Ring launches first smart lock with hand-crank backup at $249

Amazon's Ring subsidiary announced its first smart lock on 7 October 2026, a $249 device whose thumbturn dial can be hand-cranked to generate power when the battery dies. The lock, called the Ring Smart Lock, will be available in the United States in the first quarter of 2027, pending Federal Communications Commission approval, and comes in black, silver and brass finishes.9to5mac.com+1

The lock addresses the problem that has kept many buyers away from smart locks: a dead battery locking you out of your own home. Ring founder Jamie Siminoff said he hit the issue himself while shopping for a lock for a vacation home. Existing backup methods, such as hiding a physical key on the property or connecting a 9-volt battery to external contacts, are cumbersome and less secure.

How the hand crank works

The mechanism sits inside the thumbturn dial on the front of the unit. Turning the wheel back and forth three or four times drives a small motor and a supercapacitor, generating around three volts. That is enough to run the lock at full power, not a reduced mode, for about half a minute — long enough to use the fingerprint reader, keypad, Ring app or Alexa.

Once inside, the owner can remove the rechargeable Quick Release Ultra Battery Pack and charge it normally. The lock needs no additional wiring and fits a standard single-cylinder deadbolt. Ring does not specify how many turns are required, claiming only that 'a few times' generates enough power to unlock the door and fully recharge the battery.

The battery itself should last about a full year on a single charge, according to Siminoff, and the Ring app alerts users when it is time to charge it. The lock offers four ways to unlock: a fingerprint reader, a backlit touchscreen keypad that can register multiple users, the Ring app, and Alexa voice commands through devices like Echo smart speakers.

Battery life and unlock methods

Rather than relying on home Wi-Fi, the lock connects wirelessly through Amazon's Sidewalk network, a low-power, low-bandwidth, long-range system. That means a home Wi-Fi outage will not prevent remote access or entry alerts, provided the owner lives somewhere with adequate Sidewalk coverage. The app also lets owners set scheduled or time-limited access codes that expire automatically, useful for dog walkers, cleaners or visitors.

Siminoff said the power issue is the main barrier to smart lock adoption. 'I do think the power thing is a huge limiter of why people are not buying, and why they're not putting them in, and why they're worried about about them,' he said. He acknowledged the lock may be comparable to others on the market but expects the backup power to be its biggest selling point.theverge.com

Ring is not holding a firm launch date beyond the first few months of 2027, though Siminoff hopes to release the product closer to January than March, and buyers can register their interest now. The company also announced four new 4K cameras with Retinal Vision 4K low-light performance, available to preorder or purchase from 7 October 2026.

What happens before launch

The camera lineup includes the $149.99 Outdoor Cam 4K Plus, the $199.99 Spotlight Cam 4K Plus with a 550-lumen light, the $219.99 Floodlight Cam 4K Plus with 24/7 recording, and the $99.99 Indoor Cam 4K with a 115-degree field of view. A $69.99 Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam 2K rotates a full 360 degrees while tilting 175 degrees.

The Ring Smart Lock itself carries no camera, so owners need to pair it with a smart doorbell or one of the new security cameras to see who is entering. The next dated step is Federal Communications Commission authorisation, which the lock must receive before its first-quarter 2027 United States launch.engadget.com