Key Duplication in Orlando, FL

How copies work when there is no shop to visit

Call the dispatcher, say what keys you need and how many, and give the address. A technician comes to your home, office or the parking lot where you are, cuts the copies on the machine in the van and tests each one in the lock before leaving. If you would rather come to us, the base at 2911 39th St #200 in south Orlando takes appointments; call first so the right blanks and the right technician are there when you arrive.

This is slower than a hardware-store kiosk for one plain house key and faster for everything else: a worn key that needs to be cut from code, a mailbox key the kiosk does not stock, a key stamped do not duplicate, or anything with a chip in it.

• Hand over the original key; a copy of a copy wears the cut with every generation
• Photo ID for any car key, and proof of ownership for restricted keys
• Several keys at one address cost less per key than one visit per key

Chip keys, fobs and why the hardware store copy will not start the car

Almost every car built since the late 1990s carries a small transponder chip in the key head. The car's immobilizer checks for that chip before it lets the engine run. A hardware store can cut the metal blade of a chip key so it turns the lock, but without the chip programmed the engine cranks and dies, or never cranks at all. That is the call we get after the kiosk: a key that opens the door and will not start the car.

We clone the chip onto the new key or program the car to accept it, at the car, for most makes on Orlando roads. Fobs and smart keys are programmed the same way, and a spare made while you still have a working one costs less than a replacement made after all the keys are gone. Tell the dispatcher the year, make and model and you get a straight answer on the phone.

High-security keys, restricted keys and do not duplicate

Do not duplicate stamped on an ordinary key is a request from whoever bought it, not a law, and we copy those for the person who owns the lock. Restricted systems such as Medeco and Mul-T-Lock are different: the blanks are controlled and copies require proof that you are the authorized keyholder, and we follow each system's rules. Building and office keys on a master system are copied only with the owner's or manager's authorization.

Motorcycle, boat and RV keys, padlocks, file cabinets, mailbox banks and older keys the kiosks do not stock are all cut from the van, and unusual blanks can be ordered ahead when you call.

Gate, pool and apartment fobs, and community keys

Apartment and HOA residents across Orlando often want a second pool key, gate remote or building fob. Some of these can be copied and some cannot, and the honest answer depends on what you are holding. Older proximity fobs are often simple to copy. Newer encrypted fobs and cards are designed so they cannot be, and those come only from the leasing office or the association, which can also switch off a lost one. A remote for a community entrance gate usually has to be added to the gate's receiver by management.

Pool, clubhouse and amenity keys are often cut on a restricted keyway the association controls, and some communities' rules say only the office may issue them. We copy a community key only with the association's or the manager's authorization, the same rule we follow for building master keys. Tell the dispatcher what is printed on the fob, remote or key and you hear whether a copy is possible before anyone drives. Like every copy, it is made from the van at your address or at the base by appointment.

Boards and managers tired of chasing copied pool and clubhouse keys can move those doors to fob and code access control, where a lost fob is switched off instead of every lock being rekeyed.