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Sentry Fire Safe Won’t Open, It’s Broken! Can’t Unlock Fire Safe
By lighthouse
Pictured above, a sentry safe that failed to open after the combination numbers were pushed and the little plastic piece that disabled it.
So I called the sentry safe company, (800-828-1438), and waited for about 10 minutes to speak to a representive, (that was alright since I have a speaker phone). The first thing they asked me was about the condition of the batteries. I told them that they were brand new. The person then asked about the brand name and expiration date of the batteries. They were generic batteries, but the expiration date was fine. They suggested a new set of batteries, and mentioned that I could bypass the battery pack, (which sometimes fails), by unplugging the pack and using a regular 9 volt battery.. So just to cover the base, I went down to the store and obtained a brand new 9 volt duracell battery. I unplugged the battery pack and plugged in my new battery. I then pushed the combination numbers and my safe again failed to open.
I called the sentry company back using my speakerphone feature again while waiting to speak with a technician. The tech asked me about the batteries and I told him it had a new 9 volt at the last technician’s recommendation. The person began to talk about the actuator cylinder inside the safe, stating that it did not sound like it was actuating. Then they told me something that really made me wonder about the quality of this safe. They told me I would need to hit the safe with a rubber mallet in an attempt to get the actuator to engage so I could open the sentry safe. OK, so the safe is supposively built to keep my belongings safe from thieves and fire, but now I am going to fix it with a rubber mallet? Good thing my sentry safe was inside, somebody might have wondered about my mental state if they had seen me beating this fireproof safe with a rubber mallet! (PS: If you use the rubber mallet option or any other suggestions that sentry’s customer assistance supplied, and have firearms or dynamite in your safe, you do so at your own risk, use wise judgement for your own safety)
Well it just so happens that I had a rubber mallet and did not need to once again go to the store to get something to personally fix my great sentry fireproof safe. So I begin beating the sentry safe with this mallet and then tried the combination again. Woolah, It opened! I stopped for a moment and began to ponder how many other things I could fix with this magical rubber mallet. I mean, what about the TV, the computer, my fridgerator and that cell phone that always drops calls? Could it be that I have discovered the fix all to all mechanical issues? As I began to look at my belongings in my fireproof safe that I have just opened with a rubber mallet, I thought "so if I close the safes door will I need a sledge hammer next time"?
Time for another phone call, back to the speakerphone. The technician this time listened to my issue and asked me if I had some lubricant like WD-40 with a small tube that attaches to nozzle. I thought, "well of course I do, I was just using that to fix the broken water pipe in the garage." The phone tech tells me where to spray the lubricant on the inside of the sentry safe door. He has me do this in the open and closed combination positions, and it’s now opening when I press the combination numbers with the door open, hurray! The only problem is that after working in the lubricant a few times the handle on the door does not lock into the locked position. I no longer need the combination to unlock my safe, I only need a can of lubricant! OK, this is one really tough safe, what thief would ever think that they would need a rubber mallet and a can of silicon lubricant to open up a safe?
Back to the speakerphone, this time a lady technician. She wants me to get a screwdriver and pry off the plastic piece on the back side of the door. At this point I said to her, you have built a product that I need to have a rubber mallet, a can of 3 in 1 spray lubricant, and a screwdriver to open? She stated that she was doing all she could to help me fix my safe and asked me how long I had owned the safe. I told her about 2 years and she stated that it was out of warranty. I thought, well who needs a warranty when they have a magical mallet, a can of black led, and a screwdriver? Anyway she directs me to pry the plastic backing off of the door and when I do this little piece of plastic falls out onto the floor. I look at this little plastic piece pondering in my mind, what’s it’s part in all of this. Well the technician is directing me to look at the arms and gears and some arrows that line up between the metal arms and plastic gears. What’s wrong with that picture? Metal and plastic don’t really work together long before the plastic breaks. I had to wonder for a moment, is this some really expensive fireproof plastic? The arrows line up and with that information she directs me to the area of the actuator again, she says "you see the circuit board" and a little white button that sticks out from it?" I said well yes, I see the circuit board and the little white button you are talking about seems to be laying on the floor broken off. So I picked it up and said, "this little broken piece of plastic that connects to the metal arm on the safe is why the safe does not work right?" She tells me yes that’s the problem, that i have broken it and since it’s out of warranty that there is nothing she can do to help me. But she then asks me to hold on for a moment…..
She comes back to the phone sounding sincere, like she has just solved all my problems, and tells me that she has spoke to her supervisor and that they can offer me 10% off on any safe that I would like to purchase. I thought what great customer service, now they want to sell me another safe with metal and plastic pieces that break and give me a huge discount of 10%, and I bet it comes with a free maintenance kit which includes a polo stick, some lard oil, and a screwdriver on the rocks! Needless to say I declined their gracious offer.
I will say that all the organizations personnel, (that I spoke with), were courteous and trying to be helpful, (that was within the realm of authority they were given). With a product such as this, and the great customer service I experienced, I thought it was probably best to find a safe that was free of little plastic pieces that break off, cause those plastic pieces won’t save you 10% !
Topics: Kick It To The Curb | 90 Comments »
January 8th, 2010 at 12:06 am
First and foremost THANK YOU.
Second, The safe arrived at my work today (it was gona be used to store my backup tapes) at around 3pm and I had it nice and broken by 3:05pm I opened it twice and by the third time it wouldn’t open despite the code being correct. Experiencing the exact same thing like everyone else. Turning the handle does nothing, there was a clicking sound when it worked and there is none now.
I called staples and told them to pick it up tomorrow and if they sent me an invoice on it I would assure them they would never see our company’s business again.
They agreed
Now it’s time to find a different brand all together
January 7th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
Wailed away with the rubber hammer to no avail. Ended up using a crowbar and 3 lb sledgehammer. Glad the locking pins set in a plastic hole, it was pretty easy to deform the door frame and pry the door open. The email exchange with customer service was pleasant but totally useless. I am tempted to mail the carcass back to the company president.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:49 am
Your story made it worth having a broken keypad! You are so funny.
Thanks,
Lisa
January 2nd, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Thanks for the advice, I keep my medicine in there and couldn’t get into it for a week before I found this place.I used the sole of my shoe and it opened. Removed the inside of the door and lubed everything but I will be removing the solenoid to disable the keypad.
December 31st, 2009 at 3:21 am
Thanks for the post. Have been unable to open my safe in a week. Purchased batteries from two different stores. Took a rubber mallet and hit the handle dead on twice, put in my code and it OPENED!!! Thanks so much!!!
December 25th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I’ve had a model 1250 for many years. It’s got a dial/disk lock mechanism. Never had a problem. Sentry made it perfectly clear that it was a fire safe not an anti-theft safe. If you can’t afford to lose it, it should be in a bank safe deposit box.
COMMENT….OK, So why then does it require a combination and key to open it? (when it’s functioning as it is intended too)
December 22nd, 2009 at 3:31 am
God I wish I read this earlier! Tonight is the third time my safe has jammed! Unforunately this time I couldn’t shake the handle up a little and get it to open instead when I pushed up on the handle (followed exactly to the directions) the handle clicked and then went around 360degrees! That’s right, a complete circle which meant it was now $450 of useless metal and my husbands diabetic medication was inside and we HAD to get to it.
After 30 minutes of hammering with a wedge and sledgehammer it is now two piece’s and our medicine and guns are now not safely stored!
We have had this safe for a year and rarely locked it because of the trouble that we have experienced in the past when we did. I personally feel we should be compensated for a product that obviously fails to work.
If any class action suit ever gets filed this will be one product that I won’t waive my rights on.
Happy holidays to all you other failed safers out there.
Armed and Unsafe,
Heather
December 20th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Holy cow. What an ordeal! I can’t say enough about how bad these safes are. Sentry customer service was pleasant, but not at all helpful in resolving the poor manufacturing. These guys are crooks! I got the 5 beep Error and the safe kept saying ERR. After replacing the batteries, key code, and beating the hell out of my safe with a rubber mallet, I ended up renting a reciprocal saw from Home Depot to break this thing open. And by the way, it can be MESSY! So word to the wise, if you can’t get this thing open, try breaking into it outside! Getting into this safe took me over an hour, but saved me over $200 in hiring a lock smith to do it. I can’t believe there hasn’t been a recall on this product. And contacting the BBB doesn’t do much either. I sent them this forum and they were surprised. If you haven’t bought anything from Sentry, DON’T DO IT. Save yourself the time, money, and headache.
November 28th, 2009 at 5:43 am
Thanks for all the input. I was about to buy 4 safes from Sentry for Xmas gifts. I don’t want to also have to buy rubber mallets, screwdrivers and lub. Any suggestions on a good safe.
October 31st, 2009 at 5:11 am
We have the exact same model as in the picture, and same problem as everyone else…good code, good key, good batteries…not opening.
Read the comments…very helpful and albeit funny since I am reading out loud to my husband as he is beating the hell out of our safe.
Started hitting the safe with the rubber end of a screwdriver and it didn’t work, tried the hammer and a block of wood and it didn’t work, we turned it on its back and beat it with the hammer EVERYWHERE (above the keypad, below the keypad!!)Punched in the code and then just started reefing on the handle and POP it opened while I was reading #38 out loud to my husband.
The bolts of our safe do NOT move at all anymore…piece of junk!! We are getting a new safe, anyone hear of a good one?
October 28th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Same problem, CSW3813, 2 years old. Had 4 hours to get old vehicle title out to trade for new vehicle.
2 hours later, alot of cussing, and two brand new sets of batteries (Duracell & Energizer) I finally managed to get safe open by holding the handle in the furthest lock position and the key in the furthest unlock position!
I emailed Sentry and 2 days later got the rubber mallet solution and offer for $50 solenoid replacement.
I haven’t closed the safe back yet for fear of it not opening again, but with the door open and bolts in the lock position I did try the mallet once and it did work.
Although at this point I’m afraid to lock it at all and will be looking into a better replacement with a key override and no electronic keypad lock!
I had never had problems with Sentry before (I have a locking fireproof file cabinet that’s been flawless as well as small fireproof security boxes), however after this headache, I’m either buying only the Sentry fireproof file cabinets or a different name brand of safe.
October 28th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
used the rubber mallet on my A5889, it opened. after removing the inside panel i found everything
still working, nothing was broken, nothing missing. after looking at how everything worked i had found that there was dirt in all of the locking holes, not allowing the locking pins to fully open when the door was shut. but worked fine when door was open. cleaned out all locking holes and lightly greased all the pins. works great! easy fix for some!
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Same thing, same directions. They told me i have to have a locksmith come out and drill out my safe. That’s ~200$ just to open my !@#$ safe. AND it sounds like a lot of people are having problems like this. Time for consumerist.com….
September 27th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
well after trying the rubber mallet thing my safe still will not lock i open it AND THE DOOR FELL OFF THATS RIGHT THE DOOR OF THE SAFE FELL OFF the weld that holds the door on popped out and the door fell off this is a horribly made product and i don’t suggest to anyone to buy it. All i tried to do was get my 300 dollar safe to lock and in the process my door fell off what kind of safe lets the door fall off if you’re trying to keep your important items safe don’t buy this
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:11 am
Thanks for all the advise…. Well, my story is a little different. The safe would not open despite all the above mentioned advise. Since I had an international business trip the following day, and my passport was in the safe, I needed to take matters into my own hands… With a small crow bar, I was able to pry the safe open in about 10 minutes. What a piece of junk…. Not only should Sentry be ashamed of themselves for terrible customer support, they should be ashamed of themselves for selling such a poor product…. SHAME ON YOU SENTRY!!!