Starfield Lockpicking Guide: How to Hack Any Lock or Safe

Lockpicking in Starfield is very different from what we’ve seen before in the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series. In this guide, we’ll explain how the lockpicking mechanic works in the game.

Some useful items and data in Starfield are hidden behind the locks of safes, computers, doors, or containers. So you’ll need to master the new lockpicking mechanic.

The first thing you’ll need is a digipick—a tool for hacking locks. Not lockpicks or bobby pins like before, but digital lockpicking devices. Fortunately, they’re not hard to find, since they’re available in almost any point of interest. You’ll find them in the open world or on the bodies of defeated enemies. Check desks in rooms or any nearby crates.

You can also buy them from vendors in the "Miscellaneous" section of their inventories. Visit a general store in a major city. Usually, they have enough stock at an affordable price.

Locks come in different difficulties: "Novice," "Advanced," "Expert," or "Master." Anyone can attempt to open a novice lock with a digipick. More advanced locks require you to invest points in the Security skill.

Each attempt consumes a digipick. If you reset the lock, you’ll need another digipick. You’ll also see a cancel option with a number next to it—this is the number of digipicks you have left. Each cancellation uses one digipick.

You don’t need the lockpicking skill to open a novice-level lock. But having it will help you accumulate more auto-attempts, which will give you one of the correct lock combinations.

In the center, you’ll see a set of rings. On the right, you’ll have a set of keys you can use for this lock. The keys have protrusions that you’ll need to match with the holes on the lock’s rings.

In a novice lock, you’ll see four digipick patterns and the number of remaining digipicks. It’s important to note that each of the four patterns is counted when using a digipick, but if you use an incorrect pattern and can’t open the lock, you’ll have to cancel your progress and use new digipicks to start over. The goal is to use the patterns to fill each of the circles.

Locks consist of several rings—the more difficult the lock, the more rings you may have to deal with. The first thing you need to solve is the outer part of the lock. Look at the gaps in the lock that you need to fill, and you’ll see a set of tool options on the right that you’ll have to use for this.

These options are arranged in random order, and you’ll need to scroll through them to try different combinations. The trick is not to set any of the picks unless you are SURE it fits. Some options may work in multiple cases, but only one will be the correct solution. So if you rush and make the wrong choice, you’ll have to cancel the result, which will cost you a digipick.

The image above shows an example of solving a novice lock. You can see that both keys fit the outer ring. This means that if there are three contacts in the pattern, all points must fit into the slot, and the second pattern must match the remaining slots on the outer ring.

Being able to see if several patterns fit one ring before placing them can be extremely useful, so always remember where the points match on the first pattern, then switch to another one without checking if you can fit it into the outer lock.

There’s a trick to keep in mind: the protrusions keep their position when rotated, so you can place one protrusion where you think it should be, and switch between several options to see if they all fit. Once you’re sure you have two that fit, you can place them and unlock the outer ring.

The central lock is usually much simpler, since you’ll have fewer patterns to choose from. Thus, one of the remaining patterns should be used for the outer ring.

Advanced locks have a couple more pick options. One or two of these patterns will be useless. They won’t be used at all. Now, thanks to the greater number of choices, there’s an increased chance that some of them can be used both inside and outside.

To try to lower the chance that you’ll have to cancel an action (which will cost you an extra digipick), try to solve both the inner and outer rings before setting any picks.

Above you can see an image of solving an advanced lock. The first thing to do is start from the outside. At this stage, it’s very important not to set any picks, even if you think you’ve solved the outer lock. Even if it seems like you’ve figured out the outer lock, there may be another solution you don’t see right away.

Often, you manage to solve the outer lock only to realize that one of the patterns you used is crucial for the central lock. A good rule of thumb: as the difficulty increases, start with the more complex patterns and try to see if they fit both the outer and inner locks. When you find a pattern with 3 or 4 points that only fits the outside, you have a better chance that you’ve made the right choice.

Remember, locks are generated randomly, so if you have just one digipick left and you’re worried the puzzle may be too difficult, make a save before starting it. And if it turns out to be too hard and you can’t solve it, just reload your game and try again.

As for "Expert" and "Master" locks, you’ll need to invest more in the security skill tree. Fortunately, you also get some useful abilities for solving these puzzles as you spend more points in your security skill.

At the first level of the tech skill tree, you’ll find a skill called "Security." Each skill rank allows you to handle more difficult locks: "Novice" (no rank), "Advanced" (rank 1), "Expert" (rank 2), and "Master" (rank 3).

When you level up the skill, you gain the ability to accumulate auto-attempts. Each time you successfully (manually) pick a lock, you get one auto-attempt—up to the limit set by your skill rank.

The thing is, there are actually no auto-attempts in the digipick interface. Instead, you’ll see an auto slot. It will automatically rotate the key you’ve selected into a position where it fits the current ring.

At the second level of the "Security" skill, the lock’s ring will turn blue when the key you’re using fits into it. However, this doesn’t mean you have to use it. The fact that the key fits doesn’t mean it’s part of the solution. But it’s a helpful tip that simplifies the lockpicking mechanic, especially when using the auto slot. Use this to quickly figure out which patterns won’t be needed or may only fit the central locks.