Key Copy and Duplication at Our Jacksonville Shop

Why a locksmith counter beats a kiosk

Self-service kiosks and hardware stores copy the common house keys well enough. They cannot cut laser-cut car blades, program most transponder chips or smart fobs, duplicate restricted or high-security keys, or tell you why a copy of a worn key will not turn. A locksmith cuts from the original code when the key is worn, so the copy is better than the key you brought in.

Bring the original key. If you bring a copy of a copy, we can still work from the lock's code in many cases, but the original is the fast path.

Copies of copies fail for a simple reason. A duplicating machine traces the key you hand it, so every copy carries the wear of the key it came from plus a tiny error of its own. A few generations later the cuts are off enough that the key sticks, needs jiggling or will not turn at all. Cutting by code breaks that chain, because the new key is cut to the lock's depths rather than to a worn copy.

• The original key, or the best-working one you have, not the newest copy
• The authorization card for a restricted or high-security key
• The car and a working key when the new key has to be programmed
• Gate, pool and gym fobs themselves, so we can test whether they copy

Which keys can be copied, and what Do Not Duplicate means

Our key duplication service covers most keys on a ring: house and apartment keys, office and padlock keys, mailbox keys, file cabinet keys and older car keys without a chip. If we have the blank, we cut it while you wait. If the key is worn, bent or cracked, we may cut from the code instead of copying the damage.

A Do Not Duplicate stamp on an ordinary key is a request from whoever issued it, usually a landlord, an employer or a property manager. The stamp does not change the key, and any machine that holds that blank can cut it, which is why a stamp alone is weak key control. If the key belongs to a landlord or an employer, check your lease or workplace policy before you copy it.

Real key control comes from a restricted or patented keyway, such as Medeco or Mul-T-Lock, where the manufacturer controls who can buy the blanks. Those keys come with an authorization card or a signature on file, and a copy is made only for someone listed on it. Depending on how the system was set up, the copy is cut by an authorized dealer when you show the card and ID, or ordered through the dealer that holds the records or from the factory. Bring the card and we tell you at the counter which applies to your key.

Car keys and fobs at the counter

Spare car keys are cheapest to make while you still have a working one. Bring the car and a working key to the shop, and we cut and program a spare on the spot for most makes. If the car cannot come to us, our mobile technicians come to the car. Fobs, remote-head keys and transponder keys are all handled at the counter for the makes we stock.

• Shop at Brierwood Village Plaza, Old Kings Rd S near I-95 and University Blvd
• Photo ID needed for restricted keys and for any car key
• Call ahead for unusual keys so we can confirm the blank is in stock

Copying car keys: cloning the chip or programming a new key

Copying a car key is two jobs. Key cutting is the easy half: the blade has to match the lock. On most cars built since the late 1990s the chip in the head also has to be accepted by the immobilizer, or the engine will not start. There are two ways to handle the chip, and which one your car allows depends on the chip type, not on what you prefer.

Cloning reads the chip in your working key and writes the same data into the new key, so the car sees an exact copy of a key it already knows. On many older chip types that can be done without the car. The catch is that a clone and its original are the same key as far as the car is concerned: if one is lost, it cannot be deleted from the car without deleting the other.

Programming gives the new key its own identity and adds it to the car's memory, usually through the diagnostic port, so the car has to be there. It is the only option for many newer encrypted chips and for smart keys on push-to-start cars, and a key added this way can later be deleted on its own if it goes missing. The lock and unlock buttons on a remote-head key are usually paired with the car separately, whichever way the chip is handled.

Either way, a spare made while you still have a working key costs far less than an all-keys-lost car key replacement. Call with the make, model and year and we tell you whether to bring just the key or the car too.

Gate, pool and apartment fobs

The small fob that opens an apartment gate, a community pool or a gym is a proximity credential: it sends a number, and the reader checks that number against a list. Many older fobs are low-frequency tags that send it with no encryption, and those can often be copied onto a new fob. Newer encrypted fobs and cards are built so they cannot be copied, and we will not pretend otherwise.

You cannot tell which kind you have by looking at it, so bring it and we test it at the counter. A copy carries the same number as your original, so the office sees them as one fob: if management switches off the original, the copy stops working too. Some communities do not allow copies and sell extra fobs through the office, so check your lease or HOA rules first.

If you manage the gate or the building and want fobs you can switch off one at a time, that is access control and keyless entry, which we install for apartment communities, HOAs and businesses.