Fingerprint door lock installation
Across Vancouver homes and offices.
A fingerprint lock opens to an enrolled finger instead of a key. We check that your door suits the model, fit it square, enrol every user and set up a backup way in.
Fingerprint door lock types we fit on Vancouver doors.
Start with the door, not the reader. The reader works much the same on each type. What changes is the hardware behind it, and which door it belongs on.
See starting pricesFingerprint deadbolts for front and back doors
The reader sits on the outside housing and throws an ordinary deadbolt. Most are made for the standard 2-1/8" bore, so one usually takes the old deadbolt's place and leaves your handle alone.
Fingerprint lever handles for interior and office doors
A lever with the reader built in. It suits a home office, a staff room or a stock room. If you want several doors run from one system, see access control.
Fingerprint readers combined with a keypad
A reader with a number pad beside it. Your family use their fingers. A cleaner or a trades visitor gets a code you can delete later. See keypad locks.
Fingerprint padlocks and cabinet locks
A fingerprint padlock needs no fitting at all. Cabinet and drawer versions do. They mount behind the door or drawer front, and the panel thickness has to suit them.
How fingerprint readers cope with wet or cold Vancouver hands.
When the reader on your Vancouver porch will not take your finger, it is usually water or cold skin, not a faulty lock. Careful enrolment and a couple of habits clear up most of it.
Rain-soaked fingers and capacitive fingerprint sensors
Capacitive sensors read the live ridges of your finger, not a flat picture of it. Water fills those ridges and blurs them. A quick wipe on a dry sleeve usually brings a clean read.
Cold mornings, dry skin and fingerprint read failures
Cold, dry or cracked skin gives the sensor less ridge detail. Rub your fingertip warm or breathe on it. That often fixes a stubborn read. If your prints are worn, lean on the keypad code.
Enrolling several fingers so one bad read does not lock you out
We enrol each finger two or three times at slightly different angles, and at least two fingers per person, one on each hand. A cut or a bandage then still leaves you a spare finger.
Backup ways in when the fingerprint reader will not read.
Batteries run down and fingers get cut. Every fingerprint lock we fit leaves you a second way in, set up and tested before we go. Which one depends on the model.
A keypad code alongside the fingerprint
On a combined reader, a code opens the door when a finger will not. Keep your own code private and give visitors separate codes, so you can delete one without changing the rest.
The mechanical key override on a fingerprint lock
Many fingerprint deadbolts hide a key cylinder behind a small cover. When the batteries die, that is your way in. Keep the key somewhere other than inside the house, such as with a neighbour.
App or Bluetooth unlock from your phone
Models with an app can unlock over Bluetooth at the door, and some from further away through a hub. We pair and test it, and set up smart-home integration if you want it.
How we price a fingerprint or biometric lock installation.
The $75 mobile service call is never the whole bill. The lock and the labour are quoted on top, and you hear the number before any work begins.
Starting figures are on the price guide.
See starting pricesFingerprint deadbolt versus fingerprint lever hardware
A fingerprint deadbolt usually swaps straight into the existing deadbolt hole. A fingerprint lever replaces the handle and its latch, so the work and the hardware are different.
Whether your door already has a standard deadbolt bore
If your door has a standard bore and backset, the new lock drops in. A door that never had a deadbolt needs boring to spec. One outside the lock's thickness range needs a different kit.
Number of users to enrol on the fingerprint lock
Each person has to be there to enrol their own fingers, so a large family, a rental or a small office takes longer than a couple. Anyone away that day can be added later.
Weather cover or shroud for an exposed fingerprint reader
If your door has no overhang, the reader takes the rain head-on. A cover or shroud, where the model offers one, keeps the sensor drier. It is simplest to fit at the same visit.
What Vancouver homeowners want to know about fingerprint locks.
How many fingerprints can one door lock hold?
It depends on the model, and the figure is on its spec sheet. When you check it, count fingers, not people. Two fingers each for a family of four is already eight slots.
Will a fingerprint lock work on a metal condo door?
Usually, if the metal door's prep and thickness suit the model. Condo suite doors are often fire-rated and strata-controlled, so check your bylaws first. We fit within what the door's label allows.
What happens to my fingerprint data if the lock is reset?
Standalone locks generally keep your prints as coded templates inside the lock, and a factory reset wipes them. App-linked models may also hold data in an account, so read the maker's privacy terms.
Can you add a fingerprint deadbolt without replacing the handle?
Yes, where the handle and deadbolt are separate pieces. The fingerprint deadbolt takes the old one's place and the handle stays. A one-piece handleset is different, so describe yours when you call.
Fitting a fingerprint lock the licensed, non-destructive way.
We check the door's bore, backset and thickness against the model before any work begins. We can supply a lock to suit, or fit yours: tell us its make and model when you call.
Where the existing prep fits, the lock goes in without new drilling. If the door needs boring, you hear why first, and nothing is cut until you agree.
Then we enrol every user, set the backup code or key, and test through the closed door: the latch, the strike alignment, the auto-lock timing and the low-battery warning.
Before we leave, we show you how to add and delete users, change codes and check the battery. If a housemate or employee moves on, you delete them from the lock instead of recutting keys.
If you already own a fingerprint lock that has stopped reading, see smart lock repair.
Our shop at 929 Drake Street opens soon; every job is mobile until then, anywhere in the Lower Mainland. Evenings, weekends and holidays are by appointment.
Tell us what is going on, and we will price it first.
Tell us the door, the lock you have in mind and how many people will enrol. You get the method and the number before any work begins.