Electric Strikes vs Maglocks for Steel Security Doors

Steel security doors need to protect your premises without making everyday access difficult. For anyone comparing electric strikes vs maglocks, the right choice depends on the door design, escape route, fire rating, traffic levels, and how the lock should behave during a power failure.

Electric strikes usually suit doors with an existing latch and conventional handle. Maglocks can simplify some retrofits, but they need closer attention to emergency release and fire safety. The practical differences become clearer when you look at how each system works.

Electric strikes vs maglocks: how each lock works

Both systems connect a steel door to an access-control system. However, they secure the door in very different ways.

Electric strikes work with a mechanical latch

An electric strike replaces the standard strike plate in the door frame. It works with the existing latch or lock case, releasing the latch when the access controller sends the correct electrical signal.

The door still has a physical latch, handle, hinges, and often a mechanical cylinder. Depending on the lock case, people inside may leave using a handle or panic device without presenting credentials.

This arrangement often feels familiar to staff and visitors. The door opens like a conventional steel security door, while a keypad, proximity reader, intercom, or reception button controls entry from the outside.

Electric strikes are available in different voltage ranges and operating modes. Some current EFF EFF by ASSA ABLOY models are designed for fire doorsets and include monitoring contacts, multiple voltage options, and fail-locked operation. The exact model and test evidence matter more than the brand name alone.

Maglocks hold the door with magnetic force

A magnetic lock, or maglock, uses an electromagnet mounted on the frame and an armature plate fixed to the door. When power reaches the magnet, it holds the plate against the lock body and keeps the door closed.

There is no latch to retract. The access controller removes power when a valid credential is presented, allowing the door to open.

This can make a maglock useful where a mortice lock case would be difficult to install. It can also suit some surface-mounted retrofit projects. However, the magnet and armature need accurate alignment and full contact across their faces.

A maglock depends on continuous electrical power. Its security, emergency release, battery backup, and fire alarm connections therefore need careful planning.

Which option gives better security?

Neither lock is automatically more secure in every application. The strength of the complete doorset matters, including the steel leaf, frame, hinges, closer, access controller, fixings, and surrounding wall.

Why an electric strike often suits a steel security door

An electric strike keeps the door’s mechanical latch in place. That gives the door a physical closing point after access has been granted, and a fail-secure version can remain locked from the outside during a mains failure.

This makes the strike a strong option for offices, staff entrances, retail back doors, and other single-leaf steel doors. It also pairs well with a standard lever handle or emergency exit device.

The strike must match the lock case. A latch that sits too high, too low, or too far inside the frame can prevent the door from releasing. Heavy use, door sag, impact, or frame movement can create problems if the tolerances are poor.

Where a maglock can be useful

Maglocks can provide a simple access-control arrangement where the door has no suitable mortice lock or where surface mounting is preferred. They are also useful when a site needs monitored locking and a clear electrical release signal.

However, holding force alone doesn’t define security. A poorly fixed magnet on a weak frame is not a secure installation. The armature must sit flat, the fixings must suit the steel door construction, and the door closer must bring the plate back into full contact.

A maglock also loses its holding action when power is removed, unless a battery system continues to supply it. That behaviour can support emergency escape, but it creates a different security risk during a power outage.

Fail-safe and fail-secure behaviour

The lock’s response to lost power should be agreed before installation. It affects security, escape, fire alarm operation, and the way staff use the door.

What happens during a power cut

A fail-safe, or fail-unlocked, lock releases when power is removed. This is common for maglocks and often suits doors where people must leave quickly during an emergency.

A fail-secure, or fail-locked, electric strike stays locked from the controlled side when power fails. People inside must still have a suitable mechanical means of escape, such as a lever, push pad, or panic bar.

Electric strikes can usually be specified in either form, depending on the product and door use. Maglocks normally work as fail-safe devices because the magnet needs power to hold the armature.

Battery backup changes the result. If a backup supply keeps a maglock energised, the door may remain locked during a mains failure. The fire alarm and emergency release circuits must therefore isolate the relevant power source when the escape design requires the door to release.

A power cut tests both the site’s security plan and its escape plan. The selected fail condition must match the door’s actual role.

Protecting people on the way out

People should be able to leave without searching for a card, key, code, or complicated control. The release method must be obvious to the people using the building, including visitors and anyone who may need an accessible route.

Firesafe’s fire exit security guidance states that doors on escape routes leading to a final exit should open quickly and without a key. The exact hardware depends on the building, occupancy, risk assessment, and escape strategy.

A maglock on an escape door needs suitable emergency release equipment, fire alarm integration, and often a break-glass unit or other manual release. An electric strike must also work with the selected exit hardware and its fail condition.

Fire doors and escape routes need a tested system

A lock cannot be assessed separately from the steel door and frame when fire performance or escape is involved. The full hardware package needs supporting evidence.

The standards that matter

BS EN 14846 covers electromechanically operated locks and striking plates, including their strength, durability, and function. It doesn’t cover electromagnetic door locks.

BS EN 13637 covers electronically controlled escape door systems on escape routes. BS EN 179 and BS EN 1125 apply to relevant emergency exit and panic hardware arrangements.

For fire-resisting steel doors, BS EN 1634-1 is the key fire-resistance test standard for doorsets and associated hardware. A product that has been tested on one doorset isn’t automatically suitable for every other door.

The DHF best practice guide for electrically controlled exit systems emphasises that electronically secured escape doors must be considered as complete systems.

Why the exact doorset matters

The door leaf, frame, hinges, closer, lock, seals, glazing, and fixings can all affect fire performance. Adding a maglock or electric strike may alter the tested arrangement.

For that reason, ask for evidence covering the exact door, hardware combination, and intended use. A generic statement that a lock is “fire rated” isn’t enough on its own.

Building Regulations Part M and Approved Document M address access and use. The Equality Act 2010 creates separate duties concerning reasonable adjustments for disabled users. Meeting one requirement doesn’t automatically settle the other.

The NSI guidance on safe escape and access control provides useful context for assessing electronically controlled doors in occupied premises.

Choosing between an electric strike and maglock by premises

The building’s daily routine often points towards the better starting option.

Premises or door use	Likely starting point	Main checks
Office staff entrance	Electric strike	Lock-case compatibility, exit handle, fire evidence
Retail back door	Electric strike	Staff access, alarm interface, simple internal release
Factory personnel door	Either system	Traffic, impact risk, escape route, maintenance
Fire or escape door	Tested system only	EN 13637, EN 179, EN 1125, and doorset evidence
Double steel doors	Specialist specification	Leaf coordination, latching, cabling, and alignment

For warehouses moving pallets throughout the day, a powered roller shutter or high-speed door may handle goods traffic more effectively than a personnel door. A separate steel door with controlled access can then provide safer staff entry and escape.

Businesses planning wider commercial door and shutter upgrades should review the complete opening rather than choosing the lock in isolation.

Installation details that decide performance

A good product can still fail if the frame, wiring, and release hardware don’t suit the door.

Alignment and mounting are essential

An electric strike needs accurate alignment between the latch and keeper. The installer may need to adjust the frame, lock position, hinges, closer, or door seals before the strike operates reliably.

Steel frames vary in depth and construction. Some need additional reinforcement around the strike pocket. If the frame flexes or the door drops under its own weight, the latch may bind against the keeper.

Maglocks require a strong frame fixing and a correctly positioned armature plate. Paint, dirt, loose screws, or a twisted door can reduce contact between the magnet and plate. The closer must shut the door fully without excessive force or rebound.

Wiring and release controls need planning

The system may connect to an access controller, card reader, keypad, intercom, request-to-exit button, monitoring contact, break-glass unit, and fire alarm. Every part needs a defined role during normal operation and an emergency.

Cable routes should be protected from impact and arranged so the door can move without damaging conductors. The power supply and batteries need enough capacity for the lock and any connected equipment.

A professional installation should test normal entry, internal exit, emergency release, alarm release, power failure, battery operation, and door monitoring. Testing only the card reader doesn’t prove that the complete safety arrangement works.

Maintenance, testing, and whole-life cost

The cheaper installation price isn’t always the cheaper system over several years. A maglock may be quick to mount, yet emergency release equipment, battery backup, monitoring, and fire alarm integration can add cost.

An electric strike may need more frame preparation and a compatible lock case. Once installed correctly, however, its latch-based operation can suit busy steel doors with conventional hardware.

What needs checking during servicing

A service should check the door’s movement as well as the lock. Important points include:

• Latch engagement, strike alignment, and signs of frame movement.
• Magnet and armature contact, mounting screws, and surface contamination.
• Door closer action, hinges, handles, panic hardware, and seals.
• Power supplies, batteries, monitoring contacts, access readers, and release buttons.
• Fire alarm operation, emergency release, and the door’s response to a simulated power failure.

High-use commercial doors often benefit from servicing twice each year, with the interval adjusted for traffic, impact, dirt, weather, and the manufacturer’s instructions. Prompt repairs also prevent a small alignment fault from damaging the lock or frame.

If a steel security door stops locking, stays open, or fails an emergency release test, arrange a site inspection rather than forcing the hardware. You can Contact Us to discuss a survey, repair, installation, or maintenance plan.

Conclusion

The choice between electric strikes and maglocks should follow the door’s role, not a simple preference for one product. An electric strike usually fits a conventional latch-based steel door, while a maglock can suit selected retrofit and monitored access applications.

For any fire door or escape-route door, the complete doorset, release method, alarm interface, and test evidence must work together. When security, safe exit, accessibility, and reliable daily use all matter, a properly surveyed installation is the soundest starting point.