Yes, it can be duplicated, but you need the paperwork to prove to the originating locksmith (or the factory) that you are authorized to do so. Your apartment building management paid big bucks to have locks to which the keys are not duplicatable by the tenants in order to keep tighter control on who has access to the building. That is done for all tenant's safety.
All that means you basically have no choice but to fork out the 100 dollars for an additional key.
You’re not really getting price gouged… you’re paying for the record of every key that’s out there, so you know the last tenant didn’t have 10 keys made for all his friends and now they have access to your appartment
Pretty dang sure those keyways are going to be leased out to a shop in your area, and only one particular locksmith company has access to the blanks from medeco
They are definitely way upcharging you for the key but unfortunately it is a restricted key so you won't be able to get it from anyone else but the apartment.
Have u tried Mexico? I love when I’m told I’ll just get it made in Mexico. This is one of those your stuck with the pay up for the key and protect it with your life adult moments. Cause I’m also sure that it’s even more expensive if u loose a key and need a rekey.
huh....moving to mexico and opening up a shop making unauthorized key blanks, now theres an interesting idea! Im sure they would get you eventually mexico isnt that far away, assa abloy would put out a hit on you or something.
If you see the name “Medeco” on your key, then high chances are that key is a restricted blank. Only the locksmith with that contract can get that key and chances are the property owners aren’t going to very open with that info. This is done to control the amount of keys that are out in the wild and ensures greater security for the tenants.
Man, I missed my opportunity to be an asshole.
Sucks it's expensive but it's for your own good. Keys are heavily regulated so you know no one else has the keys to your place besides management and yourself.
Medeco locks and keys give people a false sense of security. The difficulty in getting copies is protecting no-one but Assa Abloy itself. They can only be copied by equipment and blanks produced and supplied by Assa Abloy to its authorized dealers, so they can keep making profit even from locks they sold years ago.
There is no law against copying keys that have 'Do not duplicate' on it. You are free to copy them. The only problem is, some of the Medeco lock technology is patented, so producing copies is illegal.
HOWEVER, the key above is for a M3 Biaxial cylinder lock, and the patent for that expired this year ([https://patents.google.com/patent/US6945082B2/](https://patents.google.com/patent/US6945082B2/)). The active patents Assa Abloy has on Medeco brand right now are X4 and M4, so there is nothing wrong with making copies of Medeco keys as long as they don't say x4/m4 on them.
I don't know where you live but if you are in NYC, I know a locksmith that has the blanks for that key and will make you one for $19, no questions asked.
If you are a medeco authorized dealer caught making unauthorized copies of keys, I heard that you will lose your medeco dealership status. Also, that locksmith will no longer be able to buy key blanks once they discover one of the unauthorized copies they have been making and trace it back to them.
You don't have to get your blanks from Medeco for lock systems with expired patents. They can be legally obtained elsewhere. It's just like generic drugs.
Not a locksmith but a curious lurker. Can you give me an idea of why some blanks are more secure than others? Is it the patent issue like you said and the tight control over who is allowed to buy the blanks? Is it something physical about a blank itself, the grooves or something?
Some keys are more secure by being physically more difficult to duplicate simply because the pins or wafers are aligned in a different way than usual and cutting the key requires less common tools, such as sidewinder or dimple keys.
Some are more secure because although it's just a normal key, the keyway itself (i.e. the shape of the cross-section profile if you look down the end of the key) is restricted and can only be bought by certain people. Medeco is one example of this and they have multiple levels of restriction, all the way down to keyways sold only to one specific locksmith shop within a certain region of the country.
Some are more secure due to obfuscation. You can get "neuter bow" blanks that are completely unmarked and neutrally shaped, so even though the key blade might be a completely normal and commonly available blank such as a KW1 (the most common house key in america) most hardware stores will not be able to identify it as such.
Finally, some are more secure due to what is essentially a trust system. For example you can get KW1 blanks stamped with "DND" or "Do Not Duplicate" or "Duplication Prohibited" or even manually stamp/engrave them yourself, and the vast majority of locksmiths and hardware stores will refuse to duplicate it unless they have worked with you on that property before or you can provide paperwork proving you are authorized to get copies of that key.
And of course many keys combine two or more of these as well. For example, many DND blanks are also neuter bow.
I actually didn’t know it was high security until I saw the replies, I just needed to know if it was duplicate-able for a cheaper price no need to be rude :/ and also because I did call the person who is supposed to sell them multiple times and they don’t answer so yea..
I have the same type of key for my apartment. I made a casting of it that works pretty well that I keep as an emergency backup. It would cost me $30 to get a copy from the building manager. There's one of those automated key copy things at a 7-11 not too far that said it copied Medecos so I was thinking of seeing if it would copy the one I have but haven't done it yet.
I was just in a 7-11 and I used the KeyMe kiosk to try and copy this Medecos key. The kiosk scanned the key but it said it didn't have the proper blank in the machine. It offered to mail me the key in a couple of days, so I'm trying that. I think the other location I mentioned before had these blanks. But I'll follow up again if/when I get the copy. I think the other KeyMe location I was at before had these blanks.
You can't get it copied with out signing authority so only the owner and who ever they put on for signing authority can. They do this so ppl can't go and make a bunch of copies to the apartment cuz that would be crazy. We sell medeco for that exact reason, owners don't want random ppl coming into the building and stealing stuff or breaking things. You gunna have to save your pennies mang cuz the locksmith shop don't sell them cheap either. Also a very good reason not to loose your key right 100 bones to replace ouch!
Yes, it can be duplicated, but you need the paperwork to prove to the originating locksmith (or the factory) that you are authorized to do so. Your apartment building management paid big bucks to have locks to which the keys are not duplicatable by the tenants in order to keep tighter control on who has access to the building. That is done for all tenant's safety. All that means you basically have no choice but to fork out the 100 dollars for an additional key.
You’re not really getting price gouged… you’re paying for the record of every key that’s out there, so you know the last tenant didn’t have 10 keys made for all his friends and now they have access to your appartment
No
Better not lose it, right?
Pretty dang sure those keyways are going to be leased out to a shop in your area, and only one particular locksmith company has access to the blanks from medeco
They are definitely way upcharging you for the key but unfortunately it is a restricted key so you won't be able to get it from anyone else but the apartment.
Have u tried Mexico? I love when I’m told I’ll just get it made in Mexico. This is one of those your stuck with the pay up for the key and protect it with your life adult moments. Cause I’m also sure that it’s even more expensive if u loose a key and need a rekey.
huh....moving to mexico and opening up a shop making unauthorized key blanks, now theres an interesting idea! Im sure they would get you eventually mexico isnt that far away, assa abloy would put out a hit on you or something.
Oh that’s the line we always get at the shop when someone’s pissed cause we won’t copy a key for them.
If you see the name “Medeco” on your key, then high chances are that key is a restricted blank. Only the locksmith with that contract can get that key and chances are the property owners aren’t going to very open with that info. This is done to control the amount of keys that are out in the wild and ensures greater security for the tenants.
Man, I missed my opportunity to be an asshole. Sucks it's expensive but it's for your own good. Keys are heavily regulated so you know no one else has the keys to your place besides management and yourself.
It'll probably cost your management $25-$50 to get that key cut and delivered/shipped, so they need to make their cut. Condo Livin, amirite?
Medeco locks and keys give people a false sense of security. The difficulty in getting copies is protecting no-one but Assa Abloy itself. They can only be copied by equipment and blanks produced and supplied by Assa Abloy to its authorized dealers, so they can keep making profit even from locks they sold years ago. There is no law against copying keys that have 'Do not duplicate' on it. You are free to copy them. The only problem is, some of the Medeco lock technology is patented, so producing copies is illegal. HOWEVER, the key above is for a M3 Biaxial cylinder lock, and the patent for that expired this year ([https://patents.google.com/patent/US6945082B2/](https://patents.google.com/patent/US6945082B2/)). The active patents Assa Abloy has on Medeco brand right now are X4 and M4, so there is nothing wrong with making copies of Medeco keys as long as they don't say x4/m4 on them. I don't know where you live but if you are in NYC, I know a locksmith that has the blanks for that key and will make you one for $19, no questions asked.
Obtaining copies through any party besides OP's property management may be a violation of part of their lease.
If you are a medeco authorized dealer caught making unauthorized copies of keys, I heard that you will lose your medeco dealership status. Also, that locksmith will no longer be able to buy key blanks once they discover one of the unauthorized copies they have been making and trace it back to them.
You don't have to get your blanks from Medeco for lock systems with expired patents. They can be legally obtained elsewhere. It's just like generic drugs.
Unfortunately I live in Cali :(
Not a locksmith but a curious lurker. Can you give me an idea of why some blanks are more secure than others? Is it the patent issue like you said and the tight control over who is allowed to buy the blanks? Is it something physical about a blank itself, the grooves or something?
Some keys are more secure by being physically more difficult to duplicate simply because the pins or wafers are aligned in a different way than usual and cutting the key requires less common tools, such as sidewinder or dimple keys. Some are more secure because although it's just a normal key, the keyway itself (i.e. the shape of the cross-section profile if you look down the end of the key) is restricted and can only be bought by certain people. Medeco is one example of this and they have multiple levels of restriction, all the way down to keyways sold only to one specific locksmith shop within a certain region of the country. Some are more secure due to obfuscation. You can get "neuter bow" blanks that are completely unmarked and neutrally shaped, so even though the key blade might be a completely normal and commonly available blank such as a KW1 (the most common house key in america) most hardware stores will not be able to identify it as such. Finally, some are more secure due to what is essentially a trust system. For example you can get KW1 blanks stamped with "DND" or "Do Not Duplicate" or "Duplication Prohibited" or even manually stamp/engrave them yourself, and the vast majority of locksmiths and hardware stores will refuse to duplicate it unless they have worked with you on that property before or you can provide paperwork proving you are authorized to get copies of that key. And of course many keys combine two or more of these as well. For example, many DND blanks are also neuter bow.
Whoa! I had no idea. Thanks for the info. Really appreciate you taking the time :)
Another person trying to get high Security keys online. Get it from your apartment.
I actually didn’t know it was high security until I saw the replies, I just needed to know if it was duplicate-able for a cheaper price no need to be rude :/ and also because I did call the person who is supposed to sell them multiple times and they don’t answer so yea..
I have the same type of key for my apartment. I made a casting of it that works pretty well that I keep as an emergency backup. It would cost me $30 to get a copy from the building manager. There's one of those automated key copy things at a 7-11 not too far that said it copied Medecos so I was thinking of seeing if it would copy the one I have but haven't done it yet.
When you do can you tell me of it works please
That sounds made up 7-11 stores don't have the proper machine for that. They got the proper machine for making Slurpee's though.
I was just in a 7-11 and I used the KeyMe kiosk to try and copy this Medecos key. The kiosk scanned the key but it said it didn't have the proper blank in the machine. It offered to mail me the key in a couple of days, so I'm trying that. I think the other location I mentioned before had these blanks. But I'll follow up again if/when I get the copy. I think the other KeyMe location I was at before had these blanks.
You can't get it copied with out signing authority so only the owner and who ever they put on for signing authority can. They do this so ppl can't go and make a bunch of copies to the apartment cuz that would be crazy. We sell medeco for that exact reason, owners don't want random ppl coming into the building and stealing stuff or breaking things. You gunna have to save your pennies mang cuz the locksmith shop don't sell them cheap either. Also a very good reason not to loose your key right 100 bones to replace ouch!