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Set Up Assa Abloy Aperio Wireless Locks
Set Up Assa Abloy Aperio Wireless Locks
Updated over a week ago

Assa Abloy’s Aperio technology is a cross-brand wireless communication protocol centered around their AH series hub.

Many schools, universities, medical facilities, and multi-tenant units use wireless locks to secure doors that are operated with low frequency; for example:

  • Schools/campuses—Classroom doors, offices, break rooms

  • Universities/medical facilities—Dorm rooms, lecture halls, laboratories

  • In multi-tenant—Offices, Supply closets

Benefits

  • These verticals use wireless locks because they don't require expensive wiring to be run through walls and allow much more flexibility.

  • They're also much more cost effective than wired doors.

  • This integration allows Verkada to work with existing customers with Aperio enabled wireless locks.

Before you begin

  • Read all of the Assa Abloy documentation for the lock series being installed.

  • Be aware that Verkada support is not contracted to troubleshoot Assa Abloy hardware.

    • To find out which wireless lock under the Aperio umbrella works for your use case, contact an Assa Abloy representative.

    • For background information, see the Assa Abloy Aperio product guide.

How the integration process works

The integration process involves two phases:

  • Phase 1: Assa installation and configuration

    • Install the wireless locks

    • Wire AH30 into Verkada AUX for power

    • Link hubs and locks

  • Phase 2: Verkada Command setup

    • Claim controller and set as Assa mode

    • Add doors with lock’s EAC address Phase 1 of the integration is totally independent to Verkada, besides using the controllers RS-485 to power the AH30.

Phase 1: Assa installation and configuration

Verkada specifically integrates with the AH30 hub that communicates with the AC41/AC42 via the RS-485 module in the AUX cassette/terminal block, during the commissioning process.

For the AC41, the hub is wired into the AUX cassette RS-485 bus. For the AC42, the hub is wired into the RS-485 bus of Door 1.

This step is done first to provide power to the AH30. No Command configuration is required until after the locks and hub are successfully connected.

For an AC41/AC42 to be utilized for an Assa integration, it must be set to Assa mode.

While in Assa Abloy mode, the AC41/AC42 cannot control traditional wired doors. The AC41/AC42 can control up to 16 wireless locks.

Know that wireless locks are wireless products. If wireless range is a concern, ensure that the AH30 is placed within range of all the connected locks.

Wire multiple hubs

In many installations, one hub is not sufficient in controlling 16 locks due to a distance limitation between the AH30 and an Aperio lock. In these circumstances, you must leverage more than one hub per access controller.

To do this, you need to wire the data lines of all the hubs in parallel into the data ports of the RS-485 bus. However, each bus can only power one AH30. There are a few ways you can do both:

Data

  1. Home run all RS-485 cables of all the AH30s back to the controller and connect all the A lines and B lines, respectively, with Wago nuts. This is feasible for a few hubs, but can become a mess as the number increases.

  2. Use a multiplexer (MUX) board that supports RS-485.

  3. Daisy-chain the hubs. This is still wiring the hubs in parallel, but allows you to run less total wiring. Instead of all the junctions and Wago connections occurring back at the controller, they occur at each of the hubs in the chain.

Power

  1. Up to 4 hubs: each hub gets power from one of the other RS-485 blocks. Each hub's power circuit is totally independent of each others.

  2. Four hubs and above: An external power supply is required for every hub beyond 4.

Post Aperio lock setup

Once you have successfully linked your locks to your hub, you need to write down all the Exchange admin center (EAC) addresses. These addresses are used when adding the locks as doors in Command.

Phase 2: Verkada Command setup

  1. Add the AC41/42 to Command, select Assa Abloy as the device mode, and click Activate.

  2. Once the AC41/AC42 is added and in Assa Abloy mode, navigate to the controller and click Add Door.

  3. Select the Lock Type and the EAC address (from the Aperio setup).

    Once you have your controller and lock connected and running in Verkada Command, you can see the door listed under the controllers page. The lock type and EAS address is configured during the setup process. In this view, you also get a live reading of the door's battery life.

    A successful connection should result in on “online” status for the lock.


    Another place to check the status of your locks is in the Settings page of the controller. In this example, you can see the status of all locks added to the controller and the state of the AH30 hubs.



    The Settings page of the AC41/AC42 also signals the health of the connection.

Troubleshoot tips

If you're having trouble with your integration, we recommend these tips:

  1. Verify that your ACU is in Assa Abloy mode: If you forgot to set it to Assa Abloy mode, you need to decommission it and re-add it.

  2. Verify that the Assa Abloy locks and AH30s have been successfully paired.

  3. Verify that the IP addresses for each Assa Abloy lock are successfully configured.

  4. Verify that the IP addresses provided when setting up the door in Command are correct.

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