Access
Control and Door Entry

Access control in the Square Mile is a stack: a reader, a controller, a power supply, a lock, and a door that was never designed for a magnet. When the stack fails, facilities often call an electrician who does not carry cylinders, or a locksmith who does not carry a multimeter. We carry both, and we still say when the controller brand needs the original installer.

Mechanical override is not optional on a City office that empties at weekends. If the PSU dies on a Sunday, a euro cylinder or a key switch should still get a nominated person in. We fit that override as part of many door-entry jobs rather than leaving a building hostage to a board that last rebooted in 2019.

Fail-safe versus fail-secure is a fire and insurance question, not a preference. Maglocks on escape doors must drop on fire signal and on break-glass. We test that, or we will not fit the magnet. Read commercial locksmith for the ironmongery around the electric parts.

A reader that beeps and does nothing: often the lock side, a jammed strike, or a door that has dropped on its hinges so the armature no longer meets the magnet. A door that never locks: a request-to-exit stuck, a break-glass that has been leaned on, or a controller input left in unlock after a fire test. A door that never unlocks: the opposite, plus a seized strike pin.

Video entry on smaller buildings around Smithfield and Fleet Street dies when a handset is taken off the wall during a paint job. Large towers around Liverpool Street usually have a specialist maintainer; we still open the mechanical door if that maintainer is hours away.

For a lockout caused by a dead fob, office lockout covers the human side. For a snapped override key, emergency locksmith covers the cylinder.

We do not sell a branded "smart" panel as a personality. We survey the opening, the fire strategy, the existing cable, and the way staff actually use the door at 08:45. Then we quote parts. Cheap wireless kits on a listed timber door around St Paul's are how you get a magnet that stains the oak and a wireless lock that dies in a Faraday cage of stone.

Call 020 3371 1246. Send a photo of the reader, the power supply label, and the lock edge. CITY OF LONDON LOCKSMITH1 LTD invoices from New London House, 6 London Street. From-prices live on locksmith prices.

City-area pages such as Bank, Aldgate and Blackfriars describe the street constraints that affect cable runs and van access. Neighbouring boroughs including Hackney and Southwark are on the second ring when your portfolio spills over the City boundary.

The services index and areas covered are the two hubs. Use them; every related door should have its own URL rather than a paragraph on a homepage.

Find the fault. Power, controller, reader, lock, or the door furniture that fights the magnet.

Make it safe. Fire-exit release and break-glass tested before we leave a door on magnet alone.

Restore entry. Replace the failed part or set a mechanical cylinder so staff can work.

Hardware on the van for this job: 12V and 24V maglocks; fail-safe and fail-secure strikes; Wiegand and OSDP readers; video door entry handsets; break-glass and request-to-exit.

Parts commonly fitted: maglocks; strikes; PSUs; break-glass; exit buttons; slimline cylinders for override.

Named standards: BS EN 13637, BS 7273, EN 60839, BS EN 1125. Timing bands: controller failures on Monday; bank-holiday isolations; vandalism after City events.

Failure modes we actually see: power supply ripple after a weekend isolation; reader vandalised on a public stair; no mechanical override when the controller dies; maglock holding a fire door against its legal release.

Street-level URLs exist so you do not land on a generic London page: Access control in Bank, Access control in Moorgate, Access control in Liverpool Street, Access control in Aldgate, Access control in Barbican, Access control in Fleet Street, Access control in St Paul's, Access control in Monument. The remaining City areas, boroughs and EC districts are linked from areas covered and from each neighbourhood page.

Related services: Commercial Locksmith, Office Lockout, Emergency Locksmith, Lock Change and Repair.

Call 020 3371 1246. CITY OF LONDON LOCKSMITH1 LTD, company 11001390, New London House, 6 London Street, EC3R 7AD. From prices start at £140.

The method on this page is the same method we use on Bank, Moorgate, Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Barbican, Fleet Street, St Paul's, Monument, Cheapside, Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Tower Hill, Smithfield and Leadenhall. Neighbouring boroughs get the same bag and an honest clock. We do not swap in a suburban paragraph and change the place name. Hardware, failure modes, standards and timing bands above are the reason the sentences differ from a lock-change page or a safe-opening page.

If you are standing at the door now, the useful next step is the phone, not another scroll. If you are planning a floor of cylinders, send a door count and a photograph of one forend. If you lost a grand master, treat it as an incident and recode the layer it opened. If the opening is splintered, board it tonight and restore the lock to spec tomorrow if the frame can take it.

Can you work on our existing branded access system?

We diagnose power, lock and reader faults on most systems. Proprietary controller programming may still need the original vendor. We will say that before charging a full design fee.

Do you fit maglocks on fire exits?

Only with correct release: fire signal, break-glass, and a legal exit method. We refuse magnets that trap people.

Can you add a key override to a fob door?

Yes. A euro cylinder or key switch is the usual City pattern so a weekend power cut does not close the business.

Do you repair video door entry?

Handsets, door stations and the lock release, yes. Full IP video redesigns are quoted as a survey.

Will you certificate the installation?

We document what we fitted and the tests we ran. Fire strategy sign-off sits with the responsible person for the building.

Can this wait until Monday?

If staff can still exit and a mechanical override exists, often yes. If people are locked in or out of an occupied floor, call now on 020 3371 1246.

This Access Control and Door Entry page exists so a search does not collapse into a generic London blob. 12V and 24V maglocks Attendance is still from New London House, 6 London Street, EC3R 7AD, with lawful access checked before a pick enters the keyway.

Non-destructive entry stays the default here. fail-safe and fail-secure strikes Drilling is a named line you can refuse. Night and Sunday bands live on the prices page. Company number 11001390 sits on the invoice.

Call 020 3371 1246 if the door is in front of you. Wiegand and OSDP readers WhatsApp +44 7895 673226 accepts a forend photograph when the street is quiet enough. Maps and analytics wait for cookie consent. We do not invent star ratings.

Internal links from this URL reach services, neighbourhoods, prices, contact and about. video door entry handsets Neighbouring streets get their own pair pages rather than a copied paragraph with the place name swapped.