Last Updated on May 29, 2024
Get a key made | Bypass the safe’s solenoid | Bounce a safe open | Use a magnet | Bypass the key cylinder | Break the bolt work
Safes are supposed to protect property, right? The sad news is that many of the inexpensive safes bought at big box stores or major online shopping sites offer very little protection if any at all. This allows you to be able to open safes without a key rather easily.
You can open a safe without a key in three ways. You can get a key made. You can bypass the safe solenoid if it’s an electronic lock. The safe’s solenoid can be bypassed by bouncing it or by a magnet. Lastly, you can bypass or break the key cylinder. Safe key cylinders can be bypassed by picking, drilling, or just punching the lock out to remove it.
Which Safes Can be Opened Without a Key?
All safes can be bypassed, but some are significantly easier than others, and some should be left to a professional.
Inexpensive home safes, those for less than a few hundred dollars, are only meant to keep children out, keep temptation away from basically honest people, or offer some basic fire protection. They are NOT designed to protect their content.
These types of safes can often be identified because they come with an override key.
Safes that can be opened using a key (in case the electronic lock or dial lock fails) are inherently weak by design. A keyed lock is the weakest point in a safe and can be easily bypassed by finesse or by force. These are the safes we are addressing in this article.
Don’t confuse key-override safes with those that need BOTH a key and a combination used to open the safe. If a safe requires both a key and the combination entered to open the safe, the combination must be known to open it.
In many of these opening techniques, the safe will not be functional afterward. However, this is acceptable because the cost to hire a professional to open and restore the safe to functionality far exceeds the cost of just replacing a cheap safe.
Trying to break into a high-end safe, though, doesn’t make sense. Not only will it take forever, if you can at all, but a good safe should be opened by a locksmith and then repaired so it can be used for many years to come.
In all cases, a locksmith can be used to get you in quickly and in the best way possible. For an idea on pricing see our article How Much Does it Cost for a Locksmith to Open a Safe.
How to Get a Safe Key Made
The easiest thing to do is just take the safe to a locksmith and get a key made for it. It’s a very affordable locksmith service so why try anything else?
Locksmiths have several methods to make safe keys and keys can be made in just a few minutes.
If your safe is a Sentry safe, Sentry will mail you keys, though this will take several days.
Bypass the Safe Solenoid to Get Into the Safe
What is a Solenoid
The bolt work of safes is held in place by a pin or bolt so that it can’t be retracted by the handle until the pin or bolt is slid out of the way.
In cheap electronic safes, they are held in place by small pins attached to a solenoid that is wrapped by a spring (photo). The pressure from the spring holds the pin in place against the bolt work so the safe cannot be opened, but in cheap safes, the spring is very weak.
When the correct code is entered, the solenoid is charged. This pulls the pin back, compressing the spring, and retracting the pin, so the bolt work can now function, and the safe can be open.
Opening the Safe by “Bouncing” it
Because cheap safes have solenoids with weak springs, you can often bounce the pin up and down so that it no longer holds the bolt work.
This technique takes some timing and will only be successful on very inexpensive electronic safes.
The best way to bounce a small safe is to use a rubber mallet (you can even use the ball of your hand).
Hit the top of the safe with the mallet or the ball of your hand, and just after the strike turn the safe knob quickly. Repeat several times.
The shock of the hit may be all it takes to bounce the solenoid out of position
Tips for Opening a Safe Using Bouncing:
- For maximum bounce, if possible place the small safe on a material that gives way, like on a bed mattress or couch cushion.
- Don’t apply pressure to the safe knob before the strike, this will put pressure on the pin as well and hold it in place.
Opening the Safe Using a Magnet
Sentry safes became infamous when it was shown that they could be easily opened using a very strong rare earth magnet. But several other brands of cheap safes, those made of plastic casings or very thin sheet metal, can also be opened this way.
The goal is to use the magnet to grab the solenoid pin, and pull it away from the bolt work.
This can be difficult if you do not know exactly where the solenoid is.
Tips for Opening a Safe Using a Rare Earth Magnet
- !Warning! Rare earth magnets are VERY strong. They may destroy any electronics they get near. They may break/crush fingers caught between them and a metal object.
- You will need a magnet with at least 600 lb pull force (Note: the cost of the magnet will likely exceed the cost of the safe).
- Wrap the magnet in a cloth. This will allow you to more easily slide around the door of the safe.
- Listen for a click. That is the solenoid being pulled back.
- That click is the solenoid being pulled back. When you hear that click, jiggle the handle repeatedly to open.
Open the Safe’s Lock Without Using the Key
A safe’s lock is the weak point of a safe. You can try several things to get past that lock.
Pick It
Cheap safes can be picked open by even the most inexperienced amateurwithout needing a pick set. Just find any long, narrow, slender object. Slide it into the hole and jerk it back and forth quickly while applying a little bit of torque (turning pressure). You may be surprised.
However, many will require too much skill for the novice.
Punch It/Shear It
Punching the keyhole is trying to smack the lock into the safe or smash the pins so the lock turns (this is often harder than shearing because you need to go through the door metal).
Using a large screwdriver and hammer, hit the lock very hard at the keyholes several times. Once the the screwdriver has gone into the hole try to twist the lock open or just keep punching to push the lock inside of the safes. If the lock does not twist open, once it is punched into the safe you can use your finger to find the button or the latch the lock was meant to spin and manually press / turn it to open the safe.
Often shearing the lock is easier than punching it.
Break off any plastic or other components around the lock so that you can access the lock behind its head (flush against the door – see photo).
Using a large screwdriver or chisel, place it at the top of the lock and hammer it down. When done correctly, you will shear the front of the lock off. Once it is sheared off you can use your finger to find the button or the latch the lock was meant to spin and manually press/torn it to open the safe.
Break the Bolt Work to Get Into the Safe
This is the most difficult way to open a safe without a key.
It requires that you find the location of the most central bolt along the edge of the door. Once that is found it is marked top and bottom.
The side of the safe is then drilled in the center of those two markings so that the face of the bolt can be reached.
A screwdriver and hammer are used on the face of the bolt to smack the bolt inward to break the bolt work or whatever is pining the bolt in and stopping it from retracting.
Tips to Open a Safe by Breaking the Bolt Work
- Use a piece of paper to find the top and bottom of the most central bolt
- Slide the paper into the crack between the door and the body of the safe a few inches above the center of the door.
- Then slide the paper down until it stops, this is the top of the bolt.
- Slide the paper into the crack between the door and the body of the safe a few inches below the center of the door.
- Then slide the paper up until it stops, this is the top of the bolt.
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