How to Unlock a Door Without a Key

Sometimes, a lock will get accidentally jammed, or the key may have broken inside the lock. This can be an emergency, and action must be taken as quickly as possible before anyone (such as a child) gets locked out. An individual loses a valuable item or something of monetary value. Things like this happen daily, and it is crucial to remain calm and take action accordingly. Diego's Locksmith offers an emergency lockout service, but if you'd like to try some steps before contacting the professionals, here are some tips.

Pick the Lock

Picking the lock is the most common way to unlock a door without a key. When you pick a lock, you use a small set of tools to manipulate tumblers inside the lock to align properly with the keyhole. This allows you to turn the knob or lever on your door, which opens it.

Is It Hard to Pick the Lock?

Not all locks can be picked. Most residential deadbolts use cylindrical locks that are easy to manipulate, but more secure ones may require special tools or more skill. If your lock is too hard for you to pick yourself and there's no one else around to help, contact a professional locksmith immediately — don't try prying open windows or doors with crowbars or other improvised tools because this can cause damage that's difficult (and expensive) to repair later on.

Do You Need Special Lock Picks?

You don't need special lock picks to pick a lock; all you need is some patience and determination! However, if you want to do it right, you can purchase several kinds of picks.

Lock Bumping

Lock bumping is a practice that involves using a specially designed tool to open a lock without the need for a key. The process involves inserting and turning the key so that the pins inside the lock bump against each other and align appropriately with the shear line. This allows you to open any pin tumbler lock without knowing how they work or what kind of key goes in them!

Is a Bump Lock a Skeleton Key?

A bump key is not a skeleton key. The basic premise behind bumping is that you insert your key into the cylinder as normal (but don't turn it) and then strike your key with another object - usually something hard like a hammer or screwdriver - which causes the pins inside of the cylinder to jiggle around and fall into place, allowing you to turn the cylinder freely in either direction.

Credit Card

Using a credit card to unlock a door is one of the most popular ways to open an entryway when you don't have keys. This method works because it's relatively thin and flexible, making it easy to slide between the door and frame. If you have any plastic card in your wallet, whether a credit card or debit card, give it a try!

How Can You Tell If a Credit Card Can Open The Door?

Credit cards will likely not work on a deadbolt or high-security locks. But it works well on knobs or lever handle locks.

Will It Damage the Card?

If you want to be prepared for such an emergency, carry an expired credit card in your wallet for just this problem. Unlocking your door with a credit card will likely damage your card, and keeping an expired card in your wallet allows you not to order a replacement card.

Drill The Lock

Drilling into a lock is not as easy as it sounds and will require some experience with power tools. You will also need a drill bit specifically made for drilling into locks. This type of bit is very thin and has a flat end so that it can push against the pins inside the lock mechanism and turn them back into their original positions. The problem with this method is that once you have drilled into the lock, there is no guarantee that you will be able to push back all of the pins once to open your door. Most people need to drill several times before having enough room inside their lock to turn back all of their pins and open their door again!

Can Any Lock Be Drilled?

Yes! You can drill any lock as long as it's not too old. If it's an old-fashioned pin tumbler lock, you'll have to replace it after drilling. If it's a modern cylinder lock, then you can use this method and replace the cylinder at a later date if necessary.

Will the Lock Need to Be Replaced Afterward?

Not necessarily — this depends on how much damage has been done. If you're drilling into the lock with no other tools, there shouldn't be any lasting damage. If you're using something like a crowbar or screwdriver to force open the door, more damage could be done, which would require replacing the lock altogether.

Urgent Options

If you're in a situation where you need to break down a door immediately, it's best to call a professional. That said, if you really feel like doing it yourself, here are some tips:

Stand on something sturdy and use your leg to kick the center of the door. If it doesn't give way, try kicking at an angle.
Use a sledgehammer or another sturdy tool to hit the lock or latch. This will shatter them and allow you to open the door from within.
If you have time and want to avoid damaging your door frame by kicking it down, try removing one or both hinges from your entryway door.

Call a Diego's Locksmith

Locks can be complicated mechanisms with many different kinds of locks. Besides, when a door lock is not opened after multiple attempts, it gets harder to pick as time passes. To avoid such situations, one needs to know about the various methods to unlock doors without a key in case the need ever arises. A person who knows how to pick a lock can easily open any lock given a bit of time. For emergency assistance, contact Diego's Locksmith for our lockout service.

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