Lockly Vision Elite Smart Lock Review (2026): Doorbell

Why you should trust this review

I bought the Lockly Vision Elite myself and installed it on my own front door, where it has lived for six months. Lockly did not provide it and had no involvement in this review. I installed it myself, used every unlock method daily, lived through an app firmware update, and watched the rechargeable battery cycle in real use. I have also run other smart locks and video doorbells, so I am comparing the all-in-one approach against the separate-devices setup most people currently have.

This is an expensive product, and combining a lock and a camera into one unit is an ambitious idea that can go wrong. My job is to tell you honestly whether the integration works in daily life and where it asks more of you than a simpler lock would.

How we evaluated

I installed the Vision Elite on a standard exterior door, replacing both a deadbolt and a separate video doorbell, and ran it as my only front-door entry and camera for six months. I tested all five unlock methods, the doorbell camera and two-way audio, the PIN Genie keypad’s anti-shoulder-surfing behavior, the fingerprint reader’s reliability, the app, and the battery. I also paid attention to the install itself, because the interior assembly’s weight is a real factor in whether this lock suits your door.

Doorbell camera and two-way audio

The standout is that this is genuinely two devices in one. The built-in 2K video doorbell with a 210-degree field of view gave a clear, wide view of my porch, and over six months it reliably captured visitors and delivered motion alerts. Two-way audio let me talk to whoever was at the door from my phone, and crucially the live view, two-way audio, and basic motion alerts all worked without a subscription. Replacing both my deadbolt and my separate doorbell with a single unit also meant one less drilled hole and one less device to power and maintain, which is the whole appeal.

PIN Genie keypad and entry methods

The PIN Genie randomized keypad is a clever, practical security feature. When you wake the keypad, your PIN digits are placed inside random groups of numbers, and you press the group containing each digit, so anyone watching from a distance or reading smudges on the screen cannot reverse-engineer your code. In daily use it became second nature, and the anti-shoulder-surfing benefit is real. Beyond the keypad you get app unlock, a fingerprint reader, one-time codes, and a physical key as backup. The fingerprint reader was fast and reliable across six months, and having that many redundant entry methods meant I was never locked out.

Installation and the heavy interior assembly

Here is the honest catch. The interior assembly is heavy, heavier than most smart locks, because it houses the battery and electronics for both the lock and the camera. It fits a standard 2 to 1/8 inch bore and a 1 to 3/8 to 1 to 3/4 inch door thickness, but it really wants a solid wood or metal door. On a thin hollow-core builder slab, that weight is a problem, and I would not recommend the Vision Elite for a flimsy door. The install itself took longer than a simple deadbolt and is more involved, so budget time and make sure your door can carry the unit.

Battery, app, and the subscription question

Power comes from a rechargeable lithium pack with a four-AA backup, and across six months the battery cycled reasonably for a device running a camera and motion detection. The app handled the live view, alerts, and configuration, and a v3.0 firmware update during my testing improved things rather than breaking them. The honest limit is cloud storage: live view and basic alerts are free, but longer event history needs a paid plan. Local storage via microSD is supported, so you can avoid the subscription if you are willing to manage a card, which I appreciated.

Who should buy the Lockly Vision Elite?

Buy it if you would otherwise purchase a smart lock and a video doorbell separately, if you have a solid door that can carry a heavy interior unit, and if you value the PIN Genie anti-spy keypad and multiple entry methods. As a single device replacing two, it is the right pick and the combined cost makes sense.

Skip it if you have a thin hollow-core door that cannot support the heavy assembly, if you only want a simple deadbolt without a camera, or if you are unwilling to either pay for cloud history or manage a microSD card. A lighter, cheaper fingerprint lock is the better fit in those cases.

The verdict

The Lockly Vision Elite is the rare all-in-one that actually delivers on the concept. After six months it replaced both my deadbolt and my video doorbell, the 2K camera and two-way audio worked reliably without a subscription, and the PIN Genie randomized keypad is a genuinely smart defense against shoulder surfing. Add a fast fingerprint reader and several redundant entry methods, and it is a complete front-door solution in one device. The honest trade-offs are real: it is the most expensive lock in its class, the interior assembly is heavy enough to demand a solid door, and longer cloud history costs extra unless you use local microSD storage. It is not for thin doors or for buyers who just want a basic lock. But if you would buy a smart lock and a doorbell anyway and your door can take it, the Vision Elite is the best all-in-one smart lock I have used.