Mul-T-Lock SMARTair Openow & ENTR: Mobile Access Explained

SMARTair Openow is the mobile application for ASSA ABLOY's SMARTair access-control system: it places a virtual key on a user's phone and unlocks SMARTair doors over Bluetooth. Mul-T-Lock ENTR is a separate, app-controlled smart lock line from Mul-T-Lock aimed at keyless entry via phone, code or fob. Both sit alongside SMARTair's physical 13.56 MHz cards as ways to carry a credential.

The common thread is mobile-first access. Instead of encoding plastic, an administrator sends a key to a phone, and a user unlocks with the app. For SMARTair specifically, Openow keys work with the same i-max and wireless locks a site already runs, which is why mobile is usually added to an existing SMARTair estate rather than replacing it.

No. A documented advantage of SMARTair Openow is that a site can add mobile access without changing its lock hardware — ASSA ABLOY case material describes upgrading to SMARTair Openow mobile access on existing SMARTair locks. The Bluetooth capability is part of the SMARTair reader platform, so mobile keys are provisioned in software rather than by swapping openings.

That makes Openow a low-friction upgrade for an operator already on SMARTair. Users who opt into mobile carry their key on a phone; everyone else keeps a physical card on the same doors. The estate runs both credential types at once, which is the usual pattern for a mobile rollout on an established system.

An Openow mobile key and an AES-secured SMARTair card are both strong credentials, but mobile has an operational security edge: keys are issued and revoked over the air. A lost phone key can be cancelled centrally and immediately, whereas a lost card is handled by blacklisting and re-encoding. The mobile credential is also bound to a specific device and can sit behind the phone's own lock and biometrics.

ASSA ABLOY positions Openow as a higher-security alternative to a physical card for these reasons. The physical-card side is not weak — an AES-secured 13.56 MHz smart card resists serial-number cloning through mutual authentication — but the over-the-air issue-and-revoke model removes the "stack of copied plastic" problem, which is where mobile earns its security argument.

Yes. Adding Openow does not remove card support; SMARTair locks continue to read 13.56 MHz credentials alongside mobile keys. Most sites run a mix — mobile for staff or residents who opt in, AES-secured cards for visitors, contractors, or anyone without a suitable phone — because a single credential type rarely fits every user in a building.

The credential a site should retire is the older non-secure card, not the card format itself. Whether a user carries an Openow key or an AES-secured smart card, both are current SMARTair credentials; keeping a legacy, cloneable card in circulation is the gap worth closing during a mobile rollout.

The table compares an Openow mobile key with a SMARTair physical card on the factors operators weigh.

A SMARTair Openow key is provisioned to a specific user and phone through the SMARTair software, and an encrypted SMARTair card is encoded with your system keys — so neither a keyed card nor a mobile key is something an independent supplier can produce. Security ID Systems does not offer a keyed SMARTair credential; additional cards and Openow keys come from Mul-T-Lock or your integrator.

What we supply are the open and hotel-card formats used around ASSA ABLOY and adjacent estates. Those are the formats below.