If you have a UPVC or composite front door in the UK and you've never specifically replaced the cylinder, the cylinder fitted is almost certainly a generic non-rated Euro - and it can be defeated in seconds by a teenager with a £10 pair of mole grips. Anti-snap cylinders solve this. They are inexpensive (£35-£70 supply-only), easy to fit, and almost certainly required by your home insurance whether you've checked or not.
How lock-snapping actually works
A standard Euro cylinder is a brass cylinder roughly 70-100mm long, with a thinner waist in the middle where the cam is. The cylinder is fixed to the door by a single screw running through the door from the inside. To attack it, a burglar grips the part of the cylinder protruding outside the door with mole grips, levers it upward, and snaps it at the waist. The cam is then exposed and can be turned by hand, opening the multipoint mechanism.
The whole process takes 10-30 seconds on an unprotected cylinder, makes very little noise, and leaves the door operationally functional afterwards (you can close it again). It is the dominant entry method on UPVC doors precisely because it is so fast, quiet and reliable. Anti-snap cylinders are designed to defeat this specific attack.
The TS007 standard
TS007 is a UK technical specification developed in 2011 by the Door and Hardware Federation in response to the lock-snapping epidemic. Cylinders are tested by Sold Secure or DHF Certfire and rated 1, 2 or 3 stars based on how long they resist a standardised attack.
1-star (TS007 1★) cylinder
A 1-star cylinder has basic anti-snap construction - typically a sacrificial outer section that breaks off cleanly under attack, leaving the locking mechanism intact and inaccessible. By itself, a 1-star cylinder offers some protection but is not considered enough on its own. Insurers usually require a 1-star cylinder to be paired with TS007 2-star security door furniture (handles and escutcheons that protect the cylinder from gripping) to give equivalent protection to a 3-star cylinder.
2-star (TS007 2★) cylinder
A 2-star cylinder is intermediate - rare in practice. Most manufacturers either make 1-star cylinders (for the budget market) or 3-star cylinders (for the security market). You can largely treat 2-star as theoretical when shopping.
3-star (TS007 3★) cylinder
A 3-star cylinder has full anti-snap protection in the cylinder alone - no special door furniture is required. Construction usually includes hardened internal pins, multiple sacrificial break points, anti-pick pins, and anti-drill plates. A 3-star cylinder typically extends a lock-snapping attack from seconds to several minutes, by which point most burglars give up and try a softer target. This is the cylinder rating most UK home insurers now specify on UPVC doors.
Sold Secure Diamond - going further than TS007
Sold Secure publishes its own grading independently of TS007. The "Diamond" grade for Euro cylinders is roughly equivalent to TS007 3-star plus enhanced protection against picking, drilling, bumping and impressioning. A Diamond-rated cylinder typically also resists more sophisticated attacks beyond basic snapping. Some high-value home contents policies (typically £75k+ contents cover) require Sold Secure Diamond rather than TS007 3-star.
Most major manufacturers - Avocet ABS, Brisant Ultion, Mul-T-Lock, ERA, Yale - produce cylinders that hold both TS007 3-star and Sold Secure Diamond grades simultaneously.
How to identify what you have
Open your front or back door and look at the brass-coloured cylinder visible on the edge of the door, between the handle and the lock body. Genuine TS007-rated cylinders have the rating stamped or laser-etched into the cylinder face or the cam visible from outside the door. Look for:
- ★ ★ ★ markings (3 small stars)
- "TS007" in small text
- The Sold Secure logo plus "DIAMOND" or "GOLD"
- Brand identifiers like "Ultion", "ABS", "Mul-T-Lock"
Generic, non-rated cylinders typically have no markings on the face beyond the manufacturer's logo (often unbranded or generic Chinese-made). If you see no rating marks at all, your cylinder is almost certainly non-anti-snap.
Cost to upgrade
A TS007 3-star anti-snap cylinder typically costs £35-£70 supply-only depending on brand and length. A locksmith fitting a replacement is straightforward 15-30 minute work, with total fitted cost around £120-£180. See the full pricing breakdown in our London locksmith cost guide.
DIY fitting is possible if you're comfortable with measuring (cylinder length is critical - too short and it can be levered out; too long and it can be gripped) but most homeowners pay a locksmith because the measurement and adjustment is easy to get wrong. A wrongly-sized cylinder is sometimes worse than the original.
Which brand to choose
For most UK homes, three brands cover the field:
- Brisant Ultion - TS007 3★ + Sold Secure Diamond, with a hidden additional lock that engages if the cylinder is attacked. Premium but widely respected.
- Avocet ABS - TS007 3★ + Sold Secure Diamond, well-tested over a decade, slightly cheaper than Ultion.
- ERA Fortress / Yale Platinum 3★ - TS007 3★, more affordable mainstream options. Adequate for most applications.
For high-value homes, prestige London postcodes, or anywhere the door has been targeted previously, the additional spend on Ultion or ABS is usually worth it. For a standard suburban property where nothing has happened before, ERA or Yale 3-star is fine.
What anti-snap doesn't fix
Anti-snap cylinders solve cylinder-snapping. They don't fix:
- Worn or failed multipoint mechanisms - the gearbox inside the door that drives the hooks and rollers can wear out independently of the cylinder. If your door is getting harder to lock or you have to lift the handle hard to engage the multipoint, the gearbox is failing.
- Damaged or warped door frames - a flexed UPVC frame can let the hooks disengage even with a perfect cylinder.
- Glass panel attacks - some UPVC doors have full-height glass panels that can be smashed and reached through. A door chain or hook-bolt with high-security glazing addresses this.
A qualified locksmith doing a security audit will check all of these, not just the cylinder.