Safe Dial vs Keypad: Which Safe Lock Fits You

The short answer

Safe dial vs keypad comes down to speed against simplicity. A mechanical dial needs no battery and has few parts that can fail, but it is slow to open and its combination is harder to change. An electronic keypad opens in a few seconds, lets you change the code yourself, and can hold several user codes, but it runs on a battery and has electronics that can fail. For a safe opened many times a day, a keypad usually suits better. For a safe opened rarely, or kept where a dead battery would be a problem, a dial suits better. In Milwaukee a combination change starts at $79 and a safe lock replacement at $199.

How a dial lock works

Behind the dial sits a stack of wheels, usually three, each with a notch called a gate. Turning the dial left and right in the right sequence lines up the gates, and a lever drops into them so the bolt can move. A typical combination has three numbers from 0 to 99. A dial lock tested to the UL 768 standard must allow at least 1,000,000 different combinations.

Dialing takes practice. The dial has to pass each number the right number of times, in the right direction, and stop exactly on the mark. A misdial means starting over. A misdial, or a dial nudged past the last number, is a common reason a dial safe will not open.

How a keypad lock works

A keypad lock has a keypad on the outside and a lock body inside the door, with a small motor or solenoid that frees the bolt when the right code is entered. Most run on a 9-volt battery or AA batteries, and on many models the battery sits behind the keypad on the outside, so it can be changed with the door shut. After several wrong codes in a row, many keypad locks stop accepting codes for several minutes, which slows anyone guessing.

The code is set from the keypad with the current code, so changing it takes seconds and needs no locksmith. Many business keypad locks also offer user codes for several people, a time delay that makes the safe wait before it opens, and dual control that needs two codes from two people.

What the UL ratings mean

UL, the safety testing company, rates safe locks under two standards.

UL 768 covers mechanical combination locks. Group 2 is the basic rating found on most home and gun safes. Group 2M adds two hours of resistance to expert manipulation. Group 1 resists expert manipulation for 20 hours of work and is used on high-security commercial safes. Group 1R adds resistance to X-ray viewing of the wheels.

UL 2058 covers electronic locks. A Type 1 rating is the high-security level for electronic safe locks, and UL does not give Type 1 to a lock with a key override, so a Type 1 keypad has no backup key by design. Many keypads sold on home safes are not UL-rated at all, or use a key backup that keeps them out of the Type 1 rating.

When you compare safes, look for the rating of the lock itself as well as the rating of the safe.

What fails on each

A dial lock wears slowly. After many years, the wheels or the lever can wear, or the dial can loosen on its spindle, and the safe becomes hard to open even with the right numbers. A dropped safe or a hard blow can knock the wheels out of position. These are repairs for a locksmith.

A keypad lock fails in more ways, but most of them are simple. A dead or weak battery is the most common. A cable between the keypad and the lock can loosen or break, the keypad can wear out, and the lock's motor or solenoid can stick. Leaving the old battery in place for years can let it leak onto the contacts. Changing the battery once a year avoids most of these.

Changing the combination or the code

On a keypad, you change the code yourself from the keypad, following the lock maker's steps. On most dial locks, the combination is changed through the back of the lock with the door open, using a change key and the current combination. A wrong new combination set with the door shut means a lockout, so every new combination should be dialed several times with the door open before anyone closes it. We change dial combinations and reset keypad codes on site. Our page on safe combination changes explains the visit.

Switching from a dial to a keypad

Many safes can switch from one kind of lock to the other. Many safe locks share a common mounting pattern, so a dial lock can often be swapped for a keypad lock, or the other way, without new holes in the door. Some safes use a lock made only for that brand, and those need a matching part. We look at the lock and the door before we quote the swap.

Some locks combine both: a dial that also has a keypad, so the safe opens with the dial or with a code. They cost more than either lock alone.

Locked out of a safe

If the combination is lost or the lock has failed, a locksmith can open the safe. Many safes can be opened without drilling, by manipulation or by working on the lock. When drilling is needed, the hole is placed so the safe can be repaired afterward. Our page on safe opening explains how we choose the method.