Safe lock help · Sentry Safe
Safe lock troubleshooting › Sentry Safe › Sentry hotel / residential card-swipe safe (H060ES, HL100ES)
The SentrySafe Residential / Hotel Security Safes (H060ES and HL100ES) have a small display window, a keypad with A and B buttons and a magnetic card reader. You lock and unlock them with a four-digit code or a magnetic stripe card (any card, such as a credit card), and the guest or owner can always be let in with the master override key. The door is spring loaded: it pops open when the bolts retract. This guide covers how to lock and open the safe, what the display messages mean, the 15-minute lockout, the batteries and the auxiliary battery pack.
Want the whole manual? Jump to the manufacturer download links.
Is this your lock?
- A hotel-style safe with a front panel that has a display window, number keys, A and B buttons, and a card slot. A cap on the front door covers the key lock for the master override key.
- It uses four AA alkaline batteries in a compartment on the inside of the door.
- The door is spring loaded: when the bolts pull back, it opens by itself.
- Sentry’s manual for these models is part number P55715. An auxiliary remote battery pack and two master override keys come with the safe.
How to lock and open it
Sentry says the method you used to lock the safe must be the one you use to unlock it, unless you use the master override key.
With a four-digit code: to lock
- Push and hold the door in the closed position.
- Enter any four-digit code you choose.
- Press A.
- The display shows CLOSE and then CLOSED: the bolts are out and the door is locked. Your code is shown on the display for 2 seconds.
With a four-digit code: to open
- Enter the same four-digit code.
- The display shows OPEN and then OPENED: the bolts are retracted.
- The spring-loaded door opens by itself.
With a magnetic card: to lock
- Push and hold the door in the closed position.
- Press B. The display shows – CARD –.
- Swipe the card from right to left.
- The display shows CLOSE and then CLOSED: the door is locked.
With a magnetic card: to open
- Press B. The display shows – CARD –.
- Swipe the same card from right to left, firmly and evenly.
- The display shows OPEN and then OPENED, and the door opens by itself.
With the master override key
- Take off the key lock cap on the front of the door by hand (unscrew it).
- Put the master override key in, with the notch at the top edge.
- Turn the key counterclockwise to unlock the safe.
- The card is not included with the safe. Any magnetic stripe card works (a credit card, for example). The card you use to close the safe must be the same card you use to open it, or the display shows E-CARD and the lock beeps 3 times.
- The B key is also a delete key: pressing it once deletes one character that you have entered.
- The safe is shipped locked.
How to change the battery
The lock uses four AA alkaline batteries (we recommend Procell) in a compartment on the inside of the door. The display shows LO-BAT when the voltage is low (with the door open or closed). Do not use rechargeable batteries or any other type of non-alkaline battery, and do not mix old and new batteries or alkaline and other types.
- With the door open, slide the battery compartment cover on the inside of the door in the direction of the arrow.
- Put in four AA alkaline batteries, following the + and – marks.
- Slide the cover back into place.
- Auxiliary remote battery pack (dead batteries): if the four AA batteries in the door are too weak to run the card reader, keypad and lock, put four AA batteries in the auxiliary battery pack that came with the safe, plug it into the underside of the keypad unit, and enter your code or swipe your card to open the safe. Then replace the batteries in the door. Sentry says the pack is not a charger: batteries that are too weak have to be replaced.
- The master override key can also be used to open the safe.
How to change your code
Do this with the safe door OPEN.
Sentry says the steps to change a personal code are the same as the steps to lock the door with a code.
- Push and hold the door closed.
- Enter a new four-digit code.
- Press A.
- The display shows CLOSE and then CLOSED. The new code is the one that will open the safe.
- After you open the safe with the master override key, the lock has to be set up again before it will work with a code or card. Sentry’s manual (page 10) has those steps, and they use the lock’s starting code, which we do not print here. Call us if a guest lock needs to be set up again.
What the display shows
| Display and sound | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| – CARD – | The safe is waiting for a card swipe. |
| CLOSE, then CLOSED | The bolts are extended and the door is locked. |
| OPEN, then OPENED | The bolts are retracted. The door opens by itself. |
| E-CODE and 3 beeps | Wrong code. Enter it again. |
| AGAIN, then CARD | The card was swiped the wrong way (left to right) or too fast or too slow. Swipe it again from right to left, evenly. |
| E-CARD and 3 beeps | This is not the card that was used to lock the safe. |
| LO-BAT | The battery voltage is low (door open or closed). Replace the four AA batteries, or use the auxiliary battery pack. |
| b-LOC | The door is not locked, or will not lock. Unlock the unit, then hold the door closed and try to lock it again. |
| HOLD and a number | The safe is in its lockout. The number is the minutes left (see below). |
Wrong codes
Three repeated attempts with a wrong code lock the safe automatically for 15 minutes. It does not respond to any code, and the display shows HOLD and the number of minutes you must wait. After 15 minutes the safe goes back to normal.
If it still won’t open
The display shows LO-BAT
The batteries are low. Replace the four AA batteries in the door. If the safe will not open, use the auxiliary battery pack or the master override key.
The card will not work
Swipe the card from right to left, firmly and at an even speed. Use the same card that was used to lock the safe.
The display shows b-LOC
The door is not locked, or will not lock. Unlock the unit, hold the door closed, and lock it again.
The safe says HOLD
It is in the 15-minute lockout after three wrong tries. Wait out the minutes shown.
The guest locked it and left
A master override key opens the safe. Call us if you do not have one, or if the lock needs to be set up again afterward.
Download the full manufacturer instructions
This page is a quick-reference summary. For every feature and diagram, use the official manual for your model:
- SentrySafe Residential / Hotel Security Safe owner’s manual P55715 (H060ES, HL100ES)Sentry’s manual. Linked from SentrySafe.com’s Product Manuals page.
- SentrySafe Product Manuals (find your model)Type in your model number to get your own manual.
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Steve’s Lock, Safe and Alarm · 3401 N. Sepulveda Blvd, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
More lock guides
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 19, 2026.