Matt, sorry that we screwed up with the crowdfunded Lockitron. We're still working to solve the Bluetooth issues on Android which, until very recently, have been inherent in the stack. The frustration of sleeping Lockitron is why we're moving to a separate WiFi component (Bridge). Let me know if there's anything I can do in the meantime (cameron [at]).
Separate wifi component would be great. There needs to be something plugged in all the time. Will you be replacing the crowdfunded one with a better one? (I don't even mind replacing the deadbolt.)
Edit: also I love you guys. You've done a great job keeping people up to date, handling support requests (my emails get answered in hours). I think you'll get there. Just frustrated with the product.
Despite closely following Android docs and published examples we could never get consistent connectivity across most BLE Android handsets under 4.3 and earlier. We tested the Androids against simulated iOS peripherals in order to rule out Lockitron oddities (of which there were plenty).
We pinged the Android BLE folks and only ever received crickets on how to resolve these issues. We're more hopefully based on what we're seeing with 4.4 and 5 but without a full library of handsets the onus of testing which OS/device mix "works" has fallen on our users up until now.
For bystanders wondering, the Android bluetooth stack is apparently deeply problematic. I was trying to debug some issue between my android devices and a music receiver connected to my stereo. In reading up on this, I came across so many people with stories like this.
This isn't unknown or secret information. Lokitron should have been able to identify this before building and either choose another solution or at least set expectations at the start for android users.
The theory that people should know everything before doing anything is a) impossible, and b) is what leads to massive, wasteful waterfall development cycles. The best we can do is to try to identify and mitigate risks as quickly as possible, and to handle responsibly the problems that happen regardless.
