TCL D1 Fingerprint Smart Lock review: More than the basics

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You probably know TCL for its TVs, soundbars, and smart appliances more than its home security devices, but the manufacturer now offers no fewer than six smart locks (and one home security camera, too).

One of its most ambitious smart locks—the D1 Pro Palm Vein Smart Lock—was a better value than the even more ambitious TCL D1 Max 3-in-1 Video Smart Lock, which boasted an integrated video doorbell. Both of those devices had their flaws, but if you’re willing to give up palm vein scanning technology and an integrated camera to see your visitors, the far more basic TCL D1 is the better value.

This less-expensive alternative retains the PIN pad, fingerprint scanner, and Wi-Fi connectivity in a package that’s available at Amazon for just $90. That makes it one of the least expensive smart locks with a fingerprint reader on the market.

Specifications

The D1 has a familiar and basic industrial design, with an understated exterior escutcheon that features physical buttons (which illuminate when pressed) instead of a touchscreen, a standard fingerprint reader up top, and a traditional keyhole beneath. The lock carries no ANSI or BHMA certifications (need to know more about those standards? Our guide to smart lock quality and security will tell you everything you need to know.)

Inside the house, the massive interior escutcheon of the D1 Pro remains, measuring a gigantic 6.75 inches inches tall (just slightly smaller than the even larger 7-inch escutcheon on the TCL D1 Max I reviewed in January 2025). This lock is powered by eight AA batteries (not included) instead of a rechargeable cell. TCL says fresh batteries will supply nine months of juice. A USB-C port on the underside of the exterior escutcheon is available for emergency access power.

Installation and setup

Christopher Null/Foundry

Installation is straightforward and exactly in line with the D1 Pro Palm Vein Smart Lock I reviewed in December 2024. TCL includes a decent manual, but also provides bolts in multiple sizes, so you’ll need to pay close attention to ensure you use the right ones. (Pro tip: You will probably want the smaller ones unless you have a massively thick door.) These bolts attach the interior mounting frame to the door, and the interior escutcheon in turn connects to that frame.

As with the D1 Pro, this requires juggling three screws in two different sizes, and features tiny screw holes that are difficult to reach with a standard size screwdriver. Again, I had to dig around for a tool small enough to get the job done and that wouldn’t mar the surrounding plastic housing.

As with the D1 Pro, you’ll have to manage the lock in Tuya’s Smart Life app, which has not improved in any meaningful way since my last encounter with it. Onboarding the lock to Smart Life involves pressing a small button on the lock hardware followed by a numeric code to put it into pairing mode, though the manual will guide you through this process well enough if you follow along carefully. Pairing with a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network was expedient in my testing.

As noted, the lock supports electronic access via fingerprint or PIN, in addition to the app. The unit supports a maximum of 50 PINs and 100 fingerprints.

User management is done in Smart Life’s “Member management” section, where each user can be assigned PINs, fingerprints, or both. Nothing seems to have changed about this rickety system since I last encountered it, complete with the poor translations and unfortunate design choices that may rightfully make you question whether to put into it the necessary faith required to trust it with your homestead.

Christopher Null/Foundry

Most of the common options for configuring temporary access are available in Smart Life, though one-time restricted access must be set to expire at the end of the day, rather than at a certain time. Oddly, temporary passwords for non-recurring users can, however, be set to expire at a given time, or, with the strangely named “dynamic” password, after five minutes.

The “special password” feature from the D1 Pro is also available here. This feature lets you choose a separate PIN that users can enter if they are under duress. Tapping in the “special password” sends a push notification to the administrator to this effect. You can also designate a different fingerprint to be used as for duress incidents. It’s not the most elegant setup, with notifications like “${username} may be hijacked. Please act now!” But it does at least work mostly as intended.

The Smart Life app is pretty dumb

I remain baffled over Smart Life’s logging, which records all lock opening events, but not lock closing or failed opening attempts, both of which may be vital for some users. I also encountered several instances where the lock abruptly lost its Wi-Fi connection; the only foolproof way I found to quickly reconnect it was through removing and replacing the batteries—that’s hardly ideal if you’re trying to remotely manage the lock. This was probably the most troubling concern I had with this lock, as it renders the app unusable for a time (as there’s no Bluetooth backup in the event Wi-Fi is offline).

Lock operations are smooth and reasonably quiet, with all actions verbally announced. The physical buttons offer a satisfying but not overly loud click when pressed, along with an electronic beep. The location and vertical alignment of the fingerprint reader aren’t ideal, but its accuracy is fine provided you keep your finger aligned the same way it was scanned, and it works quickly.

Smart Life’s advanced settings for the D1 are minimal. Auto-locking can be configured from 5 to 900 seconds, and audio volume controls are robust. Some Googling will be required to figure out what certain options like “sleep time” are for (turns out this disables the app, but not PINs and prints, and prevents it from opening the lock during the set interval). Simple support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa is included, but you’ll need Smart Life to manage credentials and perform most other functions.

Should you buy the TCL D1 Fingerprint Smart Lock?

Again, the price of the device is its strongest selling point by far: just $90, and apparently in free-fall as TCL prepares to release an updated model. I’ve not found any other reputable products with a fingerprint reader at that price point, though a few come close.

If you’re looking to spend less and don’t need a fingerprint reader, take a look at the TP-Link Tapo DL100, a Wi-Fi smart lock with a PIN pad but no fingerprint reader that’s going for just $60.

As with TCL’s other smart locks, the TCL D1 mostly gets the job done while being rough around the edges. If you have a door where “good enough” protection will suffice, give it a look.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart locks.