Digital Door Locks: What To Know Before Buying
Keypad and fingerprint locks are genuinely good, but not all of them, and not on every door. What actually matters when choosing one for a Hamilton home.
Digital locks have gone from novelty to normal, and for most households they are a real improvement — no key to lose, no key to copy, and a code you can change when a flatmate moves out. Choosing badly, though, buys you a worse lock with a screen on it.
Start with the door, not the lock
A digital lock replaces the existing hardware, so what fits depends on whether you have a timber door, an aluminium one, or UPVC, and on the backset and thickness.
A lock that suits a solid timber front door may not fit a narrow aluminium stile at all. This is the single most common reason a self-purchased lock ends up unused in a cupboard, and it is worth checking before buying rather than after.
Check what happens when the battery dies
Because it will. A good lock warns you for weeks first, and has an emergency power contact or a mechanical key override.
A lock with neither leaves you outside your own house, which is a strange thing to pay extra for. Ask this question first about any model you are considering.
Security comes from the bolt, not the screen
Look at how the lock is fixed rather than what it can do. Fingerprint readers and app control are the features on the box, but the security comes from the bolt, the strike plate and the screws into the frame.
A strong bolt in a weak frame is still a weak door — the same point made in which home locks actually matter. Fitting a digital lock to a door with a flimsy strike plate upgrades the convenience and not the security.
Think about who needs access
Being able to give a cleaner or a tradesperson a temporary code, then delete it, is the feature households actually use most.
It removes the whole problem of copied keys, which is the thing nobody can ever fully account for once a key has been out of your hands.
Where a conventional lock is still better
If you want several doors on one key, re-pinning conventional cylinders is cheaper and simpler — see keyed-alike locks.
Door types around Hamilton
Newer Rototuna and Flagstaff builds tend toward aluminium entry doors with a narrow stile, which rules out a good number of the locks sold online.
Older villas and post-war houses across Hamilton East and Claudelands usually take a wider range. A photo of the door tells us which you have.
We supply and fit digital locks around Hamilton and can tell you before you buy whether a particular model suits your door — see digital door locks, or send us a photo of the door and we will say what fits.
Common questions
Will a digital lock fit my existing door?
It depends on the door material, thickness and backset. Send a photo and a couple of measurements and we can tell you before you buy rather than after.
What happens when the batteries go flat?
A good lock warns you well in advance and has an emergency power contact or a mechanical key override. Avoid any lock that has neither.
Are they actually more secure than a key lock?
They remove the risk of copied or lost keys, which is a real gain. Physical security still comes from the bolt and how it is fixed into the frame, so choose on that as much as on features.
Can I give someone temporary access?
Most keypad locks allow additional codes that you can delete later. It is the feature households use most, particularly for tradespeople and cleaners.