My smart lock just bricked itself during a firmware update last night

I was installing the new update for my Schlage Encode lock around 9 PM, and the app said it failed halfway through. Now the keypad is totally dead, and I had to use the physical key to get in this morning. Customer support told me to do a hard reset, but that just made the red error light blink. Has anyone else had a smart home gadget turn into a dumb brick like this? What did you do to fix it?

4 comments

4 Comments

emery29013d ago

Around 9:30 last night when my lock went dark, I was pretty sure firmware updates were usually safe and it was just bad luck. But @samk77, your point about power loss during the update makes a lot of sense. I checked my door battery and it was reading low, so maybe the lock just didn't have enough juice to finish. I ended up pulling the battery pack out, waiting 10 minutes, and putting it back in. That let me redo the update from scratch and it worked. If the hard reset already failed, yours might be totally dead though. Schlage replaced mine under warranty when it bricked the first time, so keep pushing them for a new unit.

zarat382mo ago

Ugh that's the worst, smart home stuff bricking itself is such a pain. My friend's Nest thermostat did the same thing after an update and never came back. Had to get a whole new unit shipped out. Honestly, I'd keep bugging Schlage support until they send you a replacement, that's a major flaw.

elliotm572mo ago

Actually, Nest thermostats usually have a physical reset button you can press with a paperclip. My buddy's got stuck in a boot loop and that fixed it. Might be worth your friend trying before they toss it.

samk772mo ago

Has anyone checked if the Nest's battery is totally dead? Sometimes if it loses power during an update, it can get stuck. Plugging it into a USB charger for a few hours can sometimes kickstart it again.