What do you do with your house keys (for those that use their phone as a car key)?

[neil_c]

We had a moment yesterday, where we got home and realised neither of us had a house key on us.

It’s because we normally have a house key on our car keys, but now we‘ve got a Tesla and use the app to lock/unlock, it’s all a new routine.

Im wondering what you do? Do you have a phone case with a key(s) in it, or another solution.

Please share!

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

We had a moment yesterday, where we got home and realised neither of us had a house key on us.

It’s because we normally have a house key on our car keys, but now we‘ve got a Tesla and use the app to lock/unlock, it’s all a new routine.

Im wondering what you do? Do you have a phone case with a key(s) in it, or another solution.

Please share!

We keep a spare house key in the glove box.

 

[father_of_6]

This thread has a lot of helpful information about where everyone stores their spare keys, but it's missing a crucial component - home addresses.

Please provide the addresses at your earliest convenience.

 

[mswlogo]

We use Schlage z-wave door lock. Keypad to get it. Give temp code out to service when needed. Or unlock by phone. Doesn’t require any electronics or key to get in but you can if you want. It has a physical key too, but I never use it. Ties in with home automation. Sends you warning if it’s not locked.

 

[phxazcraig]

We had a moment yesterday, where we got home and realised neither of us had a house key on us.

It’s because we normally have a house key on our car keys, but now we‘ve got a Tesla and use the app to lock/unlock, it’s all a new routine.

Im wondering what you do? Do you have a phone case with a key(s) in it, or another solution.

Please share!

Happened to us! We got home from our first drive in the new Tesla, and realized we did not have a key (normal), nor did we have a garage door opener (oops). No problem I thought. I'll use the external wireless garage door opener. I confidently punched in the code, but nothing happened. Batteries low or dead. I had no spare batteries, nor a screwdriver to open the battery compartment. I started thinking my option here was to drive to a store, buy some batteries and a screwdriver, then repair to get into the garage. Fortunately about the 10th time I entered the code it had enough juice to trigger the opener.

I installed a Homelink module soon thereafter and programmed it for the garage and local gate. Still haven't changed out the batteries in that remote, but now that I'm thinking about it...

 

[djtaylor]

Low tech is just to carry your keys like you always did.

Ah well we do that normally, I was offering the ways we have in case for whatever reason they're not with us.
Example, wife has locked the house up with a key and taken another car.
I wouldn't rely on the garage doors as the only option, hence the emergency key safe rather than the norm.
I use a mini card wallet these days so don't have a keyring as such for the Tesla but will take the door keys in most instances.
I put the key safe up after taking a car to be serviced many years ago, picked up the loan car and drove home, then realised that I had left the front door key with the keys at the garage.
No issue, sister key under the rock etc. used that and set it down on a side table and shortly after, exited the house... Leaving behind the spare key in the house. Of course, the keysafe would've have fixed that stupid moment but encouraged a mindset of always only ever using that key and then immediately putting it back.

 

[qwickshot]

I just take my keys with me and put them in my pocket as I would have done before. You can’t lock our door without the key so it’s kind of important to take them!

I didn’t used to have my house keys with my car key anyway as I used to commute via train so didn’t need it. Likewise I also didn’t like the house keys dangling from the car ignition, that was just annoying when driving the car.

 

[yessuz]

I always lock door when I leave home... so it is not an issue.

 

[Adopado]

What a remarkable thread! I never knew it was all so complicated.

I lock my door and put the key in my pocket. (There’s a key with a friend for emergencies but I can’t remember ever having to resort to using it.)

 

[WannabeOwner]

(There’s a key with a friend for emergencies but I can’t remember ever having to resort to using it.

I gave the spare safe key to a family member. That was years ago and I asked him about it recently - he has no idea where he put it "safely"

it's missing a crucial component - home addresses

On that note, I don't have my home location as "home" for SatNav, I have a junction nearby (I reckon I can find my way home from there ...). Don't want some tealeaf, on nicking the car and finding the house keys are in it, also doing the house.

Back in the day when Tesla used to pick the car up for service I got a call from the driver, returning it, "Where do you live, I just punched HOME into the SatNav" ... 1st world problem

 

[WannabeOwner]

Anyone got an automation solution for 5-lever mortice door locks?

 

[Adopado]

I gave the spare safe key to a family member. That was years ago and I asked him about it recently - he has no idea where he put it "safely"

Our person feeds our cat when we’re not there so we know they regularly access the key.

 

[alset tone]

What is that? Can you post a link? Just seems like a lot of words strung together

It's a case that you keep the Tesla Key Card in with a key ring attached, Amazon Link: Amazon.co.uk

 

[Adopado]

Anyone got an automation solution for 5-lever mortice door locks?

I suppose you use a release that doesn't care about the lock mechanism (control the keeper rather than the lock).
Something like:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amalocks-M...fix=mortice+lock+auto+release,aps,126&sr=8-27

 

[djtaylor]

I gave the spare safe key to a family member. That was years ago and I asked him about it recently - he has no idea where he put it "safely"



On that note, I don't have my home location as "home" for SatNav, I have a junction nearby (I reckon I can find my way home from there ...). Don't want some tealeaf, on nicking the car and finding the house keys are in it, also doing the house.

Back in the day when Tesla used to pick the car up for service I got a call from the driver, returning it, "Where do you live, I just punched HOME into the SatNav" ... 1st world problem

Same, "home" is somewhere nearby but not HOME.

 

[Chimpy McChimp]

Same, "home" is somewhere nearby but not HOME.

Hah. It's not an issue for me as I try to set my home address it always seems to think it's the street behind where we actually live!!

 

[father_of_6]

On that note, I don't have my home location as "home" for SatNav, I have a junction nearby

That's a good idea.

 

[_MJF_]

On that note, I don't have my home location as "home" for SatNav, I have a junction nearby (I reckon I can find my way home from there ...). Don't want some tealeaf, on nicking the car and finding the house keys are in it, also doing the house.

Doesn't that bugger up the ability to not have sentry on at home but on when away from home ?

Can see a hidden advantage though, when you want to program a round trip the logical thing to do is to add Home as the destination and where you're going as a stop, which you can't do as it immediately thinks you've arrived before you can add the stop.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Doesn't that bugger up the ability to not have sentry on at home but on when away from home ?

I did wonder that as I was typing it.

I think?? that my APP knows the car is at home, dunno how/if that is set differently to Satnav - maybe they are two separate things? or its my imagination ...

... I also use TeslaFi and that has a completely separate (Lat/Long) config for "Home", and that may well be controlling whether Sentry is on / off at various locations - including its idea of home.

So not sure if it is an issue (for anyone not using TeslaFi / similar)

 

[WannabeOwner]

control the keeper rather than the lock

Ah, good idea, hadn't thought of that. Allow the door to be opened in locked state After entry the door remains locked.

Might be handy if I needed to let someone in when I'm sunning myself somewhere exotic (and let them back out again, of course)

 

[stopcrazypp]

We *usually* always have someone home, so this is mostly not an issue... but if I expect that I'll need a house key I take our *other* vehicle key, which also has a house key on it.

I've been thinking about replacing my lock with a mechanical combination one. I don't want anything that needs batteries. Hidden key in the yard is another option. We've done neither of these yet though and have just been winging it for almost 3 years of ownership.

As others pointed out, mechanical combination locks tend to be the least secure option. Almost all of them are extremely easy to bypass with no skill (easy to find how on YouTube). Electronic locks that use batteries tend to be much more secure. If you are worried about the battery dying, most of them have low battery warning and also a backup key.

I prefer the Kwikset ones given they tend to have SmartKey, which allows you to rekey it yourself and thus only have to carry/hide one key to open multiple locks.