Hollon HS-500E 2 Hour Fire Proof Electronic Home Safe

Pros:* The master code can be changed. And after that the default one that comes from the factory no longer works.* The code can be up to eight digits long.* Keeps a log for code changes, and code errors.* Hefty for its size. Someone commented "It took 2 strong men and a hand truck to get it upstairs." It must have been a different safe, because it took me and my 12-year-old son to get it upstairs.* Seems fairly well constructed (locking mechanism notwithstanding).* There were no problems with reprogramming the code or opening and closing the door.Cons:* It was delivered in a box without outside damage. The safe was secured inside with dense foam "cubes" at each corner - also damage free. Nevertheless, one of the corners was damaged as if it was hit with hard narrow plank of sorts. I am fairly certain this damage happened at the factory, before it was packaged.* It's not easy to lift the safe out of the shipping box. I laid the box on its side and pull the safe out. Would be better if it was a two-part box. Pull the top part out, and the safe is left standing on a base. Of course, if keeping the box isn't a consideration, one can just cut it open.* The door lock rods are stamped sheet metal. Do not instill any level of confidence.* A pin moved by an electromagnet is what's stopping the latch from opening. Any force on the handle is applied as sheering force on the pin, where the extended pin is a lever multiplying the force at the electromagnet. I only hope that the handle is the weakest point, and it will break before the pin gives in. This is flawed design. A better one would be to have the handle rotate freely - no force can be applied anywhere, and only when the correct code is entered, the handle will be connected with the locking mechanism to open the door.* Some cables from a control box to the door face plate were routed in a less than agreeable way. I rerouted them. But still not good. The cables should go through a sleeve rather than directly resting/rubbing against the metal.* There's a hole in the safe to bolt it to the floor. I don't intend to. Now I have to find some fireproof material to fill it in.This isn't a burglary resistant safe. However, it will discourage my house guests from trying to open it. Hopefully it stands up to its fireproof claims. It is somewhat overpriced considering the signs of manufacturing carelessness.

Plenty of room for our important paperwork and jewelry. Programmed the new code with no problems whatsoever. No problems with the code being inaccessible when the safe arrived. I have opened the safe several times with no problems after putting our valuables inside. We wanted a safe that would provide good fire protection as this does, and it's heavy enough that it would not be easily moved by would-be thieves. The safe was well-packaged and arrived with no damage.

I'll update this review when I have a chance to properly review the product, but so far, my recommendation is to purchase your safe locally.The package basically rolled off the truck completely in shambles. There were two plastic straps that were loose at this point. The packaging seemed to mostly still cover the safe, so I loaded it up and brought it home.After awkwardly getting it close to where I was going to use it, I opened it up fully with a shower of broken styrofoam. There was no indication of which direction was up, and based on the labels, it was upside down.There were two large bends in the frame, one along the top edge and one on the bottom corner. It must have been quite a drop to get these bends there, as it seems to be substantial steel.Added some batteries, entered the master code (it worked), and turned the knob. It clicks and rotates a bit, but the door won't budge.Obviously the drops along the way warped the frame enough to make the door unopenable.Of course Amazon is great about returns and exchanges, and with a call I was able to set up a replacement delivery and schedule a pickup for the return. However, "repackaging" is a joke. Even if I had a new box, it's extremely heavy and difficult to get into a box. I struggled to get it nested inside the remnants of the box and taped it up. We'll see if UPS will accept it.In short, when dealing with something heavy like this, it's probably better to ensure you only need to move it once. I'll update the review when I get the replacement in.***Update - replacement received a few days after the request was made. Again, the packaging was extremely damaged. Again, there was major damage to the frame. It was obviously dropped from a height -- this is pretty sturdy metal that is totally crunched at the corners.The door opened on this one, and I wasn't impressed with the interior. I don't know if it was missing a part, but the mechanism was totally open from the inside.Result - return for a refund (after much hassle) and I'll buy something locally. Total fail on the shipping method.

The door sticks a little when you first try to open the door and there is no handle to pull it open. I have to use both hands to open it. Other than that it seems to work great. I can't say it really protects against fire because I haven't had a fire, but it looks as if it could if I did have a fire.

Easy to use. Very sturdy. This is a great fire safe. Would definitely buy again. It is extremely heavy which is why it’s a good one. It took 2 strong men and a hand truck to get it upstairs.

This unit is very nice and large enough to hold a full size binder for documents. Unfortunately the unit would not open with the supplied key and combination despite communicating with Hollon technical support. Had to return 120 pound unit by repackaging and carrying to nearest shipper. Repackaging is a bit difficult. The second unit worked first try.