Connected Craftsman LLC
A smart deadbolt that will not throw is almost never a smart deadbolt problem. The lock is doing what it is told. Something is stopping the bolt.
Here is the order I check it in. Most of it you can do yourself in about ten minutes.
Turn It by Hand First
Turn it by hand with the door open. If the bolt slides out smoothly into fresh air, the lock and the motor are both fine and your problem is in the frame. If it binds with the door wide open, the lock is sitting wrong in the door itself and the frame is innocent.
Mark the Bolt and See Where It Lands
Put a dab of chalk or lipstick on the end of the bolt, close the door, throw it as far as it will go, and open up. The mark on the jamb tells you exactly how far off you are and in which direction. This takes a minute and saves you guessing.
Look at the Hole, Not the Plate
This is the one people miss. The strike plate can line up perfectly while the mortise behind it — the pocket cut into the jamb — is too shallow, or cut off to one side, so the bolt hits solid wood a quarter of an inch in. A tidy plate with a ragged, half-depth hole behind it is the single commonest version of this fault.
Check the Door Before You Cut Anything
A door that has dropped on its hinges, or a frame that has moved with the season, shows up as a bolt that latched fine in March and will not latch in August. Replacing the top hinge screws with longer ones that reach the framing behind the jamb pulls the door back up, and sometimes that is the whole fix.
Two Things Worth Knowing Either Way
- A motorized deadbolt needs more clearance than a hand-turned one, because there is no shoulder behind it to lean on. Anything a person would describe as "a bit stiff" will stop the motor dead.
- If the strike is clearly fine and the bolt still stalls, check the batteries before you do anything else. A lock at low voltage fails in exactly the same way as a lock that is dragging.
When It's a Chisel Job
If you have worked through all of that and it still will not latch, that is a chisel job on the jamb, and it is worth having someone do it properly. A mortise cut too wide cannot be uncut. See what that repair actually looks like in our work gallery.
We fit and fix smart locks across Downingtown, Exton, West Chester, Malvern and Glenmoore, including squaring up the door so the thing actually latches. Call or text (484) 699-0626 for a free estimate.