The safe is a safe place to store your belongings and other valuable items, but if you forget the password one day, how do you open it?
Everyone has prized possessions they want to keep safe. While some people feel content with picking creative hiding spots for their possessions, others can’t rest assured until they’ve locked their treasures in a safe.
To be honest, there is a myriad of benefits of having a secure, fireproof, and burglar-proof safe, but there are also two big disadvantages that come along with it. The first is that having a safe is like hanging a large banner with bold capital letters saying that this is where you keep your valuables.
And the second one occurs when you forget the safe combination and are left stranded with no way to access your valuables.
We’re going to assume that you’re reading this article because you’ve been unfortunate enough to face the second situation. Keep in mind that breaking into someone else’s safe, even if it’s just for fun, is illegal. With that out of the way, here are a few steps you can take if you’ve somehow lost your safe combination.
1. Use a Key Override
Let’s start with the most straightforward approach. If you’ve forgotten your combination, you can simply use a key override. Luckily, most home safes come with one of those, just in case the combination is lost or forgotten.
The only catch is that you’ll need to know where the key is, to be able to use it. In case you have misplaced it, or you never received it from the previous owner, you might be able to request a replacement key from the manufacturer, but that may take some time. However, if you don’t have that luxury, then that’s when the action starts.
2. Get Your Safe’s Brand and Model
Before you can take any kind of serious action, you’ll need to gather some information. After all, the steps you take can vary significantly depending on the kind of safe you have. In this step, you’ll need to figure out the type, brand, model, and serial number of your safe.
There are three kinds of safes: the old-fashioned key-lock, the analog combination lock, and the electronic digital lock. It’s usually pretty easy to find the brand, and most manufacturers print the serial number on the lower corner of the door. The model may be trickier to find since it’s usually printed on the back, in that case, you can take a photo of your safe.
3. Contact the Brand’s Customer Service for Assistance
Before you start trying out anything on your own, it’s best to contact the safe’s manufacturer and inquire about the next course of action. Each brand will have its own instructions. For instance, Sentry presents its customers with two options: registered users can recover a code on their site and unregistered users can request a recovery.
In order to gain entry to your Sentry using either option, you’ll need to provide the model number, serial number, and the place and date you purchased the safe. All manufacturers will require proof that you’re the legal owner of the safe, so be sure to have it ready as well.
4. Call a Local Locksmith
There’s another professional way to open the safe without contacting the manufacturer, and that’s by looking up a local locksmith. Once again, the locksmith will ask you for proof of ownership, brand, model, and serial number. You can also share the safe’s picture with them, after which they’ll give you your options.
Breaking open into a safe will cost you anywhere between $50 and $100 as a service fee, so your locksmith should tell you first if it’s worth keeping it intact or you’re just better off breaking in and getting a new one. For cheaper safes under $100, getting a new one can be more cost-effective than opening it professionally and then repairing the damage.
5. Try Some DIY Methods
There are a few DIY methods that may or may not work for your safe. If you’ve done a little bit of online research, there are high chances you’ve come across videos discussing how you can use a powerful neodymium magnet to open a safe in a few seconds.
It’s important to keep in mind that handling this kind of magnet is a safety hazard, so be extra careful. Other DIY hacks include using a paper clip or a nail file, though these methods can only work on cheaper safe models.
Conclusion
So far, you’ve been doing your best to keep the integrity of the safe intact. Unfortunately, you may be forced to take the most dramatic approach if everything else fails, and that’s to drill open the safe. In the case of cheaper models, this can be your go-to choice before all the headaches.
However, you’ll want to keep it as your last resort in case of more expensive safes, since it will irreversibly damage your safe. It’s also best to leave the drilling to a professional locksmith, so as not to trigger any anti-theft security measures.
