How to tell in two minutes whether your building fob can be duplicated, what a copy costs next to the strata's replacement fee, and what your bylaws and the access log actually say about it.
Yes, many Vancouver condo fobs can be copied, and some cannot, whoever you ask. Whether a key fob copy is possible comes down to the chip inside: a plain 125 kHz proximity fob copies in minutes, while an encrypted 13.56 MHz fob has to come from your strata. Here's how to tell which you're holding, and what it costs.
A car key fob is a small radio transmitter with its own battery. It sends a coded signal to the car, the code changes on every press, and a replacement has to be paired to that specific vehicle. That is a programming job, not a copying job, and it lives on our car key fob page.
A condo fob has no battery at all. It's a passive RFID tag: the reader by the lobby door powers it for a split second and the fob answers with a number. Copying it means making a second tag that answers with the same number.
That's why the answer to "can you copy my fob" is really "does the reader accept a fob that only knows the number". On older systems it does. On newer encrypted systems it doesn't, and no shop in Vancouver can change that.
Low-frequency proximity fobs (HID Prox, AWID, Indala and the many EM-style clones) run at 125 kHz. The fob stores a fixed facility code and card number and hands it over to any reader that asks. Access-control maker ICT's write-up on the 125 kHz proximity card problem says the data isn't encrypted, and that its staff cloned one in about 15 seconds with roughly $30 of equipment.
These are the fobs a locksmith can duplicate. They're still everywhere in Vancouver: 1990s and 2000s towers in the West End and Yaletown, most older low-rises in Kitsilano and Mount Pleasant, and a great many parkade gates.
High-frequency smart fobs run at 13.56 MHz, and the good ones are a different animal. NXP's MIFARE DESFire EV3 chip, common in newer buildings, uses 128-bit AES with mutual three-pass authentication and is certified to Common Criteria EAL 5+. The reader challenges the fob, the fob has to prove it holds a secret key, and that key never leaves the chip. HID iCLASS SE and Seos work on the same principle.
Nobody can copy those with a duplicator, us included. A replacement is issued by your strata or property manager and programmed into the building's system.
In between sit older 13.56 MHz formats such as MIFARE Classic, and buildings whose readers only check the chip's serial number rather than its encrypted data. Those often copy. Which camp your building falls into depends on how the installer set up the readers, so the honest answer is "bring it in and we'll read it".
We don't publish a flat fob row because the price depends on the chip. A 125 kHz duplicate is a quick job and priced accordingly; a copyable 13.56 MHz fob takes longer. Either way you get the number on the call before anyone drives anywhere. What we cut and copy is on the key cutting page, and every published figure we do have is on the pricing page.
The strata route is the other number to know. Replacement fobs are usually charged under the strata's own bylaws or rules, often with a deposit, sometimes with a cap on how many fobs a suite can hold, and they arrive when the property manager gets around to programming them. For an encrypted fob that is the only route. For a plain proximity fob, a copy is faster, provided your bylaws allow it.
The lobby door, the parkade gate and the elevator reader are common property, and the Strata Property Act puts common property under the strata's bylaws (s.119), lets the council make rules about the use, safety and condition of common property (s.125), and provides fines for breaking them (s.130). The Standard Bylaws don't mention fobs at all, but many Vancouver stratas have filed their own bylaw or rule that limits fobs per suite or bans duplication outright. Read yours before you copy anything. If it's silent, you're generally fine; if it forbids copies, a duplicate can cost you a fine.
What does management actually see? A copy carries the same number as the original, so the access log records one fob ID and a timestamp. It can't tell which physical fob was tapped. The BC privacy commissioner's guidance for strata corporations treats fob systems as surveillance that collects personal information under PIPA: a strata may keep a fob inventory, but in Order P21-06 the OIPC found it could not use the fob system to track residents' movements.
The practical version: where extra fobs are allowed, get them from the manager so they're on the inventory. Where they're not, don't put a dog walker on a bootleg copy and hope.
Lose a fob and the first call is to your property manager, not to us. They deactivate that fob's ID in the access system, and every copy that shares the ID dies with it. Ask them to issue the replacement on a fresh ID rather than re-enabling the old one.
The flip side matters more. A copy made by a former roommate, tenant or cleaner keeps working for as long as the original ID stays active, which in some buildings is forever. When you move in, ask the manager which fob IDs are assigned to your suite and have any you don't physically hold switched off.
Your suite door is a separate question. The fob gets people into the lobby; the key gets them into your home. Rekeying an existing deadbolt starts from $35 per cylinder on the pricing page, and our rekey or replace guide covers when each makes sense.
| Fob type | Copyable | Typical time | What to bring |
|---|---|---|---|
| 125 kHz proximity (HID Prox, AWID, Indala, EM) | Yes | Minutes | The working original |
| 13.56 MHz MIFARE Classic, or readers that check only the serial number | Often | Under an hour | The original plus a photo of the reader |
| 13.56 MHz DESFire EV2/EV3, iCLASS SE, Seos | No, strata issues it | Days to weeks via the manager | Your strata's fob request form |
| Garage or parkade remote (rolling code) | Not copied, paired | Same visit | The opener brand or a photo of the receiver |
| Suite door key | Yes | Minutes | The original; restricted keys need authorization |
A 125 kHz fob can be written to a sticker, a card or a slimmer fob, since they're all the same kind of tag. It can't live in a phone, because phones have no 125 kHz radio; their NFC works at 13.56 MHz. Encrypted fobs can't move to a phone either unless the building runs a mobile-credential system.
Reading and writing a 125 kHz fob is a matter of minutes at the van; most of the visit is confirming the copy works on your reader. A copyable 13.56 MHz fob takes longer because the tag's data has to be read sector by sector. Encrypted fobs can't be done at all, and we'll tell you that on the call.
Not in the same way. A parkade or garage remote is a battery-powered transmitter, and modern ones use rolling codes that change on every press, so there's nothing fixed to duplicate. A new remote gets paired to the receiver instead. A replacement remote or keypad programmed on site is $40 to $140 on our garage door pricing.
Not from the log: a copy and the original look identical to the reader. Where it comes up is when two taps appear at once from opposite ends of the building, or when the strata audits its fob inventory against suites. If your bylaws forbid duplication, that audit is where the fine comes from, so check them first.
Not sure what you're holding? Call 604-227-9083 with a photo of the fob and the reader, or book online and we'll sort it at your door.
Services and articles that go alongside this guide.
Pick-, drill- and bump-resistant cylinders with keys that can’t be copied at the hardware store. Cut, pinned and registered in-shop.
1/2" steel door, digital keypad, fitted and bolted on site.
Car keys are priced by vehicle. Pick what you need and we’ll collect your make, model & year to text you an exact quote.