The “Secret Elevator Trick,” Explained

There isn’t a universal “secret elevator trick” that makes a car skip stops or go express; the widely shared hack—holding Door Close while pressing your floor—rarely works on modern elevators, which enforce safety and accessibility rules and reserve priority modes for authorized users with keys. Here’s how the myth took hold, what actually happens inside contemporary elevator systems, and what riders can realistically do.

Where the Rumor Came From

For years, posts on forums and social media have claimed that pressing and holding the Door Close button while selecting a floor forces an elevator to bypass intermediate calls—sometimes with a specific sequence like Close + Floor + Close. Technicians and seasoned riders occasionally report edge cases in old or poorly configured systems where door-dwell time shortens if Close is held. Those anecdotes morphed into a universal “hack,” even though it doesn’t align with how most elevators are designed or regulated.

How Modern Elevators Actually Work

Today’s elevators are controlled by software that prioritizes safety, accessibility, and traffic efficiency. Controllers queue hall calls and car calls and determine stops based on algorithms, not button-order tricks. In many high-traffic buildings, destination-dispatch systems assign you to a specific car before you board, further reducing any effect passenger buttons can have once inside.

The Door Close Button, In Reality

In the United States, the Door Close button often has limited or delayed effect for ordinary riders. That’s largely because elevators must meet accessibility requirements that mandate minimum door-open times so people with mobility devices can enter and exit safely. As a result, the controller may ignore a Close press until the minimum dwell time elapses. In Europe and other regions, Close commonly works, but it still won’t override safety sensors or cause the car to skip registered stops.

“Express” or Priority Service Requires a Key

Modes that truly bypass normal behavior—such as Independent Service or Firefighter’s Emergency Operation—are key-controlled. In Independent Service, a keyed operator can take the car out of group control and make non-stop runs between selected floors; in Firefighter’s (Phase II), trained personnel can command doors and movement under strict rules. Buildings may also have service or attendant modes for staff. None of these are accessible through secret passenger button sequences.

Older and Edge-Case Exceptions

Some pre-1990 or lightly modernized elevators may shorten door dwell if Door Close is held, and a few legacy controllers had undocumented quirks. But even then, skipping already-registered calls is uncommon because safety and dispatch logic prevent it. As systems are upgraded, those behaviors disappear.

Common Myths vs. Facts

The following points separate popular myths from how elevator controls generally work today.

• Myth: Holding Door Close while pressing your floor makes the elevator go express. Fact: Modern systems won’t bypass existing calls without a key-controlled mode.
• Myth: Double-tapping your floor cancels it. Fact: Most controllers don’t allow passenger cancellation once a car call is registered; some destination-dispatch kiosks offer a cancel/redo before boarding.
• Myth: Door Close is a placebo everywhere. Fact: In many U.S. installations it’s delayed or limited; in other regions it often functions—but only within safety dwell and sensor rules.
• Myth: Secret sequences can unlock firefighter or service modes. Fact: Priority modes require physical keys and training; button sequences alone won’t enable them.

Taken together, these realities explain why the urban-legend shortcuts rarely, if ever, deliver the promised “express” ride.

What You Can Actually Do to Ride Smarter

These practical steps help you move efficiently without relying on myths.

• Use destination-dispatch kiosks correctly: choose your floor before boarding, and if you make a mistake, use the kiosk’s cancel or correction function where available.
• Step fully into the car and stand clear of door edges and light curtains; obstructed sensors keep doors from closing and delay everyone.
• Press Door Open for riders approaching, then release to allow doors to close; pressing Door Close may speed closure only after minimum dwell and if permitted by the controller.
• If you need uninterrupted service (e.g., moving carts), ask building staff—authorized independent or service modes require a key.
• In an emergency, follow posted instructions; do not attempt to “override” the system with button sequences.

While these steps won’t make an elevator skip stops, they align with how modern systems are designed and will generally get you where you’re going faster and more safely.

Bottom Line

The “secret elevator trick” is largely a myth. Elevators are engineered to honor queued calls, enforce safety and accessibility standards, and reserve true priority behavior for authorized key-controlled modes. Any apparent success with button-sequence hacks is usually coincidence, older equipment quirks, or simple door-dwell timing—not a reliable method to force an express ride.

Summary

There is no dependable, universal button sequence that makes elevators go express or skip stops. Door Close may have limited effect—and only within safety rules—while genuine priority modes require a key. Use destination dispatch properly, avoid blocking sensors, and rely on building staff for special service needs.

What is the 2027 elevator code?

There is a retroactive code requirement that all elevators in New York City with single-plunger machine brakes must either be altered to have dual-plunger brakes or have a compliant Unintended Car Movement Protection system installed by January 1, 2027.

What is the secret elevator code in off?

Enter 10258 on the elevator, and you’ll find yourself at the postal service.

What is the forbidden number on the elevator?

Skipping: Most commonly, 13 is skipped, as in: 12, 14, 15… The floor labeled “14” on the elevator is the thirteenth floor and the number 13 is skipped on the elevator console.

What is the elevator trick?

“Elevator tricks” can refer to:

• A Diabolo skill Opens in new tabwhere you make the diabolo climb a string, often requiring a fixed axle diabolo and good spin. 
• A magic trick Opens in new tabwith cards called “The Elevator” or “Devil’s Elevator,” which uses misdirection and specific card placements to make cards appear to travel. 
• A physical maneuver Opens in new tabusing a “Close Door” button and your floor button to potentially get an express ride, though this doesn’t always work as it’s a “life hack” and the button can be a “placebo” on some elevators. 
• A DIY trick Opens in new tabwhere you hold down the close door button and your floor button simultaneously for a short time to make the elevator skip certain floors. 
• A Yo-Yo skill Opens in new tabwhere the Yo-Yo is placed on the string and pulled up the string to make it “climb”. 

This video demonstrates how to perform the elevator trick with a diabolo: 59sSpyros BrosYouTube · Jul 12, 2024
Diabolo Elevator
This is a beginner trick for a toy called a diabolo. 

1. Get a fixed axle diabolo, which is a diabolo that can’t rotate freely. 
2. Spin the diabolo on its axle. 
3. Use your string hand to wrap the string around the diabolo’s axle, keeping it vertical. 
4. Push the stick down to make the diabolo climb the string, or lift the string and then make it climb by pulling the sticks apart. 

Card “Elevator” Trick
This is a magic trick with cards. 

1. Arrange your cards in a specific order (e.g., black cards with four aces). 
2. Use techniques like the Elmsley Count and double lifts to make it seem like the aces are moving to different positions in the “elevator”. 
3. Use misdirection, such as misnaming a card as it’s placed, to make the trick more effective. 

Real Elevator “Trick”
This involves using the “close door” button to bypass other floors. 

1. Press the “close door” button for a few seconds to make the doors close.
2. While holding the close door button, press the button for your desired floor.
3. This is said to make the elevator act as an express elevator.

You can watch this video to see how the life hack of using the ‘close door’ button to skip floors works: 59sBATTLEFOXX LIVING EARTH – Nature, Coto de CazaYouTube · Sep 6, 2018
Yo-Yo “Elevator” Trick
This is a yo-yo skill that makes the yo-yo “climb” a string. 

1. Give the yo-yo a strong “sleeper” spin.
2. Place the string over your opposite hand’s fingers and the yo-yo over the string, just above your yo-yo finger.
3. Pull your hands apart to make the yo-yo climb the string.