Nest Lock Won't Fit, Nest Lock Won't Work, How To Fix and Install Your Nest x Yale Lock
Nest X Yale Lock Wont Fit? We Nest smart lock installation and troubleshooting and how to fix or install your Nest smart lock.
Nest x Yale smart locks are great, I personally even have one on my home, but there are a few road blocks you can run into when installing your nest lock that can make it more difficult to install the Nest x Yale smart lock. We cover how to fix the most common issues people run across when installing a Nest smart lock so you can get your Nest smart lock up and running.
Please continue below to find all of our Nest x Yale smart lock troubleshooting solutions.
1. Nest Lock Won’t Fit In Existing Hole
It’s possible that the existing hole for your door is too small to fit the Nest x Yale smart lock. But don’t worry there is an easy fix. People most often run into this issue on older doors, or older locks that had a smaller diameter.
You take the old lock off and you try and install the front keypad of the Nest smart lock through the door lock hole and it just won’t fit. If this is the case with you, we can walk you through how to fix your Nest x Yale smart lock installation.
Step 1: Test Fit Nest Lock Bolt
Take the dead bolt latch, and front keypad out of the bag, also open up the screw kit that came with the nest. What we are going to do now is “test” fit the existing door hole for the Nest X Yale Lock. Do do this take off the old deadbolt latch and insert the new Nest deadbolt latch into the old deadbolt latch hole. We are checking to make sure that the latch is approximately the right length, if not you can depress the spring on the bottom of the latch to lengthen the latch. Read the instructions that come with the Nest X Yale smart lock if you want to see how to lengthen the latch.
If you have the latch approximately set up so that it will fit in the hole, or if the hole needs to be made larger, at least you now know that the existing hole is in the right place and what length you should set the latch too.
Step 2: Align The Smart Lock
Now that you have confirmed the right latch length what you can do is attach the latch to the Nest Lock front keypad using the provided mounting screws (use the shortest length screws) . Once you have the assembly connected you can hold the latch up to the edge of the door and the keypad as a mock up to confirm how the nest smart lock will properly fit and that when you mount the lock you will be able to cover up the existing hole with the lock and expand it to install the new Nest Smart Lock. Grab a pencil, and some painters tape, you can use the pencil to approximately outline where you will need to enlarge the hole for the Nest smart lock installation. You can also use the painter tape to mark the outline or after you have marked the outline with the pencil tape around it. The painter tape will help protect your door from any scratches and will help you identify when you have enlarged the hole big enough to fit the new lock.
Step 3: Enlarge The Nest Lock Hole For Installation
This is the most delicate part of the installation but is easy if you take your time. For this part of the installation you will need a special cutting drill bit and power drill to enlarge the lock opening large enough to install the Nest smart lock.
Recommended Cutting Drill Bit For Nest Lock Installation
We have found that if you have an existing hole for a deadbolt using the cutting bit is the simplest, and safest way to enlarge the hole for installing the Nest lock.
The alternative is using door jig to enlarge the hole but we have found that if there is an existing hole the door jigs tend to misalign, slip or don’t get a good cutting grip because they are designed to have a center stabilizing bit, stabilizing the drill as it cuts through the wood, but if there is already a hole in the door the stabilizing bit in the center of a door jig doesn’t have any material to grab on to, it’s just in the free air of the old door hole.
That makes using the drill cutting bit superior to the door jigs if you already have an existing deadbolt hole and just need to make it larger. With the drill cutting bit you can remove as much or as little material as you need if you just take it slow.
The drill cutting bit will cut through both metal and wood and can be very precise when used slowly. You can order the drill bit on Amazon and we have found them to be high enough quality for enlarging multiple doors. If you don’t have a drill we recommend Milwaukee cordless drills if you want long lasting tools that you will use for years but if you just want something that will get the job done this Ryobi Kit or a corded drill will do the job just fine.
Once you have the drill bit secured in the power drill you can begin enlarging the door hole. The key here is go slow, maintain control of the drill and try to use the drill as perpendicular as possible to the door. If you want to practice just grab a spare piece of wood and you can run the drill bit along the side of the scrap wood to see how the bit cuts when you apply pressure.
You should start with your drill bit from the outside face of the door, and insert it all the way though the door hole prior to engaging the drill. You are not trying to push the drill through the door, you are using the special cutting bits on the side of the bit to remove material, and you can go as slow or as fast as you want.
With the drill bit fully inserted through the door opening you can now pull the trigger and engage the drill, I find it’s best to slowly start the drill in the open air in the center of the door and make sure you have a firm grip on the drill and start pushing into the side of the door hole you are trying to enlarge for the nest lock. Try to use the drill to remove material around the hole while keeping it perpendicular to the door.
Take your time removing material, you can adjust the speeds on your drill if you want to take more material faster. Use front keypad of the Nest smart lock to check your progress and the fit of of the Nest smart lock. You will slowly be able to see your progress and how the Nest Lock will fit into the door hole.
Keep removing material until the front keypad of the lock will fit in the door.
Step 4: Prepare Back of Door & Test Fit
If you were holding the bit perpendicular the back side of the door should be large enough to accept the mounting plate, if not repeat the process you used on the front of the door to make enough room for the nest lock rear mounting plate. The rear mounting plate is very shallow so you don’t need to focus on expanding the whole full depth just enough so the nest lock will fit on the back of the door.
Step 5: Install The Nest Smart Lock
With the holes large enough you can now install the Nest lock per the instructions. Install the bolt, then the front keypad, the rear mounting plate and then the Nest x Yale smart lock battery pack and electronics. If you are having difficulty aligning the bolt, front key pad and rear mounting plate you may need to remove additional material at the top or bottom of the lock hole to allow the Nest lock keypad, and mounting plate to align with the bolt. Removing material from the top of the lock hole is more forgiving than the bottom because it will be covered by the nest lock keypad.
6: Nest x Yale Smart Lock Installation Complete
Now that you have the Nest lock mounted into that used to be too small, you are all set to follow the standard Nest Installation instructions. Insert the batteries, set up a master code, and connect the Nest Lock to the internet through the connect.
2. Nest Lock Wont Latch - How To Fix The Nest Lock
So, you installed the Nest X Yale smart lock, you’ve entered a master code and you’re ready to setup your new nest lock but you can’t get the Nest smart lock to latch. There are a couple easy solutions that can help you finish your nest lock installation, but first you need to diagnose what the issue is.
There are a a couple common issues that prevent the nest lock from latching:
The existing deadbolt hole is too small
the existing deadbolt hole is misaligned
How To Fix The Nest Smart Lock Latch If Deadbolt Hole Is Too Small
If the deadbolt hole is not deep enough you can take a cutting drill bit and slowly drill the hole deeper so that the Nest smart lock can fully extend the deadbolt. If the deadbolt hole is not large enough or just slightly misaligned you can use the cutting drill bit to gradually remove a small amount of material. It typically doesn’t take much material removal to get the Nest deadbolt to latch. You can check where you need to remove material by opening the door, extending the deadbolt and visually observing where it aligns with the door latch and where you may need to remove material.
You should also inspect where material should be removed by closing the door and turning the deadbolt manually with your fingers. You can typically see and feel where material should be removed if you look through the crack between the door and door frame.
If neither of these work, you can extend the deadbolt, color it with marker (all sides and then end) then retract the deadbolt slowly. When you extend the bolt it will leave a mark of where the deadbolt is hitting on the door. Please note this will leave a mark on your door and using dry erase or kids markers are best because they are easy to clean up.
Slowly remove material and test fit often to ensure you don’t remove too much material.
How To Fix The Nest x Yale Smart Lock Latch If Deadbolt Hole Is Misaligned.
If the existing deadbolt hole is only slightly misaligned you can use the cutting drill bit to make the deadbolt latch and hole on the doorframe slightly larger.
If the existing deadbolt hole has serious misalignment issues you will need to remove the existing deadbolt latch plate and re-mount it in a position that will work with the bolt. It’s important that when you do this you slowly remove the plate and try not to strip the screws. Before your remove the plate you should determine which way the bolt plate needs to move, should it go up, down, left or right?
When you have determined where the Nest smart lock deadbolt plate should be located you can slowly screw in the deadbolt plate to check how it will align. I recommend screwing in one screw first to see how things fit and then when confirmed screw in the other hole. Now check for fit and adjustment. You may need to remove a small amount of material with the cutting drill bit to get the proper fit.
If you removed too much material, or your existing screw holes are junk, or there is not enough good holding power for the door latch you can use epoxy putty to repair the area to give the screws good holding power. The epoxy putty hardens in one hour and can be screwed into, sanded or tapped.
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