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- Easy to fit
- Reasonably priced
- No need for a proprietary hub
- Chunky design makes installation on some doors tricky
- You may need to upgrade your lock cylinder to dual entry
Devices like the Aqara Smart Lock U200 Lite haven’t quite taken off in the UK in the way that video doorbells and connected security cameras have, and it’s easy to see why. They have, historically, been one of the more expensive smart home devices, and since many require quite involved installation, it’s easy to be put off.
This lock, however, addresses both of those concerns. First, it’s reasonably priced, and second, as long as your existing lock is compatible, it’s comparably easy to fit, requiring almost no DIY expertise.
What do you get for your money?
The U200 Lite costs £128, and it comes with all the hardware you need to fit it. In the box is the lock itself, a set of 3M adhesive pads, plus screws, wall plugs and several plastic barrel adapters for thumb-operated deadlocks. There’s also a sticky NFC tag you can use to unlock the door with a tap of your smartphone.
It’s designed to fit over the top of an existing lock on the inside of your door and is compatible with Euro, UK oval and Scandi profile cylinders, but not traditional British five-lever mortice locks.
To fit it, you simply attach the mounting plate to your door over the top of the lock, pop the key in your lock and secure the U200 Lite over the top of that – the key fits neatly into a slot at the top of the U200 Lite, which in turn is rotated by a motor to lock or unlock your door. If your lock is operated by a thumbturn, you’ll need to remove that first and fit one of the plastic barrel adapters supplied in the box.
Aside from this, all you need to do to set up the lock is scan a QR code (under the faceplate) and run through the calibration process so it starts and stops in the right place and doesn’t leave part of the bolt protruding from the door.
It isn’t the cheapest retrofit smart lock around. Its main rival, the Switch Bot Smart Lock Pro, is around £80, but that requires the addition of a proprietary hub to connect it to a smart home system, bringing the price to around £111 currently – still cheaper, but not by an awful lot.
With the U200 Lite, you can connect it directly to an existing third-party Matter device like the Amazon Echo (4th gen) or the HomePod mini without the need to add extra hardware.
What did we like about it?
The U200 Lite is certainly easy to fit. You don’t even have to screw the base plate in place, the adhesive pads provided in the box are strong enough to hold it solidly in place and there are various thicknesses to choose from so you can give the lock a stable base on your door. I’d still advise finding some way of screwing the adapter plate in place, however, as the unit does move around a bit when the motor twists the key.
Its big strength, however, is that it supports Matter over Thread (in addition to Bluetooth), which means you can link it into any of the major smart home platforms that support Matter – Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Home or Home Assistant. That, in turn, allows you to control the lock remotely from anywhere in the world, via your voice and build in all manner of automations.
As noted above, some extra hardware is needed to make this possible: a compatible Matter Controller and Thread Border router to connect the device to your existing smart home network. However, you may already own the equipment without realising it.
Recent generations of Echo speakers come with both controller and border router capabilities built in, as do Apple’s HomePod (2nd Gen), HomePod mini speakers and the Samsung SmartThings Hub v3. There’s a full list of compatible devices on the Aqara website if you want to check.
I tested it with an Apple HomePod mini and it paired up perfectly. You’ll need the lock to be in range, though – up to 10m indoors is typical for Matter over Thread devices – or it won’t be able to communicate with it reliably.
Even if you stick to only using the Aqara app and Bluetooth, you’ll find things mercifully straightforward. Once paired, all the settings and various features are accessible via a single settings screen, and it’s all quite easy to understand.
And there is an impressively broad range of settings to tweak here, too. Autolock is one of my favourites: it uses a gyroscope to sense that you’ve shut the door, then locks it automatically, either straight away or after a short delay. You can also set the U200 to lock your door after it has spent a designated period unlocked. And the sticky NFC tag in the box is a nice touch, giving you another convenient way to lock or unlock your door: just tap your phone and you’re in.
It’s great to see options for “quick”, “normal” or “silent” unlocking, too – and that you can set up a schedule for the latter, so you’re not disturbed by a housemate returning home late at night. And recharging the 2,000mAh battery is simplicity itself. All you need to do is unclip the front panel, hold down a couple of clips and pull it right out; it charges via USB-C and provides up to six months of use per top-up.
What could be improved?
My main problem with the Aqara U200 Lite doesn’t relate to any particular feature or its ease of use, but to the sheer bulk of the thing, which means it may not fit some doors.
Doors that open inward shouldn’t be a problem. However, I wanted to try mounting on the door to my garden office, which opens outwards, and found that it caught on the interior trim of the door when opening and closing. In the end, I managed to get it to fit, but I had to get busy with a chisel and some sandpaper to free up the three millimetres or so it needed to pass without catching.
The other problem I found with the size of the thing is that, if the lock is fitted close to your door handle, you may find yourself wedging your fingers painfully between the two when opening and closing it. You won’t do that too many times before subconsciously adjusting your grip, though.
And, finally, it’s worth noting that you’ll want to check if your lock has what is known as an “emergency function” dual entry cylinder – the type that can be operated from either side, even if a key is already in the opposite side. If you don’t have one of these and the lock goes wrong or you ignore the low battery warnings and it runs out of battery, you’re going to be locked out with no way to get back in.
Should you buy the Aqara Smart Lock U200 Lite?
Generally, though, the Aqara Smart Lock U200 Lite ticks a lot of boxes. It’s relatively affordable and incredibly easy to fit and set up. It works reliably, is crammed with features and supports (albeit indirectly) all the most important smart home platforms.
You will, of course, need to check that your lock is compatible – Euro, UK oval and Scandi profile cylinders are all supported – and do some measurements, too. The sheer size of the lock means it may catch on the inner trim of some outward-opening doors. Otherwise, though, this is an undeniably effective and well-thought-out device, and you should consider adding one to your quiver of smart home devices.
