After a back and forth about the company’s plans to support Apple’s Home Key feature, smart home accessory maker Level officially released its new Level Lock+ last month. While the new smart lock does indeed support Home Key, it turns out that the physical design of the lock actually does a pretty bad job at keeping your door locked…
A video posted on YouTube by the popular channel LockPickingLawyer shows that Level Lock+ is far from secure. In the video, you can see multiple different ways the Level Lock+ can be easily compromised. The LockPickingLawker says that these are “low-skill attacks” to which a $329 lock should not be vulnerable.
I have to admit this design concept is really clean. I love the way all the electronics are hidden away. That said, first and foremost, this is a lock. And a really expensive one at that. The failure to mitigate the vulnerability to these low-skill attacks is really disappointing. At a minimum, they could have thrown some security pins inside, but they didn’t even do that.
I suppose one redeeming quality is the use of a standard key and knob cylinder, so you can swap in something a little more robust. But, at the $329 price point, that shouldn’t be necessary.
The rollout of the Level Lock+ has been confusing from the start. Originally, a representative from Level said that the company had no plans to support Apple’s Home Key feature. Home Key integration lets smart lock manufacturers integrate their lock into the Wallet app so users can open doors just by tapping their iPhone or Apple Watch against the lock. With Home Key, people can also easily share their keys with other iPhone users.
Shortly after that initial statement from Level Home, however, the company released the Level Lock+ with Home Key support. It’s sold exclusively through Apple Stores and retails for $329. It’s similar to previous smart locks from the company in terms of its design, making Home Key support the standout feature.
Check out the full video from LockPickingLawyer below to see the vulnerabilities in action. Does this affect your decision to buy a Level Lock+? Let us know down in the comments.
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