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Best electric door release

Updated: October 2026

You already know you need a powered keep, and you want a short answer among the six listings. Best electric door release here means a page that prints the voltage, prints the fail mode, and has UK review text for that behaviour. The full table sits on the [electric door release comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/electric-door-release). If fail mode and volts are still open, use the [electric door release buying guide](/hub/door-and-window-security/electric-door-release/sub/electric-door-release-buying-guide). Peter F. used those amazon.co.uk figures on 19 October 2026. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You already know you need a powered keep, and you want a short answer among the six listings.

Our top picks

effeff effeff 118E door opener

Best overall

effeff effeff 118E door opener
7.0/10about £24.41
View offer
AMALOCKS SecureMyDoor fail safe 12 V

Rank 2

AMALOCKS SecureMyDoor fail safe 12 V
7.9/10about £32.97
View offer
AMALOCKS SecureMyDoor fail secure 12 V

Rank 3

AMALOCKS SecureMyDoor fail secure 12 V
8.4/10about £32.97
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What best means here
  2. 2.12 V fail-secure, 12 V fail-safe, 24 V fail-secure
  3. 3.The listings that are not a pick
  4. 4.Who should not use this shortlist

What best means here

The amazon listings in this set do not print coil current or holding force. Copying another product’s figure onto these coils would invent a test. Ask whether the page says 12 V or 24 V, whether the door stays locked when power fails, and whether the reviews describe a real fit. Five stars from four ratings do not outrank 4.4 from 70 reviews. The top pick is the largest review file for a stated job. The best value is the lowest price that still names a voltage, with no plate and no stated fail mode.

12 V fail-secure, 12 V fail-safe, 24 V fail-secure

For a 12 V door that must stay locked in a power cut, the SecureMyDoor M1ALOCK is the top pick at about £32.97, 4.4 from 70 reviews. Reviews say the instructions are thin, and one apartment fit needed extra chiselling. Skip it if people use that door as the way out when the power fails. When the door must become free, the pick is M1AUNLOCK, also about £32.97, 4.6 from 18 reviews. It unlocks if power is lost, so an empty building is open unless you add another lock. The 24 V fail-secure pick is M1ALOCK-24, again about £32.97, only after you have metered 24 V DC. One review wrote that 12 V was not enough. Cutting the frame is on how to fit an electric door release.
effeff effeff 118E door opener

Testsieger

effeff effeff 118E door opener
7.0/10about £24.41
View offer

The listings that are not a pick

The effeff 118E is about £24.41 and is the best value only if the frame already has the matching plate and you have metered 10–24 V. Fail mode is not stated, and the plate is not in the box. The TIKATARER unit states the same 12 V fail-secure job at about £62.50, with one review that had to chisel a wooden frame. The AOWINHIT body at about £28.49 states neither voltage nor fail mode, and a fireproof phrase is not a fire-test report.

Who should not use this shortlist

None of these six listings shows a fire-test report or BS EN 14846. If the door is a fire door or a stair exit, this shortlist is the wrong list. Electric door release on a fire door sets that limit. Putting the 24 V body on a 12 V pair because both cost about £32.97 repeats the review that found 12 V was not enough.

Common questions

Which of these has the most UK reviews?
The SecureMyDoor 12 V fail-secure unit, M1ALOCK, at 4.4 from 70 amazon.co.uk reviews. The fail-safe twin has 18 and the 24 V unit has 20. The effeff line is four ratings with no text. AOWINHIT and TIKATARER are a single rating and a single review. Review count breaks the tie only after voltage and fail mode are printed. Five stars with no text are not a better file.
Which one unlocks when the power fails?
The SecureMyDoor M1AUNLOCK, 12 V DC, about £32.97, 4.6 from 18 reviews. The listing says it locks when power is supplied and unlocks if power is lost. The other two SecureMyDoor units, and the TIKATARER unit, are described as staying locked when power fails. The effeff and AOWINHIT listings do not state the mode, so they are not an answer to this question.
Which one is the 24 V fail-secure unit?
The SecureMyDoor M1ALOCK-24, about £32.97, 4.5 from 20 reviews. A review said the jaw moved from about 13 V and that 12 V was not enough. Polarity is unmarked and the instructions were missing in reviews. Use it only on a supply you have already metered as 24 V DC. It is not a silent upgrade from a 12 V handset transformer.
Is the effeff 118E a complete strike?
No. The plate is not in the box, and fail-safe or fail-secure is not stated. It is a compact opener body for a frame that already has the matching 118E plate, after you have metered a supply inside 10–24 V. Excess voltage can damage it, according to the listing. It is also not the effeff 75 series mortice release sold by locksmith suppliers with a stated holding force.
Why is the TIKATARER dearer and still a weak pick?
It asks about £62.50 for a stated 12 V DC fail-secure job that the SecureMyDoor M1ALOCK lists at about £32.97 with 70 reviews. The single TIKATARER review had to chisel a wooden frame because the body was larger than the old keep. No power supply is named, and no IP rating is stated. Pay the extra only if you have measured this body and you still prefer this listing.

Related pages

Fail safe vs fail secure door release

Electric door release

Electric door release buying guide: four checks first

Electric door release fire door: unlock and evidence

How to fit an electric door release in a timber frame

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest. Listing prices and review counts were read on 19 October 2026. The CDVI GAER page is an example for a different product, not a current figure for these six listings.

  1. Approved Document B Volume 1 (England, dwellings) (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. BSI BS 7273-4:2015+A2:2023 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. NIFRS door release note (2025) (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. CDVI: fail-safe and fail-secure (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. CDVI: guide to electronic locking (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Links Integrated Systems: electronic locking for fire doors (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. CDVI GAER-12CC (example current, not an ASIN in this set) (retrieved 19 October 2026)