Hack a Coke Machine
Some Coke machines built in the late 1990s can be hacked with a simple access code. Once you enter the code, you can find out all kinds of information about the machine's sales, check out the profitability of that vending machine route, and dazzle your friends with your technical prowess. To hack a Coke machine, try the following steps.
Contents
Steps
- Find a machine that has an LED screen and is by "Royal Vendors". There should be a label on both sides of the machine, such as "Ice Cold Coca-Cola." If the machine's LED display simply displays the price, the steps below may not work the same as they would on one that doesn't display the costs .
- Enter the access code by using the drink selection buttons. The default access code is 4, 3, 2, 1 but the buttons aren't numbered. They will either say nothing or have pictures of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, and other Coca-Cola products on them.
- If the buttons are in rows, they should be numbered 1 through 4 from left to right.
- If the buttons are in a column, button 1 should be the top one.
- Enter history codes to find information about the machine. Again, this will vary slightly depending on the machine. Experiment with different buttons to see various information.
- On machines with two panels of six buttons on each side, press 1 to see the total lifetime sales, 2 for the total lifetime items sold, 3 for a breakdown of items sold of each selection, 4 for a breakdown of cash generated for each selection, and 5 for the machine' internal temperature.
- Exit the menu. On some machines, the 6 button will close the menu; on others, pressing the select or coin-return button works. If you’re not sure which button to press, leave the machine alone; after a while without input, all machines should return to the normal menu.
Tips
- There are several videos available on the Internet that show people using this hack. Many claim to be able to change prices or get a free drink, but the videos don't actually show them doing so.
- Vending machine owners or service people have the option to change the access sequence from 4231 to some other combination of buttons, but they rarely do. This is probably because having one code makes it easier for anyone to service all the machines along a route. It may also be because the information you can access through the external menu with the door closed is limited and fairly harmless.
- In order to get to the same menu in a machine that sells Pepsi products, simply enter 1, 3, 2, 4. All the menu options should be the same. However, keep in mind that this does not work on all Pepsi machines.
- This only works for Coke machines, which may sell products such as Barq's Root Beer, Sprite, Dasani, Evian, Fanta, Fresca, Fruitopia, Full Throttle, Powerade, Hi-C, Minute Maid, Nestea, Odwalla, Mr. Pibb, Planet Java, Seagram's Ginger Ale, Simply Orange, Sparkletts, or Tab in addition to Coke and Diet Coke.
- In general, these are the only options you can access without having the door unlocked and open. Different machines may list these options in somewhat different formats, so experiment a bit to learn what each new one does.
Warnings
- Do not hack the machine when others are around or in front of a handheld camera (or security camera).
- Do not do this if there's a line behind you, as people may get upset waiting for you.
- Coca-Cola has distributed new firmware to their vendors that would render these instructions unusable. That means that these instructions will only work on older, models that have not been updated yet.
- Some machines may require you to enter the code twice, so don't despair if you don't get to the menu immediately.
- Please note that this article does not encourage you to steal drinks from drink machines. Stealing is illegal.
- Several machines display a list of more codes, but most have the dispense options disabled.
- On some machines, pressing the coin-return button will only display the machine's inner temperature, not exit the menu.
