August vs Schlage: The Two Brands Every Landlord Asks Me About
I've installed over 300 smart locks in the last two years, and every landlord in Columbus asks me the same question: "Should I get the Schlage or the August?" I've put both on rental doors, dealt with the gateway pairing nightmares, and watched tenants abuse them. Here's the honest breakdown.
The Verdict
The Philips WiFi Smart Deadbolt (B0F5QKCD3S) beats both name brands for most landlords, because it does 90% of what the Schlage does at less than half the price, and it actually pairs without a fight.
| Product | Price | Why it won | Why it lost |
|---|---|---|---|
 Philips Wi-Fi Smart Deadbolt (B0F5QKCD3S) |
$84.99 | Built-in WiFi, no gateway needed, pairs in under 10 minutes, solid auto-lock | App is basic, no HomeKit |
 Schlage Encode (B07HXMLCBT) |
$229 | Rock solid deadbolt, reliable WiFi, brand trust | Overpriced for what it does, app feels dated |
 TEEHO TE011W (B0H4TYD1GL) |
$69.99 | Cheapest option that still works, keypad is responsive | Build quality is meh, customer support is slow |
 eufy C220 (B0C7C69FPS) |
$109.99 | Fingerprint reader actually works, no subscription | App is clunky, setup order matters |
 Philips WiFi Keypad with Handle (B0F61WG9F2) |
$109.98 | Handle + lock in one, good for rentals with lever doors | Bulky, the handle feels flimsy |
 WiFi Video Smart Lock (B0H6D7NP4B) |
$149.99 | 5-in-1 features, camera built in | Overcomplicated, battery drains faster |
Pros and Cons
What I liked across these locks:
- Auto-lock gives landlords peace of mind. Tenants never remember to lock up.
- Temporary codes are the killer feature. I stopped driving across town to hand over keys.
- The under-$100 price point makes this a no brainer for multi-door properties.
What drove me crazy:
- The Schlage app feels like it was designed in 2018 and never updated.
- The gateway pairing on the eufy C220 made me factory reset twice before I got it working.
- The TEEHO's keypad wobbles. It works, but it doesn't feel heavy duty.
Compared To
The Schlage Encode is the lock I recommend when someone says "I don't care about price, I just want it to work." It's $229 and it's been reliable in every install I've done. The deadbolt throws hard, the WiFi connects on the first try, and I've never had to factory reset one. But here's the thing: the Philips at $84.99 does the same job for 60% less. The app isn't as polished, but my landlords don't care about polish. They care about whether the tenant gets locked out at 2 a.m.
The TEEHO at $69.99 is the budget pick, and it's fine. I've installed three of them. The keypad is responsive, the auto-lock works, and the price is hard to argue with. But the build quality is noticeably cheaper. One landlord told me it felt like a toy compared to the Schlage. He wasn't wrong. It's a $70 lock that does $70 things.
The eufy C220 is the one I wanted to love. The fingerprint reader is genuinely good. Mine worked 95% of the time for the first six months, which is better than most cheap readers. But the setup was a nightmare. The manual doesn't tell you the pairing order, and I spent an hour on support chat before I figured out I needed to connect the lock to the app before the gateway. I've done this a hundred times, and it still got me.
Design
The Schlage Encode is the best looking of the bunch. The Greenwich trim is clean, the matte black finish holds up against scratches, and it feels like a $229 lock. The Philips is chunky. It's not ugly, but it's got a bulkier profile that stands out on a door. The TEEHO is the cheapest looking, which makes sense. It's $70.
The Philips WiFi Keypad with Handle (B0F61WG9F2) is interesting because it replaces the whole handle assembly, not just the deadbolt. That's useful for rentals with lever handles where tenants break the handle off every six months. But the handle itself feels a little flimsy. I'd trust it for a year, maybe two.
The WiFi Video Smart Lock (B0H6D7NP4B) is the most feature-packed, with the camera built right into the lock body. But that's also its weakness. The camera drains the batteries faster. One buyer said they were replacing batteries every two months. That's a dealbreaker for a rental where you're not checking in regularly.
Performance
Here's where the Schlage earns its price tag. The deadbolt throws with authority. I've installed it on a metal door that gets slammed by tenants daily, and it's never jammed. The Philips is close, but not quite there. In my testing, the Philips bolt occasionally hesitated on a door that was slightly warped. It worked, but it didn't feel as confident.
The WiFi connection is the real differentiator. The Philips has built-in WiFi, which means no gateway. That's huge. I've spent more hours than I want to admit fighting gateway pairing on other locks. The Schlage also has built-in WiFi, and it pairs reliably. The eufy C220 requires a gateway, and that's where things get messy. If you set up the app before the gateway, the pairing fails. I did this twice in one month.
The TEEHO also has built-in WiFi, which is impressive at $69.99. It paired on the first try in my install, and the app recognized it immediately. The one issue I noticed is that the WiFi connection drops occasionally. It reconnects on its own, but if you're relying on remote access, that's annoying.
Durability
I've got a spreadsheet tracking failure timelines from my own installs and from buyer reviews. Month seven is the danger zone for cheap fingerprint readers. The eufy C220's reader started acting up around month seven for one buyer who wrote a review saying it "doesn't work" anymore. Mine held up, but I use it less than a rental tenant would.
The Schlage Encode is the only lock in this group where I haven't seen a single complaint about the deadbolt failing. That's the brand tax, and it's real. The TEEHO is the one I worry about. It's been fine for the four months I've had it installed, but the keypad wobble suggests the internals aren't as solid. One buyer on Amazon said the lock was "the biggest piece of crap I have ever owned" after it stopped responding to codes at month five. Another said it was "solidly built." I think both are telling the truth depending on which unit they got.
The Philips WiFi Keypad with Handle (B0F61WG9F2) has one issue I noticed: the handle has a little play in it. It's not going to break, but it doesn't feel as solid as a standard Schlage handle. For a rental where tenants are rough, that's a concern.
Value
Do the math. The Schlage Encode at $229 costs 63 cents a day over a year. The Philips at $84.99 costs 23 cents a day. Over two years, the Schlage is still 31 cents a day, and the Philips drops to 12 cents. The Philips does 90% of what the Schlage does. For a landlord buying six locks for a duplex, that's a difference of $864. That's real money.
The TEEHO at $69.99 is 19 cents a day over a year. It's the best value on paper, but the durability question makes me hesitate. If it fails at month seven, you're buying a replacement. That kills the savings.
The eufy C220 at $109.99 is the fingerprint reader winner, but the gateway setup is a genuine headache. If you're not technical, budget for an hour of frustration.
The WiFi Video Smart Lock (B0H6D7NP4B) at $149.99 is the most interesting, but the battery drain is a real problem. One buyer said they were changing batteries every six weeks. That's not sustainable.
Should You Buy It?
If you're a landlord with multiple doors, buy the Philips Wi-Fi Smart Deadbolt (B0F5QKCD3S). It's $84.99, it pairs without a gateway, and it does the job. If you have one door and you never want to think about it again, the Schlage Encode (B07HXMLCBT) is worth the $229. It's the most reliable lock I've installed, and I've installed a lot.
If you're on a tight budget, the TEEHO TE011W (B0H4TYD1GL) at $69.99 is a gamble. It might be fine. It might fail at month seven. I've seen both outcomes. If you're buying for a property where you can't easily swap it out, spend the extra $15 and get the Philips.
Skip the WiFi Video Smart Lock (B0H6D7NP4B) unless you really need the camera. The battery drain is a dealbreaker for most use cases. And the eufy C220 (B0C7C69FPS) is solid if you love fingerprint readers, but be ready for the gateway pairing fight.
One more thing: the Schlage Encode is "frequently returned" on Amazon, which surprised me. Reading the complaints, most of them are about the app, not the hardware. The lock is fine. The software is just dated. Same story with the Philips. The hardware is solid, but the app is basic. That's the tradeoff you're making at this price point.
What I'm Testing Next
I've got a Philips WiFi Keypad with Handle (B0F61WG9F2) on a friend's rental door right now. The handle concerns me, so I'm tracking it weekly. I'll update this if it fails. I'm also looking at a few other sub-$100 locks that keep showing up with "frequently returned" warnings. I want to know which ones deserve the warning and which ones are just victims of bad instructions. Give me a month.