Kwikset 156MRL-SQT Montreal Keyed Entry Lever SmartKey with Square Rose, 6AL Latch and RCS Strike

The Montreal keyed entry lever is reversible, so one unit covers both left and right hand doors. You set the handing during install by flipping the lever, which means a property manager stocking spares only needs one part number for every opening in the building rather than a left and a right.

SmartKey is Kwikset's rekeying system built into the cylinder: you can rekey the lock yourself in seconds with the existing key and a new key, no cylinder removal and no locksmith. For a landlord or property manager, that is the whole point of buying it, since you rekey between tenants on site instead of pulling and pinning cylinders. The 156MRL is a keyed entry function, so it locks from the inside and opens with a key from the outside.

No. The Montreal 156MRL is a residential grade lever, built for houses and apartment unit doors. For a commercial opening that has to take real traffic, go to a Grade 1 or Grade 2 cylindrical lever instead: the Corbin Russwin CL3100 Series is a Grade 1 vandal resistant cylindrical lever, and Cal-Royal's AG Series covers Grade 2 entrance, classroom and storeroom functions. Those are the ones that hold up in a corridor.

Both are included. The 156MRL-SQT ships with the 6AL latch and the RCS round corner strike, so the box has what you need for a standard prepped door. Nothing extra to add on the order line for the latch or strike plate.

For a keyed cylindrical lever in an entrance function, the Cal-Royal AG00 is an entrance lever with a 6-pin Schlage C keyway, keyed different, on a 2-3/8 inch backset and a 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 inch door thickness range. The Hager 2525 is a Grade 2 commercial cylindrical entry lock with a lever handle, fitting 1-3/8 to 2 inch doors. The Kwikset Montreal 156MRL is a residential keyed cylindrical leverset with SmartKey, so the difference is the keying system: the Cal-Royal runs a Schlage C keyway that can be pinned into an existing Schlage-keyed building, while the Montreal is rekeyed at the lock without pinning.

Step up to a Grade 1 cylindrical lever. The Dexter C1000 Series entry/office lever is Grade 1 with a clutching, keyed design for 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 inch doors. Falcon's T Series T101 is a Grade 1 heavy duty cylindrical lever with pressure release technology, and the Falcon K101 is Grade 1 heavy duty and fire rated for 1-3/8 to 2-1/4 inch doors, though both of those are passage function and carry no cylinder. The Kwikset Montreal 156MRL is a residential leverset, so on a corridor, stairwell or tenant-facing door that sees constant use, the Grade 1 cylindrical bodies are the ones built for that cycle count.

Dummy levers are the common mix-up. The Callan Bentley is a Grade 2 dummy lever, the BEST 7KC Series 1DT is a Grade 2 non-keyed single dummy trim, and the BEST 9K Series 1DT is a Grade 1 heavy duty non-keyed single dummy. Baldwin's Estate 5103 half dummy comes handed left or right. Emtek sells the Arts and Crafts and Hammered levers as dummy pairs, and the Cortina as a Classic Brass dummy pair. All of these are surface trim with no latch and no cylinder - they mount to an inactive leaf for pull only. The Kwikset Montreal 156MRL is a keyed cylindrical lock with a 6AL latch and RCS strike, so it is the one that actually secures the opening.

No - that is storeroom function, and the Montreal 156MRL is an entry function keyed lever. For storeroom, the Cal-Royal AG05 is a Grade 2 storeroom lever lockset with a deadlocking latchbolt for 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 inch doors, and the Hager 2580 is a Grade 2 storeroom cylindrical lock with the Withnell lever for 1-3/8 to 2 inch doors. On a storeroom lock the outside lever is always locked and retracts only by key, which is what you want on a mechanical room, supply closet or electrical room.

Classroom function, which the Montreal 156MRL does not offer. The Dexter C1000 Series classroom lever is Grade 1, clutching and keyed for 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 inch doors, and the C1000 classroom security version adds inside keyed control on the same thickness range. Cal-Royal's AG03 classroom lever is Grade 2 with a 6-pin Schlage C keyway, keyed different, on a 2-3/4 inch backset - note that backset, since it differs from the 2-3/8 inch used on the AG00 entrance lever in the same family.

No - for electric control you need an electrified lever body. The Corbin Russwin CL33903 is a Grade 1 fail safe lever running 12VAC/DC, with the NZ lever and D rose, for 1-3/4 to 2 inch doors, and the keyed 12VAC/DC version of the CL33903 covers the same thickness range. Fail safe means the lever unlocks when power drops, so confirm that is the behavior your egress plan calls for. The Kwikset Montreal 156MRL is a mechanical keyed lever with no electrical provision.

Standardize on a Schlage C keyway instead. The Cal-Royal AG00 entrance lever and AG03 classroom lever are both 6-pin Schlage C keyway, keyed different, so a locksmith can pin them to an existing Schlage system, and the Arrow MK33-BD-CS asylum lock is a Grade 2 heavy duty conventional cylinder in Schlage C as well. For Yale hardware already in the building, the Accentra 107S is a Schlage cylinder adapter kit. The Kwikset Montreal 156MRL uses SmartKey, which is rekeyed at the lock with a learn tool rather than repinned, so it keys alike to other SmartKey cylinders and not to a Schlage C system.

Four finishes: Venetian Bronze, Satin Nickel, Polished Chrome and Satin Chrome. Satin Nickel and Satin Chrome are the two that read closest to each other, so if you're matching existing hardware in a unit, check whether the current trim is warm (nickel) or cool (chrome) before you commit a whole floor to one.

Not visually. The 156MRL-SQT uses a square rose, the flat square plate behind the lever, in a contemporary style. If the rest of the doors carry a round rose, the square one will read as a mismatch on the same wall. Kwikset sells the Montreal lever with round trim as well, so match the rose shape to what is already installed rather than assuming one Montreal is the same as another.

Keyed entry, like the Montreal 156MRL, is for a door that needs to lock and take a key from outside: unit entry doors, home offices, a storage room. For a hall, closet or bedroom door that just needs to latch, a passage lever is the right call and costs you nothing in key management. ZenSupply carries passage levers across brands, including the Bravura Tampa with square trim, which keeps the same squared look as the Montreal, and the Hager 2510 Grade 2 passage lever for 1-3/8 to 2 inch doors.

If the goal is to stop handing out keys entirely, look at a keypad leverset rather than a rekeyable cylinder. The Delaney LP250 is an electronic keypad leverlock, Grade 2. For a mechanical pushbutton with no batteries, the Lockey 2835 fits doors 1-3/16 to 2 inches thick, and the Lockey 1150 heavy duty keypad lever set covers 1-1/8 to 2 inches. The Montreal SmartKey still wins if you want a normal key in the tenant's pocket and just need fast rekeying between turnovers.

It's a cylindrical lock, the type that installs into a standard bored door: a cross bore through the face and an edge bore for the latch. That is the prep most residential doors already have, so a Montreal lever swaps into an existing bored opening. A mortise lock, by contrast, needs a deep pocket routed into the door edge, which a bored door does not have.

For a closet, hall or pantry door that only needs a latch, order a passage leverset rather than a keyed entry. The Callan Asheville is a Grade 3 passage leverset in satin nickel. Bravura's Tampa is a Grade 2 passage leverset with square trim, which is the closest match in shape to the Montreal 156MRL's square rose; Bravura also builds the Atlanta and Orlando passage leversets with round trim. The Arrow GL01 is a Grade 2 non-keyed passage lock with the Sierra lever for 1-3/4 to 2 inch doors. None of these accept a key cylinder, so if any door in the run needs to lock, keep the keyed Montreal on that one.

A privacy lever, which locks with a thumbturn from inside and has no key. The Baldwin Estate 5103 privacy lever with the 5048 rose covers that function, as does the Hager 2540 Grade 2 cylindrical privacy lock with the Withnell lever for 1-3/8 to 2 inch doors, and the Arrow MK02-TA privacy lock, which is fire rated and uses a Tudor knob rather than a lever. The Kwikset Montreal 156MRL is a keyed entry lever, so it belongs on a door someone locks behind them with a key, not on a bath door.

Yes. The Lockey 2835 is a mechanical pushbutton keyless lever lock with passage function and ADA compliance for 1-3/16 to 2 inch doors, and the 2835DC is the double combination version. The Lockey 1150 is a heavy duty mechanical keypad lever set with double combination in passage function for 1-1/8 to 2 inch doors, with the 1150S adding an adjustable backset. On the electronic side, the Delaney LP250 is a Grade 2 electronic keypad leverlock and Emtek builds a Classic keypad leverset. The Kwikset Montreal 156MRL is a keyed lock with SmartKey, so it stays on key control; the Lockey and keypad units change the code instead of the cylinder.

The Master Lock BC Series RL01 is a Grade 3 return style lever keyed entry lockset, and the Cal-Royal AUS00 is a Grade 3 entrance/office lever with a solid brass forged body for 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 inch doors. Callan's Artino 360201 is a Grade 3 entrance leverset, and the Callan Bennett BN3001R is a Grade 3 entrance leverset packaged as a deadbolt combo if the opening also needs a bolt. The Kwikset Montreal 156MRL is a contemporary-styled keyed leverset on a square rose, offered in Venetian Bronze, Satin Nickel, Polished Chrome and Satin Chrome, so match the finish across the run when you mix brands.

Functionally it locks the same door, but the operation differs. The Arrow HK11-BB is a turn-pushbutton entrance cylindrical lock with a ball knob and conventional cylinder for 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 inch doors, and the Arrow MK02-TA uses a Tudor knob. A knob requires grasping and twisting where a lever operates with a closed fist or forearm, which matters on accessible routes. The Kwikset Montreal 156MRL is a lever, and it is reversible for either hand of door.

Both are Grade 2 cylindrical lever locks in passage/hall/closet function, and both carry the Augusta trim design - the 5301LN is in the 5300 Series and the 4601LN is in the 4600 Series. Accentra also builds the Augusta 455LN as a Grade 1 single dummy in the 5400 Series for an inactive leaf. All three are non-keyed, so none replaces the keyed Kwikset Montreal 156MRL on a door that has to lock; they are for the passage and dummy openings in the same run.