Kwikset780 Single Cylinder Deadbolt featuring SmartKey in Venetian Bronze

Bought 2 sets for our condo abroad. Having to rekey by yourself convinced me that this is the “must-have” deadbolts for properties frequently accessed by maintenance and cleaners. I should have totally checked/tested them before we left. When i got to our condo, the first one i tried to install won’t align the screw holes holding the interior part and the exterior part together. After spending about 30 minutes, I realized that the key wont rotate inside the tumbler…the tumbler rotates WITH the key.The second one was working fine and was installed in less than 10 minutes. I’m a retired mechanical engineer with hands-on design and troubleshooting for 4 decades…thinking that the negative reviews were due to lack of skill and experience…BOY, I WAS SOOOO WRONG! This piece is not foolproof but will make a fool out of you.I’ve purchased them 11 days ago and I could easily returned/exchanged it if I’m in the states, but I’m not. I’ve checked YouTube on how to fix “misprogrammed” keying, but nothing works even I’ve tried all the “experts” recommendation, including those from kwikset for several hours before I gave up. So, basically I lost 50% of my investment due to half-baked design.PLEASE SERIOUSLY CONSIDER THIS REVIEW BEFORE GETTING “SMARTKEY” (an OxyMoron) LOCKS BY KWIKSET.

This lock feels very cheap compared to the nearly identical Kwikset deadbolt we were replacing. It works the way it's supposed to, but the interior knob feels loose and floppy. On closer look, our old one had a little spring-detent mechanism for the inside knob that gives it a more positive, solid feel--a feature this one doesn't have. Fortunately, I was able to reuse our old mechanism on this lock, or else I'd be really annoyed by the cheap feel of this one. (EDIT: Maybe our old lock was the Kwikset 980, also available on Amazon for just a few bucks more?)This was about $10 cheaper through Amazon than at local big-box stores. I don't know whether that's just because of Amazon's high volume or if this is actually a different model--but if the version in the big-box stores still has the spring detent, I'd definitely spend the extra $10 for something that doesn't feel like junk.Again, there's nothing actually "wrong" with the lock--it does what it's supposed to. It just feels chintzy.

I needed to match an existing Schlage Aged Bronze lock with a keypad but also wanted to use my existing key. My husband installed this in an existing Kwikset lockset, so all the holes were already drilled and matched the new lock. The whole process including matching the lock to my old Kwikset key took about 15 minutes. The only tool necessary was a Phillips head screw driver with a small bit. My husband used a electric screwdriver with a #1 Phillips head bit.Much to my delight, the finish matched the Schlage Aged Bronze almost exactly. Changing the key to match my existing key using the Kwikset Smartkey system took about 2 minutes and was simple to do with detailed instructions included with the lock. Schlage doesn't offer this option, so I would have had to go to a locksmith, but after doing some online research, I found that was not possible either, because Kwikset and Schlage use different cylinders. So a word to the wise, before you mix locks like I did, make sure they can be keyed alike.Kwikset is a very reasonable priced lock, but I have always found them to be very reliable. Highly recommended.

Being able to rekey this lock yourself is amazing. It takes less then a minute, came with the tool to do it and was incredibly simple. Other then that it’s a regular deadbolt.

Replaced one and added a second deadbolt lock in a door for a client. Easily keyed to match with Kwikset's Smartkey. I appreciated the simple, easy to open, cardboard box rather than the usual plastic sealed retail packaging.