Electric Strikes and Mag Locks for Las Vegas Businesses

An electric strike replaces the plate on the door frame that catches the latch. When power flows, the strike lets the latch go and the door opens. A mag lock works differently. It is an electromagnet on the frame that holds a plate on the door, and it lets go when power stops.

This guide goes past our commercial locksmith page. It explains fail safe and fail secure, the release rules the codes put on electric locks, what makes a strike buzz and still not open, and how a new strike or mag lock is installed.

The short version

Here are the points that matter most.

• Strike or mag lockA strike works with a lock that is already on the door. A mag lock is its own lock and holds only while it has power.
• Fail safe unlocks without powerFail safe means the door unlocks when power is cut. Fail secure means it stays locked.
• Mag locks must releaseCode requires them to unlock on loss of power, and to release by a sensor or by hardware on the door.
• Fail safe can cost a fire ratingHES says fail safe negates the fire rating on its 5300 strike, so check the door label.
• Pressure on the door mattersAir conditioning pressure, a bent door or thick weatherstripping can keep a strike from opening.
• The door must closeA strike or mag lock does nothing if the door hangs open, so the closer is part of the job.

What you can check before you call

Look at the lock first. If the door has a handle and a latch that you can feel, you probably have or can have a strike. If the door has a metal bar across the top and no latch, it is a mag lock.

Press the release button, tap the reader, or use the code. Do you hear a click or buzz? A click with a stuck door points at pressure on the latch. Nothing at all points at power or wiring.

Then push the door gently while someone else triggers the release. If it opens only when you lean on it a little, the door is binding. Take a photo of the strike, the lock and the power supply, if you can find it.

Strikes and mag locks side by side

Von Duprin says an electric strike provides remote release of a locked door without retracting the latch bolt. It offers versions for cylindrical, rim and mortise locks, as standalone units or as part of an access control system.

Securitron, a maker of electromagnetic locks, shows what a heavy duty mag lock looks like with its MM15. It is rated at 4,000 pounds of holding force and uses two spring loaded steel jaws that clamp the plate if someone forces the door.

Fail safe and fail secure

The names describe what happens when power is lost. The choice is about people first and property second.

HES makes its 1006 strike fail secure as standard and offers fail safe as an option. Its 5300 and other models are field selectable between fail safe and fail secure. The HES catalog adds one warning. On the 5300 it says fail safe negates the fire rating of the product. See the HES catalog.

The fire code release rules

Mag locks and other electric locks on exit doors are held to life safety rules. The Locksmith Ledger summarizes them in a mag lock code article. The editions have changed since, so use it to learn the ideas, not to cite section numbers.

There are two ways to release a mag lock. A sensor can detect a person walking up and unlock the door. Or hardware on the door, such as a panic bar, can release it.

• Sensor releaseThe door must unlock when the sensor loses power, when the lock loses power, and when the building fire alarm or sprinkler system trips, where those systems exist. It stays unlocked until the system is reset.
• Push to Exit buttonWith sensor release, a button marked Push to Exit sits 40 to 48 inches above the floor within 5 feet of the door. Pressing it must cut power to the lock directly, and the door stays unlocked for at least 30 seconds.
• Door hardware releaseHardware on the door must be easy to use with one hand in any light, must cut power to the lock directly, and the door must unlock at once and on loss of power. If panic hardware is required, the panic bar must release the lock.
• Fire alarmDoor hardware release does not require the door to unlock when the fire alarm trips.
• Where allowedThese locks are not allowed in every kind of building, so the use group matters.

What changed in the 2024 codes

iDigHardware, Allegion's code resource, says that in the 2024 IBC and IFC door hardware release is section 1010.2.10 and sensor release is 1010.2.11. Starting with the 2024 editions, doors that require panic hardware must use door hardware release, and sensor release is no longer allowed on them. The model codes also accept UL 294 or UL 1034 for the electrified locking device. Read the iDigHardware breakdown.

Clark County says its Building Department adopted the 2024 International Building Codes for permit applications filed from January 11, 2026, with Southern Nevada amendments. See the Clark County codes page. Other cities set their own dates, and your fire marshal can ask for more. Confirm before you buy hardware. Our panic bars and exit devices page covers the bar side of the same rules.

Why a strike buzzes and the door stays shut

The HES catalog explains door preload. Pressure on the latch can bind the keeper so the solenoid cannot release it. HES lists stack pressure from HVAC systems, misaligned strike and lockset, warped wood doors, bent metal doors, and thick door seals or heavy weatherstripping as causes.

HES also warns that strong preload can make a strike in fail safe mode behave badly when power is interrupted, leaving the door unlocked. A strike that opens only sometimes is a sign of preload.

• Check the door firstWe look at hinges, sag and the gap before we touch the strike.
• Check the lock and strike line upThe latch should sit in the strike opening without scraping.
• Test under loadWe release the strike while the door is pushed and pulled, the way people will really use it.
• Check the closerA closer set too strong can pin the latch. See our door closers page.

Installing an electric strike

First, the lock. A strike has to match the lockset, cylindrical or mortise, and the latchbolt. Then we cut the frame, mount the strike, run low voltage wire to a power supply, and connect the control, such as a button or a reader. Our access control page covers readers.

We install electric strikes and the wiring that connects them, and our Henderson access control page describes the same work there. We test the door many times before we leave.

Installing a mag lock

A mag lock mounts on the frame header, and a steel plate mounts on the door. The door has to close squarely, because a mag lock only holds when the plate meets the magnet flat. The lock also needs a power supply, a way to release it, and a release that follows the code rules above.

We have not published a mag lock page yet. Call us and tell us the make and model, and we will tell you straight whether it is a job for us.

The Las Vegas angle

Buildings here run air conditioning hard in summer, and that is the kind of stack pressure HES lists as a preload cause. A strike that works in spring and fails in July may be a pressure problem, not a bad strike.

If you are shopping for outdoor doors or gates, ask about weatherized parts. Detex lists weatherized electric latch retraction devices for doors exposed to weather. See the Detex page. Our office lockout service is there if a bad strike traps you outside.

What to tell us on the phone

Give us these details to get one price.

• The doorWood, metal or aluminum, and the frame type.
• The lockMaker, model, and whether it is cylindrical or mortise.
• The controlButton, keypad, reader or phone.
• PowerWhere a power supply could go, and whether the door is on a fire alarm.
• Fail safe or fail secureWhat you want to happen in a power cut.

How to check any locksmith before you let them in

Ask for the license number. Ours is City of Las Vegas Locksmith License P64 00012, and you can check it on our license page.

Get one total price and a written note of what was done. The Nevada Attorney General's consumer protection pages explain how to file a complaint. To book, use our contact page.