I installed them about a year ago. They came with 4 off-brand Chinese AA batteries
They mostly worked, not always.
Sometimes very slowly, taking 10 seconds to respond and locking or unlocking very slowly from OH
I just checked their batteries today.
OH zigbee reported them at 70% with 5 volts
I called Yale support, asking about recommended batteries and replacement intervals.
The person tried their best, fumbling around with whatever Yale gives their support line personnel.
4 AA batteries should last a minimum of 5 to 6 months
Duracell brand alkaline batteries were strongly recommended.
I just changed the batteries with Duracell AA batteries. It’s too soon to form conclusions about the batteries. The locks seem to lock and unlock faster and stronger. They can still take a long time to respond to commands from OH.
When I was installing them, @chris advised me that is to be expected from battery operated zigbee and z-wave devices.
Yale smart locks have interchangeable modules for all of the major protocols. I asked about availability of Matter modules for my first generation Yale Assure SL locks, her guess was mid 2023. On the Yale website, Yale states that the first generation Assure locks would support the Matter module.