How to open a union safe without a key and combination

We have had this safe at home for a while. So the other day we thought we would see if we can work out how to open it without the key or knowing the code. It didn’t take us too long to work out three different bypasses for the safe:

• Bypassing the lock entirely by using the hammer/bounce method
• Picking the backup lock
• Resetting the keypad code then using our own set code

The longest bypass takes about 5 seconds. The other two take less. We will briefly go through each of these methods and we have a video at the end of this post which shows the three methods in detail. So if you can’t be bothered reading this, just jump straight to the video and see us use all three methods to get into the safe ????

How to Open the Safe Using a Hammer/Bouncing

The first method requires a sudden jolting of the safe. On electronic/digital safes, this works by disengaging the pins inside which stop the handle from turning. If you jolt the safe enough and turn the handle at just the right time, the pins move out of place for a split second so you can turn the handle. This can be done with either hitting the top hard with your hand, using a mallet or hammer, or you can also bounce the safe on something to disengage the pins.

How to Open the Safe by Picking the Lock

The safe has a standard wafer lock and a key. Using the key you can unlock the safe without knowing the combination. This is a backup in case you forget the combination and also in case the batteries go flat. The safe uses batteries for the digital keypad.

On this safe, it is a double wafer lock but its key has a VERY simple profile. Boo hadn’t picked a wafer lock before but after a couple of tries, she was able to do it in 5 seconds. Take a look at the video. It’s pretty cool!

How to Open the Safe by Resetting the Keypad

The final method is by resetting the keypad. Inside the safe is a reset button. If you press this button the keypad enters programming mode. You enter a code, hit ‘E’ and you have a new code set. Of course, you can’t get to this button when the safe is locked… or can you? If you take a look at this safe, and most safes, they have a couple of holes in them. This one has two on the back and two underneath. These holes are so you can mount them to a wall, a shelf, the ground or something else solid. It makes it harder for a criminal to just take the safe with them and break into it when they get back to their hideout. I’m just guessing but I think most people probably buy the safe then just shove it in a cupboard and don’t bolt it to anything. If this is the case, you can put something through the hole to press the reset button.

In our video, we use a chopstick! We had two reasons for this:

1. It was the first thing we found that was long enough and thin enough to reach
2. It made us laugh to think we were cracking a safe with a chopstick!!! ????

Put the chopstick through the hole, feel for the button and when you hear the beep you are done. Go to the keypad and enter your new code and you are in!

How to Crack an Electronic Safe – With a Chopstick Video

And here is our video showing all the above techniques. We have also added the full transcript of our video below. If you have any questions just leave us a comment ????

Mos: Hi there Mos and Boo fans. Ever wondered how to break into a safe with a chopstick? In this video, we’ll show you how, along with two other methods. Let’s get started!

Mos: So this safe has been hanging around our house for a while and the other day we thought let’s try and get in and see what dad has stashed. We asked permission first of course because always make sure you have permission to do any bypass on a lock or safe that isn’t your own.

Boo: If you take a look at the safe, it has two main ways you can open it. One is using a keypad and code, which you can easily see here. The other is with a key. The standard lock is there as a backup in case you forget your code and also in case the batteries run out as the code is digital.

Mos: First up we thought we would try out a common bypass for small electronic safes like this. In this method, you bounce the safe or hit it with something to try and get it to disengage the pins inside that stop the handle from moving. You can see this in another video of ours where I bounce a safe at the BSides Canberra conference. This time we decided to just whack it on top to see if we could disengage the pins. Being kids its hard to hit it hard enough with just your hand. It hurts after a few hits. Lucky I have this rubber mallet in my pants!

Mos: This makes a lot of noise so put a towel under the safe and also put something on top as well. Even though its a rubber mallet we hit it a few times without anything on top and it left some dents.

Mos: All you have to do is give it a thump while trying to turn the handle at the same time. If you time it right, you will turn the handle just as the pins disengage and OPEN! You’re in!

Boo: The second method is via the keyway. It’s a pretty simple lock. Its a double wafer lock and I had never picked a wafer lock before so this was fun.

Boo: Using a tension wrench and my Bogota pick, I just used a racking and rocking method. Only takes a few seconds and OPEN! In again!

Mos: The final way is by resetting the pin code without knowing the code.

Mos: If you look inside the safe there’s a button here for resetting the code. If you press it you hear a loud beep and you are good to go.

Mos: I know. You’re thinking “but how do I get to that button when the safe is locked?”

Mos: If we spin the safe around, it has 2 holes on the back. It also has 2 underneath as well.

Mos: These holes are for mounting the safe to a wall, the ground or a shelf so someone can’t just grab it and run. If the safe isn’t mounted, like most peoples probably aren’t, or it’s mounted to the ground or shelf and not up against something blocking the back, this method will work. All you need to do is hit the reset button by putting something through the hole. This is where Bob, our trusty chopstick comes in.

Mos: Take Bob and put him through the hole then just move up a bit and BEEP!! Ready to reset and open. Then you just punch in a new code to set it, and put it in again to OPEN! In for a third time!

Boo: If you want to learn more safe cracking and lock picking techniques, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel and also click the bell icon so you don’t miss any of our videos. Also, give us a thumbs up if you liked it.

Mos: We would love to hear from you in the comments so if you have any comments or have ideas for any videos you think we should do, let us know.

Mos and Boo: We will be back soon with another bypass!

Mos

Mos aka MrOldSkinny, loves to hack things together whether it be hardware, software or a combination of both! When he isn’t doing crazy hacks you will find him picking locks, tampering with tamper-proof devices, and finding weaknesses in security controls. All the cybers will be his!

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