Many Apple Store gadgets like iPhones, iPads, and Macs are notorious for their dependable security features. Unfortunately, not all the tech you’ll find there apparently lives up to the same standards, as one YouTuber has demonstrated that the Level Lock Plus smart lock might not be as secure as its $330 price suggests.
The Level Lock Plus is a smart lock made by Level (not Apple) that’s sold in Apple’s stores. Despite being a third-party accessory, much like the Logitech iPad peripherals, it’s a great fit among Apple’s products as it’s designed to be used with them; the Level Lock Plus can be unlocked using one of the best iPhone or best Apple Watch devices even if you’ve forgotten your actual house key.
However, while this smart lock looks like a great pick-up for people wanting to improve their home’s security with a futuristic smart lock, YouTuber LockPickingLawyer (opens in new tab) has released a video where he shows that the gadget can be picked open in seconds.
The renowned online lock picker – who regularly demonstrates his ability to open nearly any lock to his over 4 million subscribers – starts by commending the Level Lock Plus’ fit and finish, before announcing that the actual locking mechanism has some major flaws. Specifically, it can be opened quickly by two of the lowest skill-picking methods out there.
The first method he uses to open the Level Lock Plus is called raking. As demonstrated in the video raking uses two tools – a simple metal piece used to apply tension to the lock and a more jagged piece of metal called a rake. While keeping the lock taught, a lockpicker will rapidly insert and extract the rake with a slight up-and-down motion until it unlocks.
If this sounds fairly easy to do, you’d be right. Many lock-picking blogs recommend raking as one of the first methods that beginners should learn, saying that if you have the tools the techniques can be learned in minutes and mastered pretty quickly after that. The only downside is that many locks can’t be picked via raking, as it’s a trick that should only really work on the most basic and least secure mechanisms – not the kind you’d expect to find on sale for $330.
To add insult to injury, LockPickingLawyer used a second technique to break open the Level Lock Plus called bumping. This method relies on a special bump key that has a rubber ring on it; you tighten it using a similar tool used in the raking example and then whack the end with a hammer until you open the lock.
Bumping is another technique that’s incredibly easy to learn and much like raking you can pick up all the necessary tools for under $50.
If all that wasn’t already damning enough, LockPickingLawyer even posited that he may be able to kick open the lock as the Level Lock Plus’ bolt is hollow – it’s where the battery is housed. He wasn’t able to test this in the video he uploaded, but he said that he may post an update to see if the even less sophisticated break-in technique can be used to bypass the Level Lock Plus.
The LockPickingLawyer video should act as a reminder for us that not all home security tech is equally good as the more traditional alternatives out there. As exciting as it is to unlock your front door with your smartphone, it’ll be a lot less fun if you find it’s been broken into using tools that cost a fraction of the price using a trick the burglar leaned in five minutes from a YouTube video.
We’ve reached out to Level about the issues that LockPickingLawyer found in his tests, though they didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment. If we do hear back from we’ll be sure to update this piece with its statement.