What to Do When You Lose Your Safe’s Key?

Losing the keys to a safe that has something valuable inside can be frustrating for anyone. And the situation becomes worse when you need these keys urgently but can't find them. A safe is designed to hold valuables and necessary documents in a house or an office. Hence it is important to keep the keys of the safe protected, and in the case of a code, it must be remembered. Safes are designed to resist unwanted entry attempts. Hence, opening the safe becomes a troublesome scenario if you have lost the keys. However, here's what you should do when you misplace the key of your safe.

1- Finding or Getting the Replacement Keys for the Safe 

There is one simple question that will come to your mind when you won't find the keys to the safe anywhere. What can be done to open the safe's lock? Rather than sitting back and wasting time figuring out what to do, your first step should be finding the misplaced key. Once you are sure that the key is lost and can't be found, you should find ways to open the lock. If it's not urgent to open the safe, you can simply request the safe's manufacturer for a replacement or a duplicate key. This is a very easy step and solves the problem, but it also takes a lot of time. The reason is that you will have to provide the complete details of the safe to the manufacturer, for example, the serial number, model number, and type. Furthermore, the company might also ask you to send a formal request with your signatures to start the procedure. Therefore, you can simply hire a locksmith to get a duplicate key and have the safe opened within no time.

2- Picking the Safe’s Lock

People usually try to break the lock when they lose the keys, especially when they want to access the safe urgently. It sounds tempting, and it might be possible that you know a few tricks to open the safe. One of these simple ways to open a safe without a key is to use a paper clip. First, you have to ensure that the paper clip is straight enough to go inside the lock from the keyhole. Once you do that, you have to insert the face of the paper clip inside. Use tweezers to hold the paper clip firmly as you penetrate it deeply into the lock. Flip the tweezers in an anti-clockwise direction until the lock is opened. Nowadays, safes are made quite durable and prevent unwanted access, which is why it's not possible to gain clean access to a safe using tools like a screwdriver or a hammer. If you use such things, the safe is likely to get damages resulting in your injury.

3- Drilling Inside the Safe  

It is almost impossible to pick high-security safe locks, especially with key combinations. Hence, the only option people are left with is drilling inside the safe. Although drilling means that your safe will become useless, it doesn't mean you have to avoid it at all costs. If you have something inside the safe that is needed and can't wait, you should proceed with it. Professional locksmiths ensure that they carefully drill the keyhole, so that rest of the safe remains unharmed. In that way, you can only replace the lock and get the safe back.

4- Changing the Lock

Although modern safes don't have this option, some of the models still permit you to change the lock just in case the keys are lost. If your locksmith easily drilled the lock without causing harm and opened it, then he can also replace the lock within minutes. Having an experienced locksmith doesn't mean that you will just get duplicate keys. These locksmiths are well-trained to work with key combinations if you forget the code and solve other safe locks problems.

Although you will rarely have to open a safe without a key, you should know the effective ways to do it. As mentioned above, DIY approaches may have drawbacks, so calling a professional locksmith is always a great option.