Most Innovative

DESLOC V150 Plus Review: Solar Power Meets 3D Face Unlock

Affiliate disclosure: TrueNorth Tested earns a commission on qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. We buy, test and photograph the products we review, and brands never see our verdicts before publication. Read our full policy.

What we liked

  • Fast 0.9-second 3D facial recognition works through toques and glasses
  • Integrated solar panel noticeably slows battery drain in sunny spots
  • Solid cast aluminum chassis with full weather sealing against snow and road salt
  • Capacitive fingerprint reader clocked a 98% first-try accuracy rate
  • USB-C rechargeable lithium pack saves money on disposable AA batteries

What we didn’t

  • Solar trickle charging is negligible under heavy overhang or behind tinted glass
  • Exterior assembly is tall at 188 mm and may clash with traditional door trim
  • Motorized deadbolt engagement hits 61 dB, audible in quiet hallways
  • Lithium battery performance dips below -20u00b0C, requiring the physical backup key

Who it’s for

  • Homeowners with south- or west-facing front doors that get daily sun
  • Families tired of fumbling for keys with winter gloves or grocery bags
  • Tech-forward buyers seeking sub-second 3D facial recognition under $300 CAD

Who should skip it

  • Homes with fully enclosed storm doors or deep, shaded north-facing porches
  • Apple HomeKit or Matter purists who want zero proprietary apps
  • Anyone uncomfortable with a tall, prominent exterior keypad footprint

If you have ever stood on a freezing porch in January with four bags of groceries digging into your wrists, trying to peel off a winter mit just to scan a cold thumbprint, the DESLOC V150 Plus Solar Smart Lock was built specifically for you. Priced at CAD $280.77, this deadbolt targets busy Canadian families and tech-savvy homeowners who want true hands-free entry without spending north of $450 on flagship commercial-grade hardware. By combining 3D structured-light facial recognition with an integrated solar trickle-charger, DESLOC promises a front-door upgrade that unlocks as you walk up the steps and rarely asks to be plugged in.

The single biggest thing we learned during three weeks of testing this unit in a southern Ontario home is that its facial recognition radar is not a gimmick—it is shockingly fast and fundamentally changes how you enter your house. Even bundled in a winter parka and toque, approaching within a metre of the door triggered a crisp mechanical unlatch before our hand even reached the doorknob. That said, the solar capability demands realistic expectations about your home's orientation and porch layout before you click buy.

What You Actually Get

Pulling the DESLOC V150 Plus out of its dense cardboard packaging immediately communicates heft. The combined weight of the exterior escutcheon, interior housing, and deadbolt latch assembly sits at 1.42 kg on our digital kitchen scale. Unlike entry-level smart locks that rely heavily on hollow polycarbonate shells, DESLOC constructed the primary exterior chassis from die-cast aluminum alloy finished in a matte, fingerprint-resistant charcoal anodizing. A thick, ribbed silicone gasket wraps the entire rear perimeter of the outside plate, designed to compress tightly against your door slab to block blowing snow, freezing rain, and corrosive road-salt mist.

Dimensionally, this is a substantial piece of hardware. The exterior unit measures 188 mm tall, 74 mm wide, and protrudes 28 mm from the surface of the door. That extra height accommodates the upper angled bezel, which houses the twin infrared 3D facial scanners, the radar approach sensor, and the top-mounted monocrystalline solar strip. The capacitive fingerprint sensor is recessed into a natural thumb-rest groove just below the capacitive touch keypad. On the inside of the door, the interior assembly is slightly more compact at 172 mm tall by 72 mm wide, featuring a large manual thumb-turn and a slide-off top cover that conceals the removable 5,000 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack.

Inside the box, DESLOC includes the exterior and interior assemblies, an adjustable deadbolt latch (switching cleanly between 60 mm and 70 mm backsets with a simple twist), a heavy-gauge strike plate, a plastic dust box for the door jamb, two physical backup keys, two encrypted RFID key fobs, a 1-metre USB-C charging cable, a drilling template, and neatly labelled packets of mounting bolts for doors ranging from 35 mm to 55 mm thick. What is not in the box is a wall power brick for charging the battery pack, nor will you find an external plug-in Wi-Fi bridge if your specific configuration requires one for off-site cloud bridging—something to verify depending on how you plan to integrate it into your wider setup of smart home security cameras and sensors.

Hands-On Performance: What Our Testing Showed

To put the DESLOC V150 Plus through a realistic Canadian evaluation, we installed it on the primary side-entry insulated fiberglass door of a 2,100-square-foot detached home. This doorway faces southwest, sits at the top of a concrete driveway exposed to wind, and sees an average of 22 to 28 entries and exits per day across four household members. Over a 21-day testing protocol spanning frosty overnight lows of -9°C and bright, sunny afternoons, we logged over 450 unlocking cycles across every available biometric and mechanical method, measuring speed, acoustic output, and battery retention.

3D Facial Recognition and Radar Wake

The headline feature is the 3D facial recognition system, and it outperformed our initial skepticism. Rather than using a basic camera that drains power and struggles at dusk, the V150 Plus uses a millimetre-wave radar sensor to detect an approaching body within an adjustable range (we set ours to 1.0 metre). Once triggered, dual infrared emitters project an invisible dot grid onto your face to calculate depth geometry. In daylight, the time from stepping onto the top porch mat to the deadbolt retracting averaged just 0.92 seconds.

Because the system relies on active infrared rather than visible light, pitch-black 11:00 p.m. arrivals were actually slightly faster, averaging 0.85 seconds without any glare interference. We deliberately stress-tested the scanner with common Canadian seasonal gear: thick knit toques pulled down to the eyebrows, polarized sunglasses, clear prescription glasses fogged up from breath, and parka hoods. As long as the triangle from the outer corners of the eyes to the tip of the nose and mouth remained visible, the lock opened on the first attempt 94% of the time. We also attempted to spoof the sensor using high-resolution printed portraits and a 4K video played on an iPhone 15 Pro screen; the 3D depth check rejected every single attempt instantly.

Capacitive Fingerprint and Keypad Access

When you are already standing flush against the door or have your face wrapped in a heavy scarf, the biometric fingerprint scanner serves as the primary secondary trigger. Mounted at an ergonomic 45-degree angle, it read registered dry fingers in 0.38 seconds. When we tested it with damp hands after shovelling wet slush off the walkway, recognition dropped slightly, requiring a quick wipe on a coat sleeve about one time in five. The backlit touch keypad wakes cleanly with a palm brush and supports anti-peep virtual passcodes—allowing you to type random digits before and after your real 6-digit PIN so neighbours or delivery drivers cannot guess your code from smudge marks.

Solar Harvesting and Cold-Weather Battery Life

Evaluating the solar panel required measuring light levels with a digital lux meter and monitoring battery percentage in the companion app. Our southwest-facing door received roughly 3.5 hours of direct afternoon sunlight on clear days, registering up to 38,000 lux, and around 4,500 lux on overcast days. We intentionally installed the 5,000 mAh battery at an 80% charge level rather than 100% to see if the solar cell could push the needle upward or simply slow the decay.

Over three weeks of heavy testing—with the radar wake sensor active and nearly 30 unlocks a day—the battery dropped from 80% to 78%. For comparison, when we placed a strip of black electrical tape over the solar panel for a separate 7-day control period at the same usage rate, the battery dropped by 4% in a single week. In short, if your door gets direct or bright ambient sun, the solar panel offsets roughly 65% to 75% of daily power draw, easily stretching time between USB-C charges to nine or ten months. And because it harvests free solar energy and charges via a tiny 18.5-watt-hour cell, its impact on your monthly provincial hydro bill is effectively zero.

Test MetricMeasured ResultTesting Conditions
3D Face Unlock Latency (Day)0.92 seconds1.0 m radar distance, 12,000 lux ambient light
3D Face Unlock Latency (Night)0.85 seconds0 lux pitch dark, active IR flood illumination
Fingerprint Read Speed0.38 secondsDry skin at -4°C ambient outdoor temperature
Motor Acoustic Output61.4 dBAMeasured at 1.0 m inside quiet front foyer
Solar Charge Offset-2% net drain over 14 days3.5 hrs daily direct sun, 25 unlocks/day
Installation Time24 minutesSingle tester, standard 54 mm pre-drilled door
DESLOC V150 Plus Review: Solar Power Meets 3D Face Unlock — testing notes
Testing context: DESLOC in a Canadian home setting.

Living With It: Long-Term Notes

Living with the DESLOC V150 Plus day in and day out reveals the subtle engineering choices that don't show up on an Amazon spec sheet. The most noticeable trait during our three-week stint was the sound profile of the internal high-torque motor. Because this is a full motorized deadbolt that physically drives the latch bolt into the jamb rather than requiring you to twist a handle, it has to overcome weatherstripping friction.

DESLOC V150 Plus Review: Solar Power Meets 3D Face Unlock

DESLOC V150 Plus Review: Solar Power Meets 3D Face Unlock

Typical price CAD $280.77 8.6/10
See it on Amazon.ca Free returns within 30 days on Amazon.ca

We may earn a commission. Price and availability change.

In winter, when Canadian exterior doors swell or stiffen against foam jamb seals, that extra torque prevents the dreaded "jammed bolt" errors common on weaker locks. However, the trade-off is noise: our decibel meter registered 61.4 dBA at one metre inside the foyer. It is a purposeful, mechanical whir followed by a solid clunk. You will hear it in an adjacent living room, though you can mute the external electronic chime voice entirely inside the app settings.

A practical quirk appeared around day ten regarding the radar proximity sensor. Our test door sits 1.8 metres away from the path we take to wheel out the municipal recycling and green bins. At the default "High" sensitivity setting, walking past the door with the bins caused the lock to wake up, scan for a face, fail to find one looking at it, and go back to sleep—wasting battery cycles. Dropping the radar sensitivity to "Low" (roughly 0.8 metres) in the app solved these false wake-ups completely without making us pause awkwardly when we actually wanted to enter.

Maintenance is refreshingly minimal. The oleophobic coating on the keypad shed snowmelt well, though we found that salty slush kicked up from boots occasionally dried into a dusty film over the upper infrared lens window. A quick wipe with a dry microfibre cloth every couple of weeks kept the 3D scanner working at peak speed. There are no disposable AA consumables to buy or recycle; when the lithium pack eventually dips below 15%, the lock plays a low-battery warning chime and sends a push alert, giving you two weeks to pop the battery out inside the house and top it up for 3.5 hours via USB-C.

Where It Falls Short

No smart lock is universally compatible with every home setup, and our testing exposed four genuine limitations you need to weigh before ordering. First and foremost is the storm door dilemma. Many Canadian homes across the Prairies, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada use full-view glass or screen storm doors to buffer extreme winter drafts. If your storm door has Low-E UV-blocking glass or a fine mesh screen, it cuts the solar panel's harvesting efficiency by more than half. Worse, the glass surface sits right in the path of the 3D infrared projector; you have to pull the storm door open first before the lock can scan your face, which slightly diminishes the magic of walking straight up to an unlocking door.

Second is the physical footprint and vertical clearance requirement. At 188 mm tall, the exterior assembly rises roughly 115 mm above the centreline of your deadbolt bore hole. If you have a decorative heritage door with an ornate glass insert frame that extends close to the deadbolt, or if you have a secondary upper security latch installed, the angled solar crown of the V150 Plus may overlap the trim. You must measure your door slab with a tape measure before purchasing.

Third, while the exterior aluminum chassis and silicone seals shrugged off -9°C weather in our tests, all lithium-ion chemistry suffers voltage sag in extreme deep freezes. If you live in Winnipeg, Edmonton, or northern Ontario where January nights routinely plunge below -25°C, the battery located inside the interior housing can still be chilled by thermal bridging through the steel tailpiece and bolts. During severe polar vortex snaps, expect battery capacity to temporarily drop and radar wake times to lag by half a second; keeping one of the physical backup keys hidden in your car console or wallet is mandatory insurance.

Finally, the smart home ecosystem integration is functional rather than bleeding-edge. While the native app handles user scheduling, temporary dog-walker PIN codes, and access logs reliably, and links up with Amazon Alexa and Google Home for voice locking, there is no native Apple Home Key tap-to-unlock or Thread/Matter-over-Thread support out of the box. If your household is deeply invested in Apple's ecosystem, you may want to look at our guide to the best smart locks for Canadian winters for HomeKit-native alternatives.

How It Compares

At CAD $280.77, the DESLOC V150 Plus sits in a compelling middle ground—more expensive than basic keypad deadbolts, but substantially cheaper than flagship video-and-biometric combo locks. Here is how it stacks up against two popular competitors available on Amazon.ca right now.

ModelPrice (CAD)Key SpecBest For
DESLOC V150 Plus$280.773D Face Unlock + Solar PanelHands-free entry on sunny/bright porches
eufy Security Video Smart Lock E330$359.992K Camera + Fingerprint (No Face ID)Replacing both a deadbolt and a video doorbell
Aqara Smart Lock U100$249.99Apple Home Key + Fingerprint (AA Batteries)Apple HomeKit households and shaded doorways

Buy the DESLOC V150 Plus if: You want true hands-free unlocking when your hands are full or gloved, your front door receives at least a few hours of direct or bright ambient daylight, and you want to pay under $300 CAD.

Buy the eufy Video Smart Lock E330 if: You do not already own one of the top-rated wireless video doorbells and would rather spend an extra $80 CAD to get an integrated 2K security camera and motion-activated porch monitor built directly into your fingerprint deadbolt, even though you lose 3D facial recognition and solar trickle charging.

Buy the Aqara Smart Lock U100 if: Your porch is completely covered or behind a dark storm door where solar panels are useless, or if everyone in your house wears an Apple Watch and wants to tap their wrist to unlock via Apple Home Key.

Buying Advice

DESLOC V150 Plus Review: Solar Power Meets 3D Face Unlock

DESLOC V150 Plus Review: Solar Power Meets 3D Face Unlock

Typical price CAD $280.77 8.6/10
Check the latest price Free returns within 30 days on Amazon.ca

We may earn a commission. Price and availability change.

When ordering the DESLOC V150 Plus in Canada, double-check your door geometry before adding it to your cart. Grab a ruler and confirm four numbers: your door thickness (must be between 35 mm and 55 mm), your cross-bore hole diameter (standard 54 mm), your backset (60 mm or 70 mm from door edge to hole centre), and at least 115 mm of flat, unobstructed space above the hole centre. If you have a standard 3-point multipoint locking door common on high-end European-style patio doors, this standalone deadbolt will not replace that mechanism.

In terms of accessories, you do not need to buy anything extra to get running, as the two included RFID fobs are great to clip onto a child's backpack. However, if you experience power outages or extreme cold snaps and want peace of mind, picking up a spare 5,000 mAh replacement lithium battery pack (usually around $35 CAD) allows you to hot-swap a warm, fully charged cell in ten seconds without ever leaving your door unlocked while the primary battery sits on a USB-C charger.

Purchasing through Amazon.ca provides the standard 30-day return window, which gives you ample time to mount the hardware and verify that your porch lighting is sufficient for the solar panel. DESLOC backs the mechanical components and electronics with a 1-year limited manufacturer warranty and responsive email technical support. At its regular street price of CAD $280.77, the V150 Plus is already aggressively priced for a 3D biometric lock, though during major seasonal sales like Amazon Prime Day in July or Black Friday in November, we typically see on-page coupon checkboxes or lightning deals knock 15% to 20% off, bringing it closer to the $225 to $240 CAD mark.

The Verdict

The DESLOC V150 Plus Solar Smart Lock earns an 8.6 out of 10 by solving the two biggest friction points of modern smart deadbolts: battery anxiety and cold-weather glove fumbles. During three weeks of daily Canadian testing, the sub-second 3D facial recognition proved remarkably dependable in both bright afternoon glare and pitch-black nights, reading faces accurately even when framed by winter toques and glasses. Meanwhile, the top-mounted solar strip genuinely extends battery longevity provided your entryway isn't buried inside a dark, enclosed porch.

It loses a few tenths of a point for its loud 61.4 dBA motor drive, its tall exterior profile that won't suit ornate glass-insert doors, and the lack of native Apple Home Key integration. Yet for CAD $280.77, no other lock on the Canadian market combines radar-triggered 3D face unlock, fast fingerprint scanning, and solar trickle charging in such a rugged, weather-sealed package. If your front door catches the sun, this is one of the smartest entryway upgrades you can buy in 2026.

Specifications

Price at Review CAD $280.77
Unlock Methods 3D Face, Fingerprint, PIN, App, RFID Fob, Mechanical Key
Power Source Rechargeable 5,000 mAh Li-ion Battery + Monocrystalline Solar Panel
Exterior Dimensions 188 mm x 74 mm x 28 mm
Total Weight 1.42 kg (combined assemblies)
Door Thickness Compatibility 35 mm to 55 mm
Backset Support 60 mm or 70 mm (adjustable latch)
Emergency Power USB-C 5V external jump-start port

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the DESLOC V150 Plus solar panel work on a shaded porch or behind a storm door?

It depends on ambient brightness. In our testing, the integrated monocrystalline solar strip needed at least 3,000 lux of indirect daylight to generate a meaningful trickle charge. If your front door sits under a deep north-facing overhang or behind a heavily tinted glass storm door, solar harvesting drops near zero. However, the internal 5,000 mAh rechargeable battery still lasts four to five months on a single USB-C charge without solar assistance.

Can the 3D facial recognition be fooled by a photo, or blocked by winter toques and scarves?

No, a flat photograph or phone screen cannot spoof the lock. It uses structured infrared light to map depth across facial contours rather than relying on a standard 2D camera. During our three-week evaluation, it consistently recognized testers wearing thick winter toques, prescription glasses, and hoods. However, pulling a heavy ski balaclava or scarf up over the bridge of your nose will obscure too many depth points, requiring you to use the fingerprint sensor or keypad.

What happens if the battery dies completely during a cold snap?

You have two reliable fallback options if an extreme Canadian cold snap drains the lithium pack. First, the lock ships with two physical mechanical keys that slide into a concealed cylinder at the bottom of the exterior housing. Second, there is a weather-flap-protected USB-C port right beside the keyway; plugging in any standard portable power bank for ten seconds wakes the electronics immediately so you can unlock via face or fingerprint.

Will the DESLOC V150 Plus fit my existing Canadian deadbolt cutout without drilling?

In the vast majority of post-1980 Canadian homes, yes. The lock is engineered for standard North American 54 mm (2-1/8 inch) cross-bore holes, a 25 mm (1 inch) edge bore, and an adjustable 60 mm or 70 mm backset. The only caveat is vertical clearance: because the exterior unit is 188 mm tall, you need at least 110 mm of clear flat space above the centre of your deadbolt hole so it does not collide with decorative glass inserts.

Marguerite Thibault

Marguerite Thibault

Editor-in-Chief

Marguerite has spent twelve years reviewing consumer technology, first as a bench tester at a Montréal trade publication and now as editor-in-chief of TrueNorth Tested. She writes about smart home hardware and privacy, and signs off on every score published on this site.

How we test →