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Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

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GWiens2001

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Lock-Goblin-Gordon
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Post Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:07 pm

Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

Got a couple of used Kwikset Smartkey locks (one a SmartCode keypad lock) and thought some of you might like to see some gutshots. While I would never use one of these locks on my home, the engineering is pretty cool. Lots of pictures in this, so hopefully a newbie who takes one apart can get it back together. Keep in mind, this is NOT a pin tumbler lock!

Front of lock body
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To pull the cylinder from the lock body, remove this clip. Pull the top of the clip towards you so the small peg behind that hole at the top clears the clip, then it pulls up just fine.
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Then the cylinder comes out.
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The top of the cylinder, then turned 1/3 and 2/3 of the way around, to show all sides. Here you can see a strong resemblence to a car lock with a sidewinder key. Still, it is quite different from the car door lock once you get inside.
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Pry the plug retaining clip upwards to free the plug parts. Behind the clip is a spacer/washer, too. (Yes, the plug has two main parts. More on that later.)
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Press your thumb into the hole with the sidebar. It can help you to align the wafers, making removal of the cylinder easier.
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Sometimes, but only sometimes, it helps to put a key into the lock. Like some other wafer locks, the wafers must be at the correct height for the plug to be removed. Push up or down on the wafers from above or below as needed (there are holes on both ends of the wafers) to remove the plug.
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You will find that as you remove the plug, there is a bearing that falls out the other side, and a spring that usually does not. When reassembling, push the bearing back onto that spring as you insert the plug.
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And the sidebar...
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Here I am holding the part of the plug that gets removed for disassembly. This is also the part of the plug that gets moved by the rekeying tool to disengage the wafer carriers (that look like key pins if you are looking into the keyway) from the wafers in order to rekey the lock without disassembly. Notice the spring on the left side.
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And here I am pulling that part towards the rear of the lock. Notice that the spring on the left is now compressed. This part can now be lifted off the main body of the plug.
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And the two main parts of the plug. The part I removed has been flipped over as I put it below. The teeth on the wafers at the bottom of the removed part are normally upwards, engaging the wafer carriers.
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Here is the removed part of the plug. I have moved the wafers so that the openings in them line up. This also lines up the gaps for the sidebar on the reverse side of the wafers. When put back onto the main part of the plug, you want these lined up so the sidebar fits in the outer edge of the plug, or it won't fit back into the cylinder.
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And a wafer...
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Without a key, the wafer carriers all line up at the full-down position.
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With a key partly inserted, you can see a wafer carrier at full up position.
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I am inserting the key fully for reassembly, so the lock will be keyed to the key used. This is optional, but I recommend it strongly. This angle also shows the arm on the wafer carriers very clearly.
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Put the plug parts back together.
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Inside the cylinder. On the left is the long groove for the sidebar. At the far end of the right side you can see where that ball bearing will fit. I think the bearing is to provide a positive stop for key removal, but am not sure. It is not strong, but there.
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Put that bearing back onto the spring on the side of the plug opposite the sidebar.
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Put in the sidebar and press it down. This also makes sure that everything is lined up properly. If it is not, slide the removable portion of the plug to the rear, disengaging the wafer carriers from the wafers, and press the sidebar down. This should do the trick if you had the wafers lined up correctly before reassembly. Allow the plug part to return forward and continue reassembly.
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Plug is reinstalled into the shell. Put the clips back in, and you are set!
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If you need to rekey the lock later, put in the key and turn it 90 degrees clockwise. Use this tool:
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To push into the rectangular hole in the front of the hole on the left side of the keyway with the original key still in place. Internally, it moves that plug part back.
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Remove the tool, then remove the original key (original key meaning what the lock is keyed to) by pulling it straight out. DO NOT turn the key back upright to do this... leave it at 90 degrees right. Fully insert the new key (still at 90 degrees right). Turn the key back up and continue to 90 degrees counter clockwise. Now turn the key back upright, and the key is rekeyed without all this full disassembly.

As you can see, there is no need to buy that $90 Kwikset SmartKey Reset Cradle, as long as you can take this apart and put it back together.

Sorry for the long post. Hope you feel it was worth it, even if it is for a Kwikset. :D As you can see, even if the lock is not secure, it is pretty cool from an engineering standpoint.

Gordon
Just when you think you've learned it all, that is when you find you haven't learned anything yet.
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xeo

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Post Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:08 pm

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

Excellent pics.

Have you tried picking these?
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The code is hidden in the tumblers. One position opens the lock, another position opens one of these doors...
http://www.youtube.com/xeotech1

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jfw

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Post Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:09 pm

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

Hell yes, finally someone broke this lock down! THANKS!! :hbg:
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GWiens2001

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Post Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:18 pm

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

xeo wrote:Excellent pics.

Have you tried picking these?


Yes. Not exactly the easiest lock to pick, but pickable. Think sidebar more than wafer, and you would do fine. Not that you need much help in the picking department, Xeo!

jfw wrote:Hell yes, finally someone broke this lock down! THANKS!! :hbg:


No problem, jfw! Always wondered about them myself. Anyway, love taking things apart. :mrgreen: Just won a couple of U-Change locks on eBay. May have to do the same thing with that one. Judging by the key change tool differences, I expect there to be some differences there, too. If there are enough, I may do the same disassembly pictorial.

Gordon
Just when you think you've learned it all, that is when you find you haven't learned anything yet.
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jeffmoss26

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Post Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:20 pm

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

Awesome breakdown!!
femurat: They're called restricted for a reason...
Innerpicked: The more keys you carry, the more important you look
GWiens2001: Great video! Learned a lot about what fun can be had with a forklift and a chainsaw.
pmaxey83: but i first have to submit the proper forms for a new hobby to my wife
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mdc5150

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Post Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:31 pm

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

GWiens2001 wrote:
xeo wrote:Excellent pics.

Have you tried picking these?


Yes. Not exactly the easiest lock to pick, but pickable. Think sidebar more than wafer, and you would do fine. Not that you need much help in the picking department, Xeo!

jfw wrote:Hell yes, finally someone broke this lock down! THANKS!! :hbg:


No problem, jfw! Always wondered about them myself. Anyway, love taking things apart. :mrgreen: Just won a couple of U-Change locks on eBay. May have to do the same thing with that one. Judging by the key change tool differences, I expect there to be some differences there, too. If there are enough, I may do the same disassembly pictorial.

Gordon

Great review on these locks. Personally I hate the damn things and in the past when I've dealt with customers who were locked out I would tell them up front when I found out it was a Smartkey that they would be replacing that lock because the only way I was going to get them in was with a drill or screwdriver.

The U-Change locks are a much better design. They seem to fail less and usually when the customer tries to rekey it themselves. I've had calls before to replace the U-Change when this happens and I usually save the customer some money and fix it. This can usually be done by picking, then following the change procedure. The last one I did though was so clogged with oil and dirt that it would not function properly, I had to disassemble and clean it first. LocksmithArmy did a video on those a while back and that was where I picked up how to do that.

Anyways nice post, very well done.
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MrWizard

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Post Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:44 pm

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

Gordon

Very nice tutorial with large closeup pictures. You can see those fingers that engage the notches in the wafers look very fragile. Plus you can see why these locks break. When the wafers slip and disengage those fingers the wafers get reset to 0, 1 or 2 cuts usually and only to a few of them when it happens. Then they are locked out. How they expected these locks to last with such fragile pieces is mystery to me. Schlage SecureKey locks are even worse but thanks to Kwikset suing them for design copyright infringement for 1.5 million they had to take their SecureKey locks off the market thank god!

BTW The Kwikset cradle is really good to have. It saves you a huge amount of time on the job resetting these locks especially when there are 10 or more with no keys. Take seconds to reset them which is great when it is 115 degrees here in the summer time!

You can get one on Amazon for $18.03 right now and other places. Buy $25.00 worth of stuff get free shipping in USA. If you think you are going to have a job doing these in large lots that have no keys you better have one of these. There is no chance you will be losing parts by taking one or more apart in the service vehicle. I hate when that happens. ;)

Kwikset 83260 SMT RESET CRADLE

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00117DVY8/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=13938649067&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1746710119367707334&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_6eg4jszst0_b

Richard
"Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand."
Kurt Vonnegut
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Oldfast

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OldddffAASSTT the Spin Master Extraordinaire and American Lock Slayer
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Post Mon Feb 04, 2013 7:40 am

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

REALLY nice breakdown. Lots of pics... lots of detail. Thanks!
" Enjoy the journey AS MUCH as the destination."
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10ringo10

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Post Mon Feb 04, 2013 7:48 am

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

Awesome..worth the effort !! :geek: THANKS
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gnarus8429

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Post Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:32 am

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

MBA sells a nice tool for opening those. I think it is a KTT4 if I remember right. It is a sorta of destructive entry tool. While it does force the wafers the key still works if it is used correctly. They only sell to locksmiths and law enforcement though. I bought one and have used it a couple of times and had success every time.
I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.
-Albert Einstein
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bobhdus

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Post Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:43 pm

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

Thanks for posting this. Awesome Pictures. A little late for me as I could have used this a week ago. I didn't have the cradle or better ressetter so I decided to read the wafer height with depth/space keys to make a working key. The job took way too long to complete so I feel like I lost money on it (I quoted the job thinking 15-20 minutes and went way over that). I bought the cradle after that and did another three of these and got the job done in just a few minutes. Like them or hate them, its still nice to have this information. Thanks again!
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fgarci03

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Post Mon Dec 02, 2013 7:03 am

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

Just used this guide to fix my smartkey!

It was giving me some issues as I couldn't insert the reset "clip" into it's place. Turns out it was fine, probably stuck over a little sand or something. Gutted, moved the parts a little and re-assembled in no time thanks to your pics and explanations!

Thanks!
Go ahead, keep plugging away, picking on me! You will end up on bypass or with rigor mortise.
- GWiens2001
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rzr800

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Post Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:28 am

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

One of the biggest apartment complexes in my town uses me after hours for any lock work and they went from wiesers to smart keys. These locks fail all the time so unreliable. One thing i notice when they jam is the tenant always has a copied key from Walmart in his hand never a factory code cut. Luckily all the door knobs are passage and the deadbolts are easy to bypass. A locksmith from the next town over from me told me that if you cut a 33333 key with a little force it will turn the lock.
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Medecopen

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Post Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:19 am

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

Nice thread, I recently was able to rekey this lock without the tool or original key.. I found a video on YouTube to help me before I saw this thread... What I should of done before I put it back together is make a tool..
Looking at the pictures and knowing that you just have to push the plastic tab back how hard could that be right? I did t put any thought into it while it was apart so I don't remember If it's a str8 angle or not but I believe it's just a matter of fitting in the hole and being the right depth, I could be wrong but I'll prolly end up taking it back apart to try and make one...
I don't even wana pay 18.00 if that's all it is lol I'd rather buy a 10.00 deadbolt from Walmart to replace this lock!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aQjXl78DdUA#
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TarHeelBrit

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Post Mon Dec 02, 2013 4:04 pm

Re: Kwikset SmartKey Disassembly - Picture Heavy

Thank you so much for doing this. I've had these locks on my place for the past 4 years and have always wondered how you re-key without re-pinning it. Now I know and I don't have to take it apart and tick my wife off. She hates me fiddling as she calles it. Very interesting, thanks.
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