Schlage SecureKey breakdown

[Rickers08]

I would like to suggest you always give the reset key to the customer. Just put it in an envelope and mark it as 'use for reset only'. Both online and at OSH one can buy a reset 'kit' consisting of a new reset key and two new matching keys. If you keep the original reset key you defeat the whole purpose of the lock, which is to let the owner rekey the lock themselves. When they have to buy a new lock to re-key they will be pretty unhappy with you once they realize what you've done.
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I've been able to pick the lock repeatedly but after awhile some of the little parts inside get stuck out of place and you can't insert a key without taking the lock apart and getting everything back in place.
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The easiest way to pick the lock is to make a bump key out of a reset key, bump the lock into the 11:00 o'clock position then reset the lock with a new or different reset key (or use the original). Don't return the lock to the original position without using a reset key. I've done this easily over 50 times on my practice locks in under a minute.

[yono]

thanks Tballard, for these photos, i need these infos for my referrence. and thanks Rickers08 for placing it in front of my eyes. regards.

[chiefding]

Having been out of the retail world for quite a while and now being an institutional locksmith, I ran into the securkey product recently. I purchased two F series levers to install for a friend and found these cylinders to be unacceptable and cheap. Their claim that there are 10 times the available codes is misleading as well. Schlage has always had 10 depths and that has not changed. I returned the locks to Lowes and contacted Schlage about the inferior product. The tech support person told me that securekey has been discontinued and will be gone from production by the end of the year. I would have been ashamed to install one of these locks and never intend to. This is just one more thing to remember when working on residential Schlage, "Do you have any of the junk locks with the plus sign above the keyhole?" We should all place these locks right next to the B300 series deadbolts with the "half" bolt design. Shame on Schlage for these poor products. I am embarassed for Schlage for this residential junk. This puts them on the same page as the imported disposable locks from Pakistan and China. Locksmiths should all push for quality from a quality company and stand on that. It is too bad that I cannot recommend "Big chain store Schlage" to any customers.

[shadow11612]

These are some really poor locks. I have a couple to play with and I guess I will hold on to them for souvenirs, as Schlage will not be selling them anymore after losing the lawsuit brought by Kwikset.

[globallockytoo]

@Rickers08

The blue key is unnecessary unless you want to make rekeying easier. A locksmith should'nt need it as FarmerFreak has shown.

To rekey, you can turn the regular key to the rekey position, use a pick to depress the rekey pin, withdraw key, insert new key to key it to, depress pin again and hold it while you turn the key back.

[wa1ker00]

The real problem with these is when you go out on an opening where the customer has lost their keys and you have no working keys at all. There is no effective means of recovery to get the lock functioning again (at least not one that is time/cost effective).

[FarmerFreak]

To rekey, you can turn the regular key to the rekey position, use a pick to depress the rekey pin, withdraw key, insert new key to key it to, depress pin again and hold it while you turn the key back.

By regular key you must really mean to say "regular, but thinned down key." With regular thickness keys you'll never get the lock rekeyed.

The real problem with these is when you go out on an opening where the customer has lost their keys and you have no working keys at all. There is no effective means of recovery to get the lock functioning again (at least not one that is time/cost effective).

I'm not going to say that these locks are not a piece of junk and that they shouldn't be replaced. But if the goal is to make an existing key. That's actually not a difficult task, unless the key needs to work other locks. Since these locks will key up +=-1 depth. Anyway, I've got a tool (which is detailed in the advanced section, sorry) that allows me to decode the cuts without even taking the lock apart or off the door, which means I can do that when a customer is locked out.

[stratmando]

Familiar with throwing into a zip lock, I dissessembled and reassembeled a Smart Key Cylinder without the cradle, Was thinking it may be near impossible and I rarely say that, but seemed like the trick/solution was to remove the green cap and insert the pins, springs then the cover.
I will try it again knowing it can be done without removing the cover, a Contractor said they contacted the Factory and said it CAN't be reset in the Field, only at their Factory?
Their is a guy in North Carolina that makes a Comb pick, that pushes all wafers down together, and includes a Blue cut to all 9's and an SC1 uncut to reset without total dissembly. Video is on Youtube, he sells the "9" blue Key, the uncut SC1 and the comb pick for 30 including shipping. since I have a comb and an uncut SC1, I just need to modify a blue key, and rater than cutting down to all 9's, I was just going to cut most of the key off, add a point for easy insertion, and be sure to leave the slider part of the key.


[quote="tballard"][quote="dougfarre"]
- How hard was it to reassemble?
[/quote]
Good question. The first time I reassembled it, it wasn't too bad. Last night, I spent 20 minutes swearing before putting it in a ziplock baggie to fix "later". The hard part about it is getting the tiny little tumbler springs into their oversized chambers, placing the tumbler caps on, and then dropping that whole assembly onto the plug without one or more of the tumblers becoming misaligned.

[quote="dougfarre"]
- What would happen to the functionality of the lock if the springs turn supple and non-responsive?
[/quote]
Functionally, I think it would continue to work just fine so long as gravity and vibration could be depended on to drop the sliders back down if they are raised beyond their proper level. I have some vague attacks in mind which involve compromising the springs, but nothing concrete. (And they might be considered advanced too...)

[quote="dougfarre"]
- When compared to your regular F series, how would you rate this lock to DE attacks?
[/quote]
With the disclaimer that I have very little real DE experience, and without getting into too many DE details, I would suspect this lock would be more susceptible to DE for the same reasons a KwikSet SmartKey is more susceptible than a normal KwikSet. On a regular pin-tumbler lock you kinda have to know where to drill, or you have to drill a LOT. On these locks, there a certainly better places to drill than others, but there are enough important small parts that I think a decent hole in it anywhere would be enough to compromise the plug.

Squelchtone has reported that he has possibly seen anti-drill plates in the deadbolt model, which would be game-changer. I don't have those in mine, which came from a keyed knob. I will also point out that at $24 bucks, this is about the cheapest Schlage you can find in a hardware store, so it might not have all the bells and whistles. (I really wanted the deadbolt because the bolt itself is a ANSI grade 1 supposedly)

[quote="dougfarre"]
- Why does the re-key key have the same cuts as the regular key? Does the lock have a static shear line reserved online for the re-key key? (what am I missing here?)
[/quote]
There are no shear lines. The "locking" function is purely a product of the sidebar on the left side of the lock (looking at the face) being able to push in due the the sliders being aligned. The "rekey" function is activated by rotating the plug to 11 o'clock, which requires the primary sidebar entering the plug, which requires the sliders at the correct height, which requires a properly bitted key. One the plug is at 11 o'clock, the grayish-green part of the plug which contains the springs and tumblers (top right quarter of the plug from the face basically) is going to try to expand outward into the shell due to some springs in the plug making it act like a "reverse sidebar" With a normal key, this expansion is prevented because there is a little "catch" mechanism. The "reset" key trips this catch with the extra protrusion is has.

[quote="dougfarre"]
- If you pick the lock can you then re-key it without the re-key key?
[/quote]
So far [i]I[/i] can't pick the lock at all. (though I haven't tried overly hard). But FarmerFreak has, so it must be my tools at fault, right? If you have picked the lock, you could easily push the little catch to allow the plug to expand at 11 o'clock, but you would (I think) need a narrower bladed key to rekey. I'm not 100% sure, but I think the plug segment which moves tilts, more than expands, and that causes the top of the keyway to narrow, thus requiring a narrower bladed key to rekey. I can tell you that a normal key does not fit when the rekey function is engaged.[/quote]

[krystal6481]

I was curious, and now know I'm out of my depth.. but I thank you all for sharing and giving me an idea on the security of this one for my front door..

[dll932]

Yet another "U-Jammit." Schlage took them off the market, thank God. I read they were prone to failure in use and impossible to pick (Locksmith Ledger).