"manual overrides or at least a simple mechanical bypass can save you major headaches down the line."
Couldn't agree more. Learned that lesson the hard way when a tenant called me at 2am because their fancy smart lock decided to update itself and locked them out mid-update. Now I always keep a good ol' fashioned key backup handy. Tech's awesome, but sometimes simpler really is better...
Totally with you on this. It's funny how often people overlook the basics until something goes wrong. Had a similar experience myself—installed a smart thermostat thinking it'd be foolproof, until it glitched out mid-winter and decided the house needed cooling at 3am. Woke up freezing, fumbling around trying to reset the thing in the dark (not fun). Now I always make sure there's a straightforward manual option for any tech upgrade I do around the house. Tech can make life easier, but only if there's a simple fallback when it inevitably decides to act up. Glad you got it sorted and learned from it—these experiences definitely stick with you.
Had a similar issue with smart locks once—tenants called me at midnight because the battery died and they couldn't get in. Technology is great until it's suddenly not. I'm curious, though... do you usually research manual overrides before buying these gadgets, or is it more trial-and-error after something goes wrong? I've started checking manuals beforehand now, but I wonder if that's standard practice or just me being overly cautious.
"Technology is great until it's suddenly not."
Exactly. Learned this the hard way when my garage door opener died during a power outage. No manual override, no easy way in... ended up climbing through a window at 1 AM. Now I always skim manuals first—might seem overly cautious, but better safe than sorry.
Had a similar issue once with a smart lock on a rental property. Batteries died without warning, tenant stuck outside at midnight... Learned to always have a backup key hidden somewhere—tech's great, but redundancy is key.
