Replace an old access control system without starting over

Upgrading usually brings in fresh software plus a new controller, the box that chooses who gets through each door. Your price follows whatever each door already holds.

A door that lacks an electric lock takes the most labor: fitting a lock or strike, adding a reader and pulling fresh cable to a controller. If the locks already function, the work shrinks to new readers, a controller and configuration. To put numbers on it, 4 key-only doors run $4,800 to $10,000, and 4 doors whose electric locks work run $2,000 to $6,000.

A subscription can replace some upfront costs with monthly or yearly payments, so ask what equipment and installation will still cost.

With a retrofit, you keep whatever still does its job and swap out only the parts that must change. One installer cost guide figures $1,500 to $3,500 per door when the wiring and lock stay, compared with $3,000 to $7,000 for a fresh installation.

For a church with 8 doors on a Honeywell NetAXS system, keeping suitable wiring and locks puts a retrofit at roughly $12,000 to $28,000, compared with $24,000 to $56,000 for a new installation.

A lock already in place may be kept when it is compatible and serviceable, such as with an electric strike. Old wiring can also be reused in some cases, provided the cable type, its condition, the power and the test readings all suit the new gear.

Since compatibility differs from site to site, get written confirmation for each part rather than assuming a retrofit will succeed. The brief we prepare records each door's contents so your installer can verify this.

Plenty of older systems have lost manufacturer support. When manufacturer support ends, updates may stop. Johnson Controls, for example, says the iSTAR Pro receives no further firmware updates. The dates below are published by the manufacturers themselves:

• Honeywell NetAXS controllers: Honeywell stopped supporting them in October 2022
• HID VertX EVO V1000 and V2000: reached end of life Dec 31, 2023; the HID Aero X1100 is the suggested next step
• The iSTAR Pro from Software House: coverage stopped in April 2024, with no further firmware updates to come
• Kantech KT-300 and KT-200: manufacturer coverage stopped in September 2025
• The System VII software from Keyscan: coverage stopped June 30, 2021, according to the manufacturer
• The EP Series panels from Brivo: coverage stopped in March 2026, so they must be replaced with newer Mercury panels

Honeywell has posted a September 2026 end-of-support notice for Pro-Watch 5.5, and LenelS2 posted one for OnGuard 8.2 in July 2026. Support for the Kantech KT-400 runs out December 2029.

The card type counts too. Older Prox cards carry no electronic protection whatsoever, and a cloned identifier can be copied onto a different card. The old wire connection between a reader and the controller sends card details with no encryption, so someone could intercept and copy them. The newer standard watches the reader wiring for tampering and allows two-way communication. See your system on this list? Call us today. We'll write up what's on your doors and pass it to a local installer, so your quote reflects what you can keep.

Migrating means shifting to a new system bit by bit while the old hardware keeps running. A number of vendors design for exactly that:

• Genetec says migrating in stages can save money by keeping your existing readers, power supplies and wiring in service.
• Ubiquiti says its Retrofit Hub connects to existing readers and backup batteries, all without major rewiring.
• For its part, Kisi offers a $150 board that sits its cloud platform over a legacy system.
• Verkada says your current readers and keycards can stay in place, with the rest of the upgrade done later.
• HID notes that dual-technology cards work in existing readers from day one, which lets you swap readers whenever suits you.

If your controller is made by Mercury, several newer systems, including Avigilon, Genea, Acre and Brivo, can work with it, so your installer may not need to replace it.

After your new cards are live, HID advises turning off support for the old card types in your readers.

Our tool asks about your door hardware, the kind of building and how many doors there are. From that it gives you a per-door figure and a total range, and then it writes up a short brief that a local installer can price. If your system no longer gets updates, call us now, tell us what's on your doors, and we'll have a brief ready for a local installer to price.

Your brief goes to a local installer through us. We do no installation work ourselves, and we are not affiliated with any manufacturer mentioned on this page.