Master Lock Bluetooth Smart Padlock 4400D at a glance:
- Price: £55
- Website: www.masterlock.com
Master Lock is one of the biggest names in padlocks and combination locks. One of its latest products is a Bluetooth padlock. The new Master Lock Bluetooth Smart Padlock 4400D can be opened by authorised users when they have their Bluetooth-enabled smartphone in range. Photographers often carry a lot of expensive kit, so this feature could be a convenient way of having control over your equipment’s security.
To operate it, users need to install the Master Lock Vaults eLocks app for their iOS or Android smart device. The padlock then needs to be registered to the user before being set up and paired. The registered user can now use the app to do a variety of things. They can invite people to download the app, and grant them permission to open the lock. For example, if you are at a wedding and you have a bag of camera gear, you can grant access to the padlock both to yourself and to a second shooter. Nobody else can access it.
Crucially, the registered user is able to manage when other users can open the lock, as well cancelling their permission to open it at all. The app will tell you who accessed the padlock last and when. It will even tell you if someone has attempted but failed to open it. The lock’s battery is like one you find in a wristwatch and Master Lock says it has a two-year life.
The advantage of this padlock is that there is no key to lose or combination to forget. If you’re thinking, ‘But what if I lose my phone?’, Master Lock has that covered, too. There’s a directional, or control, pad on the front. Using a unique combination of up, down, left and right, you can open the lock.
The padlock worked perfectly in testing. We were able to open it with a phone and when we disconnected Bluetooth, it denied us access. We also invited a guest to use it and it worked just as well for them, too. For users who have a studio with a locked cupboard full of kit, photographers sharing a Peli Case containing cameras for location work or for securing your gear in a hotel room while travelling, this lock is really useful.
