I recently bought a 48 gun safe from Lowe’s that was leftover from Black Friday. I got the safe on clearance since it was the last one. Once I got the huge thing wrestled in my garage, I discover that the safe won’t open because either the lock is malfunctioning or the handle won’t engage the bolts or both. I’ve been dealing with Cannon support for two weeks and they finally tell me that they won’t cover it under the warranty since I bought it at a discount. Lowe’s is out of them so I can’t carry it back and exchange it, only return. My gripe is that I’ve paid someone to help me move it and if I return it, I’ll be out that money (two trips) with nothing to show. Cannon warranties suck. Anybody have experience with not being able to open a safe?

I’ve read before of people having the same problem with Cannon safes it seems to be a known issue. That Cannon won’t stand behind their product and fix it is horrible customer service. It’s a factory new safe that Cannon allowed to ship. How much you paid for it or that it was on clearance should have nothing to do with anything IMO.

Is it an electronic or dial mechanism.

How the f@ck does what you paid for it have anything to do with the warranty? That's a buncha crap. You have a receipt. It has a date on it. The warranty runs from the date on the receipt, and no other numbers matter. Climb up a little higher on the Cannon support tree and shake a higher-paid branch!

Yeah, the discount thing is a way for them to hide from responsibility. They got the same money regardless, it didn't affect them none.

It's on Lowes.
Deal with them and don't let up until you get it fixed.

Electronic dial. I have the code, replaced battery, etc. I even have the backup keys. I can’t get the handle to engage the bolts. It just turns in circles almost as if the linkage is broken, which I think is what has happened. Cannon warranty support has given me the absolute run around.

S&G electronic lock?

In Lowe’s defense, they will give me my money back but I don’t won’t the hassle of loading it back up. This should be Cannon’s problem to fix.

I had a Winchester safe lock freeze up the first month I owned it. Safe was in the lowest level of our house 13 steps down. Winchester sent a crew to my house to retrieve the safe, paid me what I paid for it, and gave me another $150 for the initial trouble to get the safe from Costco to the level in my house. I replaced it with another Winchester.

Have a locksmith check it out? Might be money well spent.

Unless it was marked defective before you bought it you should be able to take it back and get a refund or replacement.

I'm glad, at least, that you can return it for a refund, despite being out the transportation cost.

Drill a little hole in the top, fill it with water & lower a small amount of explosive into the center on a wire. When you blow the charge, the door will fly right off.

Saw Robert De Niro do it in a movie.

I may be wrong but I think there is a shear pin on most safe wheels that is designed to shear if too much force is applied. That sounds like what is happening with this safe but you would think Cannon would have brought that issue up in your correspondence with them.

Like I said, I could be wrong.

Bump it up the chain at Cannon - ask for VP for customer service. Don't stop after 1 bump either....

Sorry about your trouble ,but Thank you for telling us ,This is a major brand of safes ,I know not to buy from them now

Sounds like the shear bolt has been sheared.

Cannon got their money. Lowes is who discounted it.

https://cannonsafe.com/warranty

I don't see anything in here saying "if you bought it cheap from a retailer we ain't gonna fix it"

I'd go straight to the President of the company's secretary. There is no other person in the company that can get as much done in a short amount of time. I went that route in dealing with a boat manufacturer a number of years ago and was amazed at the turn around in the companies attitude in just hours.

Good point.

I'm sure I have the same safe as you. I've had mine for several years. It has done the same thing to me at times. I just keep messing with it until it engages. It's the mechanical linkage inside that sucks. It's slips. If you can get it open tighten everything up inside. I did buy a big liberty safe a couple of years ago as my primary safe.. Ya it's a lot more ;money but worth it to me.
Thinking of selling the Cannon as I really don't have much in it now.
Good Luck.

Huh?

I sent them a link to this thread and noted all the publicity they are recieving due to the run around they're giving the OP. And that their 'warranty' page is full of warm and fuzzies about taking care of the end user, yet when it is time to do that, they're utter crap.

My cannon acts similar or the same often. Electronic lock seems to be working fine but it seems like the internal unlocking/locking mechanism isn't engaging properly when I spin the handle. The handle will be just free spin. I've been locked out of it several times due to this. Eventually I figured out it would engage more consistently with a softer touch or easing into the spin to unlock. I have a good friend who has the same or very similar cannon and it has the exact same issue as mine.

BTW- mine is the cheapo depo version sold at the box stores. Got mine at Tractor Supply and wouldn't buy another in the future. I do have another cannon that I bought direct from them nearly 20 years ago. It's quite a bit smaller but cost me 3x the money back then than this problem safe did. I've never had an issue with it but it's locking system is different, appears and functions like it is of much higher quality.

The good news about opening a safe like that is you won't have any guns in it to damage when the door opens.

If you bought it at a chain store, it's a chink-cannon...no wonder

Online, you might be able to find the corporate number of someone who might do something for you. It won't necessarily be on the website. Hope they take care of your problem at no further expense.

This is most likely the issue. It is designed to break when someone tries to force it open. As someone mentioned a locksmith could be money well spent. Don't understand how Cannon can avoid the responsibility. As someone said go higher up the ladder or have Lowes contact them.
Rick

I had the same thing happen with a Browning, handle just spun right after we got it home and loaded with guns. I had to have a locksmith get it open and it was the linkage/shear pin that was messed up. Fixed it and it's been fine for about 15 years now.

Keep calling Cannon until they agree to send someone out to fix it. My Cannon from TSC has been a great safe, so issues at all. Same with my Winchester from TSC Black Friday sale.

Did it work in the store?




Can you see if this happened?

Unsure of the actual locking mechanism, but the keypad is unbranded.

That’s what I said just before requesting to speak with a warranty manager. I’ve been waiting three days now for them to call me. Apparently the warranty managers are so busy that they don’t have time to return a call about a warranty issue.

[quote=WL205]My cannon acts similar or the same often. Electronic lock seems to be working fine but it seems like the internal unlocking/locking mechanism isn't engaging properly when I spin the handle. The handle will be just free spin. I've been locked out of it several times due to this. Eventually I figured out it would engage more consistently with a softer touch or easing into the spin to unlock.


I will try to use a softer touch and ease into it. I’ve tried everything but a cutting torch so far.

THAT!

Cannon CS finally walked me through getting a10 year old safe open that I never used. It had a defective electronic dial which is common and they sent me a new one. I waiting on my locksmith buddy to install it. There are videos on YouTube to help troubleshoot.

FWIW, Lowe's sold my buddy a floor model fridge at a steep discount, he bought the extended warranty, about a year in the ice maker stopped working. He called the warranty company and they said the unit was 6 years old and wouldn't service it, Lowe's wouldn't refund the extended warranty money and they told him too bad on the 5 year old fridge they sold him, it was unused and sold as is. Buyer beware!

Rubber hammer?

Should be a Allen head set screw on the bottom of the handle they loosen up and cause the handle to spin

Secretaries, custodians, maintenance people is where the "get things done" often happens. I thought everyone knew that.

This is life. If this is new to you, prepare for a hell of a lot more of the same.

This is the way these things oughta be handled.


Anyone from Cannon listening?

....and remember, it could be worse.

Lowes? I find that extremely hard to understand.

Its a defect from manufacturer. Its all theirs.

Lucky we bought from a local maker and are happy. Then we realized we needed concrete walls and ceiling that gun safes would never be quite enough

I bought a newer Winchester old school dial safe....it showed two sides with three rows deep on each side on the website. The one sent had one side like that and then the other side with holders along the outer walls, which we all know doesnt hold as many guns. They literally just needed to send me the correct shelf for the one side in question. Winchester told me tough crap. Pretty sure I was getting the same person on the other end of the email every time, I requested for his manager to contact me, nothing....

Yes, I could make and carpet the shelf I need, but they should just send me what was supposed to come with what I ordered.

^^^ THAT ^^^ first on phone.

If no satisfaction then send them written correspondence and cc your state attorney general (or their product liability office). Nothing screams "satisfy this customer NOW" like legal or political problems.

We live in the sticks (like 130 miles to a Walmart), so any product of substance gets a trial run before ever leaving the store. Always start engines, run electronics, and check that software, memory cards etc are present and functioning. Return it to the store and write it off as an educational experience.

That's exactly it! Someone wrenched on it too hard and sheared the pin

Y’all need to do your homework before spending your money. Cannon’s reviews are less than stellar, both in the quality of their product, and their warranty service.

I just bought my second Liberty, a USA series with electronic lock. Paid $160.00 extra for the lifetime warranty on the lock. The rest of the safe is guaranteed for life against failure, and they will replace it if damaged due to a break in attempt.

My original one has a mechanical lock and has been 100% reliable. Just ran out of space, and it was a no brainer for me to buy Liberty again. You get what you pay for.

Lock went out on my Cannon a few years back.Dealt with their customer service for several months and their chosen locksmiths drilled it full of holes and beat the hell out of it to finally break in.,Then out of the blue they shipped me a new safe and attached a note saying they considered the matter closed and to please take my business elsewhere in the future.

I posted this a year or two ago after my new cannon safe failed.

“ My Cannon safe schit the bed shortly after i brought it home.

My issue wasnt electrics though, it was a mechanical failure. A poor weld in the lock mechanism.

They were pretty good re: customer service.

Try Lou at 702 381 4955
He was the rep/tech that helped me.”

Don’t know if Lou is still there, but worth a try.

This is the kind of info I was hoping for. Thanks!!

My thoughts as well.

Well I guess Lou no longer works there…

I did exactly the same...I did get the electronic lock on the new one so wifey could access it easier.

Even let her pick the color!

I’ve spoken with two different ones. Just waiting on them to come by and tell me if they think they can do anything with it.

When someone, my mother, broke mine with a heavy clothes basket of clothes I think. I put the combination in (mechanical lock on Liberty safe) then bumped the door and spun the handle until the locks dropped.


Once opened just remove the cover panel on the door....try not to be disgusted by the welding job on inside and remove broken shear pin and replace.

Worked for me about 20 years ago, your results may vary.

Easy fix. The instructions are right inside the door.

if it were me i'd take it back to lowes and eat the moving costs and go buy a liberty. do you really want to trust your guns to this POS?

Cannon filed for bankruptcy protection around two years ago. I wonder if their current customer service is a result of this action.

I've had good luck so far with my canon. It's an electronic lock and works great . I change the battery every couple of years or so. It is opened and closed everyday.

Didin't your mother tell you " you gotta look at everything you buy" ?

I am having trouble feeling sorry for you.

Brown Safe , not cheap.

S&G type mechanical combinations have worked in reliably for almost 150 years . Everyone wants an electronic keypad that is battery powered and made of plastic that will fail, most likely when you need it most.
If the combo lock is functioning and releasing the bolt that blocks the handle from moving, run the combo, then immediately tilt the safe towards the hinge side and the weight of the hinged bolt rack will cause it to slide open. The door bolts on the door hinge side are fixed, but the opposite side bolts will retract from gravity when tilted. You cannot tilt the safe first as the weight of the mechanism may prevent the lock bolt from retracting. Get a friend over to stand in front of the safe door to help manage it as 65% of the weight is in the door and if you got too carried away while moving it, it might want to tip over door first. Have another friend slide a refrigerator dolly under the side opposite the door hinges and when you run the combo,immediately have him leverage the dolly to raise that side up maybe three to four inches. IF the combination retracted the lock bolt, when you tilt it you WILL hear the rack retract! When this happens, the door will try to Swing OPEN! Have a ratchet strap around the safe that is just loose enough to let the door open an inch or so , so that when the friend operating the dolly lets it down you don't have an out of control, several hundred pound door swinging around !!!
All of the above is predicated on the combo being functional and retracting the blocking bolt which then, should release the pivoting locking bolt mechanism. If you get the door open, then find out why the handle is not functioning, there is a shear pin in there to prevent trying to overcome the combo retracting bolt from direct brute force by using a sledge hammer on the handle.
Good Luck! and let us know how it goes. Lee.

Electric lock on one of my safes.
Never even put the battery in.
Use the key.

Bummer.

I can tell you with mine, it had nothing to do with the electric lock. A weld failed on one of the actuating rods. Cannon sent a Smith to my house and he drilled a small, maybe 3/8, hole in the side, opened it up, and repaired the rod. Took him less than an hour. Cannon covered it.

Granted, the hole was filled with epoxy and is noticeable even after touched up with paint, but it doesn’t bother me a bit.

I’d keep bugging them. Hopefully they’ll get a work order out to a local service tech. If not, returning it may be cheaper than paying a Smith out of pocket.

I have the same safe and with mine I punch in the combo, snap the wheel to the right (it'll only go about 1/2") then turn to the left to open. Mine sounds off 2 beeps when I enter the right combination. Mine didn't come with a key, bought at tractor supply black friday sale.

When my Winchester wouldnt open i called my local locksmith and he suggested the same thing, tilting. I did as he suggested and IT WORKED! The door opened. The problem was a faulty electronic lock. This was the second time that the lock would not unlock the safe. I solved that problem by installing a mechanical S&G lock and did it myself. I even set the combination to the same as my other safe. While i had the insides torn apart i used LocTite and tightened every bolt/ nut. I will never have another electronic lock.

Raise hell enough until Lowes hates to see you coming. Have a Lawyer call the manager.

I agree. You can ignore a dial mechanism for decades, and when you need to open it. it will work. I wouldn't take a free safe with an electronic lock.

Update - went round and round with Cannon. Their position was that since I bought it on clearance that I knew it was defective or had been tampered with since it was a “floor model”. Whatever. I paid my local locksmith $150 to drill into the side where one of the bolts was. I punched in the code and he pushed the bolt in and it opened. Took him all of 5 minutes. Turns out there is a weld broken inside the door that allowed the handle to spin. No way it was from someone turning the handle too hard. Just a piss poor weld job from
The factory. I’ll have one of my guys from work swing by and weld it up and I’ll plug the hole on the side with jb weld putty. At the end of the day I have a large safe at a cheaper price than I could have normally gotten (even after paying the smith) and I am content. But Cannon support sucks as far as I’m concerned. They did offer a free replacement lock, but the lock is fine. Just poor QC at the factory.

Back in business, good

Exact same as mine.
Schitty metal prep and a failed weld.

Happy you got er working!

I'd get what I could off of the cheap bastids.

Making sure the cheap SOB's get a million dollars' worth of bad publicity is the best revenge. Flooding every social media platform you can find with the same info you've posted here would be a good beginning.

Do electronic safe mechanisms have any advantages over mechanical at all.

I’ve had a smaller (12-15 longarms?) mechanical Cannon safe for 20 years, no problems, tho after reading this thread I want to take a look at the innards..

The way this thread is going, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that Lou got fired for being too helpful.

If it was sold as a fully functioinig full warranty safe, Lowes or Cannon should be keeping him whole.

I would send Cannon a picture of the defective weld along with a copy of the locksmiths bill and tell them to pay up.

Show Lowes the bill and tell them it was defective. And also tell them you saved them storing it and returning it.

Go after Cannon as well for not inspecting their product after it got off the orient express

Go S&G mechanical spin dial or go home. EVERY other spin dial solution is less reliable.

Electronic are supposed be be harder/impossible to safe crack with a guy sitting there with stethoscope and lotsa time.

Might be able to get in like this ?

Sorry for your problem. Ill know to stay away from that brand.

Our local TV news station enjoys doing segments on consumer problems like this. Just a thought!

If you happen to have a friend who is an attorney, have him write a letter saying that you are prepared to take action in civil court to collect all damages - real and punitive - via jury trial. If the safe company is incorporated with a board of directors, their risk manager would normally be required to notify them of any likely or pending legal action. Their inhouse counsel would also advise them to tell the company president to swallow his pride and make your problem go away with MINIMUM publicity.

If you want to sue, your most sympathetic jury would be in rural county close to you - typically they're much more likely to be sympathetic both in verdict and award, feeling all big business has deep pockets. Go for it - that company's president sounds like an arrogant bastard who need's his ass kicked.

I have a few of these that you can retrofit. They came out of a bank, and I have the combos. Numbers can be changed if you want. Send a PM for more info.
Kenny

Whenever they become available again (supply chain issues), I plan to replace my digital lock on my Browning safe with this Securam Extreme dual mechanical/digital lock. A number of locksmiths have good things to say about them.