The door to the bathroom in my house was accidentally locked and I can't figure out how to unlock it from the outside.
The knob has 3 holes on the outside:
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The hole in which on a normal doorknob you would insert a key, screwdriver, etc. and turn to unlock. On this particular knob in the hole, there is a silver, metal, cone-shaped plate that can be pushed in (but not rotated – there is no kind of groove to place a key in and turn). When you push it in, it goes about an inch in and you can feel a spring pushing back but it doesn't seem to change anything.
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A small circular hole on the cylindrical portion of the knob that connects to the door. It isn't on the base that actually touches the door, but on the cylinder connecting the spherical knob and the base. You can see the metal turning through it as you turn the knob, but there isn't a full hole to the inside of the knob.
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A rectangular hole on the same portion as the small circular hole in #2. It looks like there is some kind of metal tab that should be able to be moved, but applying force in any direction has not had any results.
I've tried every combination of push, pull, twist, push in hole #1, #2 and #3 I can think of with no luck. Does anyone know what kind of knob I'm talking about and how to unlock it?
Here are pictures of the knob: http://imgur.com/a/io4F4
Best Answer
Bathroom doors are for courtesy, not security, and are designed to be easily defeated. The solitary purpose of that hole on the end of the knob, and the button behind it, is to unlock the door.
Work that option quite firmly, straight in, with the stoutest thing that'll fit in the hole. If that doesn't work, into the trash it goes.
Since the lock-set is beyond saving, you can poke at the other holes in an effort to release the knob handle from the shaft, and otherwise destructively disassemble it in any manner that won't harm the door or trim. It shouldn't be long before you gain enough access to the mechanism to either spring the lock, or slide the latch. Throw the bits out and off to the big-box to buy a $10 bathroom lockset.