Locksmith Nuki

Nuki: the Austrian smart lock for keyless access and short-term rentals

Nuki is an Austrian company founded in 2014 in Graz, specialising in retrofit smart locks. Unlike traditional lock replacements, a Nuki Smart Lock mounts on the inside of your existing door, over the thumb turn of your current cylinder. Your mechanical lock stays in place and continues to work with physical keys. The Nuki simply motorises the turning action, letting you lock and unlock via your smartphone.

Bluetooth versus Nuki Bridge: local or remote control

Out of the box, the Nuki Smart Lock communicates via Bluetooth only. This means you need to be within roughly 10 metres of the door to operate it from your phone. For most homeowners who simply want to unlock as they approach, Bluetooth is sufficient.

The Nuki Bridge is a separate Wi-Fi adapter that plugs into a power outlet near the door and connects to the Smart Lock via Bluetooth. It acts as a relay, giving you remote access from anywhere with an internet connection. This is where Nuki becomes practical for property management: you can unlock the door for a guest, cleaner, or maintenance worker while you are at the office or abroad. We install the Bridge as standard whenever the use case involves remote access.

Battery management: what we tell every client

The Nuki Smart Lock runs on four AA batteries. Nuki claims 4 to 6 months of battery life, but in practice we find it depends heavily on usage patterns. A door that gets locked and unlocked 8 to 10 times per day, which is typical for a busy Airbnb, will drain batteries in closer to 2 to 3 months. The Nuki app sends low-battery warnings, but we always advise clients to set a calendar reminder for battery changes rather than relying solely on the notification.

For high-traffic installations, Nuki offers a rechargeable battery pack that replaces the four AAs. It charges via USB-C and lasts roughly the same duration, but eliminates the recurring cost and waste of disposable batteries. We recommend this option for any property with more than 5 lock cycles per day.

Nuki for Airbnb and short-term rentals

This is where we install the most Nuki units. Short-term rental hosts in Brussels face a practical problem: guests arrive at all hours, key handovers are unreliable, and lost keys mean cylinder replacements. Nuki solves all three issues. Through the Nuki app or the web interface, hosts can generate time-limited access codes for each guest. The code works only during the booked stay and expires automatically at checkout.

We install around 6 to 10 Nuki Smart Locks per month, the majority for Airbnb hosts and property managers. The installation itself takes about 30 minutes, including the Bridge setup and app configuration. We always verify that the Nuki is compatible with the existing cylinder before scheduling the appointment. Most euro-profile cylinders work, but some older French-style cylinders with non-standard thumb turns require an adapter or a cylinder swap first.

What Nuki does not replace

It is worth being clear about what a Nuki is and what it is not. The Nuki does not change your lock's physical security level. If you have a basic cylinder underneath, adding a Nuki gives you smart features but does not improve your resistance to picking or forced entry. We often pair Nuki installations with a cylinder upgrade, putting an Interactive+ or Serial S underneath the smart lock so that the mechanical security matches the digital convenience.

Nuki also requires a stable Wi-Fi connection for remote features and a powered Bridge unit. In older Brussels buildings with thick walls and unreliable connectivity, we test signal strength on site before confirming the installation. If the Wi-Fi does not reach the door, the Bridge will not function and remote access becomes impossible.

If you are considering Nuki for your property, whether for personal convenience or rental management, we can assess your door, cylinder compatibility, and connectivity in a single visit.