Are You Locked Out or Your Safe Won't Open? Here Is What to Do
It is not uncommon for people to be locked out of a home, business or car. Some people also lose access to their safes, but what differs are the approaches they make to get back inside. Instead of struggling and becoming frustrated at every try, there is a little bit of information you must gather to prepare yourself to regain access to the locked safe. Remember, calling a locksmith can be an option if all your attempts fail. This is what you need to do.
Establish the Type of Safe
Knowing the brand or even model of your safe can be incredibly important as you figure out the next step in opening up your safe. Most safes come with a company logo inscribed or embedded on the front door. This makes it easier to pick out the brand name. In case you can't find the brand name for any reason, go to your purchase information because chances are high it was written down somewhere on your receipt or invoice. Knowing your brand name makes it easier to figure out the various ways the safe can be opened because you are certainly not the first one to be in such a predicament and there is probably a lot of useful information out there on your particular model of safe.
Find the information that came with the safe if you can. That will ensure you know exactly what you own.
Determine Why Your Safe Can't Open
There are many reasons why your safe may have jammed and locked you out. At times, the reasons are straightforward, such as a broken key stuck in the safe's keyhole. Other reasons, especially with electronic locks, could be that they have run out of batteries and you simply can't use the code to open it. If the safe uses a code and you have forgotten it, try checking the safe literature to establish whether there exists a reset code to help you unlock the safe.
Safe Unlocking Techniques
Before calling a locksmith, you can try the following techniques to open your safe.
Safe Bouncing - If your safe is not burglary resistant, you may decide to bounce it. To do this, you should strike the top of the vault while simultaneously turning the handle.
Lock Overrides - This is common in smaller safes that have electronic keypads. The lock override is simply a factory code which resets and overrides any programmed code.
Manipulation - If your safe uses manual combination lock mechanism, it can be unlocked through this technique, but it may require training. If you cannot get through, notify your local locksmith to assist you in opening the safe to avoid damage.
