Locked out
Snapped key in the lock: what to do, and what makes it worse
Half a key in the barrel is usually a cheap fix — unless you push it deeper. What to try, what never to try, and why the key broke in the first place.
The key turned, something gave, and you are holding the bow while the blade stays in the lock.
The good news: this is often one of the cheaper locksmith jobs, and sometimes you can fix it yourself. The bad news: it is very easy to turn a cheap job into an expensive one in the first thirty seconds.
Do not push it in. Not with another key, not with a screwdriver, not with a paperclip. A protruding fragment can often be gripped and pulled. A fragment pushed deep into the barrel usually means the cylinder comes out — and that is a different bill.
First: what state is it in?
Two situations, two answers.
The key snapped and the lock is unlocked
You are inside, or you can get in. This is not an emergency. Do not pay a night rate for it.
Secure the door another way if you can — a bolt, a chain, another door — and book a locksmith for the morning. If the door cannot be secured at all, that changes it, because an unsecured front door overnight is a real risk.
The key snapped while locking, and the door is now locked
Now it matters more, because the mechanism may be part-thrown. Still, work through the free options below before ringing anyone.
What you can safely try
Only if a piece of the blade is visibly protruding. If the break is flush or below the face, stop and call someone.
Do not use lubricant yet. Grease and oil make the fragment slippery and harder to grip, and can gum up the mechanism. Try dry first. If nothing works, a locksmith would rather find a dry lock than a greasy one.
Needle-nose pliers or tweezers. Grip whatever protrudes and pull straight out, in line with the keyway. Do not twist and do not lever against the face of the lock — the fragment is brittle and will break again, deeper.
A fine hacksaw blade or a jigsaw blade. Slid into the keyway alongside the fragment, teeth angled backwards, then hooked out. This is the trick most locksmiths actually use and it works surprisingly often.
Stop after two attempts. Every failed attempt risks pushing it deeper. Recognising the moment to stop is what keeps this cheap.
What never to work
- Superglue on a matchstick. It sounds clever and it is the classic way to glue the fragment to the inside of the barrel. Now the whole cylinder is scrap.
- Pushing it in “to see if it comes out the back”. It does not. There is no back.
- Another key, forced in alongside. You will jam both.
- Drilling it yourself. You will destroy the lock and possibly the door furniture, and you will still be paying a locksmith.
What it should cost
Extraction alone, on a lock that is otherwise sound, is one of the cheaper call-outs — usually well below the price of a full lockout, because there is nothing to defeat.
If the cylinder is damaged, or the fragment cannot be removed, you are buying a new cylinder as well. And if you are buying one anyway, insist on a rated one — TS007 3-star or Sold Secure Diamond. See anti-snap locks explained.
Ask for the two figures separately:
“What is the total to extract the key, and what is the total if the cylinder needs replacing as well — including callout, labour, parts and VAT?”
Check whatever you are quoted against the price ranges or the price check tool.
Why it broke — and it is almost never the key’s fault
A key does not snap out of nowhere. It snaps because it has been under strain for months, and the strain is usually the lock or the door, not the key.
The three real causes:
A worn cylinder. Pins and springs wear, the key stops turning smoothly, and you start applying force. Force plus a worn brass key eventually equals a snapped key.
A dropped or misaligned door. The bolt is under pressure from the frame, so the key has to fight it. Extremely common in uPVC and composite doors — see uPVC door will not lock.
A copy of a copy. Each generation of key copy loses a little accuracy and a little strength. A third-generation copy in a stiff lock is a snapped key waiting for a cold morning.
The warning you were given and ignored
Every one of those causes announces itself first. The key gets stiff. You start jiggling it. You lift the door slightly. You use two hands.
That is the warning. A stiff lock is a cheap fix in daylight. A snapped key is a callout, usually at the worst possible time, because cold metal is more brittle — which is why this happens disproportionately on winter mornings.
If your key is getting stiff right now, that is today’s job, not next year’s.
If you rent
A lock that failed through ordinary wear and tear is a repair, and repairs are the landlord’s responsibility. A key you snapped by forcing it in an otherwise healthy lock is more likely to be yours.
Either way: ring the landlord or agent first, and leave a timestamped message if nobody answers. Full detail in who pays for a lockout.
Afterwards
- Keep both halves of the key. A locksmith can often cut a new one from the fragments, which is cheaper than originating a key from the lock.
- Get the lock checked, not just the key replaced. If the cylinder caused it, a new key snaps too.
- Cut a spare and leave it with someone reachable.
- Retire the tired copies. If you have four keys and two of them are bad copies, throw the bad ones away before somebody uses one.