Google Wallet now works as a front-door key. Android users with a compatible smart lock can open their door with a tap of their phone, or simply by walking up to it. Apple has offered the same thing since 2021, and Samsung added home keys to Galaxy phones earlier this year, so Google is clearly late here.
The feature is rolling out first to members of the Google Home Public Preview programme, with wider availability promised over the coming weeks. Setup starts in the Google Home app, where the lock is configured, and the key then appears in Wallet next to payment cards, car keys and passes.
There are two ways to use it. The NFC method works like a contactless payment: hold the phone near the lock and the door opens. Google has chosen convenience by default. The phone doesn’t need to be unlocked at the door, as long as it has been unlocked within the past few hours. Users who would rather not let anyone with their handset get in can turn on extra verification, and that is a setting worth considering. The second method, Unlock on Approach, uses Ultra-Wideband to detect the phone as its owner nears the door and unlock without any interaction. It is off by default and has to be enabled in Wallet.
One digital key can cover several compatible locks in the same home, and other household members can add keys to their own Wallet accounts, which addresses an obvious shared-household need.
The hardware requirements explain the delay. Google has built this on Aliro, the industry access standard developed under the Connectivity Standards Alliance, which is also behind Matter. Users need a Matter-certified lock with Aliro support and a Google Home hub that works as a Thread Border Router. At launch, supported locks include the Aqara U400, Schlage Sense Pro and Nuki Keypad 2 NFC. NFC unlocking works on phones running Android 9 or later, while hands-free entry needs a UWB-capable device such as the Pixel 10 Pro series.
That reliance on Aliro is what makes this launch notable. Apple’s home keys came out before the standard existed and depended on lock makers building specifically for Apple’s ecosystem. If Aliro works as intended, a single lock should eventually support iPhone and Android households equally, ending the situation where the front door picks a side in the platform war.
The gaps are still obvious. Wear OS smartwatches aren’t supported yet, though Apple Watch owners have been able to unlock doors from their wrist for years. The list of compatible locks is also short. Google has the standard in place, and now it needs more locks on the market that support it.