Can I schedule a temporary access code on a Schlage lock?

Yes. Codes can be limited to a date range, or restricted to recurring days and hours, set per named user in the app.

Do scheduled codes work without internet?

Yes, once written to the lock. The schedule is evaluated locally. What needs a connection is creating or changing codes.

Why did my new code fail to save?

Most often the lock is offline, the app's cached code list is stale, or you have hit the model's code limit. Retry over Bluetooth at the door after deleting an expired code.

How many codes can a Schlage lock store?

It varies by model and hitting the ceiling produces a generic error rather than a useful one. Check the figure for your lock and prune expired codes regularly.

Do codes expire automatically?

A temporary code stops working at the end of its window, but it may remain in the list occupying a slot until you delete it. Clear them out as part of a routine.

Scheduling Temporary and Recurring Access Codes

Schlage® locks support permanent codes, codes limited to a date range, and codes restricted to recurring days and hours — set per user in the app. The three things that catch people out are the per-model limit on how many codes a lock can hold, schedules that depend on the lock's own clock, and the fact that a code already written to the lock keeps working even when the app cannot reach it.

By the Smartlage editorial team · Last verified 1 August 2026

Every fix is tested before publication. Steps we could not confirm on hardware are marked [VERIFY] rather than guessed. Our editorial standards.

Scheduling is the feature that makes a smart lock worth owning if other people come and go. It is also where the official app's generic error messages do the most damage, because a schedule that silently failed to write looks exactly like one that worked.

The three kinds of code

Permanent — works until you delete it. Use for household members and for one owner code that nothing automated ever touches.
Temporary — valid between a start and an end date and time. Use for guests, contractors and deliveries.
Recurring — valid on chosen days of the week within an hours window. Use for cleaners, dog walkers and anyone on a rota.

[VERIFY: exact scheduling options and granularity per model in the current app version.]

Set them up properly

Always create a named user rather than an anonymous code. The name is what makes the activity log worth reading, and it is what lets you revoke one person without touching anyone else.

Pad your windows. A cleaner scheduled 09:00–11:00 who arrives at 08:55 will conclude the lock is broken. A guest arriving on a delayed flight at 01:00 will call you. Start early, end late, and treat the schedule as a boundary rather than an appointment.

Then test. Enter the code at the keypad yourself if you can, or ask the person to confirm on first use. A code you never tested is a code you are guessing about.

The lock's clock, and time zones

Schedules are evaluated by the lock, using its own notion of the time, which it takes from the account and network. That has two consequences worth knowing: a lock that has been offline for a long stretch may have drifted, and a property in a different time zone from you can produce off-by-an-hour surprises around daylight-saving changes.

If a scheduled code fails at the boundary of its window, check the property's time zone before you rewrite the schedule.

After any long outage or battery-out period, verify one scheduled code before relying on the rest.

Code limits and hygiene

Every model stores a finite number of codes, and an attempt to add one beyond the limit fails with the same generic error you would get from a sync problem. Delete expired codes as a routine, not as a reaction — an old guest list that fills the slots is the most common cause of a code that will not save.

Rotate permanent codes when someone leaves the household or the cleaning company changes. Codes outlive relationships.

When a schedule does not take

Stand next to the lock and retry over Bluetooth — this bypasses the cloud, where most write failures happen.
Force-quit and reopen the app so it re-reads the current code list before you edit again.
Delete an unused code to free a slot and retry.
Check the lock is online at all; an offline lock cannot receive the schedule even though the app may appear to accept it.
Verify at the keypad. The app's confirmation is not proof the lock took the change.

What survives an outage

Codes and schedules already written to the lock are evaluated locally, so they continue to work with no internet, no Wi-Fi and no cloud. What you lose during an outage is the ability to create, change or delete them, and the activity history for that period.

This is the argument for writing guest codes well ahead of arrival rather than at the moment the guest is at the door.

Common questions

Can I schedule a temporary access code on a Schlage lock?: Yes. Codes can be limited to a date range, or restricted to recurring days and hours, set per named user in the app.
Do scheduled codes work without internet?: Yes, once written to the lock. The schedule is evaluated locally. What needs a connection is creating or changing codes.
Why did my new code fail to save?: Most often the lock is offline, the app's cached code list is stale, or you have hit the model's code limit. Retry over Bluetooth at the door after deleting an expired code.
How many codes can a Schlage lock store?: It varies by model and hitting the ceiling produces a generic error rather than a useful one. Check the figure for your lock and prune expired codes regularly.
Do codes expire automatically?: A temporary code stops working at the end of its window, but it may remain in the list occupying a slot until you delete it. Clear them out as part of a routine.

We also make Smartlage, an independent iPhone app for Schlage® locks — widgets, Shortcuts and faster access codes. What it does.