Keyless Entry Systems

A lost key is a problem until you rekey every lock it opens. A lost or deactivated keyless credential is a two-minute fix: pull it from the system and it stops working immediately, no locksmith, no waiting. For any property with staff turnover, tenant changes, or more than a couple of doors to manage, that difference adds up fast.

Fobs, Mobile Credentials, and Biometrics, Compared

Key fobs and cards are still the right call for high-traffic entries, staff can badge in without breaking stride, replacing a lost one costs a few dollars in hardware, and provisioning a new one takes minutes. Mobile credentials put access on a phone your staff already carries, so there's one less physical item to lose or forget at home, though they need staff to have the app installed and their phone charged, which matters if someone's phone dies right as their shift starts. Biometric readers, fingerprint or facial recognition, remove the credential-sharing problem entirely: you know it was that specific person, not just that specific card, since a fob or code can be handed to someone else and a fingerprint can't.

Cost and speed trade off in a fairly predictable pattern. Fobs are cheapest per credential and fastest to badge through, which is why high-traffic entrances almost always stay on fobs even in buildings that go biometric elsewhere. Mobile credentials cost less in physical hardware but more in setup and support time. Biometric readers cost the most per door and read slightly slower than a fob tap, which is fine at a single server-room door or a medication room in an assisted living facility and a real bottleneck at a building's main entrance during a shift change.

Retrofitting Existing Card Readers

If your property already has card readers installed, going keyless doesn't have to mean replacing them door by door. We audit what's installed first, the same way our access control repair team approaches any inherited system. Often the existing reader hardware supports mobile or biometric credentials with a controller and software update, which costs a lot less than tearing out working equipment. Where the existing readers genuinely can't support what you're asking for, we'll say so and give you a real replacement cost instead of forcing an upgrade path that doesn't actually work. If the goal is dropping the on-site server along the way, that's a cloud access control migration, and it usually rides the same controller swap.

Fail-Safe, Fail-Secure, and Why That Choice Matters

Every electronic lock has to be specified as fail-safe (unlocks automatically if power is cut) or fail-secure (stays locked if power is cut), and getting this wrong is a life-safety issue, not just an inconvenience. Doors on a required fire egress path generally need to be fail-safe, so people can get out during a fire even if the building loses power, while doors protecting something you never want unsecured, a server room, a cash room, are usually fail-secure. We specify lock type door by door based on what the fire code requires for that specific opening, not a blanket setting applied to the whole building.

This is also where keyless entry has to coordinate with your fire alarm system, not run independently of it. On a fire alarm activation, egress doors need to release automatically regardless of what the access control panel is doing. We test that interaction during installation, not just assume the two systems will talk to each other correctly.

A Rollout That Doesn't Lock Anyone Out

Switching a property to keyless entry in one weekend sounds efficient until someone's badge doesn't work Monday morning. We stage it door by door instead: new readers go in and get tested while the old locks stay functional, credentials get issued to your team before the old keys are deactivated, and only then does the switch actually flip. A single-building rollout usually runs a day or two depending on door count; a multi-building portfolio gets staged building by building so operations never stop.

Where Keyless Entry Gets Used Most

Not every door needs the same credential type. We mix and match based on how each entry actually gets used, sometimes alongside telephone entry or smart video entry at the main gate:

Main Entrances: High-traffic fob or card readers for speed during shift changes.
Server & Mechanical Rooms: Biometric or PIN-backed readers where credential sharing would defeat the purpose.
Resident Amenity Spaces: Mobile credentials for residents, tied to a lease term and revoked automatically at move-out.
Loading Docks & Service Entrances: Fob or code entry for delivery staff and contractors, with schedule-restricted access windows.

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Part of a Larger Access Control System

Keyless entry is one piece of what your access control system can do. See the full audit-trail, remote credential management, and installer-lockout protections that come with every SLI access control install.

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Common Questions

What happens to keyless entry doors during a power outage?

It depends on how the specific door is specified. Fail-safe doors unlock automatically when power drops, fail-secure doors stay locked. We assign this door by door based on fire code requirements and what that space is protecting, and every door has battery backup on the panel itself so the system doesn't just go dark the moment power drops.

Does a fire alarm affect keyless entry doors?

Required egress doors are configured to unlock automatically on a fire alarm activation, regardless of their normal access control settings. We test this integration during installation rather than assuming the two systems coordinate correctly on their own.

Can visitors or contractors get in without a permanent credential?

Yes. Temporary credentials, mobile passes, or scheduled access windows can be issued for a single day, a contractor's job length, or a recurring delivery window, then expire automatically without anyone having to remember to revoke them — the same lease-term logic behind our tenant room management systems.

How long does a keyless entry installation actually take?

A single building typically takes a day or two depending on door count, staged so existing locks stay functional until the new readers are tested. Multi-building portfolios get staged building by building so no property loses access mid-transition.

What happens if a resident or employee loses their phone with a mobile credential on it?

The credential gets deactivated from the system immediately, the same as a lost fob, and a new one gets issued to their replacement device. Nothing about losing the phone gives whoever finds it access to the building unless they can also unlock the phone itself.