Blog · Living with it

What happens when the batteries die

This is the first question almost everyone asks, and it deserves a straight answer rather than reassurance. The short version: change them on a schedule rather than waiting, and keep the mechanical key somewhere you can reach. The longer version is worth two minutes, because the way people actually get locked out is not the way they expect.

Ordinary batteries, and how long they last

There is nothing exotic in these locks. The KS150, KS250 and KS280 take four AA cells. The KS300, the narrow one, takes four AAA. For the KS200, check the cells already inside it before you go shopping. You buy them at the supermarket.

The figure we publish for a set is 8,000 to 10,000 unlocks, about 8 to 12 months, on the KS250, KS280 and KS300, and 8,000 unlocks, about 8 to 12 months, on the KS150. We have not published a figure for the KS200.

Where your door lands in that range depends mostly on how many times a day it is used, and a little on how cold it gets. A front door in a busy family house works far harder than a rarely used side door, so it lands at the short end.

Change them early

The simplest approach is to change them on a schedule. Put a reminder in your phone at the short end of that range, and change them again before you go away for a long stretch.

If something the lock always did stops working reliably, treat the batteries as the first suspect rather than assuming the lock is broken. Fresh batteries fix a surprising number of problems.

The mechanical key

The KS150, KS200, KS250, KS280 and KS300 all take a mechanical key. The key hole is easy to miss, which is why people sometimes look for it and do not see it. On the KS150 it is hidden behind the lower front cover of the outside unit. On the KS200 and KS280 it is on the bottom edge of the outside panel. On the KS250 and KS300 the position is not published, so ask us.

The key is the real backstop, and it only works if you can reach it. A spare key in a kitchen drawer inside the locked house is not a spare key. Somewhere sensible is a neighbour, a car, a wallet, or a key safe fixed outside.

The USB port, and what it is not

The KS150, KS200 and KS280 carry a USB emergency power port. On the KS150 it sits behind the lower front cover, beside the key hole. On the KS200 and KS280 it is on the bottom edge of the outside panel. If the cells are completely flat, a phone power bank on that port powers the lock so your code works.

Two things worth being precise about, because they are commonly got wrong. The port does not open the lock by itself: it powers the lock so that your normal code or key works. And it does not charge the batteries. Once you are inside, replace them. The KS250 and KS300 are not published with that port, so on those the mechanical key is the backup.

How people get locked out

In practice, flat batteries are rarely the cause. These are:

• The installer never released the lock. If whoever fitted it added the lock to their own app account and did not delete it before leaving, the owner cannot add it at all. The fix is a factory reset, which wipes every code and every card. Our guides now carry this warning in bold, because it is the single most common way a new lock goes wrong.
• The house sold and nobody transferred the lock. The previous owner's app account still holds administrator access. Transfer or reset the lock in the app before handover. It is the account that hands the lock over, not the keys.
• The factory code still works. Out of the box the keypad accepts a factory code, and that code is printed in the manual for anyone to read. The factory code is 123456 in the KS150 and KS300 manuals. Adding the lock to the app switches it off. Key it in after setup: it must be refused. If the door opens, setup did not finish.
• Nobody knows where the mechanical key is. Fix that today rather than at eleven at night in the rain.

Changing them

Change all the cells at once, and do it with the door open. Mixing fresh cells with tired ones gives you a lock that behaves oddly rather than one that clearly needs attention. Doing it with the door open means a surprise costs you nothing.