Digital and smart locks in Northland
Keypads, fingerprint readers and app-controlled locks, supplied and fitted - with a straight answer about which ones are worth the money.
A digital lock removes the key from the equation. Done well, it is the single biggest quality-of-life improvement you can make to a front door. Done badly, it is a flat battery between you and your house.
We supply, fit and service digital locks across Northland for homes, businesses and holiday lets. Just as importantly, we will tell you when you do not need one.
The four kinds, plainly
Mechanical keypad
A push-button lock with no electronics at all. No batteries, nothing to go flat, and very tolerant of coastal weather. One code for everybody, changed by hand. Excellent on a shed, a gate, an office back door or a holiday house with long stays.
Electronic keypad
Battery powered, multiple codes, and codes you can add and remove yourself. The standard choice for a family front door - each person gets their own code, the cleaner gets one you can delete, and nobody hides a key under a pot.
Smart lock
An electronic lock that also talks to your phone, over Bluetooth or wifi. Remote codes, access logs, and integration with the rest of it if you care about that. This is the right answer for short-stay rentals and for anyone who needs to let somebody in while they are somewhere else.
Fingerprint
Convenient and genuinely quick. Worth knowing that readers vary enormously in quality, that wet or working hands read poorly, and that every sensible fingerprint lock also has a code or key as a fallback - so treat the fingerprint as the convenience and the fallback as the actual entry method.
Before you buy one online: the most common call we get about digital locks is from somebody who bought one that will not fit their door. Aluminium joinery, narrow stiles, non-standard backsets and older New Zealand timber doors all rule out particular models. Send us a photo of the door and its edge before you order, and we will tell you what will actually go on it.
What actually matters when choosing
- Is the lock any good, or is the keypad any good? These are different questions. The electronics are the convenience; the bolt and the cylinder are the security. Plenty of cheap smart locks are a good keypad bolted to a poor lock.
- Battery warning and override. Insist on both. A low-battery warning that gives you weeks, and a way in when you have ignored it.
- Weather. On the Northland coast a lock on an exposed door needs to be specified for it. This is where the cheapest options fail first, and they fail by seizing.
- Fire doors and exits. On a commercial building, hardware has to let people out without a key or a code. Getting this wrong is a serious matter, not a preference.
- Who can add and remove codes. If everybody can, nobody is in control of it.
We also fix them
Digital locks fail differently from mechanical ones - flat batteries, worn keypads, moisture in the housing, a motor that no longer drives the bolt, or a lock that has simply lost its programming. We service and repair them, and if a lock is not worth repairing we will say so rather than sell you the same problem again.
Digital lock services
- Digital and smart lock supply
- Installation on timber and aluminium doors
- Code setup and management
- Remote access configuration
- Fingerprint locks
- Mechanical keypad locks
- Gate and shed keypads
- Battery replacement and servicing
- Repair and fault diagnosis
- Replacing a failed smart lock
- Advice before you buy
- Commercial keypads and exit compliance
Related
Talk to a locksmith
Tell us what you need and you will know what it costs before we start.
Advice first
Send a photo of your door before you buy anything online. It saves a lot of returns.
The lock, not just the keypad
We look at the bolt and cylinder as well as the electronics. Convenience is not security.
Get in touch
Tell us what has happened
We will tell you what the job needs and what it costs before anyone sets out.
Mobile across all of Northland, from Kaitaia, Kerikeri, Paihia and Russell down to Whangarei, Ruakaka, One Tree Point and Marsden Cove - see all 55 areas we cover.
Questions
Common questions
What happens if the battery goes flat?
A decent lock warns you for weeks first, and has an override - a physical key, or external contacts you can power briefly. You can always get out from the inside; that is never battery-dependent. We will not fit a lock that lacks a sensible fallback.
Can I fit a digital lock to an aluminium joinery door?
Often yes, but the choice is much narrower than for a timber door, because the stile is slim and the backset is fixed. This is exactly the case where buying first and asking later goes wrong. Send us a photo of the door edge.
Are smart locks secure, or are they a gimmick?
Both exist. A good smart lock from a real lock manufacturer is secure and genuinely useful. A cheap one is a nice app attached to a weak bolt. The difference is not visible in the product photos, which is what we are for.
Can I give the cleaner their own code?
Yes, on any multi-code lock - and delete it the day it is no longer needed. It is the main practical advantage over a key.
Will it work in salt air?
The right one will. On an exposed coastal door specify for the environment; the cheapest units corrode and seize within a couple of Northland winters.
Locked out, or want it sorted properly?
One call reaches a mobile locksmith in Northland who will tell you what it costs before any work starts.
0800 243 503