Office Safe Won't Open: What to Check

Start by naming the lock

"The safe won't open" covers very different problems. The cash safe under a shop counter, the drop safe in a restaurant office, the document safe in a warehouse admin block and the firearm safe in a security office all use locks that behave differently. The first useful step is to work out which kind you have.

The make and model are often on the keypad, the door edge or a plate inside the door. Note them down. They lead you to the right manual and help a technician come prepared.

Electronic keypads: power, codes and penalty lockouts

Most office safes bought in the last couple of decades have an electronic lock. Three things cause most refusals:

• A weak battery. Liberty Safe notes that a low battery can still light the keypad and make the lock click without letting the lock fully release. A keypad that "works" is not proof that the battery is fine. Replace it with the type the maker specifies, following the manual.
• A penalty lockout. After several wrong codes in a row, many locks go into a lockout and ignore every entry, right or wrong, until the period ends. Liberty describes this as a theft deterrent. Each new attempt during the lockout can simply waste time. Stop, wait, and check the manual for how your model signals a lockout.
• Timing. Many locks relock after a few seconds if the handle is not turned once the correct code is accepted. Have the handle ready before you enter the code.

If the battery is inside the safe and the keypad is dead, don't open the keypad housing or pull at wires. Some locks have an external battery point or a key override, and some do not. The maker's documentation says which applies to your model.

Time-delay safes: it may be working as designed

Shops, restaurants and other cash businesses often use safes with a time-delay lock. The lock accepts the code, then makes you wait a set period before it will open. Some models need the code twice: once to start the delay, and again after it ends. There is usually a short opening window after the delay; if it passes, the lock goes back to locked and the delay starts again on the next valid code.

The idea is to make a robbery slower and less attractive. Police advice to businesses points the same way: Vosloorus SAPS, giving robbery-prevention tips to businesses, suggested a dual-key, drop or delay-action time-lock safe and keeping the number of times the safe is opened to a minimum.

So when a time-delay safe "won't open", check:

• Was the full delay allowed to run, with nobody pressing buttons in between?
• Was the code entered again, and the handle turned, inside the opening window?
• Has someone changed the delay or the codes recently?
• Is the safe connected to an alarm or monitoring service? If so, let them know what you're doing before anyone keeps trying codes.

When the code is right but the handle won't turn

If the lock beeps to accept the code but the handle will not move, the bolts may be under pressure. Liberty Safe's troubleshooting advice is to check that the handle has some free play and is not pushed hard to one side, and to think about whether shelves or stored items could be pressing on the door. Return the handle to its resting position, then enter the code again.

Don't lean on the handle or use a bar for extra leverage. Safe handles and the parts behind them are not built for that, and something inside can break, which makes a non-destructive opening harder.

Key and dial safes

Older or heavier office safes often use a lever key lock or a mechanical dial. For firearm safes, the SABS 953 requirements summarised by Mutual Safes call for at least one lock: a key lock with at least six levers, a combination lock with at least three wheels, or an electronic lock.

• Key safes. Check you have the right key: offices often have several similar safe keys on one ring. Turn gently. If the key turns partway and stops, don't force it, as safe keys are long and can twist.
• Dial safes. Most refusals come from the dialling sequence itself. The direction changes and number of turns must match the maker's instructions for that lock exactly. Start the whole sequence again slowly rather than nudging the dial back and forth.
• Firearm safes. Regulation 86 of the Firearms Control Regulations sets rules on who may have access. If the safe holds firearms, involve the licence holder before anyone else tries to open it.

What turns a stuck safe into a damaged one

• Drilling, prying or hammering the door, keypad or hinges.
• Following online videos that claim to open safes quickly. Apart from the risk to the safe, those methods have nothing to do with how your particular lock is meant to work.
• Entering codes over and over during a penalty lockout or a time delay.
• Taking the keypad off the door or disconnecting wires.
• Trying to move or tip a safe that is bolted to the floor or wall.

Damage can also complicate an insurance claim, so stop and ask before anyone gets the toolbox out.

Proof of ownership, and what we'll need

Opening a safe gives access to whatever is inside, so we ask for proof that the safe belongs to the business and that the person calling is authorised to have it opened. Helpful documents include:

• your ID, and something linking you to the business, such as a letter on the company's letterhead signed by a director or owner;
• the purchase invoice for the safe, if you have it;
• the lease or proof that the business occupies the premises;
• for a firearm safe, the licence holder present or contactable.

Also have this ready when you call:

• photos of the front of the safe, the keypad or dial, and any label with the make and model;
• what happened just before it stopped opening (battery change, new code, a staff member leaving, a knock);
• whether it's a time-delay or dual-control safe;
• whether it's bolted down, and where it is in the building.

Getting it opened

Our safe opening service covers office, shop and home safes that won't open, starting with non-destructive methods. If the lock or bolt mechanism needs work afterwards, safe repairs covers that. Safes are one of our normal services, alongside doors, gates and car keys.

We come out to you anywhere in our area, 24/7, as a mobile locksmith in Kempton Park. There's an R250 call-out, the technician quotes on site before any work starts, and nothing is done until you agree. Payment is by EFT, cash or card.

A safe that won't open is often a sign that codes and keys need tidying up. Our article on key control for businesses covers who should hold safe keys and codes, and locking up a shop or restaurant covers the closing routine around the safe.

Need a locksmith to look at it?

If this hasn't solved the problem, our safe opening service covers it. We're a mobile locksmith in Kempton Park, so we come to your door.

Sources and further reading

• Liberty Safe: Common problems with electronic safe locks — low battery can light the keypad without releasing the lock; wrong-code lockouts; relocking if the handle isn't turned; checking bolt pressure and handle play
• Wikipedia: Time-delay combination locks — delay before unlocking, code entered twice on some models, use as a robbery deterrent by cash businesses
• Southern Courier: Armed robbery prevention tips for businesses (Vosloorus SAPS) — SAPS suggestion of dual-key, drop or delay-action time-lock safes and limiting how often the safe is opened
• Mutual Safes: SABS information — SABS 953 lock requirements for firearm safes: lever key lock, combination lock or electronic lock
• Firearms Control Regulations, regulation 86: Safes and safe custody (Acts Online) — storage and access rules for firearm safes