Resetting Your Coded Keypad On Your Front Door: How The Locksmith Does It

If you had a locksmith install a coded keypad, and despite your best efforts to keep the code a secret there are now too many people who know it, it may be time to reset the code. Fortunately, the same locksmith that installed this particular lock for you can change the code and prevent too many people from entering your front door whenever they like. Here is how the locksmith does it, and if you pay close attention, you may be able to adjust to code yourself in the future (if you need to change it yet again).

Unscrewing the Screws That Hold the Lock in Place

Regardless of the type or style of coded keypad lock you have, there will be at least one or two screws holding the lock in place. Your locksmith will locate these two screws, unscrew them, and carefully pull the front and back panels of the lock apart. Then he or she will look for any other screws that need to be taken out before continuing on to the next step (e.g., a screw that places a protective panel over the top of the cylinders in the front part of the lock).

Switching the Tumblers to Switch the Code

Inside many coded keypad locks there are removable tumblers. These tumblers tend to resemble flat little plates or rounded pistons.  To change the code on your door lock, the locksmith removes the tumblers from the current code numbers and letters and places these removable tumblers into other available slots in other numbers and/or letters in the keypad. Then the locksmith tightens up the protective plate (or plates) that keep the tumblers in place.

Testing the Door Lock

Before reinstalling the door lock, the locksmith will put both parts of the lock (front and back) back into position in the door. Next, he or she will install just one of the screws that holds the lock parts in place. Then he/she will test the new code to make sure the door can be unlocked and opened using the new code. If it works, the locksmith screws in the rest of the screws that hold the lock parts together and keep the lock securely in place on the door. If the code does not work, the locksmith will remove the one screw, take the face plate(s) off the back of the keypad and figure out why the code does not work. Additional adjustments and tweaking may be needed before the locksmith gets the tumblers in their new positions to work. If you ever intend to change the code yourself, be sure to pay close attention to what the locksmith is doing and how he/she is doing it.

For a locksmith, contact a company such as Gene's Lock & Key.