Door Entry Release Not Opening the Door

When the door release on an intercom or door entry system does not open the door, the handset is usually fine and the fault sits at the door: an electric strike or maglock that is not receiving power, a lock that is binding because the door has dropped, or a failing power supply. Listen at the door when release is pressed; a click with no opening points to the lock, silence points to wiring or power.

When residents press the release button on a door entry handset and nothing happens at the door, the problem usually sits somewhere along a simple chain: the handset sends a signal, the panel or controller passes it on, and a lock or strike physically lets the door open. A break anywhere in that chain stops the door releasing, even though the intercom itself might look and sound completely normal.

This is one of the more common calls we get across blocks of flats, communal entrances and small commercial premises in Kent and Medway. Sometimes the fix is as small as a loose wire behind the keypad, other times a power supply has failed and the whole system is running on borrowed time. Because the release circuit usually carries low voltage direct current to a strike or maglock, tracing it safely needs some care.

The checks below help you work out whether the fault is likely to be something simple you can look at yourself, or whether it points to wiring, the lock mechanism or the power supply, which should be left to an engineer.