Loxx Boxx Review

In a nutshell, the Loxx Boxx (available at Amazon) is a unique answer to a universal question: How can I stop people from stealing packages off my porch?

Even if you have an outdoor security camera or a video door bell, those aren't necessarily preventative. According to Loxx Boxx, the solution is a smart storage container that allows you to designate a specific, one-time access code for each delivery that allows drivers to open the package delivery box and store them safely inside. The concept is rock solid, but as we found out, the execution is problematic.

About Loxx Boxx

The Loxx Boxx comes in two different sizes and a variety of colors: A 5-cubic-foot version that starts at $350, and a longer, 8-cubic-foot alternative that retails for $399, with both available in beige, red, gray, black, matte brown, and spruce.

Both arrive with hardware to mount the package delivery box to your front porch if you choose (though that does require drilling). Other included accessories include a power bank for charging the box, and magnets with instructions for delivery drivers to place on top of the box.

How we tested Loxx Boxx

Over a month-long period, we entered more than a dozen deliveries into the Loxx Boxx app, assigning them one-time access codes based on their tracking number, and placed the box in a clearly visible location next to our front door for delivery drivers to access.

Then, with each new package delivery, we tracked whether or not the package made it to its desired destination inside the Loxx Boxx itself.

What we like

It’s got a solid, easy-to-use app

Once you’ve got your Loxx Boxx set up and ready to accept deliveries, its accompanying app does most of the heavy lifting for you. The app’s home screen shows all of its recent activity, including individual deliveries and instances where an access code was used.

If you tap the box icon in the bottom taskbar of the app, you move specifically into a tab about deliveries and pickups. You can schedule either here, and Loxx Boxx provides tutorial videos for both to encourage best practices for ensuring they are completed.

The process of creating a delivery is fairly straightforward. Add a description for the delivery, provide a tracking number, and the app will automatically fill out carrier information and provide a one-time passcode for a driver to use to deliver that package. In theory, all that driver would have to do upon delivery is see the magnetic sign on top of the box with instructions to enter the last four digits of the tracking number, and execute the delivery.

Other features in the app, like the ability to monitor the box’s temperature or the option to give friends and family their own access codes, can come in handy. You can also receive notifications when someone tries to tamper with the box. It’s not something you would want to have to deal with, but it could be an essential feature, should something like that ever occur.

Loxx Boxx has great customer service

In my experience, the team behind the Loxx Boxx was helpful, accessible, and determined to help solve any issue that should arise. I ran into a small snag where the control panel on the Loxx Boxx froze for a period of time, and customer service was able to walk me through the step-by-step process of fixing the issue.

For what it’s worth, they said my frozen panel was something of an anomaly, and they had never seen that particular issue pop up in any other models they’ve sold.

It can operate on Wi-Fi or LTE

Depending on your needs and the strength of your home network, Loxx Boxx offers the ability to connect with your smartphone through either Wi-Fi or LTE, though you can’t switch between the two once you’ve selected a platform.

This was helpful for me since my Wi-Fi wasn’t as strong near the location of the box at the front of my house. I was able to connect via LTE, and haven’t noticed any difference in functionality compared to using a smart home app over Wi-Fi. I still have the ability to check in on the status of the box, monitor packages and pickups, and even remotely lock or unlock the box.

According to the Loxx Boxx team, LTE does use more battery compared to a Wi-Fi connection. To combat that, they recommended their $50 solar panel to supplement the power supply. I opted in on the extra accessory, and I haven’t had to charge the box once since I set up the panel.

What we don’t like

It’s sole function doesn’t translate to the real world

On paper, the Loxx Boxx makes worlds of sense. Finalize a shipment, create a new delivery in the Loxx Boxx app, and let the app automatically assign a one-time access code with the last four digits of your tracking number.

When a delivery driver walks up to your front door, the Loxx Boxx will be waiting with a pair of magnetized signs on it that easily explain how to open the box, place the delivery inside, and close the lid to automatically lock and secure your shipment. Easy-peasy.

If only.

In the month I spent testing the Loxx Boxx, we ordered more than a dozen items from Amazon (go capitalism!). A whopping one of those items made it inside the box. Some made it on the side of the box, others in front of it, others still on top of the box itself. But just a single order actually made it to its intended destination.

It was utterly disappointing, and it wasn’t even Loxx Boxx’s fault. At least not from a functionality standpoint. All of its features work as they say they do. The Achilles heel, however, is that the final step of this process relies entirely on your delivery driver having the time, desire, and ability to read the instructions, unlock the box, place the package inside, and lock it before returning to their busy day. That, as it turns out, proved to be an impossible task to achieve.

If there was a partnership Loxx Boxx could enter into with the likes of UPS, FedEX or Amazon to encourage actually using the box, that might produce some results. As it stands, though, drivers have very little motivation to take the extra time to place a package inside the Loxx Boxx. Especially when mere seconds can throw off the rest of a delivery schedule, drivers are more likely to quickly place it where they can, and keep moving. At least that’s how my drivers operated.

The app isn’t free

Another issue: As handy as the Loxx Boxx is, it suffers from a potentially fatal flaw. After a 30-day trial period, to be able to use any of the Loxx Boxx’s most valuable features—including tracking packages, creating deliveries and pickups within the app, sharing access to the box with friends, and even something as essential as regular software updates—are all stuck behind a paywall. Specifically, $1.99 per month for Wi-Fi users and $3.99 per month for LTE connections.

Loxx Boxx says the box will still work with a fixed code without the subscription. But you’re losing out on nearly everything that would make the box a worthwhile product to have on your smart home roster. If you want the full functionality of the Loxx Boxx, you are stuck paying a monthly subscription. And that’s on top of the price of the Loxx Boxx itself, which starts at $349 for the classic version.

What owners are saying

The Loxx Boxx currently sits at a 3.9 rating on Amazon, with fewer than 100 reviews. To Loxx Boxx’s credit, it does seem like some buyers have been able to get their delivery drivers to buy into using the box, and have found success with things like grocery delivery inside the Loxx Boxx.

Others, however, are not as lucky. The Amazon review currently rated as the “most helpful” says that only about 10 percent of the packages they receive are left inside the Loxx Boxx. They conclude that while it is a neat system that has some utility to it, there’s a complexity to using the device that makes it hard to see as a value.

On the customer service front, one reviewer notes that they experienced an issue and were contacted by the company’s COO when they voiced their concern, which made them feel valued and important by Loxx Boxx.

Should you buy a Loxx Boxx?

No, unless you have a great relationship with your local delivery drivers

As it exists today, the value of the Loxx Boxx is tied directly to how much each of your local delivery drivers cares about doing you a solid and placing your package inside the box.

That doesn’t mean it’s not a unique product with some really interesting features, because it is. The concept of being able to track your packages and provide an avenue for them to be securely placed outside your home is an intriguing one, and it’s one that many people around the country desperately want to pan out.

Outside of a subscription fee to use the Loxx Boxx app to its full potential, the Loxx Boxx suffers tremendously because it relies entirely on something that is completely variable—convincing your delivery driver to regularly follow the Loxx Boxx steps. If you don’t, the Loxx Boxx is relegated to a $300 paperweight for your front porch.

Although we haven't tested this alternative yet, if you're looking for a no-code-required solution, the Architectural Mailboxes Elephantrunk Parcel Drop Box may offer some peace of mind along with easier access for delivery drivers.