Kaba Mas X-10 Safe Lock: How to Open and Change Combination

Safe lock help · Kaba Mas

Safe lock troubleshooting › Kaba Mas › X-10 (dial-powered, GSA)

The Kaba Mas X-10 is a GSA-approved (Type 1F) high-security electronic lock. It has no battery: you power it by spinning the dial, and a small display guides you. This guide covers how to power and open it, how to relock, how to change the combination, and what the display symbols mean.

• How to open
• No battery
• Change the code
• Display messages
• Lockout
• How to relock
• Troubleshooting
• Manuals

Want the whole manual? Jump to the manufacturer download links.

Is this your lock?

• The Kaba Mas X-07, X-08, X-09 and X-10 are the locks used on government (GSA) security containers. Most commercial safes use the Auditcon, LA GARD or Axessor locks instead.
• A dial with a small LCD display and no keypad. You turn the dial to generate power and dial the combination as numbers appear on the display.
• The display is hard to read from the side on purpose, so look straight at it.
• The combination is three numbers. The lock works in single (one combination), dual (two combinations) or supervisory/subordinate mode.
• The X-10 works almost like the X-09. If your lock has the X-10 name on the dial or the lock case, use this guide.

How to power it and open it

Dial with full wrist turns. Dialing too fast, or less than 10 seconds for the whole combination, shows a lightning bolt. Dial left (counter-clockwise, CCW) and right (clockwise, CW) exactly as shown.

1. Power the lock. Dial left until numbers appear on the display. It usually takes 5 to 10 turns. The lock is powered as soon as a number, letter or symbol shows.
2. Keep dialing left to the first number of your combination. Stop on it and pause briefly.
3. Dial right to the second number. Stop and pause briefly.
4. Dial left to the third number. Stop and pause briefly.
5. Dial right. When OP with a right arrow appears, keep dialing right to retract the bolt.
6. Open the safe handle and the door.

Dual combination mode (two people)

1. The first operator powers the lock and dials the first combination (left, right, left), then dials right until C2 appears.
2. The second operator then dials the second combination (left, right, left). Either combination can go first, but the second must be started within 40 seconds.
3. Dial right. When OP appears, keep going right to retract the bolt.

Supervisory / subordinate mode

1. The supervisor dials the supervisory combination and then right until UL (Unlocked) shows. Now the subordinate combination alone opens the lock.
2. The subordinate powers the lock, dials the subordinate combination, then right to OP and on to retract the bolt.
3. To block the subordinate again, the supervisor dials the supervisory combination again and the display shows LU (Locked Up).

• Left dials count up; right dials count down. The lock registers a number when you stop on it and reverse direction.
• If the dial stops moving for more than 40 seconds, the display goes blank and you must dial the whole combination again.
• If you pass your target number by 4 or more, keep dialing around until you reach it again. If you pass it by 3 or less, you can do the same, or reverse direction slowly: the display jumps back 4 numbers, then dial slowly in the original direction to the number.
• If the display goes blank before the bolt retracts, or a lightning bolt appears, dial the entire combination again.

No battery to change

There is no battery in an X-10. Spinning the dial generates the power, and the lock is powered when anything appears on the display. If the display never lights up, keep dialing left with steady, full turns (5 to 10 turns). If it still does not respond, call us.

How to change the combination

These steps set a single three-number combination (Single Combination Mode). Dual and supervisory/subordinate mode set up the same way with more prompts: see the manual below. If you make any mistake or do not finish, the lock keeps the old combination.

1. Open the lock with the current combination and retract the bolt. Release the container locking bolts if needed, and open the safe. Remove the dust cover to reach the change key holes on the back of the lock.
2. Insert the Change Key into the change key holes.
3. Dial left until the Change Key symbol appears in the upper right of the display. The lock never opens while that symbol is showing.
4. Dial your current combination as if you were opening the lock.
5. Dial right until SL (Select Mode) appears.
6. Dial left to 01 (Single Combination Mode). Stop on it and pause. Do not use the "back up" dialing method here.
7. Dial right until EC (Enter Combination) appears.
8. Dial your new combination: left to the first number, right to the second, left to the third.
9. Dial right briskly. The new combination is shown twice, two digits at a time, then PO (Pull Out Change Key) appears. If the numbers shown are wrong, pull the key out while the display is still flashing. When EC appears, insert the key again and dial the combination you want.
10. Pull out the Change Key. The key symbol disappears and CC (Confirm Combination) appears.
11. Dial the new combination once more to confirm it.
12. Dial right until OP appears and keep going to retract the bolt. The new combination is set.
13. Test the new combination several times before closing the door.

• If the door shuts with the Change Key still in the lock, call us.

What the display shows

The X-10 uses a display instead of beeps.

Wrong-combination lockout

After ten wrong combinations in a row, the X-10 starts a timed lockout of 3 minutes, and each further wrong attempt starts another one. At fifteen in a row the lockout is 4 minutes. The lockout only counts down while the lock is powered, so turn the dial about every 30 seconds to keep it powered until the time is up. The lightning bolt flashes during the lockout and stays solid when it is over. A successful opening resets the count.

How to close and relock

1. Close the safe door.
2. Turn the dial left at least one complete turn to extend the bolt, and wait 3 seconds.
3. Turn the dial right at least one complete turn to make sure it is locked.

• When the bolt is extended and the lock is closed, the dial should turn freely in both directions without catching or binding.

If it still won’t open

The display stays blank

Dial left with full, steady turns for 5 to 10 turns. The lock is powered once anything appears on the display.

I see a lightning bolt

That means a wrong combination, or one dialed too fast. Dial the whole combination again, with full smooth turns and a short pause on each number.

It will not open after several tries

Do not keep trying: wrong attempts add up toward a lockout. Call us.

The lock is stuck open and the dial will not turn right

Kaba Mas has a separate “forced relock” procedure for a lock stuck in the unlocked state. It is on the manufacturer’s sheet below and is best left to a technician: call us.

Download the full manufacturer instructions

More lock guides

• Kaba Mas X-09 (dial-powered)
• Kaba Mas X-08 (dial-powered, GSA)
• Kaba Mas X-07 and CEX-07 (dial-powered, GSA)
• ← All safe locks

About this guide. This is an independent guide from Steve’s Lock, Safe and Alarm, a safe and lock dealer. Brand and model names belong to their owners and are used only to help you identify your lock. We are not affiliated with the manufacturers. These steps summarize the manufacturers’ own instructions; your lock may be a different version, so if anything here does not match what your lock does, follow your manual or call us. Always change codes with the safe door open, and test the new code several times before you close the door.

Steps last checked against the manufacturer documents on October 15, 2026.