Simple Master M175 Decoding

[Robotnik]

Unlike its less robust cousin, the newer Master M175s don't fall as readily to the same simple, YouTube-famous bypass as the 175.

Decoding with a feeler gauge is not impossible, but harder than your average wheel combo padlock.

Considering the above, I started looking for an additional method of nondestructively opening these locks. With many simple wheel combination padlock and cable locks, shackle or cable tension while manipulating the binding wheels in turn will cause the correct gate to 'bite', eventually allowing the lock to be opened once the correct 3- or 4-number combination is devised.

No bites. This wasn't going to be quite that easy. Tensioned the shackle, and kept going.



After a lot of spinning and combo resets, I noticed a pattern. With shackle tension applied, each number on a lightly binding wheel could be moved through a certain range. With non-combo numbers, moving the wheel upward causes it to stop right about here (keep your eyes on the third wheel):



Once you land on the combo number (8, in this case), however, the upward movement can go a little higher, like so (again looking at the third wheel):



Basically, you're looking for additional few millimeters of play in the wheel once you've hit the true gate. After hitting the first number, move on to the next wheel (in this case, the second).

Nope…


Yep...


Nine it is. Keep going until you reach the last wheel, and…



Boom.

On one lock I tried, the far right wheel bound so hard it could barely be moved under tension. With that being the case, I simply set the other three wheels, then cycled through the ten possibilities on the wheel until it opened. It's not foolproof method, and does require a fair bit of finesse. Some locks are touchier than others, I've found.

Should anyone need to recover a combination to one of these, hope this helps. Haven't seen this specific method demonstrated before, but I'd be extremely surprised if I'm the first to come up with it. Doesn't appear to have been described on the Forum before, at any rate.

[GWiens2001]

As I posted on your post elsewhere, it works on the ProSeries 1175, too.



Fantastic work, Robotnik.

Gordon

[Riyame]

HOREE SHEEEET!

I just popped the M175 that anarchy_won sent me a while back. Amazing find good sir! Time to sticky this thread.

[Anarchy_won]

I have been working on a similar method, but was having less then 70% success in opening them in under 20min

[GWiens2001]

It works on the block-style ones at Ace Hardware, too.



Will say that the ProSeries version does have tighter tolerances as far as how the wheel turns. The non-ProSeries ones have about twice as much extra play, both in the correct number and in the incorrect number. The difference is very noticeable.

Thought it was just the camera angle or something when Robotnik's numbers went all the way to the mid-number line at the correct number, while my PS version only went half way to the same spot. This non-PS one at Ace turned just as far as Robotnik's pics show. And the PS ones only go as far as the ones in my pics.

So be aware of the difference if you are trying out different ones.

Gordon

[Oldfast]

I love shit like this. Great work! Thanks for sharing it.

Can't wait to give this a try. Gotta get a few of em' first.

[GWiens2001]

I love shit like this. Great work! Thanks for sharing it.

Can't wait to give this a try. Gotta get a few of em' first.

Don't bother! Go to Ace Hardware, Lowes, or some other hardware store. Was waiting in line at Ace Hardware and the locks were near their paint department where I was waiting. So I grabbed the one in the above picture, and voila! Instant testing. Was even nice enough to put it back on the hook with the combination entered for their convenience.

Gordon

[NKT]

Very nice. I've played with this lock in the UK. Had noticed that there was a slight difference, but this is a good clear explanation.
Thanks!

[tarboxb]

I was at Home Depot yesterday and gave this one a try. Worked a treat! Thank you.

[indigoalpha6]

what! Master is improving their products? -how dare they.

[Oldfast]

I love shit like this. Great work! Thanks for sharing it.

Can't wait to give this a try. Gotta get a few of em' first.

Well, it took me a looong time, lol... but I finally grabbed
a couple of these and gave this a try. Works like a charm!

These locks have been out for some time now. No doubt
I'll eventually start running into them here and there.
So this is a great technique to add to my arsenal!

Again, thanks for your work on this... and sharing it with us!