Ultion Nuki 2025 review

Product name: Introduction

• Lock type: Eurocylinder
• Unlock options: Keypad, fingerprint, app
• Ecosystems: Matter

If you’re in the UK, the Ultion Nuki 2025 smart lock is the best you can buy: it combines the compatibility and excellence of the Nuki Smart Lock Pro, with Brisant Secure’s lock expertise.

With a super-secure lock and neat fitting, this smart lock will suit most doors with a Euro Cylinder lock.

Design and installation

• Fits most Euro Cylinder doors
• Two lock cylinders to choose from

The Ultion Nuki 2025 is a package that includes door hardware designed by Brisant Secure and an Ultion Nuki Smart Lock Pro, which handles the physical door locking and unlocking.

To use the Ultion Nuki 2025 you need a door with a Euro Cylinder lock, and you’ll need one that opens inwards, as the lock is too bulky to work on outward opening doors. Well, most doors that is. In my office, I’ve got double UPVC doors, and I removed some of the inner trim to fit this lock.

There’s a choice of two cylinders: 30mm and 75mm, depending on the thickness of your door. This cylinder is a 3 Star Lock cylinder, built to be operated by a key on the outside and the smart lock on the inside. It comes with a £5000 guarantee for five years: you get the cash if someone breaks into your house by snapping the Ultion lock.

I found it quick to replace my old lock (there was just a single screw), although you can arrange installation if required.

In the kit, you get the door furniture you need, with a specially designed indoor handle that holds the Nuki lock in place. It’s easily adjustable, so it should fit most doors. I had my handle installed in a matter of minutes.

The Nuki Smart Lock Pro then needs to fit over the spindle and then it twists to lock into place. This part was a little tricky to get right, and to me a few goes to get the ‘click’ that showed the lock was in place.

For this model, you have to use release the lock using the catch to remove it for charging.

There’s then a proprietary magnetic charging cable to charge the internal battery. That’s the only downside, and a USB-C port would have been preferred, as I could then use any cable for charging.

Overall, the design changes are worth it. The new cylindrical Nuki lock looks much better than the old boxy-looking model.

Once connected, the lock can be connected to the Nuki app, using its built-in Wi-Fi connection. There’s then an option to transfer an old lock’s settings to the new one, although this doesn’t automatically reconnect accessories, such as a Keypad.

Features and performance

• Matter compatible
• Quick to respond
• Hugely flexible lock and unlock settings

Everything post physical installation is entirely via the Nuki app. That’s no bad thing, as Nuki makes the best app. First up, the lock has to be calibrated, but this is now entirely automatic: the lock will move until it finds the lock and unlock positions.

Wi-Fi means that you can use the lock remotely without a hub, but it’s worth using Matter, as this switches the lock to a Thread connection (you need a compatible Matter Controller).

Thread uses less power than Wi-Fi, so you get better battery life, and it’s also a lot more responsive. In both Apple Home and Homey, if I use Thread, the Ultion Nuki 2025 responds almost instantly; over Wi-Fi it can take a while to lock or unlock.

I recommend buying a keypad to use: there’s a basic one or one with the Nuki Fingerprint Keypad, which I have, which works with PINs or fingerprints.

Oddly, neither keypad has a 0 button, so any PIN you set has to use the number one to nine instead. PINs can be permanent or set for guest access, locked down to set days and times, and with an optional expiry date.

I also struggled to get my Keypad into pairing mode, as I’d used it with an older Nuki lock. In the end, taking the batteries out, reinserted them and everything worked.

As well as unlocking the door, the Keypad has a lock button. This is very handy on a lot of UK doors. While Nuki has an automatic lock option, if you have the add-on sensor to detect when the door is closed, it can fail on lift-to-lock doors (where the handle has to be pulled up).

With the lock button, I can close my door, lift the handle and then press the button to lock the door.

Should anything go wrong, then there’s still a physical key lock on the outside. For me, a manual override like this is essential. I’ve had smart locks that don’t have a key option fail, and it’s then a nightmare to get through a door. A manual override avoids this problem and, in the worst-case scenario, a locksmith can drill the lock out to regain entry.

Via the app, the Ultion Nuki 2025 is highly flexible. Its single button can be programmed. I use the intelligent option: one click and the door unlocks if locked or locks if unlocked. There’s also a double-click action, which can be handy for another option, such as Lock ‘n’ Go. 

This option unlocks the door, waits for the set time, and then locks again. It’s useful on the way out, to make sure that your door is locked.For fire safety, there’s also a turn on the lock, so I can manually lock and unlock the door from the inside.

Final thoughts

If you’re in the UK, the Ultion Nuki 2025 is the best smart lock you can buy. Its fast and smooth to use, and comes backed up with Brisant Secure’s excellent physical lock cylinder.

How we test

When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.

Smart locks usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a connected lock for a week and deliver a verdict.

Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular lock compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.

Read our guide on reviewing smart locks to learn more.

FAQs

Full product name: Specifications