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Comment by mmagin | Hacker News Reader

Does Lockitron work for someone who happens to not have mobile phone service where the rental is? As convenient as it is, it seems like short-duration travelers to a country don't always bother with having a working mobile phone where they're going. If so, I'd hope it's obvious in the listing.

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You need a working mobile phone with service, but it doesn't need to be a smartphone.

https://lockitron.com/help/mobile#smsaccess

EDIT: Included more detail about needing a working mobile phone with service, due to ahlatimer.

His question was does it work without having service. In other words offline mode. I think the answer is that no it does not.

I thought I answered that, while also providing additional information. I apologize if that seemed rude in any way.

You did not. The OP was asking if you had a phone in the equivalent of "airplane mode" or just no service where you are, would Lockitron work? You have a mobile phone, which meets your criteria, but Lockitron would not work with SMS access, since you can't send an SMS. Would it work for smart phones? I have no idea. The page you linked to didn't say one way or the other (or if it did, I didn't see it).

So, you just need to write down the PIN somewhere you have service, right? Or am I misunderstanding when the PIN gets sent?

Is it even available yet? I thought it was still in development

From there website looks like they're still trying to ramp up product. Maybe he has an early unit though.

Lockitron works over WiFi, Bluetooth 4, NFC, and text messaging.

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