Google Wallet home keys reach Aliro locks in Google Home, starting with Public Preview

On November 11, 2026, Google started letting Android owners in its Google Home Public Preview add a home key for a lock in Google Home to Google Wallet, then open the door by tapping the phone on the lock. Google's announcement says everyone else gets it "over the coming weeks", without a date, and the November 11 release notes list it as a Public Preview item. The keys use Aliro, the Connectivity Standards Alliance's standard for phone-based door keys, and Google requires a Matter-certified lock that supports it. Google names three locks at launch: the Aqara Smart Lock U400 with NFC taps and hands-free UWB entry, the Schlage Sense Pro with NFC taps now and UWB later, and the Nuki Keypad 2 NFC paired with a compatible Nuki lock.

Until now, a wallet tap on these locks meant Apple home key on an iPhone or Apple Watch, or Samsung Wallet through SmartThings on a Galaxy phone for the U400 and the Nuki keypad. Owners of other Android phones, Pixels included, had no wallet key for any of them; on the Nuki keypad, the closest option was Nuki's app-based tap, which needs an unlocked phone.

What you need for a tap

Google's requirements for the basic NFC tap are short:

• one of the supported locks, which Google gives as examples, with more promised;
• a Google hub that is also a Thread border router, such as a Nest Hub (2nd gen), Nest Hub Max, Nest Wifi Pro or Google TV Streamer. The Google Home Speaker is also a Google hub and Thread border router, though Google's examples leave it out;
• an NFC Android phone on Android 9 or later, with current Google Home and Google Wallet apps;
• for now, Google Home's Public Preview, which you join from the Google Home app by tapping your profile picture, then Public Preview.

Hands-free Unlock on approach needs UWB in both the phone and the lock. Google's Wallet help page lists the Pixel 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL and 10 Pro Fold and their successors on Android 17 or later, so earlier UWB Pixels such as the Pixel 9 Pro are not on the list. Of the three launch locks, only the U400 supports it. Google's own pages named only Pixels on November 12, although 9to5Google's launch report also lists select UWB Galaxy phones. Wallet shows the Unlock on approach toggle only when the phone and lock both support it, which is the quickest way to check. Wear OS watches are not supported at launch, so a Pixel Watch cannot stand in for the phone the way an Apple Watch can with Apple home key.

One key for the whole home

The key belongs to the home in Google Home rather than to a single lock, so one Wallet key opens every compatible lock in that home, and a second home gets its own key. Each member of the home adds a key to their own Wallet. Guests who are not members get passcodes from the Google Home app instead. By default, Google says a tap works without waking or unlocking the phone as long as it was unlocked within the last few hours. Its Wallet help page still says to wake the screen first, so wake it if a tap with the screen off does nothing. You can require a phone unlock for every tap in the Wallet app, and Unlock on approach stays off until you turn it on. Removing the lock from the home, or leaving the home, deactivates the key, though Google warns that a key can stay active on a lock it cannot reach, and a lock disconnected from the service may need a factory reset to clear it. Remove a departing member, or the lock, while the lock is online.

A lock that is already in Google Home does not need to be paired again. Google says you can add the key under Home settings > Google Wallet key, or from the lock's device settings, and new Matter locks with Aliro prompt for it during setup.

The lock makers have not caught up

Google's list is ahead of the lock makers' own pages. On November 12, Schlage's Sense Pro technology page still said the lock "is expected to support" Google Wallet keys "later this year" once certified, although the CSA lists its Aliro certification from May 5. Nuki's Keypad 2 NFC help article, last edited November 5, says its wallet mode "currently" works with Apple Home and Samsung SmartThings. Nuki's setup guide says the Nuki app offers only those two when you switch the keypad to that mode. Matterhome found no Aqara statement about Google Wallet for the U400 by November 12.

Three questions remain open. Neither Google nor the lock makers name a minimum lock firmware; the CSA lists Aliro certification on firmware 3.1.0.4 for the U400 and 01.06.347712 for Sense Pro, and Nuki asks for the latest firmware, so update the lock before you try. Neither Google nor the three lock makers document whether one lock shared to both Apple Home and Google Home over Matter can hold Apple home keys and Google Wallet keys at the same time, which is the setup a household with both iPhones and Pixels would need. For the Nuki keypad, Nuki's current rules suggest one wallet system at a time: in its wallet mode, iOS users can invite only iOS users, and Samsung users only Samsung users. Google also has not said in which countries the feature is available, which matters most for the Nuki keypad, the only launch lock Matterhome lists for Europe and the UK.

Trying it now, or buying for it

If you own one of the three locks, a Google hub with Thread and an NFC Android phone, joining Public Preview is the quickest way to try it, although Google says preview features can take time to appear after you join. Keep a PIN or physical key as your fallback; Google's Wallet help says a digital key does not replace one. On the Nuki keypad, open the Nuki app's Tap to Unlock settings first. If Smart Home Mode still lists only Apple Home and SmartThings, wait for Nuki's update, and remember that switching to Smart Home Mode ends Nuki App Mode for every phone in the household.

If you are choosing a lock for an Android household, Google's list changes the shortlist. The U400 is the only launch lock Google lists for hands-free entry on a Pixel, on top of the Apple hands-free entry it already has, though Aqara last said in August that hands-free entry through Samsung Wallet was still in development. Sense Pro is a tap lock for Android owners until the UWB update Google mentions arrives, and neither Google nor Schlage has dated it. Other Aliro-certified Matter locks, such as the ULTRALOQ Latch 5 Pro and Aqara U600, are not among Google's examples. Google's developer notes add a separate Google certification step in its own developer console for Aliro locks that support Wallet keys, so do not buy one for a Google Wallet key until Google or the maker confirms it.