Home safes are an excellent way to protect your valuable possessions from intruders and thieves. They also offer a safe place to store items, so you don’t have to worry about misplacing them. While safes are a great defense against outside threats, they can also become a defense against you, unfortunately, Should your elock fail, you misplace your key, or a piece of the lock mechanism fails, you may suddenly find yourself unable to open your safe. If this happens, you may have to play the bad guy and try and crack your own safe. Here’s how to break into your home safe.
Determine the Type of Safe You Own
If you find yourself unable to open your safe, the first step is to determine which type of safe you own. There are numerous brands, each with a wide selection of locking mechanisms. Depending on which type of safe you own, you may need a different method to break into it.
For example, a safe with an electronic keypad will probably fail differently than one with an old-fashioned lock and key. That being said, after identifying the brand and type of safe you own, contact the manufacturer to inquire about whether you are experiencing a common problem and if they have an easy solution to help you open your safe quickly. If not, then you may need to take matters into your own hands.
Why won’t your safe open?
If you can’t find the manufacturer, or they didn’t have a solution, you may need to work on opening your safe by yourself. Before your start breaking things, take time to isolate the problem and look for ways to counteract it. If your safe can be maintained and fixed, you save a lot of money by not having to buy a new safe. Here are a few common problems that may prevent you from opening your safe, as well as some simple solutions.
Broken Key
If your key breaks off in the lock, it means that everything else about the safe still works as it should. Simply work to remove the key from the keyhole, have a new key made, and you should have no issues opening your safe as if nothing ever happened.
Dead Batteries
A common issue with electronic locks, dead batteries may prevent you from using your code to open the safe. Unfortunately, you can only access the battery box from the inside while the safe door is open. Thankfully, there is a backup key for most electronic safes. Simply open the removable panel on the side of the keypad, insert your backup key, change the batteries, and you’re good to go.
Forgot the Combination
Another common reason why you may need to break into your home safe is that you forgot the combination. If this happens, simply reach out to anyone else who may know the combination, such as a spouse or close friend. If you have not shared the code with anyone, think about whether you wrote it down somewhere.
However, if the code was only in your head, you’d need to check your manual to see if there is an override code you can use to reset the password. If you can’t get in this way, you may need to reach out to a professional locksmith to help you open your safe.
How to Break into Your Home Safe
There may be other issues you run into, such as a broken bolt, jammed internals, or a detached handle. While there are different ways to open a safe, many of them risk damage to your stored possessions. The safest way to open your safe is to reach out to a professional. However, should you run out of options, or need to break into your home safe on your own, here are a couple of different methods you can try.
Safe Bouncing
This method works better with cheaper safes, which coincidentally enough are the types of safes that will most likely break. This method is generally effective when your problem is jammed internals, a detached handle, or a problem with your elock.
Safe bouncing only works when the bolt is still functioning. Simply strike the top of your safe while simultaneously turning the handle. Essentially, the goal is to bolt and lock mechanisms into the proper opening position. While this method is not professional and only works with cheap safes, you may get lucky and get the safe open quickly.
Manipulating Your Safe
Manipulating your safe is the cliche method you see in movies, where an international art thief uses a stethoscope to listen to the tumblers while slowly twisting the dial on the safe. Thankfully, it’s not really that dramatic in real life, although you’re free to pretend if you want to.
While this method generally requires your safe to have a dial, it takes a lot of training and skill to be able to manipulate the dial into the proper position without knowing the combination. Knowing what to listen and feel for isn’t something that can be learned after a few minutes online. That being said, if you’re dedicated and you have time, you may be able to eventually open your safe by manipulating the dial. However, it is much faster to hire a professional locksmith who is trained in the field.
Breaking The Safe
The simplest and yet the toughest method of breaking into your home safe involves simply breaking the safe itself. Most safes are made out of solid steel and are designed to prevent anyone from breaking into them, which is probably why you bought one in the first place.
Breaking into your safe can be incredibly difficult, so you’ll need several various tools to help you do it successfully. The biggest downside to this method is that your safe will be unusable afterward as it involves destroying the safe. It’s kind of like cracking the eggshell to get to the egg.
While it’s not recommended you try any destructive method on your own, drilling into your safe, cutting out the sidewall, or removing the hinges are all possibilities if you have the proper tools and time.
Invest in a Quality Safe
While it’s possible to break into your home safe, buying a quality safe will help you avoid issues altogether. To avoid problems with your home safe, consider investing in a quality brand like those at Liberty Safe or Rhino Safe. From gun safes to home safes, there are numerous options that guarantee you will find one that suits your needs.
Let Us Help!
North American Safes assists our customers through repairs, lock changes, and relocations. When it comes to safes, we are there to help in any and every way. Contact us today with any questions you may have!