Home generalLocked out? Door open without key - DIY tips

Locked out? Door open without key - DIY tips

open door

  • Different scenarios
  • The classic: door open with plastic card
    • Notes on the plastic card method
  • The alternative: wire knows advice

"Oh no, not even that!" This statement can often be heard when you find yourself locked out of your own home or house. Depending on what kind of Ausgesperrseins it is, you can open the door with special tricks - or must fall back on the paid help of a locksmith. We provide you with all the essential information and practical DIY instructions for the key (service) free opening of your apartment or front door!

Different scenarios

Essentially, there are two ways to be locked out:

Scenario A)
You leave the apartment or the house and close the door normally with the key. Then you finish your plans, return and notice the absence of the key. Presumably he has been forgotten somewhere or lost.

Scenario B)
You leave the apartment or the house and close the door. While standing in front of the just closed door, you realize you have stuck or left the key inside.

What to do ">

The classic: door open with plastic card

Step 1 - Select plastic card

Grab a large and flexible plastic card in your wallet or purse. Although credit and debit cards are repeatedly cited as suitable tools. In principle, there is nothing wrong with it - after all, the cards generally fulfill the requirements. However, you should bear in mind that the card used can be damaged in the following action and thus become unusable. For this reason, it is recommended to use an old, expired credit or debit card. Alternatively, take another, not quite as significant plastic card for your door opening attempt.

Tip: The card you choose should be large, laminated, and pliable, yet with enough stability to push a metal closer out of the way.

Step 2 - Slide the plastic card between the door and the frame

Now is the time to go to work. Slide the plastic card into the vertical slot between the house or front door and the frame - of course on the side where the lock (the lock mechanism) is located. Make sure to place the card as far as possible between the door and the frame at a vertical angle - and relatively high up, a piece above the latch, which is usually slightly above the door handle.

Step 3 - Tilt the plastic card and press down

Put your free hand on the door knob or the latch. Now hold the door knob or latch with one hand and the plastic card with the other. Tilt the latter towards the door knob or latch - powerful, but still careful, so as not to break the card. At the same time push down the plastic utensil. Thus, the card gradually comes into the position to push the bolt down.

Step 4 - Bend the plastic card in the other direction and open the door

As soon as you feel resistance, turn the plastic card in the other direction - towards the frame. As a result, the tool slides under the sloping end of the bolt and carries it back into the door. Then you should open your apartment or front door quickly.

Tip: If it does not work right away, there is no reason to despair. Wiggle the map a little until you find the "magic combination" and the door latch gives way. But always let it be true!

Special trick: Alternatively, you can cut a V-shaped cutout in the back of the card (the one that will crack the lock) and try to position it around the door latch so that it loosens. Of course you would need to have a pair of scissors or a knife for this purpose.

Notes on the plastic card method

Some doors are very easy to open by pushing the plastic card into the frame at about the height of the door handle, without having to bend the tool back and forth. Especially with simply designed doors that do not open up to the "locksmith" (ie to you), but in the other direction, this simple procedure often works.

However, there are also many doors where the described plastic card method does not work at all. For example, problems that open up to you are problematic. Even models that house locks locked or otherwise protected are among the unsolvable (using our method) cases. Separate, straight or bolt locks are further exclusion criteria for a successful door cracking by means of a plastic card.

If the door can not be opened using the step-by-step instructions, you can still install the following detail: Pull and press on the door knob or on the latch while pressing down the plastic card between the door and the frame. Note, however, that this advanced variant damages the card more.

If the card used is not flexible enough, you should look for an alternative right away. As we have said before, always be aware that the card can be damaged during your attempts. Work carefully so you do not ram the card through the door jamb and then jam it on the other side of the door.

Most importantly, your experiment of opening the closed door with a plastic card may take some time. It is quite possible that you may meet one or the other neighbor or visitor who might not know you and consider you a burglar. In this respect, you should be prepared to prove that you have the right to open this door or front door. Not that you find yourself at the end behind the really closed doors ...

The alternative: wire knows advice

The trick with the plastic card is not the only way to open the closed door without outside help. Another option is to use wire. Of course you do not have them around the clock. However, you could buy a corresponding product at a low-cost store and then try the following steps

Attention: The wire method works only if your door accommodates a mailbox slot or allows a small free space between itself and the floor!

Step 1 - Take a long enough piece of wire to hand. The required length should be approximately the distance from the doorknob or door handle to the mailbox slot or floor plus an additional 15 to 20 centimeters.

Step 2 - Make a small loop on one side of the piece of wire. This should fit around the doorknob or latch.

Step 3 - Then bend the wire into an L. Hold the tool with the loop on the doorknob or latch and put the kink in the wire at the bottom of the door.

Step 4 - Slide the wire under the door or through the mailbox slot. Try to get the loop up to the knob or latch. Done ">

Note: It can be accomplished quickly, but it may take a long time for the loop to wrap around the knob or latch. In any case, this method requires a lot of feeling and a good knack!

Tips for quick readers:

  • Classic - Open the door with a large, flexible and sturdy plastic card
    • Push plastic card between door and frame
    • Turn the map back and forth and press down
  • Alternative: open the door with a long wire
    • Bring wire in L-shape and loop it
    • Lead through letterbox or bottom slot
    • Loop over knob or latch and pull
  • Methods only work when the door is closed
  • via the key locked door pick up replacement key
  • or in case of emergency: call locksmith
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