How to Connect a Yale Smart Lock

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How to Connect a Yale Smart Lock

Connect Yale to one or two property doors

Nowistay can manage up to two smartlock doors per property, including a mix of providers. Use Yale for the apartment door, the building entrance or both, with a clear name and settings for each door.

Nuki, Tedee and compatible Yale, Schlage and August devices support guest link opening and the host’s remote opening drawer. TTLock locks connected to a gateway and igloohome locks connected to a Bridge support them too; without a gateway or Bridge, these locks provide keypad codes only. The available methods depend on the connected device and integration.

Before connecting Yale

  • A Yale device visible and remotely reachable in the account you will connect.
  • Support for online keypad codes, remote opening, or both. The methods offered in Nowistay depend on the actual device.
  • An installed compatible keypad if you want codes; a remote-only door can use link access without one.

Your properties must be configured with Nowistay PMS (channel manager). Only properties using the Nowistay PMS integration appear in the lock configuration panel. Properties connected via direct OTA integration or a third-party PMS (Beds24, Lodgify, Smoobu) are not displayed. If you currently use another PMS, see how to migrate to Nowistay PMS.

Step 1: Open the Premium smart locks panel

From your Nowistay dashboard, go to Integrations. Under the Smart locks section, find the "Premium - Schlage / Yale / August / KeyNest" card and click "Connect".

Nowistay Integrations page showing the Premium - Schlage / Yale / August / KeyNest card under Smart locks
The Integrations page: find the "Premium - Schlage / Yale / August / KeyNest" card under Smart locks.

The Premium smart locks drawer opens. Click "Connect Yale, Schlage, August or KeyNest".

Premium smart locks drawer with the Connect Yale, Schlage, August or KeyNest button
The Premium smart locks drawer: click "Connect Yale, Schlage, August or KeyNest".

Step 2: Sign in to your Yale account

A secure connection window opens. Nowistay never stores your Yale password.

Secure connection window introduction screen
A secure connection window opens: click Continue.

Click Continue, then pick Yale from the list of brands.

Brand selection screen with Yale highlighted
Pick "Yale" from the brand list.

Yale will then ask which app you use to manage your lock. Pick the option that matches the app on your phone:

Choose the account or app option offered in the connection window that matches the app used to manage this lock.

Yale app selection screen showing Yale Access, Yale Home, and Connected via Z-Wave
Choose the account option matching the app used to manage your Yale device.

Sign in with your Yale account email and password.

Yale Access sign-in screen with email and password fields
Sign in with your Yale Access email and password.

After signing in, return to the drawer and select the property to configure.

Add Door 1 and, if needed, Door 2

Once connected, the drawer shows a compact account header, Help and Account actions. Use Search for a property to select the property you want to configure. Work on one selected property at a time.

  1. Click Add a door and choose the device.
  2. Fill in Door name, for example “Apartment door” or “Building entrance”. Use a meaningful name of up to 60 characters.
  3. Choose the supported guest access methods, then click Add a door to save the new door.
  4. Repeat for a second door if needed. A property can have a maximum of two doors in total, across all providers. The same device cannot fill both slots on that property.

Each row shows Door 1 or Door 2, the name, device, provider, access methods and status. The primary row has a Main door tag. Other-provider doors stay visible; use their provider action to switch drawers for editing. Finish saving or cancel your draft before switching property or provider.

Expand a door to edit its device, name, access methods and timing, then choose Save or Cancel. Only one editor is open at a time. Variable chips remind you that Door 1 matches {{smartlock_code}} and Door 2 matches {{smartlock_code_2}}; {{smartlock_link}} is shown once for the property with its link doors.

Use the row actions to remove a door or choose Use as main door. Changing the order changes future variable resolution. It does not rewrite already-sent messages or regenerate issued PINs. After removal, the remaining door becomes Door 1; check your templates before assigning a new Door 2.

An existing single-lock configuration becomes Door 1, with its current settings and issued codes preserved. You do not need to reconnect it. Add the second door only when needed; guest link access is not enabled automatically on an existing door.

Choose the access method for each door

  • Keypad code: generates booking codes for a compatible, installed keypad. Leave it off if the door has no keypad.
  • Open via link: lets the guest open the door from their booking page, when the device and integration support remote opening. A door may use a code, a link, or both; at least one supported method must stay selected.

For Yale, availability depends on the specific device reported by the Premium connection. A device may support online codes, remote opening, or both. A remote-only device can be used with link access without a keypad. A device supporting neither method is hidden from assignment. Check that the device is visible and reachable in its vendor app if it is missing.

After saving the device, use Test open to check its remote opening. This operates the real door. Save a device change before testing; the test action is tied to the saved device.

Enable this door controls whether Nowistay uses the door. Turning it off stops new code generation and makes its guest link and host opening actions unavailable. Already-issued PINs are not immediately erased by this switch. Turning off only Keypad code also keeps issued PINs; their dates continue to follow booking changes where the provider supports updates. Provider-generated offline codes keep their original expiry.

Set code generation and access timing

For each code door, choose how many days before arrival to generate the code: 1 to 14 days, with 5 days by default. Both doors use the same booking-based generation and retry process, but each keeps its own settings and result. A booking within the configured lead time can receive codes without waiting for the next day.

In Access timing, set a margin of 0 to 240 minutes, with 30 minutes by default. The selected margin extends access before arrival and after departure. For example, a 15:00 arrival and 11:00 departure with a 30-minute margin allow access from 14:30 on arrival day to 11:30 on departure day. Each link door uses its own margin too, so timing remains relevant when keypad codes are off.

Validity uses the property’s time zone and the booking’s arrival and departure times, including accepted negotiated times where applicable, then the property defaults. If neither provides a time, the fallback is 15:00 arrival and 11:00 departure. Online codes follow booking changes; provider-generated offline codes cannot be revoked early. A cancelled booking cannot use its guest opening link. Replacing the guest invalidates the previous link; send the current booking link to the new guest.

Code source and matching the two doors

Where supported, Code source offers a random code or the last digits of the guest’s phone number. The drawer shows the number of digits required by the device. If the phone number is missing, too short, already used or rejected, Nowistay attempts a compatible random code. A provider-generated offline code cannot be forced to match the phone number or the other door.

If one door’s code is missing

Nowistay checks eligible bookings and missing codes every 30 minutes. Door 2 receives the same checks as Door 1; a successful first door does not hide a failure on the second. Check the device connection, keypad, door activation, selected method, booking status and generation date.

Persistent failures generate a host alert after 18:00 on the day before arrival, in the property’s time zone. The email lists the property and the door name as separate entries. Automatic retries are bounded: after repeated failures and an alert, the door can require intervention. Do not assume retries continue indefinitely or that a missing code is available to the guest.

Premium accounts and per-device billing

Connecting an account is free. A Premium device is activated and billed when it is assigned to a property; devices left unassigned are not billed. The drawer shows the applicable monthly price and currency when adding a door. Billing is per device for the full month, even if it is removed later that month. Two Premium doors on the same property count as two billed devices.

Use Add in the account header to connect another supported account. Devices from the connected accounts become available for assignment, while the two-door limit still applies per property.

Which variables send the codes and door link?

In the message editor, find all three variables in the Property category. Door numbers match the numbered rows in Integrations; the door name is the label you chose for guests.

  • {{smartlock_code}}: Door 1’s keypad code, or the other door’s available code if the main door has none. Keep this variable in existing messages.
  • {{smartlock_code_2}}: the issued keypad code for Door 2. It stays empty if that door has no issued code.
  • {{smartlock_link}}: one personal door-opening page for the booking, with a separate button for each active door using Open via link. Two link doors share this same link; there is no second link variable.

When two keypad doors can accept the same code, Nowistay tries to reuse it for the booking. Matching codes are not guaranteed: device rules, existing codes and offline-code methods may require different codes. The booking details show the code for each door, even when both values match.

If Door 1 is link-only and Door 2 has a keypad, Door 2’s code fills both {{smartlock_code}} and {{smartlock_code_2}}. If the two doors have different codes and an older template uses only {{smartlock_code}}, that variable includes both codes with door labels. Use both numbered variables when writing separate instructions for each keypad. The older {{nuki_code}} alias continues to work.

Examples to adapt to your doors

  • Two keypads: “Apartment door: {{smartlock_code}}. Building entrance: {{smartlock_code_2}}.”
  • Apartment keypad and building link: “Apartment code: {{smartlock_code}}. To open the building entrance, visit {{smartlock_link}} and confirm the opening.”
  • Two link doors: “Open {{smartlock_link}}, choose the building entrance or apartment door, then confirm.”

Adapt these examples to the saved order and names. Keep variables unchanged in every translation. Use a booking-specific link in your messages rather than copying one guest’s URL into a reusable template or public guide. A link provides access to whoever holds it during its permitted window.

Where to find access details for a booking

Open a reservation from Bookings. After Financial, the drawer has separate Identity and Property access blocks, in that order. Property access shows the available keypad codes with their door numbers and names. If one code is missing, check that specific door; seeing the first code does not mean the second was generated.

The Door access link row uses an opening icon and tags naming the doors controlled by the link. The arrival entry shows the first detected check-in date and time; later openings do not replace it. On the bookings page, hover over the arrival icon in the status column to see the check-in tooltip and date.

What guests see on the door-opening page

The booking link opens a mobile-friendly page with one or two named door buttons. Only active doors configured for link access appear. Each button follows that door’s booking access window, including its margins. Outside the window, the guest cannot open that door. The page refreshes its status at the time boundary and when it regains focus; a loading failure offers a retry.

The guest chooses a door, then confirms Open door in a confirmation dialog. After a successful opening, that door has a 10-second wait before another opening. The page does not automatically send another open command. Refreshing the page does not open a door. If an attempt fails, read the error and retry deliberately once the problem is resolved.

A successful opening through the guest link records check-in for the booking. Merely viewing the page does not. A keypad opening with the booking’s code can also record check-in with Nuki, Tedee, Homeit, the Premium integration, TTLock locks connected to a gateway and igloohome locks connected to a Bridge. Keypad arrival detection is not available for every device. This is the same check-in information used by automated-message conditions; it does not verify the identity of the person holding the link or code.

To be alerted when a guest’s first entry is detected, turn on Guest checked in in Notifications > My notifications. It is off by default, and you receive it once per booking.

How hosts open an available door at any time

In the card and list views of Properties, the unlocked-padlock icon for Open property appears after the AI button when at least one active door supports remote opening. Open it to see a drawer containing only the available doors, including doors from different supported providers.

Choose the named door and confirm Open door. This host action is available without a booking time window and uses the same confirmation and 10-second wait after success. It does not require guest link access to be enabled and does not record a guest check-in. The device still needs to be reachable and the connected account must allow remote opening.

Remove a door or disconnect an account

Remove an individual door from its row actions. To disconnect an account, open Account actions and choose Disconnect. Nowistay first attempts to revoke the managed online codes for the affected doors, then removes their assignments and stops future access automation. If revocation fails, the affected door and cleanup information are retained so removal can be retried; resolve the connection or provider error and try again. Offline codes remain subject to their original expiry.

Disconnecting one account affects its own doors. Other-provider doors remain configured, and their numbering may change if a preceding door was removed. Check the property’s remaining doors and message variables afterwards.

For the complete setup, see automated guest messages and variables.

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