Fri May 09, 2014 11:25 pm by GWiens2001
The product is not useless, and a minor fix could prevent the problem. Still not a fan of the SmartKey locks in any format.
Would think the engineers at Kwikset had to have realized the vulnerability, and probably had suggested fixes. A simple drop of adhesive would cure this problem. It concerns me that the lock was brought to market with the current problem.
Made the video mainly because it shocked me that so obvious a flaw was not addressed. Had the lock open about ten seconds before I saw how it probably came apart. Used a pick (scratch awl) to move it over, and could not believe how easily the retainer moved.
This is a new product on the market, and knew that if the vulnerability was not made blatantly clear, that the lock would achieve deep market penetration with the manufacturer not making any changes due to bean counters. Then, when the vulnerability was brought to light, it would be far too costly to repair units already in service.
By trumpeting the vulnerability while the product was quite new on the market, Kwikset would be forced to address the issue in order to maintain marketability of the product. Won't go into my security concerns over the SmartKey format itself - people in the lock community would already be aware if those.
It would be great if Kwikset were to correct this vulnerability, be it by adhesive, reshaping the retainer clip to make it fit tighter, or by some other means. Then they would have a product on par with their other SmartKey products. This would please a great many homeowners, as they could have gate and shed locks keyed the same as their home, and just as fast/easy to rekey. But am familiar with how a number of corporations (no fingers being pointed here) will try to sweep a problem under the table, rather than fix the problem and end up with a better product.
Gordon
Just when you think you've learned it all, that is when you find you haven't learned anything yet.