Electric door release for a door entry system
Updated: 22 October 2026
You want the button on the handset to buzz the street door, and you have not yet looked at the latch. An electric door release for a door entry system is a strike that lets go of a night latch for a few seconds. It is not a motor that throws a multipoint lock, and it is not automatically in the box. This page is from Peter F., editor for DIY & tools, using the Bell 203 and 206 trade listings, Bell’s PD-151 diagram and the amazon.co.uk kits in this comparison. The kits are ranked on the [1 apartment intercom system comparison](/hub/electronic-surveillance/1-apartment-intercom-system).
You want the button on the handset to buzz the street door, and you have not yet looked at the latch. An electric door release for a door entry system is a strike that lets go of a night latch for a few seconds.
You want the button on the handset to buzz the street door, and you have not yet looked at the latch. An electric door release for a door entry system is a strike that lets go of a night latch for a few seconds. It is not a motor that throws a multipoint lock, and it is not automatically in the box. This page is from Peter F., editor for DIY & tools, using the Bell 203 and 206 trade listings, Bell’s PD-151 diagram and the amazon.co.uk kits in this comparison. The kits are ranked on the 1 apartment intercom system comparison.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Lock release | System | Cable | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  ANJIELO SMART ANJIELO SMART wireless video intercom | App and screen | Wireless video | None claimed | 4.5 | about £329.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Bell System Bell 901 1-way audio door entry | Not stated | Wired audio | Not stated | 7.8 | about £88.46 | View offer |
 TMEZON TMEZON 7-inch video kit, two monitors | From the monitor | Wired video | 4-wire, extension not included | 8.4 | about £135.99 | View offer |
On this page
What a kit release is
A kit release is usually a small electric strike on a surface night latch. When the indoor button is pressed, the strike jaw lets the latch tongue pass, and the caller pushes the door. When the button is released, the jaw holds the tongue again. Bell’s Model 203, the unit trade pages describe as the release supplied with 900-series kits, is fail secure, 12 V AC or DC, surface mounted, and meant for a night latch on a timber frame. Door Entry Direct lists it at £19.50. TLC Direct lists the DE203 and the mortice DE204 at £21.12 including VAT. The 204 is the mortice version for a night latch, also fail secure, about 400 mA on the Securasound note.
PD-151 shows the 203 as optional on a 1-way audio diagram, for an inward-opening door, with a little play in the strike. If the latch is tight against the jaw, the magnet buzzes and the door stays shut. A little movement lets the jaw clear the latch when it is energised. Continuously rated, on the 203 description, means the coil is specified to hold while power is applied. It does not mean the door is a legal fire exit.
This is still not a gearbox lock. A night-latch strike does not withdraw a deadlock or the hooks on a composite slab. Cable from the handset to the strike is covered on how to wire a 1 way door entry system.
Timber, uPVC, and deadlocks
The 203 description is a timber frame and a surface night latch. One UK review of the Bell 901 amazon.co.uk listing did not use the door-entry part because the frame was uPVC, and the reviewer said it has to be wooden. That is the limit in plain language. A uPVC or composite door with a multipoint lock is the wrong host for a timber night-latch release. Forcing the strike into the frame, or packing it out with timber blocks on a plastic section, leaves you with a door that neither buzzes nor locks properly.
A deadlock is the other refusal. The strike releases a spring latch. It does not withdraw a deadbolt. If you still turn a key on the inside after the handset has buzzed, the release is not doing the job. A night latch on a timber door, inward opening, is the case PD-151 draws.
The amazon.co.uk Bell 901 listing, B0066PTTHI at £88.46, does not itemise the box. A trade 901 page at £94.44 names the panel, the 801 handset and the Model 203. Those are not the same contents statement. Do not drill the door on the assumption that the Amazon parcel contains the 203. The 1 apartment intercom system buying guide puts this check before the screen.
Fail secure or fail safe
Fail secure stays locked when the power is off. Fail safe unlocks when the power is off. The Bell 203 and 204 are fail secure. TLC lists the DE206 as fail safe, 12 V DC, at £32.88 including VAT. For a house front door that you want to remain shut during a power cut, fail secure matches the way people expect a night latch to behave: no power, no buzz, the door stays latched. You leave by the handle or the thumbturn on the inside, which is mechanical.
Approved Document B, Volume 1, says powered locks should unlock on alarm, on power loss, or on fault. BS 7273-4:2015 notes that a mechanical inside release can change how much of that code you need. A fail-secure strike with a working thumbturn is a different risk from a fail-secure strike that is the only way out. Do not rely on fail secure as the only exit. Fail safe unlocks when power fails, which can suit an escape door and can also leave a front door unlatched in a blackout.
One UK review used the TMEZON unlock with a gate at an overseas property. A garden gate that fails locked is inconvenient. A front door that fails locked, with no inside handle, is the case to refuse.
Which kept kits state an unlock
Two of the four listings state an unlock. The TMEZON B0D5B2B9GL, £135.99, says you can unlock from the indoor monitor and that the doorbell can connect most electronic locks. Most is the seller’s word. It does not identify a uPVC multipoint lock, and the extension cable is not in the box. The ANJIELO B0GJ2Q5H6B, £329.99, says unlock from the app and the screen. That claim sits on one review, and the monitor count contradicts itself. Neither sentence proves your latch will move.
The Bell 901 listing leaves the box contents blank, so the release is not confirmed, whatever a trade 901 page says. The LUCINE B08BHRZVY6, £64.74, describes hands-free speech and a picture when the bell rings. Unlock is not stated. Buying the cheapest screen does not buy a strike. If you need the button to open the door, the LUCINE page does not claim that function, and the Bell Amazon page does not show the part.
Stop and use a competent person when the door is a fire door, when you cannot open it from inside without power, when the entrance is communal, or when the lock is a multipoint you have not identified. The kit picks, once the latch is known, are on the best 1 way door entry system page.
Before you expect the button to open the door
If the door is a timber night latch that opens inward, a fail-secure surface strike is the case these kit releases describe, and you still leave by the inside handle. If the frame is uPVC, the lock is a deadlock, or you cannot open the door by hand from inside, the handset button is the wrong tool. Confirm the parcel lists a release before you cut the frame.
Common questions
Fail secure or fail safe for a house front door?
Fail secure stays locked with no power. The Bell 203 and 204 are fail secure, and that suits a night latch you can still open from inside with a handle. Fail safe, such as the DE206 at £32.88 on TLC, unlocks when power fails. Use that when an unlocked failure is what the escape route needs, not as a default for every front door.
Will it work on uPVC?
Not as a timber night-latch kit. The 203 is described for a timber frame. One UK review of the Bell 901 listing left the door-entry part unused on a uPVC frame. A composite multipoint door is the same refusal until the lock is identified. Do not pack a surface strike onto a plastic section and hope.
Is the release in the Bell 901 amazon box?
The amazon.co.uk listing does not say. Box contents are not itemised. A trade page at £94.44 names a Model 203 with the panel and the 801 handset. Treat that as a different contents list. Confirm the parcel before you cut the door. B0066PTTHI at £88.46 is not that trade kit.
What lock does the Bell 203 actually fit?
A surface night latch on a timber frame, inward opening, 12 V AC or DC, fail secure. PD-151 asks for a little play so the jaw can clear the tongue. It does not withdraw a deadlock, and it is not specified as a uPVC multipoint release. The mortice equivalent on trade lists is the 204.
Can a video kit buzz a gate?
The TMEZON listing says the doorbell can connect most electronic locks, and one UK review used a gate-opening function. Most does not name your gate lock. The LUCINE listing does not state unlock at all. A gate that fails locked is a nuisance. A house door that fails locked, with no inside handle, is not.
What if this door is also the escape route?
Powered locks should unlock on alarm, power loss or fault, which is the Approved Document B note. A mechanical inside release can change how much of BS 7273-4 you need. Do not use a fail-secure strike as the only way out. If you cannot open the door by hand from inside, stop and get a competent person to specify the hardware.
Why does a tight latch not buzz?
Because the jaw cannot clear the tongue. PD-151 asks for a little play in the strike. If the latch is jammed hard against the jaw, the coil can hum while the door stays shut. Easing that fit is the adjustment. A tighter screw is not the fix, and a deadlock will not respond to a night-latch strike at all.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK and maker sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the four amazon.co.uk listings captured on 19 October 2026. An IP54 or IP65 line is seller text. amazon.co.uk B0066PTTHI does not list a lock release. None of these listings shows a test to BS EN IEC 62820-1-1.
- BS EN IEC 62820-1-1:2026 preview (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Bell PD-151 1-way audio diagram (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Bell PD-084 801 DC wiring (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Approved Document P (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Approved Document B door fastenings (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- ICO, home CCTV systems (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, domestic CCTV (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Door Entry Direct, Bell 901 kit (retrieved 19 October 2026)