If you have a Google Home device, and an August smart lock, you might want to use Google Home’s voice controls to lock and unlock your door. Unfortunately, Google hasn’t yet added August locks to the list of devices you can add automatically.
Fortunately, there’s a hack for that.
Need to read up on Google Home or August Smart Locks? Click the links.How to add August lock to Google Home
This process may seem a bit convoluted and confusing and as I was getting it set up it WAS confusing. This explanation will make more sense as you work through it in your home.
Step 1: install Google Assistant APP
You’ll need to first download and install the “Google Assistant app” for your smart phone, and yes this is different than the Google Home app. (The Assistant app is available on either Android or Apple phones.)
Step 2: “OK Google, talk to August”
With the Google Assistant app installed, open the app on your phone and ask the assistant to talk to August; “Ok Google, talk to August”.
You’ll likely be redirected to a screen where you will be required to log into your August account using your email address and password. A verification code will be sent to the phone number you used when signing up for your August lock.
Once you’ve signed into everything successfully, tell the Google assistant app to talk to August again. While you’re using the Assistant app, you can control the lock.
Use Voice Control with August locks
Step 3: Loop in Google Home
To go the added step of getting everything connected to your Google Home device so you can talk to the lock, stand in your room and ask your Google Home to talk to August. The Google Assistant will summon her friend August. A different voice will come across the Google Home speaker and talk to you. This ghostly voice of the August Assistant will search for locks on your home Wi-Fi network then verify that you indeed want to connect to the August lock, and double check the name you’ve given the lock.
Step 4: Ask Google to talk to August
With everything confirmed you can now ask the Google assistant to execute commands related to your August lock. The trouble is in order to operate the locks you must first ask the Google Home device to call up the August Assistant. As I was testing it, the August Assistant seemed to want to go through a lengthy question and answer process every time I wanted to check the lock.
After a few trial and error attempts , I realized that if I said, “OK Google ask August to lock the back door,” it would work.
Is this a slightly tedious work around? Yes. But for now, that’s how you can get your Google Home device to operate your August locks.
Questions? Ask us in comments below.
