FAQ

Yes, in certain circumstances. However, it involves a special process and there would be a charge involved. If the cylinder and keys are registered, you would need to approach the ASSA ABLOY Security Centre which supplied them and holds the records. Standard differ cylinders can be re-keyed by any ASSA ABLOY Security Centre (if in doubt, please contact our Department with the reference number stamped on the cylinder and we can advise which stockist can carry out the job).

The re-keying operation involves carefully drilling out the cylinder plugs, removing the pins and inserting new ones, then updating the key system records and cutting new keys. Please be warned that not every cylinder design can be re-worked in this way; the Security Centre can advise if it will be possible in your case.

Find more details here.

ASSA products are handed as follows:

Anticlockwise closing: Left Hand
Clockwise closing: Right Hand

To tell the handing of a door, stand on the side where the hinges are visible when it is closed. If the hinges are on your left, it is a left hand door; if they are on your right, it is a right hand door.

Find more details here.

All systems of key control rely on the limited availability of registered keys. These should only available from reputable locksmiths and security centres, who undertake to check identification and only supply keys to properly authorised people. If keys become freely available – or if pirate copies are produced and circulated on the black market – then security will be fatally undermined.

There is currently only one way to prevent third party manufacturers from producing copies of keys and selling them to anybody they choose, without necessarily observing any security precautions. That is if the design of the key is patented. Patents are valid for 20 years and allow manufacturers to take legal action against anyone supplying keys to that design without permission.

When specifying patented products you should ensure that the manufacturer’s patents are still current, apply worldwide, and will be enforced.

Find more details here.

For added security, a valid 4 to 8 digit programming code must be entered in order to add, delete or change a user or the programming code. In order to prevent unauthorized changes, the programming code should not be shared and a record of all the codes should be kept in a safe place.

Find more details here. 

It is important to assess your new home’s security when you first move in, and to change the locks as soon as possible. Just think – are you confident that the previous owner or tenant handed all their copies back, or didn’t leave that spare with a neighbour? They may have forgotten to retrieve a spare key from tradesmen, or if they’d ever left a key under the doormat or in a plant pot, it’s possible that someone could have made a copy and returned it to the hiding place, where no one will ever know it went missing

It’s good practice to make sure you leave everything in order before you jet off on your holidays. Simple things, such as milk bottles left on the doorstep or post being left to pile up, can put your house at a higher risk of getting burgled, displaying those ‘telltale’ signs of an empty house to any would-be burglar. By cancelling any deliveries, and getting a friend to check-in regularly and pick up any post, you can mitigate any such risk. Plus, by investing in a home alarm, or upgrading your door’s security measures, you are reducing the risk of your home being burgled.

Having your home burgled is one of the most upsetting experiences someone can go through. It can leave you with a feeling of vulnerability in a place where you should feel completely secure. Whether you were away on holiday or asleep at the time of the burglary, the results of this common crime are equally traumatic. After a home burglary, or even an attempted burglary, it’s important to be proactive in order to help prevent something similar happening again. Whether that be updating your cylinders, or investing in a home alarm, updating and improving your security can give you that much-needed peace-of-mind, and can deter thieves from targeting your home again.