotely and get into your house without a key, the Schlage Camelot will fit the bill and save you a little money.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Schlage Z-Wave Connect Camelot | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  |  | ||
| Price | $275 List $269.95 at Amazon | $230 List $199.00 at Amazon | $269 List $269.00 at Amazon | $124 List $129.98 at Amazon | $260 List $259.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | High security rating, convenience of a keypad | Integrates with your current door lock, convenient geofencing capability | Bluetooth key and keypad entry, WiFi built-in, broad smart home compatability | Installs on your current lock, comes with hub, more affordable | Simple keycode access sharing, easy keyless entry, connects to wifi, compatible with most smart hubs |
| Cons | Cannot easily grant time-limited access, smart hub not included | Hub not included | Bulky battery compartment, no geofencing, expensive | Unimpressive ANSI grade, limited hub compatibility | Lower ANSI security rating than other models, harder to install |
| Bottom Line | A high security rating only slightly makes up for limitations in remote access sharing | A conveniently installed smart lock with great connectivity, excellent security and usability, and is compatible with most smart home systems | Reliable and simple smart features make this a great addition to any front door and one of our favorite locking systems | An inexpensive yet effective smart lock that integrates easily to the Wyze smart home ecosystem | One of the best solutions we've found for sharing and carefully controlling access to your home |
| Rating Categories | Schlage Z-Wave Conn... | August WiFi Smart | Schlage Encode | Wyze Lock | Schlage Sense with... |
| Smart Features (35%) | |||||
| Keyless Entry (25%) | |||||
| Security (25%) | |||||
| Installation (15%) | |||||
| Specs | Schlage Z-Wave Conn... | August WiFi Smart | Schlage Encode | Wyze Lock | Schlage Sense with... |
| Apple HomeKit | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Amazon Alexa | With Hub | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Assistant | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Smartphone Compatible | With Hub | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Z-Wave | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Zigbee | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| ANSI Rating | Grade 1 | Grade 1 | Grade 1 | Grade 3 | Grade 3 |
| Uses Existing Deadbolt or Full Replacement | Replacement | Existing | Replacement | Existing | Replacement |
| Deadbolt Included | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Backset | 2 3/8" or 2 3/4" | 2 3/8" or 2 3/4" | 2 3/8" or 2 3/4" | 2 3/8 or 2 3/4 | 2 3/8" or 2 3/4" |
| Door Thickness Range | 1 3/8" - 2 1/4" | 1 3/8" - 2 1/4" | 1 3/8" - 1 3/4" | 1 3/8" - 1 3/4" | 1 3/8" - 2 1/4" |
| Face Bore Hole Diameter | 1 1/2" or 2 1/8" | 1 1/2" or 2 1/8" | 2 1/8" | 2 1/8" | 2 1/8" |
| Power Requirement | AA Batteries | Pre-installed batteries | AA Batteries | AA Batteries Hub plugs into the wall |
AA Batteries Hub plugs into the wall |
Show full specification detailsHide full specification details
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Schlage Z-Wave Camelot is a full replacement smart lock that completely takes the place of your existing deadbolt. It's compatible with Amazon Alexa and other Z-Wave hubs.
Performance Comparison
The Schlage Camelot earns a high ANSI Grade but lacks a lot of the remote access features we want in a smart lock.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Smart Features
The Schlage Z-Wave Camelot is one of many smart locks we tested that does not come bundled with a smart hub. As its name suggests, this lock is optimized to work with Z-Wave enabled smart hubs, and in our testing, we used the Wink 2 Hub. This lets you access smart features and even use the lock with Alexa. However, we found these smart features to be somewhat limited. You can do all the basic things like checking the status of the lock and unlocking/locking it remotely as well as view an activity log of what the lock has done. Beyond that, this lock feels more like a dumb keypad lock than a smart one. You can make keypad codes to share with specific people, but from the app you can only share those codes via email, not via text. Also, you can't put time constraints on those codes, so you're essentially providing 24/7 access until you remember to delete that code. In our opinion, this doesn't feel much better than just texting someone the code to a dumb keypad lock.
The Schlage Camelot's keypad is its best 'smart' feature.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Keyless Entry
When it comes to keyless entry, we almost always prefer keypad locks. Punching in a code feels more convenient to use than having to take out a phone and open an app. This greatly endeared the Schlage Camelot to us when it came to keyless entry. Unlocking via the app was also smooth, so if you prefer to go that route, we found the Camelot to be completely reliable.
In our opinion, the best smart lock feature is a keypad, like those on all of the Schlage models we tested.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Security
This is the only area where the Schlage Camelot performed very well in our testing. In fact, the Camelot is one of the most secure locks we tested, boasting a commercial level ANSI Grade 1 security rating. This means it can stand up to lots of use, abuse, and multiple attempts to kick the door in. It also has an auto-lock feature that engages the deadbolt after 30 seconds of inactivity. We found this feature to be reliable.
The Camelot carries a commercial grade security rating.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Installation
The Schlage Camelot generally fits into standard doors, but it has fewer tolerances than some of the other locks we tested. That means it's likely you can install the Camelot into the vacated hole left by your old deadbolt without any modifications, but there's a slightly higher chance you might need to do a little extra DIYing than there is with some other models. The installation itself is also a bit more involved than with other locks. It took us 20 minutes to install the Camelot, while the average install time for our locks was around 15 minutes. Setting up the app and smart hub was fairly straightforward. In general, we wouldn't let the installation process of the Camelot dissuade you unless you tend to shy away from home DIY projects.
We found the Schlage Camelot to be relatively harder, but still not difficult to install.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Should You Buy the Schlage Z-Wave Connect Camelot?
The Schlage Z-Wave Camelot lists for less than many of the others but requires a smart hub to be able to use its smart features, adding to its overall cost. That means that getting it up and running is not any less expensive than many of the smart locks we tested that we think have far more usable features. However, if you want a lock with the highest security rating and are willing to sacrifice some smart access-sharing ability to get it, the Camelot may be a decent value.
What Other Smart Locks Should You Consider?
The Schlage Z-Wave Camelot offers a top-notch security rating but falls short when it comes to remote access sharing. If you want all the smart features you can handle, check out the Schlage Sense instead. But if you already have a compatible smart hub and want a high-security but simple top-tier smart lock that provides you with an activity log, this may be a good choice.
—
Max Mutter and Steven Tata
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