SCHAUMBURG LOCKSMITH: WHAT TO DO IF YOUR SAFE IS JAMMED

Safes are a great solution to safely storing your small, portable valuables. Perhaps you use a safe at home to store your important documents, expensive jewelry, or family valuables. You may also use a safe in your commercial business, to store documents, cash, or expensive inventory such as jewelry and precious stones. While you want your safe to close securely, you also want to be able to open it when you need to. That leads to the question – what do you do if your safe is jammed or won’t open? Keep reading to find out some reasons your safe may not open, and tips to troubleshoot the situation.

CHANGE BATTERIES

Some safes are battery powered. When there is no power going to the safe, the safe’s default is to remain closed. If you cannot open your safe, the first thing you should do is change the batteries. It is recommended that you use brand name batteries, as off brand batteries can lose power more quickly. Even if your keypad lights up and the keypad is making its normal sounds, you should still do a battery change. This is because the installed batteries may have enough power to activate the keypad, but not enough power to unlock the internal mechanisms.

JAMMED BOLT WORK

There are a variety of reasons that your bolts in your safe may become jammed. If you can hear the motor working, trying to unlock the bolts, but nothing is happening – this is likely due a jam. A potential fix to this is to kick the safe. Yes – you read that right. It is suggested you turn around, and give a hard kick to the safe with the flat side of your foot (avoid your toe, and please avoid kicking the keypad or handle). The reason you are doing this is to try to jolt the bolt back into its proper position. After giving the safe a kick, try pulling the safe’s handle in the opposite direction (this is to ease some pressure off the bolt) and enter your code. Hopefully this will allow your safe door to open.

TIME DELAY OR LOCKOUT MODE

Just like if you enter the wrong pin number in your ATM card too many times, safes also have a “lockout” security measure built in. One reason your safe may not open could be because you have entered the incorrect code too many times. Depending on your type of safe, there is usually a set amount of time you have to wait before you can try to enter your code again (many safes have a default time of 20 minutes). There are also time-delay safes which work the same way. The only difference is you may be able to set the time-delay yourself when the safe is installed.

DAMAGED WIRING

Just like any electronic equipment in your home, your safe has internal and external wiring. This wiring can become damaged or disconnected. One reason your safe may not work correctly can be due to disconnected wires (such as the wires leading to your keypad), or damaged or frayed wiring. To troubleshoot this issue, you could remove the faceplate on your keypad. When you do that you can do a visual inspection of your safes wires to see if you notice any damaged wires, or wires that don’t seem to be connected anywhere. Another option is to call in your locksmith at this point to have them correct the issue.

HAMMER TAPPING

If you have a combination safe, this may be an option for you. If you find that your safe is accepting the combination code, but the door will not open, it is possible that the door is jammed. One way you can troubleshoot this issue is to take a hammer and gently tap the sides of the safe. You will want to focus on the side opposite to the hinge, and periodically try the door as you tap. The hope is that you will gently be able to tap the internal mechanisms back into place and the door will open.

PUSH AND PULL ON HANDLE

If you can enter your combination, but are having trouble turning the handle this may indicate that your safes bolts are out of line. You will know this is the case if the handle turns a little and then stops. You can try this to get your safe door open. Enter your combination code. Then take one hand and push in on the door, while with the other hand you try to turn the handle. The hope is that when you push the door in, you are pushing the bolts into a better position for alignment, and then you will be able to turn the handle to open the door.

COMBINATION SHIFTING

This is particularly for combination locks. In older combination locks, the internal tumblers can shift out of position. Meaning, if your combination is 10-30-15, the tumblers can shift to 9-29-14 (one digit down). So if your lock will not open, you can try shifting the number. First go down 5 digits, and then up 5 digits. You will try this method one digit at a time. If your lock ends up opening when you use this technique, then call a technician right away. This is a sign of age and your safes lock will eventually malfunction altogether. You don’t want to wait and end up with a safe door that will not open when you need it to.

There are many reasons your safe could jam. As safes become more sophisticated, you really need expert help to troubleshoot some of the issues that may occur. Your best bet is to call a licensed and insured locksmith to help you. Not only can a locksmith open your safe, they can advise you on what happened to jam your door in the first place. Schaumburg, IL residents have come to depend on the quality service of Schaumburg Locksmith. If you are in need of help with your safe, or any other locksmith services, give us a call today!

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One of the Easiest Ways to Break Into Your Home

If you’re a homeowner, no doubt, you’re very protective of your home. You likely do all that you can to make sure that you, your family and valuables are as safe as possible. At Schaumburg Locksmith, we are here to tell you that you may be forgetting about an area of your home once you leave out, the sliding glass door. That’s right, this is one area of the home that many people neglect. What we mean by neglect is that many homeowners leave it to chance that no one will try to break into their home through the sliding door. This is one of the most susceptible places for a thief to break in. You can’t be too safe these days. Every area of your home, especially those that are most susceptible to intrusion, should be secured. The sliding glass door is usually located far enough away from human eyes that an intruder is willing to take a chance on breaking in. You cannot only do your part to protect your home by locking this door when you leave but by also applying an additional lock to provide maximum security. Below you will find other ways of securing your sliding glass door.

Securing Your Sliding Glass Door

• Install Another Lock

You should have another lock installed on your sliding glass door since the one it comes with isn’t sturdy enough to resist pressure from a thief. The lock that comes with the sliding glass door is usually just there to make sure the door stays shut. It doesn’t add a real level of security. However, adding a reinforced auxiliary lock will. Don’t take the chance of someone being able to gain entry into your home from your sliding door, contact the qualified locksmiths of Schaumburg Locksmith in Schaumburg, IL, today.

• Secure the Door

You can do more than just adding a lock to your door, there are also bar locks that you can purchase which will prevent the door from opening. You can only open the door once the bar is removed. You can usually purchase this at your local hardware store. Perhaps you have some type of stick that you can also use to secure your sliding glass door. All that you’ll need to do it lay the stick or bar across the tracks of the door to secure it. This is a simple solution that quickly enhances your homes level of security.

• Attach Door to an Alarm System

If you do not have an alarm system, you may already be leaving yourself wide open to receiving an unexpected visitor. If you do have an alarm system, it is just as important to have your sliding glass door connected to the alarm system as it is to have the front entryway connected. You are immediately alerted of someone’s attempt to break into your home through this door if it is connected to your alarm system.

Some homes actually have more than one sliding glass door. There are some that have them on the side and in the back of their homes. Every single exterior door should be secured, no matter where it is located. You may wonder why some thieves will select the sliding door to gain entry inside your home. Here are the reasons why they use this door to get inside.

• Undetected Entry

This type of door is known for being easy to open and close. All you have to do to open it is simply glide it over the tracks of the door. This process is also very quiet. Since someone can get inside without a peep, this makes entry through the sliding glass door most appealing to most burglars. Doors that open and close make noises, especially if the hinges need to be oiled. A sliding door doesn’t require the same type of hardware and thus it is very quiet when opened.

• Things Being Advertised

When you do not have anything to cover up your sliding door, you are allowing others to look inside your home. This means that you are advertising all that you have inside. Rather than letting others know what expensive electronics you have, keep it to yourself by placing blinds or curtains over your glass door. We know that you may love the door because of the sunlight it allows into your home, however, it is in your best interest to allow keep it covered up when the sun goes down. It is usually more difficult to see inside when the sunlight is out but not when it is dark outside. Keep it covered up and avoid the added attention from a would-be intruder. They are more likely to take a chance on breaking in when they know that what you have is of value.

• Insufficient Lock

The lock that your sliding glass door comes with is not a good and sturdy lock. This is widely known by most intruders. There is very little effort required in order for someone to break into your home without additional locking mechanisms placed on your sliding door. The lock that is already on the door is usually only there to keep the door shut not to provide you with the level of security that you need to keep out intruders. A burglar is banking on you’re not realizing that you need additional locks to secure the door.

If you’re a homeowner with a sliding glass door, do yourself a favor by taking notice of your door to see if it is as secure as it can be. You don’t have to do a lot but it is necessary to do something in order to keep out an intruder who may target your home. Don’t allow them to be successful in their attempts to get inside your home and disturb the peace that may currently exist. We suggest that you take every precaution necessary to ensure that you and your loved ones are safe inside your home.

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