Forgot username or password? Not a member? Need further assistance? Please call Member Services at Door Locks. Sign in or Become a Member. Secure Your Home With a Trustworthy Door Lock We test, evaluate, and compare the latest door locks for drilling, picking, and kick-in protection.
What We Found Very few locks we rate earn a high Overall Score, and some locks prove to be far more susceptible than most to brute-force attacks. Cons: They lack the convenience and extra features of smart models. How to Choose a Door Lock 1. DIY Rekeying Many nonconnected and smart locks can be rekeyed for use with new physical keys or to make one key open all the entry doors in your home, saving you from having to hire a locksmith.
Electronic Keys Many smart locks allow you to create and distribute electronic or virtual keys that guests, maintenance workers, and others can use, either indefinitely or for a limited amount of time. Photo: Yale. Access Logs Some smart models generate time-stamped access logs of who has locked and unlocked your doors based on their unique electronic keys or user accounts. Photo: August. Remote Locking and Unlocking With a companion smartphone app and a WiFi hub or adapter, you can remotely lock and unlock smart locks from anywhere—provided you have cell service.
Tamper Alarms A few smart locks have tamper alarms built into the lock body to scare off burglars trying to break into your home.
Door Lock Brands. Owned by Assa Abloy and considered one of the largest and fastest-growing lock companies in the world, August designs and markets smart home access and entry products, including smart locks. Its products are available nationally at Amazon, Best Buy, and other online retailers. Baldwin is considered one of the premium brands within the lock category, offering a wide array of products. It was one of the first brands to introduce an electronic door lock, and it offers one of the largest lines of smart locks.
The brand is also known for its SmartKey Security technology. Kwikset locks are available at home centers and retail dealers nationally. A subsidiary of Fortune Brands Home, the Master Lock brand is one of the most famous and well-known worldwide. It markets a wide range of products, including combination locks, padlocks, and many other security products. Its products are sold at Amazon, Home Depot, Walmart, authorized dealers, and hardware stores.
Another subsidiary of Assa Abloy, Medeco is one of the largest manufacturers of medium- and high-security locks for both residential and commercial use. Its products are favored by many professional locksmiths and are available at authorized dealers and Amazon. A subsidiary of Allegion, Schlage is a widely sold lock brand that manufactures a wide range of residential and commercial products.
It makes nonconnected and smart locks that are available nationally at Amazon, Best Buy, home centers, and hardware stores. One of the oldest and most recognized brands in the security industry, Yale is a subsidiary of Assa Abloy.
The brand produces a wide array of products for residential and commercial use. Its smart locks include both keyed and keyless products.
When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. Learn more. Sharing is Nice Yes, send me a copy of this email. Back in those days, bank robbers viewed safes inside a bank as easy money to steal so the deadbolt was created to make it harder for the lock to be smashed and for the robbers to gain access to the money inside. Deadbolt locks are sometimes referred to as jimmy proof locks and those were first created by Samuel Segal, who once worked as a New York City police officer, in He holds over 25 patents including several for different types of locks.
Jimmy proof deadbolt locks are even more secure and are used often in large apartment buildings or other larger buildings for the added security they bring to the property owners.
Cylindrical lever locks are very similar to deadbolts in the way that they operate and are also used in both commercial and residential properties to secure exterior doors. There seems to be more space on larger doors for this type of lock which is the reason they are used for securing exterior doors at businesses, factories, and large buildings.
Cylindrical lever locks are easier to operate than deadbolts because the lock lends itself to easier flexibility when moving in and out of the doorway jam. The lever itself can be manipulated easier, hence giving a person who is up to no good a better chance of gaining entry to the property. Single cylinder locks have a space for a key on one side only. The other side has a twist knob that locks the door from the other side.
The key side is on the external part of the door, while the internal part has the knob so that you can lock your door from the inside without a key. Single-cylinder locks can be deadbolt locks as well.
Double cylinder locks do not have a twist knob and require a key on either side. Similar to cylindrical lever locks, mortise locksets are also used more often on the exterior doors of businesses and other commercial properties because of the way they are designed.
They need more room to operate properly but many homeowners use them to secure their homes too. Many older homes already had mortise locks in place when the homeowner bought the house and the person decided to continue to maintain the mortise locks instead of changing them out for a different type of lock. People have been using mortise locks since the eighteenth century to secure their exterior doors to their properties in the United States.
The earlier versions of the mortise locks featured a pull handle that allowed the door to be unlocked. The pulls were eventually replaced by doorknobs. The intricate parts of mortise locksets are installed inside the door and include the lock cylinder and the cam which allows the door to be locked and unlocked.
This type of lock is extremely strong which is why many business owners prefer it as compared to other types of locks. Mortise locks are as strong and durable as the best deadbolt locks and many consider them to be even more reliable than deadbolts.
They are a great choice when it comes to security. Euro cylinder locks are used in Europe more often than in the United States, hence the name of the lock, but that does mean no one in America uses them. You will be able to find some throughout the country being used most often on patio doors or for interior double doors. Although Euro cylinder locks are used on patio exterior doors most of the time, they are not the most secure option to protect your home or business.
The body of this type of lock is more easily damaged and can break down after being used over periods of time. You may know someone that has a patio door that is hard to open or nearly impossible to lock or unlock and this is the reason for the issues.
The lock body can even snap, leaving your home completely unprotected. Even though Euro cylinder locks are not the greatest option when it comes to home security, many homeowners still prefer them because they are very easy to install and to use. They are self-contained locks which makes the installation process much easier than the process is when it comes to other types of locks.
Electronic locks are most often used for residential properties by homeowners and the owners of condos or renters of apartments. Electronic locks are not the same as smart locks, even though people tend to lump them in the same category. Even though smart locks are electronic, not all electronic locks are smart locks. Obviously, the two are very similar but when it comes to electronic locks, they do not have the capability for easy access that many people enjoy with smart locks.
When it comes to both types of locks, though, there can be an issue when the electricity goes out due to a storm or some other issue. Homeowners and business owners should be aware of this issue and purchase an electronic or smart lock that can be backed up to have the ability to unlock it with a key if the need arises. Most people use smart locks because of the need to have more control over the security of their home or business.
The smart lock needs to have an authorized device to be able to lock and unlock it while an electronic one is usually controlled by punching in a code on a keypad. The smart lock is controlled by wireless communication between an authorized device while the code for an electronic lock is entered manually by the person locking or unlocked the exterior door to leave or gain entry. Both types of locks function inside the door similar to other locks, including euro cylinder locks, deadbolts, and mortise locksets.
Due to their unique features, though, electronic and smart locks are in a category of their own. To open a fingerprint lock, a person must place their forefinger flatly on a fingerprint sensor that recognizes their fingerprint pattern.
Retinal scan door locks are probably the most advanced type of exterior door lock. Predominantly used to secure buildings harboring manufacturing, medical and governmental secrets, retinal door locks require users to input a biometric scan of their retina into the lock system before gaining entry.
Real-time retina scans must match what the system has on file. Electric locks need an electric current at least 12 volts or higher to work properly. Doors equipped with fail-secure electric strike locks also have doorknobs in case someone needs to open it from the inside of a room. While fail-secure electric strike locks remain locked during power outages, fail-safe electric strike locks can be unlocked during power disruptions.
Its an appropriate lock for enhancing handicap accessibility. Lever locks can be prone to torque attack which makes them give in to the pressure. These type of locks are installed on the external doors of residential properties. They can be used for extra security when you are using deadbolt locks on doors for security purposes. A knob lock isn't advisable to be used for locking external doors.
It's because the cylinder is on the doorknob and not on the door. Once it's broken off the door using a hammer, you can bypass the door using pliers. When buying the lock, ensure it has the appropriate back set and handedness. These locks are popular on filing cabinets or mailboxes. They are available in different sizes and can be linked with other locking mechanisms.
One opens the lock by rotating it clockwise or vice versa. These locks are usually used on dividing doors or sliding glass door locks and mostly in Europe.
You can get them in stores and at different varieties. The exterior length of the lock usually vary, but all the other dimensions are standard. Mortise locks are also known as rim locks and are common on commercial or glass doors. You can use the rim cylinders on rim latch locks.
The latches are installed inside the door. It has a long metal bar at the back which engages the lock mechanism of the opposite door. Two screws hold the lock at the end of the cylinder. The locks are mounted on walls and are common on large business premises. They act as safes for items stored. They also are useful on emergency access locks for regions where the premise keys are stored.
The locks are also known as T-handle locks. They are mostly on vending machines.
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