Why are you switching production to Lockitron Bolt?



Weâ€™re moving all our efforts to manufacturing Lockitron Bolt for a few reasons:



Manufacturing Complexity



The first is our ability to manufacture Bolt on a consistent, reasonable timeframe. The mechanical and electronic complexity of building the crowdfunded Lockitron meant that we could only trickle out units at a slow pace.



This stemmed from a high part count (nearly 20 injection molded, die cast and stamped parts in the crowdfunded Lockitron), a complicated manual labor trade-off between electronics and mechanics, part quality issues and extensive rework on every individual unit and a design poorly suited for mass manufacture. We considered re-centralizing the production of our current unit, however this would have entailed months of adjusting tooling, training and migrating test processes which we established domestically to our factory in China.



Seasoned Manufacturing Partner



For Lockitron Bolt weâ€™re working with a new, much higher caliber manufacturing partner who has a demonstrated ability to consistently and reliably build and ship tens of thousands of high quality units per month. Their assembly and test procedures are robust, rapid, and are applied to the Lockitron bolt during production.



Ease of Installation



Weâ€™ve come to think of a partial replacement solution as a flawed approach. The crowdfunded Lockitron did not live up to the promises of ease of installation and many backers opted to entirely replace their lock instead in order to use Lockitron. Throughout 2013 and 2014 we built up an extensive lock library, finding which units Lockitron would consistently work with. However, we werenâ€™t able to source a number of locks which were popular within the last 5-10 years but no longer on the market. When we shipped Lockitron in volume, a small number of customers couldnâ€™t install Lockitron easily on these deadbolts.



For many of our customers, installation wasnâ€™t a problem. But for other customers installation entailed precise adjustments, calibration, and trial and error. Adding on to an existing lock was more time-consuming and wasn't something that â€˜just workedâ€™. Replacing the entire deadbolt ensures you have a reliable lock that will work every single time. This is only possible when everything is designed as a complete, constrained system.



Keep It Simple



We found that we over-designed Lockitronâ€™s embedded capabilities and in turn created a device that was difficult to program with far more limited battery life than originally calculated. Through dozens of design revisions, the crowdfunded Lockitron ended up with an incredibly sophisticated circuit board. We incorporated a number of firsts including our knock sensor element and circuit, as well as the ability to update all three of our micro controllers over the air. The compounding complexity meant that we spent months debugging problems which were deeply intertwined across multiple chips and code bases. Lockitronâ€™s built-in WiFi complicated installation and was very difficult to debug when it encountered poor connectivity.



And for these reasons we decided to refocus on a simple but robust product with accessories and options that deliver the features backers wanted (WiFi connectivity, compatibility with existing keys, and excellent battery life) in a smaller form factor that installs easily, performs consistently, and that we can manufacture quickly and reliably.



When will Lockitron Bolt ship? How confident are you of this timeline?



The Preview edition of Lockitron Bolt is slated to ship in March. We are limiting this release of Bolt as we will be working through bugs during this time. The tooling and assembly procedures for this variant of Lockitron Bolt are complete as is the design of the assembled circuit board. We are working on packaging, our first run of circuit boards and are working on the embedded development to ship this Bolt Preview.



The first Preview run of 1,000 Lockitron Bolts is set to arrive in our testers' hands in March. Once we've worked out all of the bugs, we plan to be able to ship in late spring.



The production version of Lockitron Bolt is slated to start shipping in late spring. Injection mold and die cast tooling for Lockitron Boltâ€™s new design are being started now. This typically takes 30-45 days for the first test components and another 15-30 days of modifications. Unlike the crowdfunded Lockitron where we had nearly twenty injection molded, die cast and stamped parts we had to tool, we are waiting on tooling for only three final cosmetic components for Lockitron Bolt. All mechanical components are fully tooled and ready to go.



Weâ€™re confident in these timelines based on the current completion of Lockitron Boltâ€™s mechanical assembly, our manufacturerâ€™s ability to assemble hundred of units per day immediately, our complete PCBA design and the progress of our firmware development. The primary factors which may incur additional time costs include our new tooling for the production Lockitron Bolt or any logistics delays for components or finished Bolt units.



How is Lockitron Bolt different from the crowdfunded Lockitron?



Installation



Lockitron Bolt is a replacement deadbolt lock, while the crowdfunded Lockitron fit over your existing door look. This means that Bolt replaces all components of your existing lock.



Most common deadbolts can be swapped to Lockitron Bolt with only the removal of 4 screws and no additional modification to your door (that means no new holes, no additional tools) in 10 to 15 minutes.



Battery Life



The crowdfunded Lockitron incorporated built-in Bluetooth Low Energy, WiFi and a knock sensor. Lockitron Bolt incorporates Bluetooth Low Energy and pairs with a small device named Bridge which connects to your home network to offer the same remote control capabilities. Unlike the crowdfunded Lockitron which needed to sleep its WiFi for extended periods (30+ minutes), the Lockitron Bolt with the addition of Bridge gives you always-on remote control capabilities. This also means that Lockitron Bolt will hit at least six months of battery life compared to the 2-3 months of the crowdfunded Lockitron.



Removed Knock Sensor



We found that certain doors would trigger the knock sensor too easily, thus keeping the crowdfunded Lockitron awake and draining batteries while other doors would require significant knocking before the sensor triggered. The knock sensor functionality in the crowdfunded Lockitron requires a very special, low-power electronics circuit that is not adjustable in the field. Given that we already set our knock sensor to be as sensitive as possible, we decided that we unfortunately cannot offer consistent knock sensing capabilities and are removing this feature for now.



Bridge: Instantly Responsive WiFi



To conserve battery life and allow for instantaneous connectivity, weâ€™ve removed the integrated WiFi chip from Lockitron Bolt and put it into Bridge. Bridge connects Bolt to the internet and allows for full, instantaneous control anywhere you have internet access. Whether you just want to let a guess in or forgot to lock your door on the way to work, Bridge is the perfect solution. Itâ€™s important to note that Lockitron Bolt is a standalone product and doesnâ€™t require Bridge for local, Bluetooth Low Energy access or to share access with family and friend. This means you can choose the best Lockitron Bolt or Bolt+Bridge solution to suit your needs and budget.



Smaller and More Elegant



Lockitron Bolt is a slimmer form factor than the crowdfunded Lockitron, reducing the volume by 51% - see below for a comparison of the two. This means that Lockitron Bolt is far less likely to interfere with any window frame or door handle.







Both the crowdfunded Lockitron and Lockitron Bolt will use the same Lockitron app and receive the same feature upgrades including Sense and notifications.



Can I keep my keys with Lockitron Bolt?



In most cases, yes. We're offering a new feature with Lockitron Bolt called Key Match which gives you the ability to select different keyways to match your existing keys. Key Match will be available for the production variant of Lockitron Bolt. This includes the most popular ones like the five and six pin variants for Schlage and Kwikset. In turn you will be able to take the matched keyway to your local hardware store where it can be pinned to match your existing key for $5-15.



Can I modify my crowdfunded Lockitron order?



We are giving all of our backers who have been patiently waiting the first spots in line for Lockitron Bolt. All current Lockitron backers with existing orders will be given priority based on their current place in line from their previous orders. We have automatically lined you up for our production units along with a Bridge unit with network capabilities and reset your place in line to reflect your standing.



If you would like to modify your order to only receive Lockitron Bolt and not Bridge, we will allow you do so once we ship Lockitron Bolt production units at which point we will refund the difference.



How will my crowdfunded Lockitron order be migrated to Bolt?



We will be following up with information for our backers on how to migrate your existing order to Bolt. If you havenâ€™t already paid for your crowdfunded Lockitron, simply place your order today. If youâ€™ve paid for your order, stay tuned and we will help with the migration. And donâ€™t worry, weâ€™ll keep your place in line based on your current backer number.



Iâ€™ve already received my crowdfunded Lockitron unit. Will you continue to support and warranty it?



Yes - we will continue to support the original Lockitron unit and it will gain all of the same benefits from our mobile app updates including Sense and push notifications.



Weâ€™re maintaining a small stock of the crowdfunded Lockitron as well as replacement components. Once weâ€™ve depleted this stock we will continue to honor the one year warranty of the crowdfunded Lockitron with Bolt replacements.



Will you upgrade my original Lockitron with Lockitron Bolt?



We sincerely appreciate all of the support from our early backers and know that while many will continue to use their crowdfunded Lockitron, some would like to upgrade to Lockitron Bolt.



As a small company we are limited in the resources we have to replace the crowdfunded Lockitron units in the field, however, as a step in that direction weâ€™re offering $50 off Lockitron Bolt (which starts at $99) to all of our backers to whom we have already shipped the crowdfunded unit to. This means you will be able to purchase the standalone Lockitron Bolt for only $49.



All supporters whoâ€™ve received the crowdfunded Lockitron will soon receive an email with this discount. Current backers will receive this discount without having to return their current Lockitron.



Will Lockitron Bolt still integrate with other devices and apps?



Yes! Our goal for Lockitron Bolt is to ensure that it is equally as open as our crowdfunded Lockitron. When paired with Bridge, Lockitron Bolt will work with the same Lockitron API available at https://api.lockitron.com.



This means that dozens of applications that have already been built - including apps for Pebble, Android Wear, Zapier as well as planned integrations with other devices - like the Ring doorbell - will work exactly the same.



We have a number of other integrations in the works with some fantastic partners and will talking about these partnerships on our blog (http://blog.lockitron.com/).

