A resource for consumers, locksmiths, and security professionals
The places to get keys made near me, are not going to be the same as the best places to have keys made near you. But there are always key making options that are always nearby. More important than knowing how close the key maker is to you, it is necessary to know if they can make the keys you need.
Finding keys made nearby is not guaranteed to solve your issue. You might need to copy a key without a spare or get a duplicate key for a hard to come by high-security lock. Take a look at some options for keys that are always made near you, and then examine the various key types to determine the best fit for your needs.
A very popular option that you are prompted with when you are looking for keys made near you are online options. You might think to yourself, “These aren’t keys made near me,” and there are instances where you would be right. But certain online and application-based key replacements such as KeyMe will handle the entire process.
You can have the keys sent to your home or have them made at a kiosk. Having the keys sent to your home is not ideal for emergency situations, but it is very convenient. If you want to be able to literally go to a location to get keys made near you, they have the option to go to certain locations and use the kiosks.
The kiosks are found inside certain retail stores (Bed Bath & Beyond, 7-Eleven, Rite Aid, etc.). Because they are automated, they only require you to go through the prompted steps on the touchscreen of the machine. You do not need to wait for an employee in order to get your key made.
If you have taken preemptive steps and documented your keys, you can even replace your key without any existing keys. Your key can be copied with the stored information made available to the company by scanning it with their app. And once you copy a key or scan it, you can save it so that you can make copies in the future.
Issues are hard to rectify if they do come up. You can look up reviews for various companies, but for the KeyMe in particular, there are many reviews stating simply that the kiosks did not work. When you get new keys that don’t work, hopefully, you will be lucky enough to know before giving them out or relying on them.
There is no one to let you know if a mistake has been made or not. You must rely fully on the machine to function properly. Operator error is also possible because you are the one that is left to scan your keys and/or use the kiosk. Issues do come up with the use of this app, besides the security risks of KeyMe, and some customers are left unsatisfied.
If you cannot solve the issue you are experiencing by yourself, there is little that customer service will be able to do over the phone. There are stories of KeyMe’s customer service even misleading customers into thinking an improperly made key will work.
Issues are largely due to issues with communication and understanding centered around the trouble of removing a service professional from the key making equation. KeyMe will also not have access to every type of key you may need cut. Besides odd/old car keys and antique keys, there are many high-security keys they do not carry. And some car makes and models are not supported.
If you are looking for keys made near me, there is usually a hardware store close by. Depending on the hardware store, you may or may not need an employee to make your new key. But even if you do not need a worker to do the work for you, you can still get assistance from a real person.
Most of the common car keys and door keys that you would need can be made at the hardware store. If there is a lock and key section, you might also be able to talk to a person that knows something about locks and keys.
Similar to the kiosks that KeyMe has, you can duplicate car keys even if they need a transponder signal copied. But in these cases, you will need a spare key on hand. To that point, when it comes to keys made near you in a hardware store, you will always need to have an original key to copy.
Advice from hardware store employees can vary quite severely in terms of quality. On one of my documented trips to the lock isle of Home Depot, it became clear to me just how much you can be led astray by a uniformed worker. They might not know what you need if you require anything beyond a simple key duplication.
You will be significantly limited as to what can be copied. Unless the keys are simple and you know exactly what you need, it is unlikely that you will get additional insight or have access to specialty key blanks and machines that could cut them accurately.
One of the greatest issues of relying on a hardware store when you see it come up for the results of “keys made near me”, is there is going to be a tremendous variance in quality. Even the same hardware store at a different time of day will have different employees with different abilities and knowledge.
Opposed to a standard locksmith, a mobile locksmith can come to your location. They are a fast option that deals with the issue of proximity to your location by driving to you. When you are looking for keys made near you, there is no better option than a locksmith in terms of the versatility they offer.
A locksmith can get any type of key copied no matter the scenario. All you need to do is find the right locksmith for you. A locksmith can make new keys without existing copies on hand through decoding a lock or by finding the particular key code. And they can make any type of key on a key cutter because of their access to key blanks and key cutters.
You can ask your locksmith questions and have them diagnose issues in your security. If there is anything tricky about your situation or the key making process, they can sort through the trouble and leave you with as many function keys as possible.
When you are calling the locksmith you can also get a sense of the time it will take to complete the job, and what the cost is likely to be. And when they arrive to provide their service they will be prepared for the job to the greatest extent possible.
When you search for, “keys made near me,” you will rarely be inundated by a veritable smorgasbord of mobile locksmith choices. You might need to search for local locksmiths. From there you need to make sure that the locksmith is prepared to make the keys you need.
Not every locksmith specializes in key making, so they might not have the key blanks required on hand. They might also not have the key cutters for certain niche key types. You need to do just a bit of research (make a few phone calls) to make sure the technician will be up to the task.
Though you will likely to be able to get any type of key made that you need, certain parts might need to ordered before the work can be completed. But if the timeframe does not match your needs, you can choose a different mobile locksmith to help you.
What type of key you are looking to get made determines your options for duplication. Before you just go asking around for, “keys made near me”, it is best to have some idea as to the type of key you need. Take a look at the general categories for some indication of the options you have for getting a new key made.
The locks you use on the door locks for residential and commercial buildings come with two main variations. There are the standard locks that almost any of the shops that have keys made near me, you, and everyone else, can get done. More complicated keys will limit where you can go to get keys made near you.
A standard door key is what you would find with the lower end lock brands. Many of the more recognizable and available door lock brands which are not high-security can be considered to have standard. Kwikset and Schlage keyways are some of the most common cylinders, and they are reused for other locks such as Defiant and Baldwin. These are the easiest keys to get made. If you are searching for these basic keys, you will not need to look far in order to get these keys made near you. If there is a place that cuts locks, they will be able to cut these very simple locks. They will also surely have enough key blanks to get you what you need, in the number you need them. Ordering specialty key blanks or requesting information from manufacturers will not slow the process down. The cutting process will also be very quick.
It might be a little more tricky to find high-security door keys made near you than other styles of keys. When I talk about high-security locks, I am referring to the style of keys that would open the best front door locks. The key blanks for high-security locks are not as easy to come by as standard keys. Many of them are restricted to companies and Locksmiths who have been licensed by the lock manufacturer. They may also need particular key cutting machines in order to make the type of specialty cuts, dimples, tracks, etc. Between restricted access and the necessity for specialty equipment to have these keys made, you are going to be limited to certain options. Some very popular high-security keys might be made at more accessible locations, but a locksmith is going to be the surest bet for this type of work.
Most antique keys in the United States are for warded or lever locks. When you are looking to have antique keys made near you, you might be able to find a hardware store with an employee who knows how to do it. The main issue will be in finding a key blank that will work. This is more of a job for a locksmith. Most locksmiths have new key blanks that will fit the standard profiles of most antique locks. In the most extreme cases, you will need to find a locksmith that is familiar with key smithing. But when you are looking for antique keys made near me, a locksmith is the best place to start your search.
Items like vending machines, slot machines, bike locks, steering wheel locks might have tubular locks or cruciform locks. Though these locks are not inherently high-security (despite what certain manufacturers claim), they can be hard to find key makers for. When you simply Google “keys made near me”, you are almost certainly not going to find someone nearby who can give you the keys that you need. And with oddly shaped keys, it might also be hard to find out what you should even look up. If you have non-standard keys, start by calling a locksmith.
There is currently a lot of variety in car keys. Between the security used on classic cars and what modern cars are being equipped with, it is hard to know who is going to have what you need for your vehicle. If you search for, “car keys made near me,” sure they might be close by, but will they have what you need? Take note of some of the considerations below.
For older vehicles and more economically priced models, the car key you see is all that you need to worry about. There will be no electronic elements. All you will need are the widely available key blanks and a machine that can cut them. For standard car keys, this will mean that you need a traditional key cutting machine or in some cases a laser cutter. Car key cutting is relatively simple can be done almost anywhere that cuts keys. It is only if you have a classic or luxury car that you might run into issues with the blanks being readily available.
The more unique your vehicle is, the more help you may need to find the proper key blank for your car. Even if the venue you look for has a key blank that would work, there might not be someone on staff that knows the parent companies and crossover from vehicle to vehicle. You risk relying on the untrained eye of an employee with no specialist training if you go with the first result when you look up keys made near me. Be aware of the mistakes that could be made through your nearby key making method.
For car keys that need transponder chips programmed, you need to know that this is something that you need. It is not always obvious that a new car key requires transponder key programming. As long as you know that your car key has a transponder chip, and have a copy of the key you would like to be copied, feel free to choose from any of the methods of having car keys made near you. Where you might need a locksmith is if you have to make a transponder key from scratch.
Similar to transponder keys, copying a key is not all that much of an issue for the several ways to have keys made near you. Something like key fob replacement, on the other hand, will require more specialized equipment and knowledge than the other options. When you know that you need keys made near me, a locksmith is a great choice because they can access your vehicle’s onboard diagnostics port. This allows them to make new keys and also remove existing keys from the car’s computer. If you have lost your car keys, this will keep someone who finds them from being able to open your car and start it.
Between these three options, you can always say these are keys made near me. Dealerships are not reliably nearby for your car key needs. A car dealership also only gives you an option for your car keys and not any other of the keys you may need to be made. No matter where you are, these three options are always going to be the closest to you.
But just because you can rest assured these are the closest place to get keys made near me, it does not mean they have what you need. Be sure you know what you need, and choose the best option for your key needs.
Category: Automotive, Car Keys, Commercial, Residential
