Cracked or Damaged Key Fob? Copy It While It Still Works
A fob that has been dropped, chewed, sat on or run through the wash usually still works — until the day it does not. While the reader still accepts it, the chip inside can be read and copied. Once the antenna breaks, the data is gone and nobody can recover it. Ten minutes now saves a week of pleading with the building manager later.
Copy it today — upload a photoWhat damage matters and what does not
- Cosmetic — cracked housing, a broken key-ring loop, worn printing, a fob glued or taped together. None of this affects the chip. Copy it any time.
- Warning signs — you have to hold the fob at a particular angle or press it hard against the reader; it works on some readers and not others; it has stopped working after being bent or crushed. The antenna coil is partially broken. Copy it today, and expect the copy to be more reliable than the original.
- Too late — the fob does nothing on any reader. The coil is open or the chip is cracked. There is no data to read and no repair that makes economic sense — you need a new original from the building.
Why we copy rather than repair
The chip and its antenna are potted inside the plastic. Opening the housing to re-solder a hairline break in a coil of enamelled wire costs more than a new fob and usually finishes it off. Reading the identifier while it still works and writing it to a fresh, intact fob gives you a better result for less money.
iButtons and wet fobs
iButton contact keys are the most robust of all — steel, no antenna — and rarely fail from a drop; when they do fail it is corrosion on the contact face, which a rub with a pencil eraser often fixes. Fobs that have been through a washing machine are almost always fine once dry: the chip is sealed. If it works, copy it; if it does not, dry it for a day and try again before giving up.
Questions about this
The fob works but the plastic is in two pieces. Can you read it?
Yes, as long as the internal coil is intact enough for a reader to see it. Bring all the pieces; we hold it to our reader and if it reads, we copy it.
Should I get two copies?
If the original is on its way out, yes: one to carry and one to keep at home as the new master. Additional copies in the same visit are reduced (400 Kč standard, 800 Kč encrypted).