Non-destructive entry first, always - and we re-key Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin locks on the spot while you watch
You get a price before we start. It does not change when we arrive. No surprises.
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Rekey Locks Across Ontario
Rekey locks in Ontario, CA typically costs $95 to $180 for a standard residential knob and deadbolt set, and our crews reach most Ontario neighborhoods in under 45 minutes. If you’ve lost a key, closed on a house near Euclid Avenue, or let a contractor go and don’t know who has copies, the fix is simpler than replacing hardware. A rekey changes the pins inside your existing lock so every old key stops working. No new hardware needed unless the lock itself is worn out. Call (956) 275-7388 and a live person answers, 24 hours a day.
We know Ontario’s streets because we work them daily. From older bungalows off Holt Boulevard to new condos near Ontario Mills, we know what’s behind the door before we touch it. That matters when you’re standing in a house you just bought, holding a key you’re not sure is the only one out there.
Why Ridley Locksmith & Security Is Ontario’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
What sets us apart in Ontario isn’t just showing up. It’s showing up with a written price already confirmed over the phone, a uniformed tech whose ID matches the name we texted you, and a one-year written guarantee on the work. That’s The Garrison Standard. It’s been in place since 2007 and it applies to every job we take in Ontario, from a single deadbolt near the 10/60 interchange to a full rekey on a rental turnover off Vineyard Avenue.
Our Ontario customers keep telling us the same thing: they’ve been burned by a phone quote that jumped when the tech arrived, or a crew in an unmarked van with no accountability. We don’t run that way. Drew Kowalski, our owner, set the rule on day one: the price we agree to on the phone is the price on your invoice. If something changes, we document it, explain why, and get your sign-off before a single pin is touched.
Response time to Ontario matters because a lock issue rarely books itself a convenient slot. We dispatch from the Inland Empire office and reach most Ontario neighborhoods in 45 to 60 minutes. That’s backed by real routing, not a sales script.
Rekey House in Ontario
When a homeowner in Ontario calls us for a Rekey House job, we’re usually walking into one of two situations: a recent purchase where the seller’s key history is murky, or a domestic change where someone moved out and shouldn’t have access anymore. The work itself is straightforward. We pull each lock’s cylinder, replace the internal pins, run a new key, and test every lock to make sure the old key is dead and the new one turns clean.
In Ontario, a full house rekey for a door with standard Schlage or Kwikset hardware runs $95 to $180. That covers the labor to rekey every door you want keyed alike, usually up to six cylinders. Homes with high-security locks like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock run higher, typically $200 to $320, because the hardware work is more involved and the new keys cost more to cut.
When a full house rekey beats replacing
If your locks are mechanically sound but the keys are out of your control, rekeying is the cheaper move. You keep the hardware, we change the pins, and the old keys become scrap metal. Replacement only makes sense when the lock itself is failing: a loose thumb-turn, a deadbolt that grinds, or a cylinder that sticks in cold weather.
What we check on every Ontario house rekey
We don’t just swap pins. We check the deadbolt throw, the strike plate screws, and the door alignment. A rekeyed lock in a misaligned door still feels wrong, so we fix the underlying issue while we’re there. That’s part of the written guarantee, not an upcharge.
Lock Rekey in Ontario
Lock Rekey in Ontario means changing the internal pins of a lock so an existing key no longer operates it, while leaving the lock body and hardware exactly where they are. Our Rekey Locks team handles single locks, multi-door properties, and commercial storefronts across Ontario. The job takes 15 to 30 minutes per lock in most cases, depending on hardware type.
For a single lock rekey in Ontario, expect $45 to $90. That covers the labor and three new keys. If you’re rekeying multiple locks to the same key, the per-lock price drops because we’re already on-site and the job is more efficient.
Rental turnkey work in Ontario
Landlords near Ontario Mills and the airport ask us for this constantly. A tenant leaves, and the property manager needs every key the old tenant had to stop working before the next lease signer walks in. We handle rekeys on duplexes, four-plexes, and apartment unit turnovers across Ontario, usually same-day if you call before noon.
Deadbolt rekey vs. knob rekey
Some Ontario homeowners rekey the knob but forget the deadbolt, which leaves the old key still working on the stronger lock. We always confirm every entry point is covered. If your deadbolt runs on a different key than your knob, we can key them alike during the same visit for no extra labor charge beyond the additional cylinder work.
Trusted Brands We Service in Ontario
We work on Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, Baldwin, Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, and Sargent hardware every week in Ontario. That covers everything from the builder-grade Kwikset on newer infill homes to the original mortise bodies we see in old Euclid-area bungalows. We keep a deep stock of pins, springs, and common cylinders on our Ontario-bound trucks, so most rekeys don’t wait on parts. If you have a high-security line like Medeco or Abloy, we can rekey those too, though new keys require the original key card or additional verification. Drew Kowalski insists we don’t hand out high-security keys without knowing who’s on the receiving end.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Ontario Homes
- Post-sale key drift near Euclid and Holt. Homes built before 1960 in central Ontario often have original mortise lock bodies that still work fine but carry keys from multiple generations of owners. Rekeying the cylinder is straightforward; replacing the whole body is rarely necessary unless the internal mechanism is worn past saving.
- Builder-grade Kwikset wear in newer tracts. Homes east of Vineyard and toward Ontario Mills run a lot of Kwikset and Schlage pin-and-tumbler locks installed at construction. After seven or eight years, the springs weaken and keys get loose. A rekey with fresh pins often restores the feel without swapping hardware.
- Rental turnover half-jobs. We see too many Ontario landlords rekey the front knob and skip the deadbolt, which means the old tenant can still walk in. We rekey both, every time, and verify before we leave.
- The phone quote that grows at the door. This happens often in Ontario because the housing stock is so mixed. A homeowner gets a flat-rate quote that assumes a Kwikset rekey, then a tech shows up and finds a Baldwin mortise body that needs double the labor. We handle this by keeping our phone quotes honest up front: we ask what lock you have, and if we can’t identify it, we quote the range and confirm before dispatch.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Ontario, CA
A standard knob-and-deadbolt rekey in Ontario runs $95 to $180. A single lock rekey is $45 to $90. High-security hardware like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock pushes the job to $200 to $320 depending on cylinder count and key requirements. Those are real ranges from actual Ontario jobs, not teaser numbers.
What moves the price: the number of locks on the same key, whether the cylinders are standard pin-and-tumbler or high-security, whether the lock body itself needs servicing, and how many new keys you want cut. We keep key cutting included for the first three keys and charge a small per-key fee beyond that. The price we quote on the phone is the price on your invoice. If the tech finds something that changes the scope, we stop, explain it, and get your approval first. There’s no dispatch fee or call-out surcharge added when we arrive.
Call (956) 275-7388 for an exact quote. It takes about three minutes.
We Also Serve Cities Near Ontario
We handle rekey jobs across the western Inland Empire, including Montclair, Claremont, Upland, and Rancho Cucamonga. Response times vary by distance, but pricing holds the same structure. If you’re in one of those cities and want a rekey, the same written-price and written-guarantee standard applies. For rekey work specifically in our home market, Rekey Locks in Ontario runs on the same dispatch desk, so you’re getting the same crew and the same accountability.
Serving Ontario, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Ontario area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Rekey Locks in Ontario
Every Ridley tech is a direct employee of our company, not a subcontractor. When you book a rekey in Ontario, we text you the tech’s name before dispatch. The uniformed tech who arrives carries a Ridley ID that matches that name. No unmarked van, no third-party crew. Drew Kowalski’s rule is that you always know who’s at your door before they touch a lock. Call (956) 275-7388 and we walk you through it.
A rekey is enough in most cases. We spoke with a homeowner on the 900 block of W D Street, a 1950s bungalow off Euclid with an original mortise lock whose thumb-turn was sloppy and had two keys floating around from a prior sale. Our tech pulled the cylinder, re-pinned it to a fresh pin and tumbler set, verified the deadbolt threw clean, and handed over three new keys. The price was confirmed on the phone before dispatch, and the tech’s Ridley ID matched the name we texted ahead. If the lock body itself is worn out, we’ll tell you plainly and quote a replacement, but rekeying is usually the right fix.
Yes, we can rekey an original mortise lock in Ontario, and the price runs higher than a standard Kwikset or Schlage rekey. Expect $150 to $250 for a mortise cylinder rekey depending on condition. The internal pins are replaced the same way, but the labor takes longer because the mortise body has to be serviced and realigned. We see these locks regularly in pre-1960s Ontario homes off Euclid and Holt. Call (956) 275-7388 with a photo of the lock and we can usually quote it accurately before dispatch.
Rekeying changes the internal pins inside the lock cylinder so the old key no longer aligns them. The lock body, trim, and strike plate all stay in place. Inside the cylinder, we swap the pin stack to match a new key profile. The old key simply stops turning. This is different from replacing the lock, which swaps out the entire unit. Rekeying is faster, cheaper, and keeps your existing hardware matching your door.
We can reach most Ontario neighborhoods, including the Ontario Mills area, in 45 to 60 minutes. A standard rekey doesn’t require drilling, and we almost never need to drill on a rekey call. Drilling is a last resort for lockouts or a seized lock, not for a straightforward pin swap. If you’re worried about a previous tenant’s key, call (956) 275-7388 and we’ll get a tech out the same day, often within the hour.
When you need a rekey in Ontario, you want a price that doesn’t move, a tech you can verify at the door, and work that’s guaranteed in writing. That’s how we operate, every call, every door. Call (956) 275-7388 for a free estimate, and a live person answers, 24 hours a day.
Written by Drew Kowalski, Owner at Ridley Locksmith & Security, serving Ontario since 2007.