Smart locks vs traditional locks: which should I choose?
Traditional locks are mechanical: no batteries, no app, and decades of proven use. Smart locks add keypad, fob or phone entry and let you share or revoke access without cutting keys, but they need power and occasional software updates. Check your insurance terms before changing locks. Many doors use both: a smart layer over a mechanical lock.
What does a smart lock add?
A smart lock opens with a code, fob, fingerprint or phone instead of, or as well as, a key. Access can be shared with family, cleaners or trades and revoked in an app, so a lost key stops being a lock-change job. Many models also log who entered and when.
The trade-off is power and software. Batteries run down and need changing before they fail. App features depend on the maker's software staying supported. A smart lock is a small computer on your door, and it needs the same occasional attention as one.
Why do traditional locks still hold up?
A mechanical lock needs no power, no app and no updates. A well-made deadlock or multi-point lock keeps working for years with little more than occasional lubrication, and a locksmith can repair, rekey or replace it with standard parts. That simplicity is why mechanical locks remain the baseline for external doors.
The limits are convenience ones. Keys can be lost, copied or shared without your knowledge, and changing who has access means changing the cylinder or cutting new keys.
What about insurance?
Home insurance policies commonly specify the type of lock required on external doors. Before replacing a mechanical lock with a smart lock, or fitting one alongside it, check your policy wording or ask your insurer whether the change is acceptable. Keeping an insurer-approved mechanical lock on the door as well as a smart lock is a common way to have both.
Locks & Alarms Ltd supplies, fits, repairs and replaces locks. Checkatrade-verified jobs include a balcony door lock repair in DA14 and door handle replacement in SE28. The quote visit confirms what suits your doors and your policy.
Related service: Locksmith Services