Quick answer: there isn’t one best keypad lock, there’s a best one for your door and your situation. A family home wants a PIN-plus-tag lock. A rental wants multiple codes you can delete. An older parent wants a tag or fingerprint. A holiday let wants WiFi and time-limited codes. A small business wants one code per person. Below is what we’d fit for each, from the brands we install most: McGrath, Lion Head, Lockton, Carbine, Lockwood and Yale.
We fit digital locks across Perth every week, and the question is never “what’s the best smart lock”. It’s “what’s the right one for my front door, my mum’s unit, my Airbnb”. So this guide is organised by situation, not by brand. Every lock below has a backup way in, and we show you how it works before we leave.
1. The family home
What you need: a lock the kids can use without a phone, that you can open without fumbling for a key with shopping in your hands, and that ends the spare-under-the-pot habit.
What we’d fit: a keypad lock with a tag option. The adults use a code, the kids tap a tag on their school bag. Carbine’s PIN-plus-tag models are built for exactly this, and McGrath’s keypad locks are the ones we fit most on standard timber entry doors.
WiFi? Optional. Handy if you want to let a tradie in while you’re at work, otherwise not needed.
2. A rental you own
What you need: to stop rekeying between tenants and stop chasing keys. Tenants get their own code; when they leave, the code goes.
What we’d fit: a keypad lock that holds several codes: one for the tenant, one for the property manager, one for you. No WiFi needed unless you’re interstate. Codes are changed at the door in a minute. Lockton and McGrath both do solid, plain keypad models that property managers like because there’s nothing for a tenant to break.
3. An older parent, or anyone who struggles with keys
What you need: to get rid of the small key and the stiff turn. Arthritis, poor eyesight and a fiddly deadlock are a bad mix.
What we’d fit: a tag lock or a fingerprint lock, with a big-button keypad as the second option. A tag on a lanyard or a keyring is the easiest thing for most people; fingerprint works well for some and not others, so we never rely on it alone. Add WiFi and a gateway if family want to let a carer in remotely. We’ve written more on this in smart locks for people with disabilities.
4. A holiday let or Airbnb
What you need: a code per guest that stops working at checkout, a standing code for the cleaner, and the ability to do all of that from wherever you are.
What we’d fit: a WiFi keypad lock with time-limited codes. Lion Head’s WiFi models need a small gateway hub inside the property, which we set up on the day, and then you manage codes from your phone. Full setup steps are in smart locks for Airbnb and short stays.
5. A small business or shop
What you need: one code or tag per staff member, deleted the day they leave, without touching anyone else’s access. Maybe a record of who came in when.
What we’d fit: a keypad-and-tag lock with an audit trail, on the staff entry, and a keyed lock kept on the shopfront where the glass door needs a specific commercial lock. Yale and Lockwood’s commercial-grade digital locks suit heavier doors. See commercial locksmith.
6. A security screen door
What you need: to know whether it’s even possible, because many people ask.
Honest answer: on some screen doors, yes, on many, no. It depends on the frame width and the lock that’s there now. Send us a photo of the door and the lock and we’ll tell you before you buy anything. Often the better move is a digital lock on the main door and a plain keyed screen lock, and you just leave the screen unlocked when you’re home. See security screen door locks.
7. A unit or apartment
What you need: a lock that fits a fire-rated door and doesn’t break strata rules.
What we’d fit: check with strata first; many allow a digital lock on the unit’s own door as long as the door and closer aren’t altered. Then a keypad lock that fits the existing cut-out. Ask us before you buy a lock online: unit doors are where the wrong size gets ordered most.
Things that are true for all of them
Every lock we fit has a backup way in, usually a mechanical key, and most warn you for weeks before the batteries run out. None of them need an app to work day to day; the app is for remote access. A lock without WiFi is not a lesser lock, it’s just managed at the door. And we key any mechanical override to your existing key where the profile allows, so you’re not carrying a new one.
Lock playing up? See what to check when a digital lock isn’t working.
Common questions
Which smart lock brand is best?
For Perth doors, the six we fit are McGrath, Lion Head, Lockton, Carbine, Lockwood and Yale, in that order of how often. We fit these because they hold up and we can get parts. Within those, the right model depends on the door and the situation above, not the brand.
Can I buy the lock myself and have you fit it?
You can, but send us a photo of the door first. The most common call we get is a lock bought online that doesn’t fit the cut-out or the door thickness.
Do keypad locks work in Perth heat and coastal air?
The ones we fit do. Coastal homes should pick a model with a sealed keypad and change batteries on schedule; salt air is harder on cheap locks than heat is.
What does it cost to have a keypad lock fitted?
It depends on the lock, the door and whether there’s an existing cut-out. We quote it on the phone once we’ve seen a photo, and the price is agreed before we start.
Want a lock matched to your door?
Call 0427 580 823Send an enquiry
The models we fit, with photos, are on the digital and smart locks page. Newer homes around Gwelup ask us for these most.