What's new about Ring's smart lock?
On October 7, 2026, Ring announced its first Smart Lock, a $249 keyless deadbolt built around a feature no other smart lock on the market has: a hand-turned "Power Dial" set into the thumb-turn. According to GadgetReview, Ring says cranking the dial a few times charges enough backup power to run the lock for one unlock, even when the battery that normally powers it is completely dead. One outlet covering the announcement put it bluntly: "I don't know why no one else has done it."
The lock unlocks four ways — fingerprint, keypad code, the Ring app, or Alexa — and syncs codes and status over Amazon's Sidewalk network rather than relying only on home Wi-Fi, per AnalyticsInsight. It's slated for a US release in early 2027, pending FCC authorization, and fits a standard single-cylinder deadbolt with no extra wiring.
Why dead-battery lockouts are already a problem
Every keypad or smart deadbolt sold today already runs on batteries, and the low-battery chirp is easy to tune out until it stops chirping altogether. On most of these locks — unlike Ring's upcoming model — a dead battery means a dead keypad: no code entry, no app unlock, nothing, because the only working entry method built into the door just lost its power.
That's exactly the gap Ring's crank is meant to close, and the fact that a company known for door hardware had to invent a hand-cranked backup says how common the failure already is. It's the same shape of problem as any battery-run home device: the convenience is real right up until the battery isn't, and most people only find out at the door, not before.
What to do before a crank-powered lock reaches your door
Whether or not a crank-charged lock ever shows up on your house, the fix for the lock already on your door costs nothing and takes five minutes: swap the backup batteries on a schedule — every six to twelve months — rather than waiting for the warning chime, keep a tested physical key in a lockbox away from the door itself, and try the keypad code and the app from outside the house at least once so you know both actually work before you need them at 11 p.m.
If a keypad lock has already died with nobody able to get in, or an aging deadbolt needs replacing before a dead-battery lockout becomes routine, that's what 24/7 Express Handyman Service's keypad lock installation covers: installing a battery-powered keypad or smart deadbolt in the existing door prep, setting up every code with the owner, and testing the physical key and battery backup before leaving. Battery-powered smart locks like this one install the same way a keyed deadbolt does — no electrician needed — while any hardwired access system still gets referred out.