Gun Safe Won't Open

[BobFromBucks]

It’s been a couple of weeks since I went to open my Cannon safe with an electronic lock only to have it refuse to accept the combination. After a few times of trying it went into a five-minute timeout where it beeped every 5 seconds.

I tried a few things including a few tricks from the internet. None of them worked. What I did find out while searching the net is that Cannon electronic locks fail quite often, their customer service is terrible, and you might as well call a locksmith to come drill it. At least that’s what the hundreds of posts on the net said.
I can now attest to the fact they are all true! It took five days to get customer service to respond to calls and emails and another week of back and forth to get to their final solution. Meanwhile they wanted me to change batteries again and again. I had already done that along with a few other things that I had already tried.

The lady I’m dealing with was quite nice and seemed to genuinely want to help. She wanted the serial number which meant I had to move some things since the safe is recessed. I was successful in finding it without tearing apart too much as the safe is anchored to the concrete floor. She wanted the serial number so she could give me a secret reset code to reset the lock. She also said it might not work. She was correct.

Now, they are shipping me a new electronic lock since the lock has a lifetime guarantee. And, they want me to hire a locksmith and have him contact them so they can give him the secret drill points. They don’t pay for any locksmith services or parts that the smith may have to replace so the real expense of fixing their failed lock is on me.

Besides complaining about this here, I’m also looking for help. Do any of you know any locksmiths in my geographic area of central/upper Bucks County who may have experience with gun safe…particularly Cannons? From what I’ve read any locksmith who works on gun safes has probably run into this issue with Cannon safes. And, apparently, some say they can open them in five minutes without drilling. I’ve yet to find contact information for any of these posters who seem to want to stay anonymous (perhaps for good reason).

Thankfully, the zombies haven’t appeared in the last few weeks. And, I haven’t had need of both mine and my wife’s passports that are locked in there. I’ll be replacing the electronic lock with a dial if possible. Any help is appreciated.

[Walleye Hunter]

That bites, I have one of those. I wonder if there is a permanent solution that we can use ahead of time.

[Statkowski]

Had to call in a commercial locksmith to crack open a Government safe once. Wasn't my fault - it was discovered stuck away in the back of a warehouse and all the normal "this safe is empty" combinations didn't work. Dealing with classified, we had to find out if anything, or nothing, was in the safe.

The locksmith broke four diamond drill bits getting into that sucker (but I learned a lot about safe construction in the meantime). I'm sure the drill bits weren't cheap.

[gnbrotz]

That bites, I have one of those. I wonder if there is a permanent solution that we can use ahead of time.

Sure is. Sell the safe. If you must buy another Cannon, get one with a mechanical lock. I've been very happy with my Liberty safe, but still opted for the "old fashioned" lock.

[Justin///M]

I offer this as a solution.


http://forum.pafoa.org/showthread.php?t=287753

[GOYABEAN]

I'm sure you tried

[Walleye Hunter]

I offer this as a solution.


http://forum.pafoa.org/showthread.php?t=287753

After going through a few pages with Securam I hit a dead end where I need an account and log on, where did you buy the lock?

[cdi]

Hey Bob!

I can bring my oxy/acetylene rig over and have it open in a jiffy...
On another note, if you need it I have a loaner for you to defend home and hearth.
If you want to get rid of it, my neighbor has a large fireproof safe for sale at a bargain price.
Let me know if you're interested, we can likely move it to your house. I don't remember what brand it is but it's a national house brand.

[Justin///M]

After going through a few pages with Securam I hit a dead end where I need an account and log on, where did you buy the lock?

On the products page you have to hit "buy online". It appears the version that I have is currently sold out.

https://safelocksdirect.com/collections/2-xtreme

[Walleye Hunter]

On the products page you have to hit "buy online". It appears the version that I have is currently sold out.

https://safelocksdirect.com/collections/2-xtreme

You were't exaggerating when you said they're expensive. I guess I need to pop my cover to insure that the bolt goes the right way.