Schlage FE789WBCEN622LAT Encode Century WiFi Latitude Lever Smart Keyless Entry Touchscreen Door Lock, Matte Black

Solid and easy to install. Works perfectly 👌 and stylish to fit a modern home

After two failed attempts with unknown-brand smart locks, I finally landed on this Schlage model—and it was worth it. Here’s what I’ve learned through trial and error: Noise Level Matters Many deadbolt-style smart locks are loud. Some are so noisy they’ll make your pets look up in alarm. One of the cheaper locks I tried made my daughter-in-law say it sounded like a dentist’s drill. Lesson learned: noise is part of the package with many of these, so choose wisely. This Schlage makes no noise. The noise appears to be associated with the deadbolt locks, rather than the lever locks. This is a lever lock, which is by far my preferred choice. I learned the hard way. Know Your Must-Haves Make sure the lock you buy has the features you want. Don’t settle. I was really hoping for a fingerprint reader, but this particular Schlage model didn’t include it. The version that does? Nearly $600—twice the cost. For me, that was not a dealbreaker. With the two models I tried that had the fingerprint reader, any bit of moisture on my fingers would prevent the reader from working. You've got to do something with your finger; it might as well be to press four numbers gently. Build Quality & Installation Right out of the box, you can tell this is a pro-grade product. It’s heavy, solid, and feels like it will last. Installation wasn’t quite as smooth as I’d hoped, but that had more to do with my door setup than the lock itself. I had to chisel away some molding around a glass window because the lock housing was slightly wider than others I’ve installed. Schlage might consider a slimmer profile for future models. I also ran into some frustration seating the back unit. The internal wire connector kept getting in the way—it would’ve been an easy engineering fix if there were just a small space to accommodate the cable. I did have to lift a little gold bar to loosen the cable to give me a tad more to work with - that helped seat the back to the mount. After a little effort and patience, I got it mounted correctly. Connectivity & Setup Bluetooth pairing with my iPhone worked instantly. Wi-Fi was another story. I use an Eero router, which broadcasts both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz simultaneously. Some devices (like my Leviton switches) automatically pick the right band. This lock didn’t. After some online digging, I learned how to temporarily disable the 5 GHz band via the Eero app. Once I did that, the lock connected immediately. The app itself is excellent—setting access codes through it is a breeze. Compared to the old-school button-pushing rituals of code programming, this is night and day. Final Thoughts Despite a few quirks—most of which could be resolved with better design—I’m still giving this lock five stars. Compared to the flimsy, lightweight alternatives I tried earlier, this one is in a league of its own. It feels premium, performs well, includes the batteries, and doesn’t require a separate hub (as it should be—Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built in). Hopefully, Schlage will smooth out the minor issues in a future version. But for now, this is a classy lock from a classy company, and I’m glad I made the switch.

Perfect for our Air Bnb! I love this lock set! This has upped the game for our Airbnb. Not having to have a physical key anymore has given us such peace of mind. I was always afraid that someone was going to lose the key and then they would not have a way to get into the house. We are not local and so this was a great option when we were switching outdoors on our cabin. The autolock feature is great but it can be turned off so guests don’t have to worry about it locking behind them after five seconds. I also love the feature that it can be paired with Airbnb and when a new guest arrives, it programs their individual code to be used throughout the stay. The code is automatically wiped after they leave which makes it very convenient for us as owners. Living at a distance from our Airbnb can sometimes be inconvenient but this has made it a lot more convenient for us. Although, we did have to go up there to pair our phones with the lock set. But I will gladly do it again for the convenience that it has added. We love how you can lock and unlock the door from your phone so if ever a guest was locked out, we could help them from afar.

The Schlage Encode is the industry standard for Airbnbs or STRs. I have installed and used different models for quite a few years now. They’ve become the standard for a good reason—they work and are invaluable in this business. I purchased 3 of this model to install in a microresort we just purchased. I have installed a number of different models in other properties. This model was very straightforward to install. I like the operation of this one because it locks very smoothly. (Some models are extremely sensitive to having the deadbolt rub against the faceplate.) Overall, excellent choice.

I'd give this a negative 27 stars if I could. Absolute trash. And the company won't respond. I wish I would never have bought this. And Amazon is just as bad. The whole reason I use Amazon is because of ease of returns etc. But Amazon won't do a blessed thing about it because I have to contact Schlage and they won't get back to me. Trash. Avoid.