A Customer Asked: “Is a Medeco Lock Really That Much Harder to Pick Than a Regular Deadbolt?” — The Data

Last updated: August 21, 2026

A Medeco cylinder uses angled, rotating pins that a standard pin tumbler deadbolt does not have, which means the two locks have different design features. Whether a high security cylinder is worth considering depends almost entirely on your door and frame, not on the lock alone.

The Short Answer: Is a Medeco Lock Harder to Pick Than a Standard Deadbolt, and Is It Worth the Cost in Etobicoke?

A Medeco high security cylinder uses a different pin design from a standard residential deadbolt. A standard five pin Kwikset or builder grade Schlage works on a conventional pin tumbler design. A Medeco requires the pins to be lifted to the correct height and rotated to the correct angle, while its sidebar design adds another locking element. Restricted key systems may also provide different duplication controls.

Whether a high security cylinder is worth considering is a separate question. If your door has a hollow softwood jamb and a strike plate held by short screws, it may make sense to address the frame first. If you run a restaurant with rotating staff, or live in a condo with a restricted key building system, key control may be an important consideration.

The Full Answer

1. What actually makes a Medeco different – mechanically, not in marketing copy

A standard pin tumbler deadbolt, such as the Kwikset SmartKey or the Schlage B60, works on one axis. Push each pin stack to the shear line and the plug turns. These locks use conventional pin tumbler designs and mass produced components.

Medeco adds two more dimensions. The key cuts are angled, so each bottom pin must be rotated to a specific orientation as well as lifted to a specific height. A sidebar with fingers sits alongside the plug and drops into the pin gates only when every rotation is correct. Elevation plus rotation plus a sidebar. On Medeco’s M3 and later platforms there’s also a slider element in the keyway that adds a fourth independent check.

Practical effect: raking is dead. Bumping is dead. What’s left is single-pin picking with rotation control, which is a genuine specialist skill, and the cylinder body is loaded with hardened steel inserts so drilling isn’t the shortcut either.

“When we’re called to a lockout on a genuine Medeco, we don’t pick it – we drill it, and we bring the long bits, because the hardened inserts eat standard drill bits. That should tell you something about the difference between a Medeco and the deadbolt on most Etobicoke back doors, which we open in under a minute with a tension wrench and a rake.” – Etobicoke Locksmith Team

2. UL 437 and ANSI Grade 1 – the two ratings that actually mean something

Medeco cylinders are listed to UL 437, the Underwriters Laboratories standard for key locks, which subjects the cylinder to attack testing with picks, drills and pulling tools by trained technicians for a defined period. A regular residential deadbolt is not tested against picking at all in the ANSI/BHMA A156.5 grading – that grading covers cycles, torque and impact.

This distinction is where most online comparisons go fuzzy. ANSI Grade 1 is a durability and force rating. UL 437 is a covert-and-forced-entry rating for the cylinder. A lock can be Grade 1 and still be picked in thirty seconds. Medeco Maxum deadbolts carry both, and that combination is the whole product.

3. The uncomfortable truth: almost nobody picks a residential door

This is the part the manufacturer brochures skip and the Reddit locksmith threads get right. Picking is a hobby and a trade skill; it is rarely a burglary method. Real forced entries into houses across Etobicoke, Mimico and Long Branch are blunt – a shoulder into the door near the strike, a pry bar at the jamb, a basement window, or an unlocked side door.

So does that make the Medeco pointless? No – but it reframes the value. You buy a Medeco for three things: it can’t be raked or bumped by an opportunist, it can’t be copied at a mall kiosk, and the hardened cylinder resists the wrench-and-yank attack that pops a standard rim cylinder. Pure pick resistance is the least important of the three for a house.

4. Key control – the reason our commercial clients actually buy Medeco

If you’re a restaurant owner or property manager on The Queensway or Lakeshore watching closing staff turn over twice a year, this section is the one that matters – not the pick-resistance chart above. The threat isn’t a picker. It’s a key that walked out the door eighteen months ago.

Some Medeco and Mul-T-Lock key systems use restricted blanks and dealer distribution. This can provide different key duplication controls from standard Schlage or Kwikset keys.

For businesses with staff turnover, key control may be a consideration when planning a commercial master key system.

5. Medeco vs Mul-T-Lock vs Schlage Primus vs ASSA – which wins where

There isn’t a universal winner, and any article that names one is selling something. All four are legitimate high-security platforms from serious manufacturers – Medeco and ASSA both sit under the ASSA Abloy umbrella, Mul-T-Lock likewise, and Schlage Primus is Allegion’s restricted-keyway offering. Match the platform to the job:

6. What lock work costs in Etobicoke

Lock installation, lock replacement, rekeying, and smart lock installation are priced per job. You get the exact price before any work starts.

The exact price for lock work depends on factors such as your door, backset, bore diameter, and the condition of existing hardware. You get the exact price before any work starts.

Emergency residential and commercial lockout work is priced per job. You get the exact price before any work starts.

A Related Question We Often Hear

When the Answer Is Different

The Medeco-versus-standard-deadbolt calculation flips in several specific situations we run into around Etobicoke, Lakeshore and Mississauga. Here’s where the general advice stops applying.

You’re renting, or you just took possession

Consider rekeying when moving into a new place. Previous tenants may still have keys, and rekeying changes access to an existing compatible cylinder. A standard rekey is priced per job.

Your building already mandates a restricted-key system

Plenty of Etobicoke and Mimico condo corporations run restricted systems on the suite doors. In that case the decision was made for you – and swapping in a big-box deadbolt to save money will typically breach your condo rules and orphan you from the building’s key management. Work within the system.

Your primary door is mostly glass

A Medeco next to a full-lite sidelight solves nothing. The cheapest bypass is a brick. If your entry has glass within arm’s reach of the thumbturn, spend on laminated glazing film and a double-cylinder or captured-turn arrangement before you spend on the cylinder – and check egress requirements before going double-cylinder.

You want remote access and audit trails

Medeco is a mechanical answer to a mechanical problem. If you want to manage access from your phone, a smart lock installation may be more suitable than a high security cylinder. Some homeowners choose a smart lock for the main entry and a high security cylinder for another door.

Winter, salt, and the Lakeshore corridor

One thing national comparison articles never mention: road salt and lake-driven damp are hard on cylinders down through Long Branch, New Toronto and along Lakeshore. Cheap zinc-alloy deadbolts seize and corrode fast on exposed doors – the key gets gritty by February and someone snaps it off in the plug. That’s a real, recurring reason we recommend a solid brass or high-security cylinder on lake-facing exterior doors, and it has nothing to do with picking. Broken keys in frozen cylinders are one of the more common January calls in this part of the city.

FAQ

Can a Medeco lock be picked at all?

Medeco locks can be picked, but only by highly skilled specialists using rotation capable tools, and it is not a fast or reliable attack. Public demonstrations of Medeco defeats exist, and Medeco has revised its platforms over time in response. For practical residential and commercial purposes in Etobicoke, a Medeco cylinder can make picking less of a concern than a standard big box deadbolt.

How much does a Medeco or Mul-T-Lock installation cost in Etobicoke?

Lock changes, rekeying and door hardware work are priced per job, with the exact price confirmed before work starts.

Is Medeco or Mul-T-Lock better for a small business with staff turnover?

Commercial lock and rekeying needs can be assessed based on existing hardware and the doors involved.

Should I upgrade the deadbolt or the door frame first?

A professional locksmith can assess door frame, strike and lock hardware as part of an overall door hardware plan.

Sources

1. Medeco cylinder design, UL 437 listing and key control claims – Medeco Security Locks (ASSA ABLOY)
2. Mul-T-Lock MT5+ platform and patented key control – Mul-T-Lock
3. UL 437 standard for key locks (attack testing scope) – UL Solutions
4. Break-and-enter reporting and residential security guidance for Toronto – Toronto Police Service
5. All pricing figures, case examples and field observations – Etobicoke Locksmith service records