In the last issue, Nicky at NW Keys had a great article comparing the various types of key cloners on the market and a basic FAQ surrounding cloning. This issue, I want to take a bit more indepth look at how cloning actually works and what it can mean for the locksmith or shoe repairer who has always been put off by cloning.
Many who want to start as auto locksmiths like to cut their teeth on key cloning as it’s a relatively cheap area of the market to get into. A large majority of the market can also be covered with the most basic hardware, and the procedures are largely independent of vehicle manufacturers – all factors that can get more complicated and when you get into new vehicle key and remote programming.
Background Knowledge
All auto locksmiths will be fully proficient in understanding how vehicle security systems work but for those from a domestic and commercial side there can be an element of ‘black magic’ that I can hopefully expand on here to help provide an understanding.
Since 1996, in an attempt to reduce vehicular theft, auto manufacturers started including small computer chips, called ‘transponders’, inside the key that communicate with the vehicle to allow it to switch off the immobiliser. Importantly, these transponders are powered directly from the vehicle itself, and are typically hermetically sealed in either epoxy or glass making them highly reliable and resistant to environmental factors such as temperature, shock and humidity. The technology worked so well that that is caused vehicular thefts to plummet almost overnight.
Whilst that may be good for consumers, it meant that auto locksmiths had to upskill in order to read, program, write and understand how these chips work to make up a new set of keys for the customer. By getting into cloning, it allows the non-auto locksmith to start understanding the range of transponders available and their applications on vehicles.
How cloning works
Cloning car keys is very much ‘does what it says on the tin’– it’s taking the customer’s original key, and copying the data onto a new transponder so that it’s an identical match to the original. The vehicle can’t tell and so both keys are allowed to start the engine. Whilst it sounds fairly straight forward, different types of transponder have different methods of cloning them and will clone onto either the same type of transponder, or a new ‘cloning type’ will be needed to accept the data.
The pros and cons around cloning
Some of the benefits to cloning car keys are:
- Easy and quick – it’s a simple process of read, remove, write (for certain transponders) – it can actually take longer to cut the key blank!
- Cheap – from both a customer and locksmith perspective, you don’t need lock picks or a wide range of remotes, just a handful of transponders, a cloning device and the usual key blanks and key machine.
- No changes to the vehicle – whenever you plug in key programming equipment to the vehicle you can be reading, writing and clearing fault codes from all over the vehicle and customers can potentially blame you for all sorts of weird technical gremlins ‘that never happened before you came out!’
- Access – as above, to clone most transponders you don’t even need the vehicle there so access etc to the shop doesn’t need to be readily available. You can be stuck in the middle of a field at a car boot and still clone car keys.
Negatives:
- Lost key situations are a no-go for any cloning only auto locksmiths as obviously you have nothing to clone from.
- Remote options – there are some options from Bianchi that will allow you to clone remote, but otherwise you can only offer a new transponder key – it won’t have the remote central locking functionality on it.
- Generally speaking, the newer the vehicle that more likely that you either can’t clone it, or you have to go through a few more steps. I’ll elaborate more on this in the future of car key cloning at the bottom.
- One of the things that a locksmith should always explain to the customer is what they’re offering – a cloned car key is exactly that, a clone of another key. This means that if any of the original keys or it’s clones/copies are stolen or misplaced, and the customer wants them deleted from the vehicle, then they will all be erased and extra keys won’t have to be made up at a later date. This can present the locksmith with a chance to upsell to a new key but as is often the case, most customers would rather pay less now and take the gamble that they won’t lose them at a later date.
The methods used to clone
The methods you go through to clone a key can depend on the type of transponder you have. With the exception of a technology called ID46 that is found on a large majority of the vehicles nowadays (with the exception of Fords, VAG group and Toyotas) the cloning process is as simple as reading the original, getting the ‘hidden’ data from the key (either by using internet connecting or just doing calculations with the key itself depending on machine and transponder type), and then inserting a cloning transponder to write the data onto.
In the case of ID46, the user must return to the vehicle halfway through the process and hold the cloning transponder (or another device that the cloning device manufacturer will provide) up against the original key while it’s turned in the ignition. This records the data and is used to help recover the hidden data from the key.
The potential risks when cloning
Compared with key programming, cloning is both a lot less technical and problematic, as this tends to be due to you just working with the transponder, rather than communicating with the vehicle directly.
On older vehicles, there are minimal, if any risks as you’re simply getting the data by reading the key as the vehicle would and has done countless times before.
On newer vehicles, particularly those that use the ID46 technology as mentioned previously, then on competitors’ transponder cloning machines where you ‘sniff’ the data without the original key present can cause the vehicle to lockup. This is because you’re attempting to start the vehicle without the original key and so acts in an almost self-defensive manner to stop it. In cases like this, using the original key after a couple of attempts to sniff the data can reset the car and allow you to carry on trying to sniff the data.
What you can’t clone and what you then need to then do
Cloning is reliant on two factors – having a method to get the data off the original transponder and having a transponder that will accept the new data. When both of these are true, then the key can be cloned. Some of the transponders that can’t be cloned at the moment are listed here.
ID33 Rolling – These transponders are found on the diamond shaped BMW keys. The ‘rolling’ bit refers to how the vehicle uses them. They work by having the vehicle write to them everytime they’re used meaning that even though you can technically clone them, as soon as either the original or the new key is used, then the other will stop working as it won’t contain the new info.
ID48s – aside from a few obscure makes and models that aren’t commonly seen in the UK it’s generally fair to say that as a rule this transponder cannot be cloned. Cloning transponders for ID48s do exist but with current devices on the market, nothing can get all the data off the key.
Ford/Toyota 80 bit Transponders – this transponder has been rolled out for Fords and Toyotas from 2010 onwards and has so far been clone-proof. Neither a method to get the data off the key, or a transponder that can be written to exist at the moment. Needless to say this, along with ID48s, due to their widespread popularity on vehicles are no doubt at the top of the to do list of most transponder cloning manufacturers like us.
Mercedes ‘Plug In Dash’ Keys – These keys currently have no way to be cloned and your only option is to program new keys into the vehicle.
Renault Key Cards – These keys take the form of credit card size fob that is inserted into the slot. Unfortunately, the nature of this slot prevents the cloning transponder being inserted to sniff the data when cloning.
When you don’t have the option to clone an existing key then you need to look at programming a new key in, either diagnostically or by EEPROM/MCU with a device like Touchclone.
How the locksmith can save money in the future by saving data from the initial job
When using a product like Touchclone, there is the option to save the transponder and key data into a database after a clone. This offers the auto locksmith a chance to build up repeat custom and customer loyalty by allowing them to recall this information at a later date. If the customer loses their original key and gets locked out, the doors no longer have to be picked and decoded since the bitting information is already known. The locksmith can even technically make up another spare cloned key and post it out to the customer if needed.
Hardware Required
When looking at key cloning equipment, there have historically been two families of device. Dedicated transponder cloners from the likes of JMA, Silca and Keyline that will work standalone (that is without an internet connection or computer required). Or multipurpose machines like Touchclone, AD900, Zedfull, Miraclone or Tango that will clone keys but also have the option to then progress onto lost key programming at a later date.
The standalone machines often appeal due their relatively cheap price and ease of operation but as they’re made by the manufacturers of transponders, they only support their own transponders and can cause users difficulty if the new key body they’re cloning onto to, doesn’t support that type of transponder.
Looking at the multifunctional machines (with the exception of Touchclone, where it’s one price for everything), they tend to have modular aspects to them where the locksmith can buy the basic hardware and then extra functionality as they need. Where they do have drawbacks, again with the exception of Touchclone, is they tend to clone onto pre-coded transponders that are often only available from the distributor that you bought the machine from and tend to cost more than blank versions. Where all the multifunctional machines exceed the dedicated machines is the transponders they support, as they all offer solutions to write to different types of transponder to give the locksmith a lot more choice.
Now though, there is a new machine that we have launched called Touchclone Wifi that is available as a cut down version of the full machine but with built in Wifi to allow it to clone transponders for those without the space of a PC only blank, easily sourced transponders from a range of manufacturers.
The future of cloning
Unfortunately, it’s fair to say the future of vehicle key cloning is pretty bleak with newer and more complicated algorithms used for protecting the data on the key being developed all the time. For instance, some of the newest keys on premium vehicles use the same technology that is used to keep your credit card details online safe – so needless to say that isn’t going to be easy to crack! It’s important to remember though, the technology is only filtering down to the mid and lower ends of the market slowly so there is still lots of potential for money to be made by offering cloning. To take an example, the return on investment for a Touchclone Wifi device for example easily paid off well within a year doing just a single key clone a week.
Reasons To Then Progress Into Full Auto Locksmithing
Having attended a few locksmith shows both in the UK and abroad with Touchclone over the past 2 years, one question I’m always asked is why should the domestic/commercial locksmith get involved in automotive key programming. This answer to this is simple – lost keys. It is a sad fact that a lot of locksmith work can come by stolen keys and break ins to do lock changes or improve security. Often the car keys are stolen along with the house keys and this gives ‘property locksmiths’ a chance to provide an all-in-one solution to replace all the customers taken keys. Obviously this can’t be done with cloning since there is no key to clone, but as mentioned at the start of the article, by getting into cloning and provided spare keys, the locksmith can start to build their knowledge base at minimal cost to a view to further progression into this exciting and ever growing industry.