A fingerprint door lock or keypad lock opens without a key: you enter a code, touch a card or tag, or place a finger on the reader. Unlike an app-based smart lock, a digital door lock works on its own at the door, with no phone or Wi-Fi needed. It runs on batteries and usually has a key or an emergency power point as a backup. Tell us about the door and who needs access, and local suppliers and locksmiths will send you quotes, free and with no obligation.
Types of digital door locks
Digital door locks come in a few forms, and many combine several ways in:
- Keypad locks: door locks with codes. Good ones let you set several codes and change them when someone leaves.
- Card or tag locks: you hold a card or key fob to the reader, common in flats and offices.
- Fingerprint locks: a reader stores enrolled fingers; no code to share or forget.
- Mechanical push-button locks: no batteries at all, handy on gates, store rooms and outbuildings.
If you want to open from your phone or see a log on an app, look at smart door locks instead.
Choosing a fingerprint door lock or keypad lock
Match the lock to the door and the people using it:
- Door type: timber doors take most mortice-style digital locks; aluminium doors need a narrow case.
- Weather: fingerprint readers in direct sun or rain need a weather rating, or a door under cover.
- Users: how many codes or fingers it stores, and whether you can delete one person without resetting everyone.
- Fire escape: the inside should open with a plain handle or thumb turn, never a code.
Fingerprint readers can struggle with worn or dry fingers, so pick one that also takes a code.
Fingerprints, POPIA and safe fitting
Fingerprints are biometric data, which is special personal information under POPIA. A homeowner enrolling family is one thing; a business or body corporate enrolling staff or residents must protect that data and get consent. Ask where fingerprints are stored: in the lock only is simpler than in a cloud account.
Fitting a digital lock means cutting the door for the case and drilling for the cable between the outside and inside units. A locksmith gets the alignment right so the latch does not bind and drain the batteries. Keep the backup key away from the door, and change the factory code on day one.
What affects the price, and what to ask
Price follows the ways in (keypad only is cheapest), the build quality, the finish and the fitting. Ask the supplier how long batteries last, what happens when they die, whether spare cards are available, and whether a locksmith can service it locally.
What to include in your request
- Which door, and timber or aluminium
- Code, card, fingerprint or a mix
- How many people need access
- Whether the door is under cover
- Supply only, or supplied and fitted
Digital, Keypad and Fingerprint Locks for different clients
- Homeowners: a fingerprint door lock on the kitchen door so children never need to carry a key
- Complexes, estates and body corporates: keypad locks on unit doors so owners stop handing spare keys to the managing agent
- Offices, shops and practices: a keypad lock on the staff entrance with a code for each employee, changed when they leave
- Landlords and letting agents: a keypad lock on a student room or holiday flat, with a new code for every tenant
- Factories, warehouses and workshops: a push-button lock on a store room or change room that needs no batteries
- Farms and smallholdings: a mechanical code lock on the feed store or workshop so keys are not passed around
- Schools, clinics, churches and hostels: keypad locks on staff rooms, server cupboards and medicine stores in a school or clinic
- Builders, shopfitters and contractors: shopfitters and door installers fitting digital locks to new office and flat doors
Frequently asked questions
How much is a fingerprint door lock?
What happens when the batteries go flat?
Is a keypad door lock safe?
Who will quote me?
Digital, Keypad and Fingerprint Locks by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg