Stack On Safe Keypad Glitch Fix

Equipment and Accessories
1

I’ve got a Stack On safe with an electronic keypad very similar to this:

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Went to open it a couple of days ago and couldn’t - the keypad wasn’t accepting my code. I noticed that the yellow LED was only illuminating for a subset of the sequence of key presses needed to enter the code. Normally the yellow LED flashes with each key press.

I figured the battery must be close to dead after >5 years of service so I installed a new battery and…no change. WTH!?

I was about to get the backup physical keys but decided to research first. After a ton of searching came across this technique for “rebooting” the keypad switch. I have no idea why this works, or why it is necessary, but it resolved the problem immediately and allowed me to open the safe again.

Sharing here in case anyone else ever experiences this. Thankfully I don’t use this safe for my “quick access HD” firearms and now I never will.

1 - Remove the keypad from the safe body by depressing the plastic locking tab on the bottom of the keypad and rotating the keypad counter-clockwise

2 - Remove the battery(ies) from the keypad.

3 - Starting with the upper left corner key (number 1), press every key twice, going in order left-to-right and then continuing to the next row down. So press the keys in this order:

1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 3 - 4 - 4 - 5 - 5 - 6 - 6 - 7 - 7 - 8 - 8 - 9 - 9 - * - * - 0 - 0 - # - #

4 - Let the keypad sit, battery still out, for at least 2 minutes

5 - Re-install battery and re-mount keypad to the safe door. It should now work with same code previously programmed.

2

Thanks for the info.

I subscribe to this guy …

1 Like
3

After some more reading on youtube comments it looks like it’s a very common problem with Stack On keypads that they get “stuck” in a mode where they won’t register all key presses.

Apparently the keypress sequence order above isn’t really that important - what is important is that the battery is removed and that you deplete any residual charge remaining in a capacitor in the keypad electronics by pressing a bunch of keys and then letting it sit without a battery/unpowered. That apparently “reboots” it so it goes back to registering keys correctly when you reinstall the battery(ies).

4

Thanks for posting that. I’ve not yet had such a problem with mine, but had never heard of the fix, either. Good to know.

5

Yeah, it’s crazy. No problems in >5 years, and then suddenly I can’t open the safe with the keypad.

Also FYI, these are apparently cheap to replace if needed. I’m seeing new replacements going for $50ish on Amazon and $25-$30ish on ebay.

6

I may need this one day, thanks heads up

7

Situations like this is why I’ve stayed with mechanical key only safes. No batteries or electronics required.

1 Like
8

I have a Winchester safe from Tractor Supply, my key pad from what the wife said, started beeping and then just stopped while she was sitting in the room. No activity on the key pad, new battery, nothing, second new battery nothing, checked connections, reseating them, still nothing.

Going to give this a try, have nothing to loose, I’m down to the backup key when I need to enter.