ᐅ Access to House and Garage: Keys vs Keypads vs Fingerprint Readers

Hello everyone,

We are currently considering which technology to use for access control to our home, and since I haven’t found any polls in this forum regarding the popularity or user experience with the different systems, I wanted to ask the group.

Our front door supplier recommends a fingerprint system. You don’t have to carry anything, it can’t be skimmed, you can’t forget it, and it supposedly works well even for children. They offer the eKey dLine system. However, the additional cost for the motorized lock and fingerprint reader is quite high.

Our garage door supplier recommends a code keypad. You don’t have to carry anything, it always works, and a code can be shared without being physically present. They advise against fingerprint systems because they are significantly more expensive and many don’t work very well. The finger must be dry and clean. They say you might have trouble getting back in after rain, sweating from jogging, or with dirty hands from gardening. For this reason, they have discontinued most fingerprint systems and recommend the code keypad.

As an alternative, there is of course the classic key with all its pros and cons.

I’m interested in what you have decided on or would choose, and what your experiences are. Do you have any security concerns about the code keypad, especially with children? Does fingerprint access work for you even in the rain?

Do you use the same system for your garage and front door, or do you have different solutions?

Best regards,
Sam

We have a front door lock with a high security rating. It works well, nothing can break, and the keyring is always with us anyway because of the cars.
So far, we don’t see any advantage in a different solution.

I have fingerprint recognition and RFID, as well as the traditional key. Fingerprint recognition actually worked a bit less reliably for me during cold and wet winter conditions, so currently I only use RFID (which is the fastest and most convenient). You forgot to include RFID in your survey, didn’t you?

In my husband’s parents’ house, there was actually a fingerprint scanner and a code lock, both of which were a disaster when the weather outside was damp.

I see it the same way as @SoL
A key that works with gloves on, during a power outage, etc.
If I quickly go somewhere and can’t or don’t want to use a key, I leave the door unlocked. Then an elbow is enough.

My experience with motorized locks has been rather poor as well. We have them in the office, and they always jam during the seasonal changes, so on the first really warm and first really cold days, we have to call customer service. However, for an office with 20 employees, this is still cheaper than replacing the entire locking system if someone loses a key.