Broken Key Extraction in Austin, TX

Where keys break in Austin

A key usually snaps after it has been bent, worn or forced for a while. Several kinds of Austin housing make that more likely.

• Shared house keys. In West Campus's student co-ops, many residents hold keys to the same exterior doors. Copies cut from copies fit loosely, and a loose key twisted hard in a busy front door is a common break.
• Multi-unit entries. The neighborhood also has duplexes and apartments, where one ring may carry keys for a unit door, a mailbox and a building entry. Tell the person helping which lock the key snapped in.
• Worn cylinders. Hyde Park's frame houses and bungalows, many built between 1924 and 1935, may still carry older locks. A cylinder that needs jiggling puts side load on the key every time it turns.
• Cold snaps. In the February 2021 cold outbreak, the National Weather Service logged 5°F in College Station. A key forced into a lock stiff with ice can shear off, so let de-icer do the work first.
• Sticking doors. When a door binds in its frame, people use the key as a handle to pull it shut, and the blade bends a little more each time.

What not to do

• Do not keep turning or pushing on the piece left in the lock. It can slide deeper or jam the pins.
• Do not push a spare key in on top of it.
• Do not squeeze glue or spray oil into the keyway.
• Keep the half you are holding. It helps match or cut a new key.

If you rent, tell the landlord or building manager before arranging work on the lock.

What to send

1. A close photo of the keyway showing whether the broken piece sits flush or sticks out.
2. A photo of the half you still have, both sides.
3. Which lock it is: a front door, a deadbolt, a shared co-op door, a mailbox, a building entry or a car.
4. Whether the door is locked or unlocked right now, and whether the key broke while turning or while pulling out.

For the service itself, see broken key extraction. If the break left the cylinder damaged, lock repair may follow. For the city as a whole, see Austin.