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Ask HN: Have you ever had to hack into your own home?
I locked myself out of my house today. I lost the key.
Who needs a key though when you can just go through window instead?
What’s your favourite way to hack a house?
I’m semi-asking so that if this happens again, I might know an easier way in.
- mtmail 3y ago"hacking a house" sounds a lot like burglery. Hide a spare key outside the house.
- quickthrower2 3y agonot if it is you own surely?
- rzzzwilson 3y agoI live on the 14th floor, so "going through a window" isn't an option. I keep a spare key hidden on my vehicle where it can't fall out but can be retrieved with some effort.
- quickthrower2 3y agopicked an internal door lock once. because the key was locked inside. it is remarkably easy to do; taking 5 minutes having never done it before by watching youtube and using a paperclip.
- throwaway10965 3y agoYeah, but I called a hacker to do it for me (15th floor apartment). He picked the lock.
- Mezzie 3y agoAs a latchkey kid before cell phones who often misplaced small objects, I've broken into my own houses/apartments fairly regularly. (Now I do the boring 'keep a spare key at work (which is within walking distance))' But I think my favorite ways are using a butter knife to jimmy locks + shimmying across a balcony/ledge with a neighbor's sword to cut my way in through an otherwise inaccessible window. Removing a door by the hinges is fun. The easiest way to break into a home depends a lot on the home itself. You're basically memorizing the house as a system and noting what the system's weak parts are.
- Quinzel 3y ago> “shimmying across a balcony/ledge with a neighbour’s sword to cut my way through” probably the most interesting one I’ve ever heard!
- swah 3y agoIn our building, someone discovered that a 2L plastic bottle can be used to open a door from the outside. This trick has come to the rescue of numerous neighbors over the years, especially when the door accidentally shuts due to the wind or playful kids.[1] I locked my kid in the car recently too - found out that even regular car windows are pretty hard to break. [1] Looks like a "brazilian trick" should be specific to cheapish doors ofc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Ki4Uj5LAI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Ki4Uj5LAI Btw this is the purest use of the internet... no discussion, no politics, just people needing help and thanking the guy for the help.
- VoodooJuJu 3y ago>hack into your home >hack a house Can you just say "break into a house"? Such a weird way to put it, "hack". I get it's Hacker News, were all nerds here, but some things shouldn't be nerdwashed as a "hack", this is one of them.
- runjake 3y agoCat doors. Bump keys. Door shims. Or look under the obvious places for a key (doormat, plant pots, on top of porch lights/door frames, under big rocks, etc. And yes, people are this obvious in the real world.
- YaBa 3y agoMy kid got locked out while I was away. Lauched Telegram, sent my Home Assistant bot a message to open the door covers; sent new message to unlock door and turn off the alarm. Done.
- Quinzel 3y agoThat’s so next level!