Is It Possible to Make a New House Key From a Photograph?
I was browsing the LifeProtips subreddit on Reddit and read an amazing hack: One Reddit user suggested storing photos of your physical keys in your phone’s digital wallet. This way, if you lose your key, the locksmith can cut you a duplicate using just a photo. The idea that keys can be inferred from a photograph is essentially the flip side of the warnings you sometimes read in articles with headlines like ” Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Post Photos of Your House Keys Online.” So does it work? Is this a new hack that will prevent you from getting banned again? Can thieves really copy your keys from an Instagram post? Yes and no. Making a key from a photo is theoretically possible, but in practice it is so difficult that you shouldn’t worry about it.
“If you were to show a photo of a key to a locksmith, and if it was a fairly standard key—like a QuickSet or something like that—he could probably use his experience and knowledge to determine how long to cut that key. ” said Owen Hunter, who has worked as a locksmith for several years for both commercial and residential clients in Burbank, California. “But the photo has to be exactly the same size as the key—like a perfect one-to-one photo—in order to make a copy.”
It’s difficult to take pictures of keys that are the perfect size.
According to Hunter, even the slightest angle or discrepancy in size will make it very difficult for a locksmith to make a duplicate of your photo. “You will need to photograph the key at an almost perfectly perpendicular angle. It would probably only be possible to do this if you had a good lighting table and a down shooter or something like that.” In other words: the photo won’t work from your iPhone.
Online sources sometimes suggest that taking a photo of your key on a piece of graph paper will help translate the dimensions, but that won’t be too helpful, according to Hunter. “This could make things about 3% easier,” he said.
The above “it will never work” advice applies to the most common, cheapest and commercially available types of locks. Higher grade locks will likely be more difficult and car keys will be impossible to unlock. “I don’t know how to make car keys from a photo. Because there are so many different types, and usually it’s electronics and key fobs,” Hunter said.
The difficulty is finding a locksmith who will take your key photo problem seriously.
You could probably overcome the technical hurdle of precisely matching the dimensions of a key you no longer have with photographic skills or painstakingly matching shadows and angles with drawing software, but even if you did that you’d end up would eventually face an even more difficult obstacle. : Find a locksmith who will take you seriously. Someone has to make a key for you, and according to Hunter, most locksmiths won’t do that.
“The locksmith would like to know what the hell your problem is,” Hunter explained. “You can bring a photo of someone’s key. This could be a big security issue that a reputable locksmith won’t want to deal with…on behalf of every locksmith, just bring your own key. Don’t bring a photo; it’s useless”.
Three smart ways to protect yourself from losing your keys
If you need to save a version of the keys on your phone, there’s a much better way than storing a .jpg file in your iWallet. “If you really need a digital backup, you can bring your original key to a locksmith and they can read the key code and tell you its PIN. If you have those two things, you can just call a locksmith and have them cut you a new key,” Hunter said.
Another solution: install the lock itself. If you can get into your home, most locks can be removed fairly easily with a screwdriver or drill, and then you can take the entire mechanism to a locksmith who can make you a new key for your old lock.
The best solution for losing your keys is a mundane one, but it’s almost comically simple: Use the time you were planning to spend taking the perfect photo of your keys and go to the hardware store. Spend six dollars to make a couple extra copies of your house keys and store them somewhere safe. Maybe hide one in the back of the closet and give it to neighbor Gary. I promise it will be much easier than following people’s advice on the internet.