Digital locks · explained · Manchester
Look at the buttons. That's your code.
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- Mechanical £90-180
- Electronic £120-260
- 40-90 min
- No batteries needed (mechanical)
Go and look at any keypad lock that has been on a door for three years. Four of the buttons are shiny and worn. The other eight are not. You have just reduced the number of possible codes from thousands to twenty-four, standing six feet away, in about two seconds.
That is the whole problem with code locks, and it is not the technology's fault.
Two completely different products
Mechanical pushbutton
No electronics, no batteries, no power. Purely mechanical. Will still work in twenty years and in a power cut. One code, changed by taking the lock apart. £90-180.
Electronic keypad
Batteries. Multiple codes, temporary codes, sometimes an audit trail. Dies when the batteries die, and warns you first if it is any good. £120-260.
These are not the same purchase. A mechanical pushbutton on a back office door will outlive everyone reading this. An electronic keypad that gives a cleaner a code that expires on Friday is solving a different problem entirely.
The code nobody changes
Every keypad we are called to has had the same code since it was fitted. Staff have left with it. Contractors have it. Somebody's ex has it. It was told to a delivery driver once.
A code is not a key. You cannot ask for it back and you cannot count how many people have it. The only thing that makes an old code useless is a new code.
- Mechanical: change it yourself, or £35-70 for us to
- Electronic: two minutes, free, on the keypad
- Every time somebody leaves
- And rotate the digits so the wear moves
The wear thing, properly
Four worn buttons out of twelve means the code uses those four digits. That is 24 orderings if each is used once, and a patient person tries 24 combinations in about ninety seconds.
The fixes are cheap: change the code regularly so the wear spreads, choose codes that reuse a digit, and do not put a keypad where somebody can stand and watch it in comfort. A keypad on a door in full view of the street is a keypad somebody is reading.
Where they genuinely work
Internal doors, back offices, store rooms, plant rooms, gates, communal bin stores. Anywhere the point is who has the code rather than keeping a determined person out.
Where they do not: a front door, on its own. A keypad is not BS3621, and your insurer is unlikely to accept it as the lock on your final exit door. Add one, do not replace with one.
Keypad or fob?
If more than a handful of people need in, and any of them ever leave, a keypad is the wrong answer and you want access control. One code that everybody knows is not access control, it is a shared secret with a door attached. Fobs are issued and deleted per person, and deleting one takes ten seconds.
What it costs
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Mechanical pushbutton lock, fitted | £90-180 |
| Electronic keypad lock, fitted | £120-260 |
| Code change, mechanical | £35-70 |
| Battery or keypad fault | £65-120 |
| Keypad dead, door opened | £65-130 |
Questions people actually ask
Can someone work out my keypad code just by looking?
Frequently, yes, and it takes about two seconds. After a few years on a door, the buttons in the code are visibly shinier and more worn than the rest. Four worn buttons out of twelve tells somebody the code uses those four digits, which is 24 orderings if each is used once, and a patient person tries 24 combinations in around ninety seconds. Change the code regularly so the wear spreads across the pad, pick codes that reuse a digit, and do not site a keypad where somebody can stand and watch it in comfort.
What's the difference between a mechanical and an electronic keypad lock?
They are completely different purchases. A mechanical pushbutton lock has no electronics, no batteries and no power supply: it is a purely mechanical mechanism that will still work in twenty years and in a power cut, and it holds one code that you change by taking it apart. £90 to £180. An electronic keypad runs on batteries, can hold multiple codes, temporary codes that expire, and sometimes an audit trail, and dies when the batteries die. £120 to £260. If you just want a back office door secured, mechanical outlives everybody. If you want a cleaner to have a code that stops working on Friday, you need electronic.
How often should I change the code?
Every time somebody who knows it stops needing it. A code is not a key: you cannot ask for it back and you cannot count how many people have it. Every keypad we get called to has had the same code since the day it was fitted, and by then staff have left with it, contractors have it, and it was told to a delivery driver once. Changing it is free and takes two minutes on an electronic lock, or £35 to £70 for us to do a mechanical one. If more than a handful of people need access and any of them churn, you want fobs rather than a code.
Can I put a keypad lock on my front door?
As an addition, not as a replacement. A digital keypad is not BS3621, and most home insurance policies require a BS3621 lock on the final exit door, so removing a compliant mortice deadlock to fit a keypad can leave you uninsured for theft. Keep the deadlock and add the keypad if you want the convenience. Keypads genuinely earn their place on internal doors, back offices, store rooms, plant rooms, gates and bin stores, where the point is who has the code rather than stopping a determined person.