Can we talk about putting a wireless keypad near a metal door frame

I installed a Honeywell wireless keypad on a steel door frame last Thursday thinking it would be fine. The client called me 2 hours later saying the alarm kept going off randomly. I drove back out and the signal was getting blocked by the metal frame every time the door moved. Took me 3 tries with different mounting spots before I got it to work on a wooden trim piece 4 feet away. Now I always test signal strength with my meter before drilling any holes near metal. Has anyone else run into this with other wireless sensors around metal studs or frames?

3 comments

3 Comments

brianm6615d ago

Yeah that's a classic mistake we've all made at least once! But here's the thing nobody talks about - it's not just the metal frame itself that causes problems. I've found that the type of metal matters a lot. Galvanized steel is way worse for signal blocking than aluminum frames. Also, the way the door is grounded can create a weird ground loop that messes with wireless signals even if the keypad is on wood nearby. I started carrying a cheap signal tester with me after dealing with a similar issue on a commercial job where the whole door assembly was basically a giant antenna. Have you checked if the client has any LED lights or fans near the new mounting spot because those can cause interference too?

felix41415d ago

Solid point @brianm66, the grounding loop issue got me on a job where the metal frame was fine but the door closer was wired weird and messed up the whole wireless zone. Try a ferrite choke on the keypad power cable too, that’s saved me twice before.

viola_lopez3013d ago

Not that I've ever spent four hours chasing a phantom glitch that was just a door closer. Nope.