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For tens of millions of smart lock owners around the world, the fear of a dead battery has long been a nagging anxiety. Now, an Israeli company believes it has banished that worry for good – and consumers appear to agree.

In February 2026, Wi-Charge, a firm specialising in long-range wireless power, launched its first consumer product: the Schlage Encode Wireless Power Kit. Priced at $149 (£118), the kit uses an invisible infrared beam to deliver continuous power to a smart lock. The initial batch sold out immediately and has already been shipped. A second pre-order window is now open, with deliveries expected from mid-March.

The speed of the sell-out has triggered a wider industry conversation: as smart locks grow ever more capable, can battery technology finally stop holding them back?

An invisible beam that makes batteries a thing of the past

The Wi-Charge kit is a retrofit solution – it does not require replacing the entire lock. It consists of two parts: an R1 optical transmitter that plugs into a standard indoor socket and beams focused infrared light across distances of up to 33 feet (10 metres), and a slim receiver module that replaces the existing battery cover on a Schlage Encode lock. The receiver converts the light into electricity, continuously trickle-charging the internal rechargeable battery. Installation is tool-free and takes less than five minutes, according to the company.

This marks the first time Wi-Charge’s AirCord infrared wireless charging technology has reached consumers at a mass-market price. Previously, the technology was deployed in commercial settings such as airports, retail chains and corporate offices. It has won five CES Innovation Awards. According to publicly available documents, the transmitter can deliver up to 300 milliwatts of infrared power, sustaining a charge over the full 10-metre range. The beam is classified as Class 1 – the same safety category as DVD players and barcode scanners. If a person or pet interrupts the beam, the system automatically pauses transmission and resumes only when the path is clear.

Wi-Charge is not alone. In March 2026, Chinese smart lock brand Kaadas unveiled its i60 Ultra, the industry’s first AI-powered smart lock with built-in wireless charging support. Meanwhile, at CES 2026, Lockin showcased its V7 Max model, which employs an optical wireless charging technology called AuraCharge, capable of delivering power over distances of up to four metres and entirely eliminating the need for battery swaps or wired recharging. Wireless power for smart locks is rapidly moving from concept to commercial scale, triggering a race to “de-battery” the smart home.

The battery problem that has plagued smart locks

The instant sell-out of the Wi-Charge kit is no accident. It speaks to a long-festering power supply headache in the smart lock market. The Schlage Encode series runs on four AA alkaline batteries. Official figures suggest a typical battery life of around six months, though some reviews and user reports place real-world endurance anywhere between six and twelve months.

In practice, however, battery performance is anything but predictable. A 2025 investigation by the Beijing-based Xinjing News found that many consumer complaints about smart locks were directly linked to batteries. One user reported that “battery drain became extremely rapid later on” – traced by after-sales technicians to a faulty mainboard. Another described how low battery levels caused a sharp drop in fingerprint recognition sensitivity. In one incident, a user was locked out after the batteries died and had to resort to using a power bank for emergency external power. On consumer complaint platforms, grievances about smart locks span fragile fingerprint modules, network dropouts, false alarms and real-world battery life that falls dramatically short of advertised claims – across well-known brands as well as lesser-known ones.

The root cause lies in smart locks’ power-hungry feature set. Wi-Fi connectivity, which enables remote control and real-time notifications, is one of the most energy-intensive components. In high-traffic homes or short-term rental properties, a six-month rated battery life can prove illusory. In freezing temperatures, battery performance degrades further, a particularly acute concern in markets such as North America and Northern Europe.

A market worth billions, held back by batteries

The smart lock sector is being propelled by both market expansion and rapid technological change. The 2026 Global Smart Lock Market Report projects the worldwide market will grow from $29.8 billion in 2025 to $34.3 billion in 2026, a compound annual growth rate of 15.3%. In China, the China Commerce Industry Research Institute forecasts that all-channel retail sales of smart locks will reach 20.29 million units in 2026, with a retail value of 21.8 billion yuan.

However, every new feature effectively places additional strain on battery life. The industry’s current mainstream trends – 3D facial recognition modules, AI vision algorithms, multi-camera setups – all translate into higher power consumption and more frequent battery maintenance. For Airbnb hosts, property managers and ordinary households, this not only causes inconvenience but also creates a potential security risk if a lock loses power. Solving the power bottleneck has become a fundamental prerequisite for smart locks to evolve from electronic gadgets into reliable pieces of home infrastructure.

The message from Wi-Charge’s sell-out launch is clear: the market does not need a longer-lasting battery – it needs a new power paradigm that eliminates range anxiety entirely. As Wi-Charge co-founder Ori Mor stated in the company’s release: “The battery problem is solved. And smart locks are just the beginning – we will eliminate the anxiety of dead batteries for consumers, one device after another, across all smart products.” In May 2025, Wi-Charge closed a $20 million Series C funding round led by Standard Investments with participation from the European Innovation Council Fund, aimed at scaling manufacturing, accelerating OEM integration and building global distribution channels – with ambitions to reach smart home devices, mobile electronics and wearables.

From the AA battery slot of a Schlage lock to an invisible beam of infrared light, the arrival of wireless power is redefining what “smart” truly means. As Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, a senior reviewer at The Verge, put it after more than a year of testing the technology: “I want wireless power everywhere.” When a beam of light carries both energy and intelligence through the air, the era of battery-dependent smart homes may already be crossing the threshold.