• Europe's market leader for smart retrofit access solutions brings remote access closer to everyone: both Smart Locks of the fourth generation are now controllable on the go via Thread.
• Once again, Nuki leads the way: early to recognize the potential of technology developed for battery-powered, smart devices and implementing it into the remote access feature.
• Different advantages of additional option for remote access: replacing remote access via bridge for Smart Lock, enhancing energy efficiency for Smart Lock Pro.

Simultaneously with the launch of the fourth product generation, the world's first smart lock with native Matter support, Nuki hinted at another innovation for spring 2024: “Remote Access via Thread” through a compatible hub for Nuki's own Apps and Services. With the release of this feature – now, even before spring begins – the smart lock pioneer from Graz lives up to its reputation once again: by not settling for just an announcement, but much rather by again taking the lead in implementing a novelty in the smart access domain. Co-founder and CEO Martin Pansy: "We have been working intensively in recent months to enable users of our fourth Smart Lock generation to have our Remote access via Thread feature as quickly as possible, thus providing another remote access option. It's great to see that we are once again among the first on a topic we absolutely believe in."

And at Nuki, this does not only refer to “Remote Access via Thread” but also to the network protocol itself. "In our role as pioneers, it is not only important to us to always be one step ahead with our own innovations but also to recognize the potential of groundbreaking technologies early on," adds Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer Jürgen Pansy. Continuing that for Thread, the benefits for users had been clear from the beginning: more responsive than Bluetooth, more stable and efficient than Wi-Fi. Through the smart home standard Matter, Thread has become more accessible for the first time. Nuki sees the new features and improvements promised by the Thread Group at CES in early January as confirmation of the relevance the protocol is predicted to have in the future.

But how do users of the fourth product generation benefit specifically from “Remote Access via Thread”? Smart Lock Pro automatically switches from Wi-Fi to Thread, saving energy and making the network more stable. For the Smart Lock, the new Thread-based feature replaces the previous remote access via the Nuki Bridge, rendering it obsolete. With “Remote Access via Thread”, all trusted Nuki features can be used remotely – without a bridge or built-in Wi-Fi, regardless of whether using the standard model or the Pro version. Checking battery status, assigning access permissions, viewing locking actions – all these features can be used remotely. "Via Thread, we are bringing all Smart Locks of our latest generation online for the first time," explains Jürgen Pansy, emphasizing, "privacy and data protection have been a priority to us from the beginning. We do not deviate from our core values even with the new remote access option. Users can deactivate Remote access via Thread and use the Smart Lock exclusively locally if they wish."

And if one wants to use “Remote Access via Thread” now, what needs to be done? The key to usage is an active Matter connection via a compatible smart home hub. This hub acts as a control center and brings the Nuki Smart Lock of the fourth generation online. Compatible hubs are those that support Matter via Thread and, thanks to NAT64, can connect the Smart Lock to the Internet. Apple and Home Assistant, for example, already support this function, while other providers are still working on it. For the Smart Lock Pro, the additional remote access option is already included in the purchase price. For the Smart Lock, “Remote Access via Thread” can be purchased for a one-time fee of 49 euros through the Nuki App. Speaking of the price: Existing Nuki customers who purchase a fourth-generation Smart Lock for 169 euros by February 20 in the Nuki webshop will receive the additional remote access option via a compatible hub for free – saving the one-time fee

In addition to "Remote Access via Thread," Nuki announced another firmware update for spring 2024: regarding the Matter function that allows distinguishing between "opening the door" (including pulling the latch) and "unlocking." The function has been integrated into the protocol since the release of Matter 1.2 in autumn 2023. But when can this, from European customers much-demanded, function also be used outside the Nuki App? "Here, unlike Remote Access via Thread, there are more dependencies for us. But I can assure you: Our team is also working tirelessly on releasing this feature," concludes Jürgen Pansy.