3 ways a Schlage smart lock makes your vacation easier.

It’s time to pack your bags, hit the road and let loose for a bit. You’re going to need a new swimsuit, some snacks for your road trip and a new book to download. As you prep for time away, keep these three Schlage smart lock tips top of mind to make being away from home easier and more secure.

1. Use your smart lock to let trusted friends and family in with unique access codes

“I thought locks were meant to keep people out?” That’s true. But they’re equally important for letting the right people in. When you’re on vacation, a Schlage smart lock makes it easy to grant access to the trusted individuals who are going to keep your home and belongings safe and your pets happy and healthy.

Creating unique access codes for house sitters or those coming to take care of pets and plants is quick and simple in the Schlage Home app. Navigate to your lock’s “Manage Access” settings and look for the “+” button at the top right of your screen to add a new access code. From there, name your access code so you can easily know who is coming and going, for example “cat sitter.” Then, type in a 4-8 digit access code for your guest to use on the lock’s keypad. You can also choose to be notified when the code is used, so you can quickly see that your fur baby is being cared for on schedule and everything is safe and secure when the pet sitter leaves.

For an extra layer of control, you can select guest access codes to be always, recurring, or temporary. So for your cat sitter, select the date and time range when you need them to have access with a temporary code, and you won’t have to remember to go in later to delete their code – you can set it to automatically time out. Granting house, plant and pet sitters with their own smart lock access code gives you more control and the ability to remotely manage your home entrance security. You don’t have to keep track of physical keys, and it is easier to have peace of mind that your home is secure while you are away.

Maybe you don’t need someone to check up on things while you’re away—you decided to kennel the dog and you don’t own plants. Still, you need to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances. Maybe you can’t remember if you turned off an appliance and your friend offered to swing by and check, or maybe you’re getting texts from neighbors about possible storm damage – will you be able to let them in? With a smart lock, the answer is yes. Whatever need may arise, your Schlage smart lock helps you be prepared. Within the Schlage Home app, you can lock/unlock remotely with just a tap of a button – crisis handled, and you are back to vacation mode.

Here’s one more scenario. That package you ordered before you left town? It finally came, but now it’s sitting unattended by your door. The meal subscription you forgot to put on hold? The food has been delivered and is getting funky on your porch. Instead of leaving these deliveries for porch pirates to swipe or raccoons to scavenge, you can ask your neighbor to take them inside. It’s the same as above – give them a code or unlock/lock the door remotely – either way, you have the convenience to manage your home access remotely.

2. Relax with smart lock activity notifications from the Schlage Home app

When you go on vacation, you want to disconnect from everyday life and relax. Constantly watching your home security can make it difficult to take the mental break you need. With a smart lock and compatible apps and devices, you can do just that.

At the most basic level, you can choose to receive notifications on your phone when certain events happen at your door. For example, if you have the Schlage Encode Plus™ Smart WiFi Deadbolt, Schlage Encode™ Smart WiFi Deadbolt, Schlage Encode™ Smart WiFi Lever, or Schlage Arrive™ Smart WiFi Deadbolt, you can customize your settings in the Schlage Home app. In addition to guest access code notifications described above, you can select to be notified any time your door is locked/unlocked. Schlage Encode family smart locks include a built-in alarm; when it is turned on, you will receive a push notification from the app if door movement is detected. There’s no need to continuously watch a camera feed or scroll through an activity log. The information you need to know can be put directly in the palm of your hand.

If you’re looking for something a bit more sophisticated, you can pair your smart lock with other compatible security devices. The Schlage Encode™ family and Schlage Arrive™ locks work with Ring Video Doorbell. Did you receive a notification that someone was at the door? You can actually see who’s there, talk to them and, if you want, unlock the door for them. This can be nice for when that neighbor stops by with an unexpected delivery.

When you trust your home to Schlage, you need to be able to trust it all the time, whether you’re in the living room, at the grocery store or halfway around the world. Because Schlage smart locks are battery operated, there’s no risk of the deadbolt not working simply because the power went out. It’s always a good idea to check your lock’s battery life in the Schlage Home app before going out of town and replace batteries if needed. Then, you have confidence that it will continue to do its job – keeping intruders out and letting dog sitters in – even if an unexpected storm causes a blackout.

3. Have a great time

Some people like to wing it on vacation, not booking hotels or ignoring the itinerary (if they even made one). There’s a certain amount of freedom and adventure that comes from not sticking to a schedule. When it comes to home security, though, planning is all-important. Choose the smart lock settings that are going to help protect your home the best.

• When creating access codes for someone watching the house, pets and plants, consider setting them on a schedule. If you know you’ll be super busy with last-minute to-dos before you leave on Friday, create the code and send it to them earlier in the week, but schedule it to remain inactive until they need it. You can also set the code to expire when you get home on Wednesday, no need to remember to manually deactivate it.
• While you’re in the app creating codes, review your settings. Are there notifications you want to turn on while you’re away?
• Enable vacation mode. With the Schlage Connect® Smart Deadbolt or our Keypad Deadbolt, you can turn on vacation mode when you leave to temporarily deactivate all codes. In this mode, even when a correct code is entered at the touchscreen or keypad, the door will not unlock. When you return, you can disable vacation mode by entering your six-digit programming code. Some homeowners appreciate this feature when they know no one should be entering the house while they’re gone. They can pause the codes without having to re-create them from scratch when they come back. It’s just another quick and convenient way to manage your home’s security. Use this video tutorial to help put your Schlage Connect lock in vacation mode.

With a Schlage smart lock, you have additional peace of mind when you go out of town. So go ahead, book that vacation knowing you can trust your home to Schlage.

Not already a Schlage smart lock user? Use our Get Help Deciding Tool to find the Schlage smart lock perfect for you and your home.