The first step is to install the August app from your respective app store. After opening the app you will have two choices; “I Received an Invite” or “Set Up My First August Device.” Since this was my first device I chose the latter, selected Smart Lock and created an account.
To create an account you are required to include a photo. At first I thought this was kind of dumb, but I later realized it was much easier to see who did what in the Activity log. You will then be required to verify your phone number and email by inputting the codes sent to each.
Really the most difficult part is to get this mounted on your door. August includes some masking tape to hold your current lock in place when you remove the screws and knob from the inside. Be sure to make sure the lock cylinder is securely taped in place so it doesn't rotate and cause issues later. Next you remove the inside portion of your deadbolt. Then take the screws you removed and put them through the August lock’s base plate. Then tighten these to the outside housing snuggly, but not too tight as this can cause binding issues later. Then you select the right colored adapter from the bag for your lock. Again August has info for which manufacturers use which color, but I found my parent's Schlage did not use the expected color. So pay attention and make sure it fits properly.
Next you extend the wings on the base of the August lock cylinder and place the lock over the base plate. In the picture below I circled the wings in red. Once positioned you press the tabs back in place locking the lock in place. If you tightened the screws too much in the step before you will have a lot of trouble closing these tabs. Now if you haven't done so already you will pull the plastic tab on the battery and you are set to calibrate the lock.
The calibration is straight forward and involves you manually locking and unlocking the deadbolt so the device knows how much throw its required to lock and unlock the door. I did this with the door open, then when I closed the door my problems began.
While this is not an August problem I suspect this is a common problem. My parents door closes just fine; the bottom knob’s latch catches the strike plate but in order to lock the dead bolt you need to apply a little pressure to the door to get the deadbolt to not drag on the strike plate. This dragging causes the August lock to fault. I played with this for quite some time but without my normal assortment of tools and hardware I wasn't able to fix this the way I would have at home. At home I would have adjusted the door handle strike plate to be further in or moved the deadbolt plate slightly out. But since the strike plates are not slotted and small adjustments would likely strip out the holes I found another temporary solution. Their deadbolt strike plate is just a flat metal decorative piece, behind that is a plastic lined metal insert that goes into the door frame. When this decorative piece was removed the lock functioned perfectly. So for now they just have the black plastic lining showing as can be seen below. Eventually I will open up the inside of the decorative piece and get that mounted for a cleaner look.
