To pick a lock in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, walk up to the locked door or container with at least one lockpick in your inventory and press the interact button (E on keyboard, A on Xbox, X on PlayStation). The lockpicking screen opens: push each tumbler up, set it at the top of its rise, and the lock opens once every tumbler is pinned, or press Auto Attempt and let your Security skill roll for you. This guide walks through the act itself step by step on each platform, then the alternatives when you have no picks or no patience. For the minigame’s finer points, tumbler behavior and skill training, see our full lockpicking guide.
Step 1: check the cursor before you touch it
Hover over the lock. If the interact icon is red, opening it counts as a crime, and anyone who sees you will call the guards or attack. The safe habit is to enter sneak mode first (Left Control on keyboard, B on Xbox, Circle on PlayStation) and confirm the sneak eye is faded, meaning nobody can see you, before you interact. Locks with a normal cursor are free to pick. If you have a save-scumming habit, this is also the moment to press F5; our save guide covers the controller bindings.
Step 2: open the lock screen
Press the interact button while looking at the lock. You need at least one lockpick in your inventory; without one the lock simply reports itself as locked. The screen shows the lock’s tumblers side by side (harder locks have more of them, up to five in the original’s Very Hard tier, and the remaster keeps the same difficulty labels), a pick underneath, your remaining lockpicks, and the Auto Attempt button.
Step 3: set the tumblers one at a time
- Keyboard and mouse: move the pick under a tumbler with the mouse, push the tumbler up with a click, and click again the instant it pauses at the top of its rise to set it.
- Controller: move the pick with the left stick, push the tumbler up with the interact button (A or X), and press it again at the top to set it.
Every tumbler rises at its own speed and pauses for a different length of time. Slow, long pauses are safe; fast, short ones are where picks break. The remaster made the audio cue louder and more distinct, per the unofficial UESP changes list, so play with sound on and listen for the tone that marks the top of the rise. If you set a tumbler at the wrong moment, the pick snaps and some set tumblers fall. How many fall now depends on your Security rank, per UESP’s remastered leveling page: up to four at Novice, three at Apprentice, two at Journeyman and only one at Expert, a reworking of the original’s perks. Repeat until all tumblers are pinned and the lock opens.
If you rebound your keys and lockpicking ignored them, that was a launch bug; Bethesda’s Update 1.2 lists “fixed rebinding keys for Lock Picking” among its UI fixes, so custom bindings work on the current build.
Step 4: or press Auto Attempt
The Auto Attempt button on the lock screen makes one roll based on your Security skill. Success opens the lock instantly; failure costs a lockpick. Early on, with a low skill and a handful of picks, it is a gamble on anything above Easy. Later it is the fastest way through routine chests.
One remaster change makes it worth spamming when picks are cheap: per UESP, Security experience is awarded on every Auto Attempt press whether it succeeds or not, where the original paid nothing for a broken pick. If you have a stack of picks from the Thieves Guild, Auto Attempt on a hard lock is a legitimate way to train the skill. Our guide to where to get lockpicks lists the sellers.
When you cannot pick it: the alternatives
- Open Lock spells. The Alteration effect is called Open Lock in the remaster (it was just “Open” before, per UESP). Two purchasable spells cover it, Fenrik’s Welcome and The Unwelcome Guest, and UESP notes their magnitudes were raised in the remaster so each now opens every lock of the tier its description names. Buy them from Mages Guild spell merchants; see how to use spells.
- Scrolls of Open Lock do the same job once each and drop as loot.
- The Skeleton Key, the reward from Nocturnal’s shrine quest, is an unbreakable lockpick that also fortifies Security. It is the permanent fix; our Daedric artifacts guide covers the quest.
- Find the key. Many locked house and shop doors have a key on the owner or somewhere in the building, and the game opens them with no minigame when you hold it.
- Wait for opening hours. Shops are locked overnight and unlock when the owner arrives; passing time (T on keyboard) is free and legal.
There is no lock bashing in Oblivion, so a lock you cannot pick or spell open, and have no key for, stays shut until your skill or your spellbook improves.
Frequently Asked Questions
What button picks a lock in Oblivion Remastered? The interact button: E on keyboard, A on Xbox, X on PlayStation. The same button pushes and sets tumblers once the lock screen is open.
Do I need a lockpick to open the lock screen? Yes. With no picks in your inventory the lock just reports as locked. Spells and scrolls of Open Lock bypass the screen entirely.
Is picking a lock a crime? Only when the interact cursor is red, which marks owned property. Pick those while sneaking and unseen, or accept the bounty.
Does Auto Attempt still waste lockpicks? A failed attempt breaks one pick. Per UESP it now also grants Security experience whether it succeeds or fails, which the original did not.
What changed about lockpicking since launch? Update 1.2 fixed rebound keys not applying to lockpicking. No patch has altered the minigame itself, verified against official patch notes.
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