Guide
Stuck Right Now? Why Your Key Will Not Turn, and What to Try Before You Force It
You are at the door, the key is not doing what it should, and you want to know what to try. Start by naming the symptom, because a key that refuses to enter the lock, a key that enters but will not rotate, and a key that rotates but will not withdraw are three separate faults, each with its own answer.
On a uPVC or composite door the most common cause is not a fault in the euro cylinder at all: the handle simply has not been lifted. Whatever the cause, force is what turns a free fix into a snapped key and a repair bill. This guide from Runcorn Locksmith takes you through the checks in order of cost, cheapest first. If you run out of options, call 01928 611001.
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Work Out Which of Three Things Is Happening
Ask yourself which of these describes it: the key will not go in, it goes in but will not turn, or it turns but will not come out. A key that cannot enter usually means a blocked keyway or the wrong or bent key. One that enters but stalls points at worn cuts, a tired cylinder or a door that is out of line. One that turns but stays put almost always means the plug has not returned to its rest position.
| What you are experiencing | What it usually is | Read next |
|---|---|---|
| The key will not go into the lock | Wrong key, debris in the keyway, ice or a bent blade | The Key Will Not Go In |
| The key goes in but will not turn | Worn key, a dry or worn lock, or a door pinching the bolt | The Key Goes In but Will Not Turn |
| The key turns but will not come out, or part of it is left inside | Plug not back at rest, a worn cylinder, or a key that has snapped rather than stuck | The Key Turns but Will Not Come Out, or a key that has snapped rather than stuck |
The Key Will Not Go In
There are four likely causes, and the cheapest to rule out comes first: the wrong key, something lodged in the keyway, ice, or a key that has bent. Take them in that order.
- Wrong key. Homes with several look-alike keys catch people out more than they admit. Tell: compare the key head and cuts against the others on the ring.
- Obstruction. Grit, a sliver of something, or debris left from an earlier problem. Tell: shine a torch into the keyway and look. Look only; do not poke anything in.
- Ice. A seasonal cause with its own section further down. Tell: a cold night, and the lock was fine yesterday.
- Bent key. The cause people overlook, because a key carried loose or used to prise something open can distort just enough to catch the keyway while still looking straight. Tell: lay the blade flat against a ruler or a table edge and sight along it. Any gap or rocking shows the bend.
The Key Goes In but Will Not Turn
When the key enters but will not rotate, the culprit is the key, the lock or the door, and you should test them in that order because that is the order of cost.
- The key. Worn cuts stop lifting the pins to the correct height. This usually creeps in over weeks, and one copy tends to be worse than another.
- The lock. A cylinder that is dry, dirty or worn inside, which normally affects every key the same way.
- The door. The lock is healthy but the bolt is being squeezed by a door that has moved out of position. It feels exactly like a lock fault and is not one.
The giveaway for the third case: if the key turns freely while the door is standing open but refuses once it is shut, the lock works and the door does not. For a full diagnosis of a door that will not lock once it is shut, see that guide. The spare key test and the door test below separate the other two.
The Key Turns but Will Not Come Out
A key can only be withdrawn at one rotational position, so if it will not come out, the cylinder has not returned to that position. The pins release the key only when the plug is at rest, which on most locks means the key upright.
So turn it gently back towards upright rather than pulling harder, and take any weight off the door while you do, because a door leaning on its bolt can hold the plug where it is.
There is a second cause worth knowing about. In a worn cylinder the plug may no longer spring back cleanly by itself, and that needs a repair rather than a knack. Our guide to the parts inside a uPVC lock and which one is which explains where the cylinder sits in the mechanism.
One warning belongs here more than anywhere else on this page: tugging on a key that is not at rest is among the most common ways a key snaps.
On a uPVC Door, Lift the Handle First
On a uPVC or composite door fitted with a multipoint lock, the key will not turn until the handle has been raised as far as it goes. This is how the mechanism is designed, not a fault. Follow the sequence in order. If the handle only travels part of the way up, that is a separate problem, covered in the second section below.
Why the Key Cannot Turn Until the Handle Is Up
Lifting the handle is what drives the hooks and rollers out from the door edge; the key only holds them there. The handle turns the spindle, the spindle drives the gearbox, and the gearbox throws every locking point at the same moment. The key then deadlocks the whole assembly so the handle cannot be pushed back down.
That makes the key the final step on this kind of door, not the first. Trying to turn it before the handle is raised asks the cylinder to do a job it was never built for.
What this tells you: - Handle lifts fully, then the key turns: nothing is wrong. - Handle will not lift all the way: the key is not the fault, and lubricant will not change that. See the guide to a handle that will not lift at all.
When It Is the Door Rather Than the Handle
Here is the test: if the key turns normally with the door open but fights you once it is closed, the lock is fine and the door is not sitting where it should. A door that has dropped on its hinges, swollen or shifted with the seasons pushes its bolts and hooks slightly off line with the keeps on the frame. Under that load they bind, and the key ends up working against the friction.
The thing to try costs nothing:
- Push or pull the door firmly towards the frame, or lift it slightly by the handle.
- Turn the key while that pressure is off the bolt.
If the key now turns, the lock has told you the fault is alignment. Treat that as a diagnosis rather than a fix. A door that has to be wrestled every day will eventually take the key or the gearbox with it. The adjustment figures are in our guide to a uPVC door that will not lock.
- Shut the door fully.
- Raise the handle until it stops.
- Now turn the key.
Many of these doors use what parts suppliers call an overnight lock, a mechanism type that needs the handle lifting before the key will turn.
Test the Spare Key
If the spare turns and the everyday key does not, the lock is fine and the everyday key is worn. That is the cheapest test on this page, and it settles which of the two costlier possibilities you are facing.
- Spare works. The lock still accepts a correctly cut key, so your usual key has worn to the point where its cuts no longer lift the pins far enough. Stop using the worn key; carrying on is how keys break.
- Spare fails the same way. The problem is the lock, not the key.
Here is what people miss: a spare that works today does not mean the matter is closed. A worn lock wears its keys, and whatever wore the first key has probably taken the spare part of the way too.
You can check for a worn key by eye. The peaks of the cuts look rounded rather than crisp, and the blade looks thinner than a newer copy held beside it. Our guide to which lock and key types this applies to covers the common cylinders.
If the Lock Has Frozen
During a hard frost a lock can freeze inside even when nothing on the outside looks icy, so the key either will not enter or will not turn. The pattern is easy to spot: it happened overnight, the weather is cold, and the same lock worked yesterday. Never force a frozen lock and never heat the key with a flame, which damages the key and any plastic on its head.
What Thaws a Lock Safely
Two things work: a lock de-icer, or warm air from a hairdryer.
- Lock de-icer. These products are alcohol based, so they melt the ice without leaving water behind to refreeze. A small bottle kept in the car or a coat pocket, rather than inside the house you are trying to get into, is worth having over winter.
- Hairdryer. On a warm setting, moved over the lock rather than pressed against it, it does the same job more slowly, and most homes already own one.
Patience is what makes either work. The ice sits inside the cylinder, not on its face, so the warmth needs a minute or so to reach it. While you wait, resist the obvious shortcut described next.
Why Boiling Water Makes It Worse
Hot water does melt the ice, then it refreezes, and now there is more ice than before. UK locksmiths warn against it for exactly that reason. Water poured into a lock in freezing weather runs into the cylinder and cannot drain, so when the temperature drops again it turns back to ice in a space that was only partly blocked before.
Several further problems follow from that:
- More ice. The lock refreezes, often worse than it started.
- Corrosion. Water left inside rusts the springs and pins, so one frosty morning becomes a lock that sticks all year. At that stage the answer is usually lock repair rather than replacement.
- Thermal shock. Pouring boiling water over cold hardware and glass is a sudden temperature change a glazed or painted door does not need.
Lubricate It, With the Right Thing
Use a dry lubricant made for locks, meaning graphite or a PTFE (Teflon) based spray, rather than a general purpose oil. Oil-based products such as WD-40 attract dust, and oil mixed with dust is what eventually clogs a keyway, so the product that frees a lock today can be the one that seizes it a couple of years from now. Cold weather adds a second problem: oil thickens as it cools, so an oiled lock is more likely to stiffen in a frost.
- Apply a small amount into the keyway rather than flooding it.
- Insert the key, turn it several times and draw it in and out to spread the lubricant along the pins.
- Wipe the key clean afterwards.
Know the limit: if the stiffness comes back within days, the lubricant was masking a symptom and something underneath is worn.
Never Force It, and Here Is Exactly Why
A key that will not turn is a key close to snapping, and once it snaps, a fix that cost nothing becomes one you pay for. A key is a thin strip of brass or nickel silver, made to pass a light turning force to the plug and nothing more, and a worn key is thinner still. Extra force, whether from a tool or simply a determined hand, gathers at the narrowest point of the blade, and that is where it breaks, leaving a key fragment inside the lock. Do not use any tool to add turning force.
People tend to force a key at three particular moments:
- A frozen lock on a cold morning.
- A door that is binding in summer heat.
- A key that turns halfway and then stops.
Each one has a free answer earlier on this page. If none of these checks has moved it, the next step is a phone call, not more effort. If a key has already broken off, see our broken key removal service.
Get the Lock Looked At
Tell us which of the three things your key is doing, whether the spare behaves the same way, and how the door behaves when it is open, and the fault can usually be identified during the call.
Have ready: those three answers, plus whether the door is uPVC, composite or timber.
There is no call-out charge, at any hour. Emergency calls are answered around the clock, every day of the year, including nights, weekends and bank holidays. The price is given on the call from what you describe, and if anything on site changes it you are told before work starts. [PROVIDER PACK: DBS check status of technicians] [PROVIDER PACK: public liability insurance details]
Call or message Runcorn Locksmith on 01928 611001. If the problem is that you are shut out altogether, see our page on getting back in if you are locked out.
Key and Lock Questions
Why will my key not turn in my uPVC front door?
On most uPVC and composite doors the key cannot turn until the handle has been raised fully, because lifting the handle is what throws the locking points. Close the door, lift the handle until it stops, then turn the key. If the handle will not lift all the way, the issue lies with the door or the mechanism rather than the key, and lubricant will not cure it.
Is it safe to use WD-40 on a lock?
It will often free a stiff lock in the short term, but oil-based products attract dust and the mixture slowly gums up the keyway. Oil also thickens in cold weather. A dry lubricant made for locks, such as graphite or a PTFE spray, is the better choice, applied sparingly and worked in with the key.
My key goes in but only turns halfway. What should I do?
Stop turning. A key that stalls partway is one of the moments when keys snap. Check that the handle is fully lifted on a uPVC door, try the door test by easing pressure off the bolt, and try the spare key. If none of those helps, the cylinder or mechanism needs looking at by a locksmith.
How do I get a key out that will turn but not come out?
Turn it gently back to the upright position, because a key can only come out when the plug is at rest. Take any weight off the door at the same time. Do not pull hard on a key that is not upright. If the plug will not return on its own, the cylinder is worn and needs repairing or replacing.
Can I pour hot water on a frozen lock?
No. It melts the ice briefly, then refreezes inside the cylinder, often worse than before, and the water left behind can rust the springs and pins. Use a lock de-icer or a hairdryer on a warm setting, give the warmth a minute to reach the inside of the lock, and never force the key while you wait.
How can I tell if my key is worn out?
Compare it with a newer copy or the spare. A worn key has rounded rather than sharp peaks on its cuts and a blade that looks thinner. If the spare works and your everyday key does not, the everyday key is worn, and continuing to use it risks snapping it inside the lock.