August Smart Keypad: Is the Touchscreen Worth It?

What the August Smart Keypad Actually Does

The August Smart Keypad is a $79 add-on that gives any August Smart Lock a physical touchscreen for PIN entry. It pairs over Bluetooth directly to the lock, no hub, no Wi-Fi needed at the keypad itself. Guests punch in their code and the door unlocks. That's the core use case, and it works reliably.

It's not a standalone product. You need an August Smart Lock already installed. If you've got one and you're tired of handing out physical keys or explaining the app to every houseguest, this keypad fixes that problem cleanly.

Hardware and Build Quality

The keypad is compact: a vertical touchscreen panel about the size of a TV remote, with a backlit capacitive display. The IPX4 weatherproof rating means rain splash won't kill it, which is enough for a covered porch or recessed entryway. Direct rain exposure over time is a different story, keep it somewhere sheltered.

Battery life is rated at 12 months on a standard set of 4 AAA batteries. Real-world use puts that closer to 9-12 months depending on how often people use it. The August app sends a low-battery alert well before things go critical.

The touchscreen itself is responsive. You won't find yourself pressing digits twice or waiting for the display to wake up. The backlight kicks in automatically when you touch the screen, which matters at night.

Setup and Pairing

Setup takes about 5 minutes. Open the August app, navigate to your lock's settings, and add the keypad as an accessory. The app walks you through Bluetooth pairing with a step-by-step flow. No tools required. It mounts with included adhesive tape or two screws if you want something more permanent.

One thing worth knowing: the keypad must stay within reliable Bluetooth range of the lock, typically 30 feet or less through walls. If your exterior wall is thick concrete or there's significant interference, test the range before committing to a mounting spot.

Code management runs entirely through the August app. You can create codes for each person, set them to a recurring schedule (weekday mornings for a cleaning crew, for example), or make them one-time use. The August app also logs every keypad entry with a timestamp, so you've got a full access history.

Integration With Smart Home Platforms

The keypad doesn't have its own Wi-Fi chip. All smart home connectivity goes through the paired August lock. If your lock has built-in Wi-Fi (August Smart Lock Pro), you get remote access and app notifications as part of that package. If you're using an older August lock with the Connect bridge, the same applies.

Home Assistant users can pull in lock status and basic control via the August integration. Don't expect deep keypad management inside HA. Setting up or editing codes still needs the August app. That's a real limitation if you're trying to keep everything inside Home Assistant.

Alexa and Google Home can control the paired lock by voice, but there's no voice-to-keypad flow. Voice control is for the lock itself, not for managing which codes are active.

Pros and Cons

What works well:

• PIN-only entry means guests don't need phones or apps
• 100+ codes with scheduling gives genuine flexibility
• IPX4 rating handles most real-world outdoor placements
• 12-month battery life keeps maintenance minimal
• Pairs quickly and reliably with August locks

Where it falls short:

• August-ecosystem only, no cross-brand compatibility
• Code management requires the August app; Home Assistant support is indirect
• No fingerprint or RFID, PIN is the only entry method
• Bluetooth-only pairing means placement is constrained by lock proximity

Who Should Buy This

The August Smart Keypad makes sense if you already own an August Smart Lock and regularly deal with guests, cleaners, contractors, or family members who don't have the app. At $79, it's a straightforward add-on that removes the "I'll just give them a key" workaround.

If you don't already have an August lock, it's worth evaluating the full ecosystem before committing. Competing deadbolt locks from Schlage Encode Plus include a built-in keypad in their price, which might be a better value depending on your starting point.

For Home Assistant-heavy households, the indirect integration is a real caveat. It works, but it's not elegant. If deep HA control over codes is important to you, look at locks with native local API support first.

Summary

The August Smart Keypad does exactly what it promises: adds reliable touchscreen PIN entry to an existing August lock. The IPX4 rating, 12-month battery life, and 100-code capacity cover most residential use cases. It's clean hardware with a straightforward setup. The limitations, August-only compatibility, no fingerprint option, app-dependent code management. Are real but predictable for an ecosystem accessory. If you're already in the August ecosystem, it's a useful $79 upgrade.

One practical detail worth noting before installation: if your door has thick or metal-core construction, test Bluetooth range carefully before choosing a final mounting position. The 30-foot Bluetooth range rating assumes average residential walls. Heavy doors with metal reinforcement or foam insulation can reduce effective range significantly, sometimes to the point where the keypad and lock lose sync mid-entry. A few minutes of testing during the return window saves a remount later. Most covered porch installations work without issue, but the specific construction of your entryway matters more than the nominal spec sheet number. If range is borderline, mounting the keypad slightly higher on the doorframe, closer to where the lock sits inside, often improves the Bluetooth signal path enough to make the connection reliable.