Yale 'smart' security app down for 24 hours due to 'unplanned network maintenance'

Users complain over Yale Smart Alarm crash

Users of Yale smart locks have complained of a 24-hour outage in the Smart Alarm app. The householders took to social media to complaint about not being able to arm or disarm their burglar alarms, although Yale claims that it could've been done in the conventional manner using either a key fob or activation code.

Yale blamed an "unforeseen issue while carrying out unplanned network maintenance", but resolved the problem this morning, although users still claim that notifications - such as whether an alarm has been armed or disarmed - aren't coming through.

Meanwhile, some customers also complain that their Yale Smart Alarm apps are being updated with historic, and therefore inaccurate, notifications as the app comes back online.

However, while the app was down customers complained of being ‘stuck' in their homes because they couldn't set their alarms, while others claimed that they were forced to wait outside until the problem was fixed.

Users added that they only learned of the problems when they were unable to disarm alarms - rather than receiving a push-notification or text message to warn them.

"Guess I'll just wait outside my house then. Would have been nice to have heard from you BEFORE rush hour with some sort of notification," tweeted Londoner Francesca Tenenbaum.

Yale apologised for the "unforeseen issue", but the company's Twitter account had to field scores of complaints.

The company claimed, though, that the home alarm system could be set or unset manually and added that its developers worked through the night on Thursday to fix the problem.

The outage comes in the same week that it was revealed that Yale is working with upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose to provide an in-home delivery service to customers.

Under the plan, currently being trialled, Waitrose delivery staff would be able to let themselves in to customers' homes and be able to put groceries away - while customers are out.

This story was edited on 15 October to make it clear that it was only the Yale Smart Alarm app that was affected by the outage, and that users could still use key fobs or PINs to arm or disarm their alarms. Yale would like Computing to make it clear that the Conexis L1 Smart Lock can still be activated from the inside and that the unplanned maintenance did not affect the functionality of the Smart Lock.