Latch App 4+

Okay- but has potential

My apartment building uses Latch exclusively vs keys. When I moved in a month ago the phone app was almost unusable. Most of the time long time connect left me standing outside or on an elevator that I couldn’t control.
The watch companion app was nearly infallible and I found it was the sole way for me to get around. Since I have a cellular watch I could leave my phone. I did have to turn off Applepay on my watch to use the app reliably but since I need to use it more than using my watch to pay it seemed an acceptable trade off.
Not sure if it was the most recent iOS update (minor one this week) but now the phone app works and the watch no longer does.
The watch app just says connecting and I have yet to get it to work now.
I would like to see something in the wallet app allowing me quicker access. The unlock time needs to be faster, especially for the elevators and watch app needs immediate improvement.

Needs improvement for Apt buildings

My apt building is new and completely outfitted with Latch on every entry and elevator. At first it was a fun piece of future tech, and I loved showing friends and family how we use our phones and watch to open the doors.
However, this was very short-lived as the Latch issues started creeping in almost immediately.
The number one issue is timing. It takes too long for the app to connect to the door mechanisms and if people are trying to go to an elevator floor, the timing window is missed probably 60% of the time and people end up having to ride up and down until the app connects. Same with waiting for the app to connect when my hands are full of groceries, with a dog, etc. it’s not reliable, and it happens to everyone in the building. It sounds like a first-world problem, but when it’s the only way to enter doors, it becomes a constant game of “can I get in this door or does someone need to help me?”

If this app had some sort of offline mode or a way to store personal doors or elevators as backup, it would improve the app performance immensely until the speed of Wi-Fi can catch up with the app. I wish it worked better- I love the idea. Sorry Latch.

Developer Response ,

Hi, we appreciate your feedback and are sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with our app. Our team is always working to improve and enhance the user experience. Can you please email us at support@latch.com with more details about your issues? Thank you for helping us improve.

Has Potential

First off, the fundamental functionality of a lock is to lock AND unlock. This app only allows unlocking. Furthermore, given the smart lock and a smart phone being involved, you can’t check the status of your door lock. It just always says “unlock” regardless of the status. Also, when I have the app open and get within Bluetooth range of my lock but haven’t selected “unlock” yet, the app immediately crashes and I have to open it again to get in my door. There are also many times when the app is open I put the phone up to the lock and it doesn’t do anything yet there isn’t an error or anything and this happens on the Apple Watch as well. I also get the “open the latch app on your phone to use” oftentimes when I go for a ran and I don’t have my phone. That’s sorta the purpose of using the Apple Watch I would think. Highly annoying when you can’t get in because the watch app isn’t working correct. Overall, the QA department needs some help I think as it’s obvious that the app isn’t tested very well. These issues have persisted for months with no fixes.