Electronic Safe

[Cloverjo]

The battery has gone on my electronic safe and we can't find the back-up physical key. We need the things that are in there. Is there a way to get round this, please?

[dannyk13]

A locksmith?

[Gherkins]

Hello. This happened to me once. I replaced the battery and set the safe up as new. Good luck.

[hc4361]

You need to be able to open it to replace the battery on my safe

[Gherkins]

My safe had four bolts on the back. When I unscrewed these I was able to get into the battery compartment. If that option is not available then fair point. My safe was not so 'safe' after I figured this out. It was not a expensive model.

[aelmpvw]

don't think i'd declare on the internet that i owned a safe ...

[Hopkirk]

Can you Google the make of safe, and see if any links help?

[sunny-dave]

CJ - are you sure that the batteries are 'stone dead' - warming the keypad for a good while with a hairdrier and/or giving the safe a good rattle (in case there is a bad contact) may just get them to limp into life for long enough.

Otherwise you may be into brute force :+(

[Hopkirk]

... or look harder for the physical key. It's somewhere quite close to you.

[Cloverjo]

Thank you for your replies. You have to open it before you can change the batteries.
I managed it by blasting it with a hairdryer for a minute to get the batteries to charge just enough to open it.

[Quoi]

Good result - was the physical key inside it lol?

[Cloverjo]

No! I was worried about that though, quoi. Just the kind of daft thing I'd do!

[anotheoldgit]

aelmpvw

/// don't think i'd declare on the internet that i owned a safe ... ///

If one is seeking a home insurance quote on one of these 'compare' type sites, they not only ask you for your address, type of locks etc but also if one owns a safe.

[Cloverjo]

For insurance purposes, is it better or worse to admit to owning a safe?

[dannyk13]

If you don't mention it you won't be covered.

[hc4361]

It's better, Cloverjo. I've got two - one is bolted to the concrete floor and the other is bolted to the wall.

[Cloverjo]

Won't be covered for anything at all?

[Cloverjo]

Ours is unmovable, hc. I think it's bolted to the wall. I'll have to check whether OH declared it to the insurers.

[anotheoldgit]

dannyk13
/// If you don't mention it you won't be covered. ///

Surely if one is insured for person possessions i.e. jewellery, then it should make no difference if it in a safe, a draw, or on top of a dressing table?

[EcclesCake]

I declare my safe to the insurance company and state what it is rated as.

I wish I had gone for an electronic lock as I can never remember the bloody combination!

[hc4361]

I don't keep large amounts of money in my safes and all the jewellery and other high value small items in the safe are listed with the insurance company, as they should be whether kept in a safe or not.

I keep spare house and car keys, credit and debit cards and important paperwork in the safes.

Insurance companies only get twitchy about safes if you keep your life savings and very expensive jewellery in them as policies typically only cover for a few hundred pounds cash and won't cover expensive jewellery that isn't individually listed.