Barska Biometric Wall Safe AX12880 Review

The Barska Biometric Wall Safe AX12880 is another disappointing product from a long line of low quality safes with low quality locks. I’m honestly amazed they manage to stay in business after all the years of selling complete junk. When it comes to wall safes, longevity and reliability are key and I advise looking for a safe that uses a UL Rated high security locking mechanism. In this review, I will help you understand what makes this a wall safe you should definitely avoid.

Lock – Barska Biometric Wall Safe AX12880

First and always most important for any safe is the lock. Barska uses a biometric fingerprint scanner that is one of the absolute cheapest in the industry. The lock sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t and when it comes to a biometric system, you need it to work every single time. With the advancement of biometric scanners by the likes of Apple, Google and even safe companies like Verifi, the technology exists but is more expensive. Barska opted to go with the cheapest option and the poor quality shows. Buy hey, at least it can store 120 fingerprints.

Next, the back-up method on the Barska Biometric Wall Safe AX12880 is a tubular key override. This is the same tubular override key that Amazon Basics used on their low quality safes and there are tons of videos out on how to open these key locks with Bic Pens and anything round that can fit in the hole. It takes a minimal amount of force to open these and lock picks are easily found on Amazon for around $60.

Another awful feature of this wall safe is that the batteries are located on the inside of the safe. So if you do not replace it in time you will need to purchase an external battery pack or search for your tubular key override. Batteries should always be located on the outside of the safe in the keypad. This is the case for all UL rated type 1 high security electronic locks made by NL, Securam and S&G.

Security – Barska Biometric Wall Safe AX12880

At only 28 lbs, the Barska Biometric Wall Safe AX12880 is made with only 1/16″ steel construction. It doesn’t get any thinner than that and this door can easily be opened with a screwdriver and hammer. How they got this safe DOJ approved is beyond me because there is no way something this thin can pass even the most basic burglary tests. It is advertised as having motorized locking bolts which is not true. It has a handle to retract the bolts.

Style & Function

The Barska Biometric Wall Safe AX12880 is finished in a textured beige with brushed silver scanner and handle. The finish is the same low quality paint they use on most of the imported safes from China. The scanner on this wall safe is very inconveniently placed in that it protrudes far out from the flange making it essentially useless to hang a picture frame over unless you have a lot of depth in the frame. Also included are two removable shelves.

Warranty

Not only does Barska make extremely low quality products but they also have the industries worst warranty. They provide a 1 year warranty that does not include shipping, repair or sending a safe technician to your home. They actually require you to pay $30 to cover their inspection, shipping and handling of their defective product. You will not be reimbursed if they find it to be defective, that is the fee for them to assess. Absolutely insane and horrible customer service. Huge red flag here.

The Bottom Line

Overall, this is not a good quality product and it’s sold by the worst safe company in the industry. When things inevitably go wrong, they will not help you. In fact, they will actually require you to send them a check for shipping and the cost to repair the safe. That’s if they respond to your customer service request at all.

With that said, there is a wall safe I highly recommend. The Stealth WSHD1414 wall safe comes with a 1/2″ thick solid steel door, UL rated high security S&G mechanical lock, hard plate, re-locker, 12 gauge steel body, double the warranty and is Made in USA. It’s my top absolute top pick in the wall safe category and significantly more secure. It’s also double the price but remember with safes, you always get what you pay for.