Changing a safe combination in Vancouver
Dial or keypad, set to a code only you know.
A seller's code, a manager who left, a note in a drawer. A combination change retires the old code and makes the new one yours. We come to your safe anywhere in the Lower Mainland.
A dial and a keypad change in completely different ways.
Tell us which one your safe has when you call. It decides the method, the time on site and the price.
Mechanical dial combination change with a change key
Your current combination is dialled with the door open, then a change key turns in the back of the lock. The wheel pack takes three new numbers, and the old ones stop working.
Electronic safe lock reset from the keypad
Most keypad locks change their code from the keypad itself, starting with your current code. Old codes are cleared, the new one is entered and confirmed, and a fresh battery goes in.
Keypad locks with separate manager and user codes
Many commercial keypads carry a manager code plus individual user codes. When someone on your staff leaves, their code is deleted and nobody else's code changes. The manager code stays with the owner.
If someone else knows the code, it is not your code.
After buying a home or business with a safe in it
The safe came with the property, or you bought it second-hand. It still opens to the seller's code or a factory default. Change it before anything goes in. The doors may need a rekey too.
After staff turnover on a commercial safe
A manager or key holder has left, and they still know your code. Delete their user code on a keypad, or change the dial combination. If they also held keys, see commercial rekey.
When the safe code has been forgotten or written down somewhere
A code on a note in the desk drawer is anyone's code. Change it while the safe still opens. If nobody remembers it and the door is shut, start with a safe opening.
When the combination has been shared too widely
Codes drift. A cleaner watched it dialled, a relative was told once, a shared office code passed from shift to shift. When you cannot list everyone who knows it, change it.
We check the safe is yours before we change its combination.
A new code decides who can open the safe, so we confirm who has the right to decide. Have the paperwork ready when you book.
Photo ID and proof of address for a home safe
Government photo ID showing the home's address, or ID plus a utility bill, tax notice or tenancy agreement for that address. The person named should be there when the new code is set.
Written authorization for a business safe
Written authorization from the owner or a manager who can sign for the business, naming who will hold the new code. Other staff can be there on the day.
Inherited and estate safes
The executor's paperwork, such as the will or the grant of probate, plus photo ID. If nobody has the code, the safe opening comes first, with the same checks.
A combination change is priced by the lock, not the safe.
The size of your safe does not set the price. A small home safe and a heavy commercial one can cost the same to re-code.
The mobile service call, from $75, is charged on top of the quoted work and is never the whole bill. Starting figures are on the price guide.
See starting pricesMechanical dial or electronic keypad lock
A keypad with a code you know is usually the simpler reprogram. A dial takes more work, because each new number is set and then proved several times with the door open.
A known combination or a lost one
A change needs the current code. If you know it, the job is a reset. If it is lost and the door is shut, the safe is opened first, and that is priced separately.
Extra user codes and time-delay settings
Each user code you add, and any time delay, takes setup and testing. Where the lock supports it, time delay makes the lock wait a set time after the code before it opens.
What people ask about changing a safe code.
Can you change my safe combination if I do not know the current one?
Not directly. A change needs the current code and, on most locks, the door open. Without it, the safe is opened first, non-destructively wherever the lock allows, then reset. See safe opening.
How often should a business change its safe code?
Whenever someone who knew it leaves or changes role, and on a regular schedule even when nobody has. A keypad with user codes makes this easier: you delete one user instead of re-briefing everyone.
Can I change a safe combination myself with the change key?
Some owners do, using the lock maker's instructions. The risk is a number set wrong, which locks you out the first time the door closes. Test the new code several times with the door open.
Will a dial combination change work on an older safe?
Usually, if it takes a change key. Some older dial locks are reset by hand, wheel by wheel. A worn lock may need servicing first, and you hear that before any work begins.
Can you add a second code to my electronic safe lock?
If the lock supports more than one user, yes. Many keypads hold a manager code plus user codes; some hold a single code only. Tell us the make and model when you call.
A combination change should leave the lock exactly as it was.
It is a settings job, not a repair. If your lock works, the only thing meant to change is which code opens the door.
Every change is made with the door open. The new code is entered and the bolts thrown several times first, because a code that fails with the door shut locks you out.
On a dial, we show you how to dial it cleanly, since a rushed dial is the usual cause of a safe that seems stuck. We also steer you away from birthdays and addresses.
On a keypad, the override key is tried where the lock has one. Several wrong entries in a row can trigger a penalty lockout, so new codes are entered with care.
The new code is yours, and we leave nothing written down. If the lock is slipping or failing, a new code will not fix it; we say so and quote a repair.
The work happens where the safe sits, anywhere in the Lower Mainland, including Downtown, Yaletown, Kitsilano, East Vancouver, Burnaby and North Vancouver.
Our shop at 929 Drake Street opens soon; every job is mobile until then. Evenings, weekends and holidays are by appointment.
Tell us what is going on, and we will price it first.
Call or book online. Tell us the lock type and whether the safe opens, and you will have the method and the number before any work begins.