How to repair a lose door handle?

Question

I can almost pull out my door handle. There is a loose ring as well.

And since a picture is worth a thousand words:

More details:

• There are four screws on the inside of the door, they are all firmly in place.
• There are no screws on the outside of the door.
• This is the main entrance door to my apartment. Rotating the knob just visible on the top of the first picture can lock the handle.
• On the outside, there is a key hole to unlock the door. The key hole appears align directly with the rotating knob on the inside.
• On the outside, there is also a push thingy. Pushing it down has the same effect as rotating the handle on the inside. This thingy is not loose.

I have absolutely zero knowledge and experience on door handles and locks. I do have some basic tools like a few screwdrivers, a small wrench, a hammer etc.

Questions:

1. What type of handle / lock is this (so I can research it further)?
2. It is realistic that a person like me (with no previous experience) can fix it? I am afraid I won't be able to put everything together once I disassemble the thing. Should I call a locksmith?
3. If so, how?

Answer 1

If you are handy at doing things and can see how things go together, it can be fixed, I believe without a locksmith.

There should be a set screw on the lever that can be tightened. The picture you have does not show that side of the lever, but if it did you may find it to be an allen (hex) set screw.

In some handle sets, the allen screw has a very long sharp point to dig into a specific spot on the shaft. Sometimes the shaft is not set in the proper orientation for that to happen and the handle gets loose not matter what is done

If there is no allen set screw, the handle is kept in place by circlips

on the back side (inside) of the interior backing plate. Remove the 4 screws, the backing plate will come off, you my find some loose parts in there still around the shaft, unless they are broken