Have you ever been in a garage and thought, “I wonder how to unlock my garage door without a key?” If so, you’re not alone. Garage doors are probably one of the most common things for homeowners to lose keys for. That’s why you need to learn how to pick a garage door lock to gain access through its opening whenever needed.
Read on and discover two simple ways that could work easily before calling professional help.
How to Pick a Garage Door Lock Using a Bobby Pin?
Using a bobby pin is a very simple and easy trick. It will help you pick a lock without using any tools or keys. You can do this even if you are by yourself by following these steps.
1. Locate the tension wrench and the bobby pin.
The first step to picking a garage door lock is locating the tension wrench and the bobby pin. Look for a small screw that is attached to the bottom of your garage door. This screw will be located in the center of the bottom of your door.
2. Straighten the bobby pin and insert it
Grab a bobby pin and straighten it out by pushing it through one end until it’s long enough to reach through your garage door. If you don’t have a bobby pin, use any small piece of wire that can at least reach inside your garage door.
3. Turn the bobby pin
Place the tension wrench over the top of your bobby pin and turn it clockwise until it’s tight on top. The tension wrench should hold up against it without falling off, but if not, continue turning until it does hold up. Now that you have found your tension wrench and bobby pin, place them into the hole and turn them clockwise or anticlockwise until the door lock opens.
How to Pick a Garage Door Lock Using a Paper Clip
Here’s how to pick a garage door lock using a paperclip:
1. Straighten it out
This step is more important than you think. Try to get your paper clip as straight as possible because if not, it will be difficult for you to insert the wire inside and twist it around. Also, ensure that the paper clip is long enough so that when you straighten it out, there are no gaps between its parts.
2. Find the hole in the lock
The second step is finding the hole in your garage door lock. There are two different types of holes on most garage door locks:
- Round hole
- Square hole
If you see any square holes on your lock, use a small screwdriver to pry them open so your eyes can see them gently.
3. Put the paper clip in the hole
This step may be more difficult than it sounds, but if you’re patient and take your time, you’ll eventually get it right. Slide the inside latched bolt back so that it releases from its latch. Then slide it forward again until you hear three distinct clicks that signify that your lock has been picked.
Tips on How Make Garage Door Lock Picking Easier
Unlocking a garage lock with a paper clip or bobby pin is not an easy job, especially when you are a newbie.
We have also explained it to you previously in another article, in which we taught you how to open a locker easily: patience and staying calm are key elements for the success of this task.
However, these tips will help make it more manageable:
Be Patient and Don’t Force the Lock
Make sure you don’t do anything too fast or make sudden movements. If your door will not open after several tries, then try again with more patience and slowly try to leave your key in the lock as you open it. This will help you get past the gap between the door and the frame of your garage door.
Use Minimum Pressure
Don’t apply too much pressure on the paperclip when trying to unlock your garage door. You should only use enough pressure to get the paper clip or bobby pin into the hole so it can slide in easily. If too much force is used, the paper clip can break.
The next step you will need to undertake is to learn how to lock garage door without a key, or else find the key and lock it.
FAQs
How to open a garage door without power?
If your garage door is not moving, try pressing and releasing the opener’s handle. This should release the tension on the spring and allow you to lift up on the door. If this doesn’t work, try pressing down on the latch to release it before pushing down on the opener’s handle again. You may also need to lift up on the door itself to get it to move.
You can also try opening from outside by hand first before calling an electrician if possible but do not use tools such as screwdrivers, hammers, or pry bars. This could damage your door opener or cause it to jam again, so please don’t do this unless necessary.
How to open a garage door with a broken spring?
If you have found that your garage door opener has stopped working, then check whether its springs are broken or not. There are many different types of springs used in garage doors, and each type has its own limitations on how much force they can withstand before breaking down or failing altogether.
If you find that one of your springs has snapped completely while opening or closing your garage door, then it is likely that another one has already snapped and failed completely at some point in time.
How to lock the garage door from inside?
You can lock the garage door from inside using a remote control. To lock the garage door from inside, press the button on your garage door opener or remote, then press and hold the button for 3 seconds.
Press and hold all the buttons until your garage door opens if you have a keypad with an outside receiver.
Now push close your remote control, so it’s in a closed position, and wait for 5 seconds. The lights on your keypad should stay lit after you push close. If they don’t, press the flashlight button on your remote control to illuminate the keypad.
Conclusions
If you find yourself in this unpleasant situation, the final advice we can give you is to stay calm and not get anxious.
To be able to open a garage lock it is not necessary to have obtained an MBA, with a little practice and familiarity it is possible to succeed, following the tips and tricks that we explain in this article.
Finally, should you fail to open your garage door rather than do something irreparable, remember that you can always call your local locksmith to fix the problem.