You walk up and the door opens. No code, no card, no reaching for a phone with your hands full. Face recognition is the closest a lock gets to not being there at all — and it sits at the top of our smart lock range for that reason.
Why 3D matters
A flat camera compares an image. A 3D sensor reads depth, which is what stops a photograph of your face from opening your front door. The lock in this collection reads in three dimensions.
Treat it as very good rather than infallible. Heavy rain, harsh backlight and a full face covering will all send you to the fingerprint reader — which is why the lock keeps a code, a card and a mechanical key as backup. Every face-unlock lock on the market has the same limits.
The measurement that catches people out
The backset here is 60 mm, the standard on a hinged timber door, so that part is usually fine. The one that rules this lock in or out is thickness: it starts at 40 mm, and a great many entry doors are 35 mm.
| Your door | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 60 mm backset, 40–90 mm thick | Fits. Confirm it sits under an eave or a porch. |
| 60 mm backset, 35 mm thick | Too thin. A lever handle lock goes down to 35 mm. |
| 45 or 50 mm backset | Wrong backset. Email us before ordering. |
Measure the door edge first, not the backset. The sizing guide shows both, and the calculator on the product page asks you for them in order.
The intercom is the underrated part
A camera tells you who is there. An intercom lets you deal with them — talk to a courier, redirect a delivery, tell a stranger you are not interested — without opening the door or being home. If you want the camera without the face sensing and the higher price, the camera lock collection has a Wi-Fi model at $539.99.
No published weather rating. A facial sensor, a screen and a camera are not things you want taking direct rain. Fit it under an eave, a porch or a roof. If your entry is exposed, the IP66 push/pull range is the weather-rated alternative on a hinged door, and the gate lock covers anything fully outside.
Is it worth the money?
You are paying for facial recognition, a screen, a camera and a two-way intercom together. If you want a lock that simply opens reliably and nothing more, a lever handle lock does that for a third of the price and we will happily point you there instead.
The manufacturer publishes no certification for this model — unusual at this price, and worth knowing if you need documentation for a strata building, an insurer or a commercial fit-out. The FAQ explains what we can and cannot supply.
How face unlock behaves in practice
The appeal is that you do nothing. You walk up, the door opens, and your hands stay where they are. In good conditions it reads in about a second and it is the closest a lock gets to disappearing.
In poor conditions it hands you back to the fingerprint reader. Direct low sun behind you, heavy rain on the sensor, a full face covering — all of these reduce it. That is true of every 3D face lock sold, and it is why this one keeps a code, a card and a mechanical key. Judge it as an excellent primary method with three fallbacks, not as a single point of entry.
Where this sits against the rest of the range
It is the most expensive lock we sell by a wide margin, and the honest framing is that you are buying four things at once: facial recognition, a screen, a camera and a two-way intercom. If you want two of the four, the camera lock gives you the camera and remote access for $355 less. If you want none of them and simply want the door to open reliably, a lever handle lock does that for a third of the price.
Our buying guide works through that trade-off in the context of all five types, which is the fairest way to decide whether the flagship is the right call for your door.