Locked Out of My Safe

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jacob2745

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Went to get something out of my safe earlier today. Typed in my code and I got the beeps indicating I had put in the wrong code. I tried again and again, and finally gave up. After an hour or so on the phone with Cannon, still no luck. Apparently the keypad has malfunctioned so that it doesn't see the correct numbers when I hit them. The warranty is up on it, but they are sending me a new keypad and lock mechanism free of charge. They said it would be 5 to 6 business days to get them to me. I will just have to pay a locksmith to come open the safe. Anyone have an idea how much that will cost?

Lessons learned:
Keep up with receipts better and register "expensive" products
Stick with dial combinations for safes
I need a handgun safe for my ccw (dont keep all your eggs in one basket)
 
When my electronic keypad tanked, it cost about $175 for the visit to open it up. I now have no more electronic keypads…

Michael B
 
The electronic keypad on my no-name safe has been 100% for eights years now. Mine also came with a long key so if the keypad fails you peel it off and there's a hole behind; the key fits way down in there and unlocks the safe.
 
Yup....this is why I went with a plain old dial combo. No batteries or software. Unfortunately, most safes nowadays are sold with electronics on them. I suspect this is for marketing purposes rather than any sort of practical reasons. People like fancy, glowing, beeping things. This applies to my industry as well (appliance repair). Why sell an analog product when you can needlessly digitize it for no practical purpose and sell it for twice as much?
 
Actually went in there a few minutes ago and tried the safe just for the heck of it and it opened right up. I left the door open and engaged the lock a few times and the keypad worked every time. My plan is just to leave the door open till I get the new keypad installed. At least I won't have to pay a locksmith this time.
 
thirty-ought-six said:
I dunno a whole lot about safes, but I thought they keypad was removable for battery replacement?
Click to expand...
You can take the keypad off but that does not help you get into the safe. Wires run from the lock to the keypad. You can take the keypad off of the door and unplug the wires but that's all that accomplishes.
 
bainter1212 said:
Yup....this is why I went with a plain old dial combo. No batteries or software. Unfortunately, most safes nowadays are sold with electronics on them. I suspect this is for marketing purposes rather than any sort of practical reasons. People like fancy, glowing, beeping things. This applies to my industry as well (appliance repair). Why sell an analog product when you can needlessly digitize it for no practical purpose and sell it for twice as much?
Click to expand...
Ain't that the truth.


edit: good that you lucked out. Why not see if you can get the keypad replaced right away by a combi lock?
 
I've never even owned a real safe. But the first time I saw one with an electronic key pad I said "Hah! Yeah, suuurrre. No thanks." Ain't NFW I'd put a nickel's faith in electronics on something that important.
 
"You can take the keypad off but that does not help you get into the safe. Wires run from the lock to the keypad."

I think the idea is that if the current keypad is defective (as opposed to the internal electronics or mechanism), then installing the new keypad may fix the problem.

Just FWIW: when I got my safe, I took off the inner sheet metal cover and looked at the mechanism and figured out where to drill, and the dimensions of a piece of bent wire that would lift the solenoid manually. I put that information on a piece of paper that I put in the safety deposit box. This is only a medium duty safe, and I'm a hobby metalworker, so I think I can probably manage to drill the hole. If it's a high end safe with the glass relocker and all, nevermind :).
 
I have been looking and safes and talking to safe experts and the common comment I get is that there are two kinds of electronic locks - those that hace failed and those that will fail. With the electronic ones it is only a matter of time. I wont buy one. There are different qualities as well. There are some really cheap ones.
 
Somebody said or posted a long time ago about safes with electronics in that, in the event of a fire, those electronics melt and you're left with a very large paperweight. :fire:

Try a used safe company. Check the yellow pages for local or online for the nearest large city to you.
It isn't a "gun" safe but I bought a used 3,000 lb. steel/concrete laminated safe with a mechanical dial from a company in St. Louis. If the shelves were removed, there is enough internal room for two adults of average size to almost stand upright.
 
I have yet to see a safe under $1500.00 that would withstand a decent sawzall with a carbide blade or two.
 
Stick with dial combinations for safes
Click to expand...

Not to beat up on the OP, but this is an important point worth repeating.

DO NOT EVER RELY ON ELECTRONIC KEYPADS AS THE SOLE METHOD FOR ACCESSING YOUR SAFE.

Power outtage, dead batteries, EMP, water damage, electronics are easy to bypass, etc.
 
I had a issue similar to yours. I pulled my keypad off, tinkered with it and gave up once I had been told new parts were on the way. A friend came over and tinkered, he knew my password as a couple guns in it are his...after cleaning the connection on the wire going through the door into the safe and it's connection to the keypad it worked perfectly fine.

Before calling a locksmith clean the connections and reassemble it. I hope you get the same results I did.
 
WestKentucky said:
I had a issue similar to yours. I pulled my keypad off, tinkered with it and gave up once I had been told new parts were on the way. A friend came over and tinkered, he knew my password as a couple guns in it are his...after cleaning the connection on the wire going through the door into the safe and it's connection to the keypad it worked perfectly fine.

Before calling a locksmith clean the connections and reassemble it. I hope you get the same results I did.
Click to expand...
This is an excellent suggestion. This is often the case with many electronics. I just did the same twice in the past year with the Mrs. blinker. The light kept flashing rapidly. I cleaned the connection both times and that fixed the issue. Saved me the cost of new bulbs or a service charge twice.
 
yup, like my beam scale which needs no batteries and will never wear out, well in my lifetime that is.

So is the combo dial on my big ol gun safe. Bolted to the foundation, the batteries in the combo NEVER wear out because there are none!

Sometimes newer innovations on tried and true devices aren't so good as they are designed to separate you from more of your cash.

Put down the battery operated devices and go back to manual.

be safe
 
As I said earlier, after leaving it alone for a couple hours yesterday it started working again. I left the door open all night and tested the keypad again this morning and it is still working. As soon as I started having problems yesterday I changed the battery out. It didn't work immediately with the new battery, so I am wondering if it was the battery or something else.
 
This is probably obvious, but just FWIW: on mine, at least, the handle turns an actuating plate inside the door. When locked, that plate is restrained from rotating because the solenoid engages a slot in the plate. The solenoid isn't very strong, and if the handle isn't fully counterclockwise, there is enough friction between the slot and solenoid that the solenoid won't open. If you shut the door and rotate the handle counterclockwise to lock, then clockwise (for the couple of degrees of available travel), the safe will act normally but you can't open it until the handle is fully counterclockwise again. It's simple enough once you know what's going on, but if not it seems like a deep mystery :-(.
 
pintler said:
This is probably obvious, but just FWIW: on mine, at least, the handle turns an actuating plate inside the door. When locked, that plate is restrained from rotating because the solenoid engages a slot in the plate. The solenoid isn't very strong, and if the handle isn't fully counterclockwise, there is enough friction between the slot and solenoid that the solenoid won't open. If you shut the door and rotate the handle counterclockwise to lock, then clockwise (for the couple of degrees of available travel), the safe will act normally but you can't open it until the handle is fully counterclockwise again. It's simple enough once you know what's going on, but if not it seems like a deep mystery :-(.
Click to expand...
The lady at cannon had me try that to no avail. When I typed in my code it was beeping like I had entered the wrong code.
 
I splurged on a Ft Knox with double dial. The electric is quick and easy but the dial Just Works.
It is an interesting hookup, the keypad does not appear to unlock the door, it just releases the dial as though the combination had been turned in; you still have to turn the dial to the stop before you can crank the bolts back and open the door.


A "mechanically inclined" friend built his own in an agency maintenance shop welding class where they were allowed to do their own projects. It has multiple bolts drawn by a servomotor inside the case. If the motor ever dies or the locking system fails, he has on file a card with dimensions. Drill a hole there and reach in with a long allen wrench to crank the door open manually.
 
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