Google Wallet Finally Lets You Unlock Your Home with Your Android Phone

Apple has offered home keys in Apple Wallet since 2021 and Samsung added them to Galaxy phones earlier this year. Now Google is finally catching up: Google Wallet now offers digital home keys that let users unlock compatible smart locks with their Android phone.

As per the official Google Support page, once users add a home key to Google Wallet, they can unlock their door in two ways:

Tap to Unlock: Tap the phone on the lock to unlock it. This uses NFC and works on phones running Android 9 or later.
Unlock on Approach: The door unlocks as users walk up to it, without taking their phone out. This uses Ultra Wideband (UWB) and works on the Pixel 10 Pro series and newer, along with select UWB-enabled Samsung Galaxy phones. Users will need to turn it on manually in Google Wallet.

Add a home key to Google Wallet during lock setup in the Google Home app — Image Credit: Google

By default, Tap to Unlock works even when the phone’s screen is locked, as long as you have unlocked it in the last few hours. If you want more security, you can change the settings in Google Wallet to require your screen lock or fingerprint before the door opens. That way, someone else holding your phone can’t get in.

Moreover, your home key isn’t tied to a single lock. One key in Google Wallet works with all compatible locks in your home. It also syncs across all your Android phones signed in to the same Google Wallet account. Other members of your household can add their own keys to their Google Wallet accounts too.

Unlock your door with your home key in Google Wallet — Image Credit: Google

To use home keys, you need a smart lock that’s Matter-certified and supports the Aliro standard. You will also need a compatible Google Home hub that works as a Thread Border Router. Here are the locks supported at launch:

Smart Lock	Tap to Unlock (NFC)	Unlock on Approach (UWB)
Aqara U400	Yes	Yes
Schlage Sense Pro	Yes	Coming later
Nuki Keypad 2 NFC	Yes	No

Google says more lock models will be supported soon. However, Wear OS smartwatches aren’t supported at launch, so you can’t unlock your door with your watch yet.

The feature is rolling out to Google Home Public Preview users first. Everyone else will get it over the coming weeks. Google hasn’t said which countries will get the feature.