How to Reprogram a Sentry Safe

Heirloom family photos, passports, property deeds, and any other item you definitely wouldn't want to burn up, wash away, or be stolen are protected in your SentrySafe safe. The safe manufacturing company uses concrete-based insulation to protect against fire and a water-tight seal to preserve your most valuable items in the event of a flood or leak. If you need to reprogram your safe to regain access to your important documents, there are a couple of different ways to do so.

SentrySafe is prolific in making safes designed for specific items or to safeguard against specific types of damage. There are fire safes, pistol safes, document safes, and dozens of others. Your first task to reprogram your safe is to figure out your type of safe, its model number, and its serial number.

Don't worry — you won't have to recall these details about your safe from memory. You can use the images on the SentrySafe website to find the match for your safe. Once you know the type of safe you have, locate where the serial and model numbers will be by looking at the red-dot identifier on the same webpage.

Finally, with your model number, you can look up the specific owner's manual for your safe.

The SentrySafe fire safes have three codes associated with the electronic lock and keypad. The first is the factory code. This five-digit code is located on the back of your manual. It can never be deleted or changed and will always open your safe, so keep the manual and this code in a secure place.

The second code is a user code. This is your choice of five digits and can be removed or altered if you so choose. The final code is the secondary code. A secondary code is a five-digit sequence that can only be programmed if a user code has already been established.

To reprogram a user code, press the "P" key. Then, input the factory code. At this point, the light should flash green, and you can input your five-digit user code. Don't dilly dally because you only have five seconds to enter the user code.

Unlike the fire safe, the depository safe master code can and should be changed from the factory code setting. Before you begin, make sure that your safe's door remains open when you reprogram the master code.

First, enter the pound sign (#) followed by the factory master code and select "#" again. A steady orange light should emit for 10 seconds. Press the numeral "1" and then "#." Enter your new master code followed by "#." Press the new master code sequence again and press "#" again. The orange light should now disappear, and your new code is ready to be tested.

To illustrate an example, suppose your factory code was 12345 and you want your new code to be 98765. Follow this process:

1. Enter #12345#
2. The orange light turns on for 10 seconds.
3. Enter 1#98765#98765#
4. The orange light turns off.

If you lose a key or combination to your safe or if you are having trouble getting the safe open with the proper combination, SentrySafe customer service is available to help.

Submit a lost key or combination replacement form on the company's website. You can also call the SentrySafe customer care line at 1-800-828-1438 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.