Can the lock be saved, or do I need a new one?

Often the lock is fine once the broken piece is out. The locksmith checks the cylinder afterwards, and it only gets replaced if the keyway is chewed up enough that it would keep damaging keys.

I do not have the other half of the key. Can I still get a replacement?

Yes. A new key can be cut from the surviving half if you have it, or from the lock itself if you do not.

Why does this keep happening to my back gate lock?

Orlando humidity and heavy summer rain corrode exterior cylinders, and gate hardware sits out in all of it with no shelter. Lubrication and a weather-suited lock help, and the locksmith can look at the hardware while they are there.

Does the locksmith need to be licensed in Orlando?

Florida does not issue a statewide locksmith license and has no state licensing board — the trade is regulated at the county or municipal level, and requirements vary and change. Verify current rules with the county or city consumer protection or licensing office where the work is performed.

My key snapped in the car ignition or door. Is that the same call?

It is the same kind of job, and automotive work is common in Florida, including transponder keys, proximity fobs and push-to-start smart keys. Expect to show photo ID plus proof of ownership such as the registration or title.

Who are you, exactly?

One Call Locksmiths is a referral and scheduling service that arranges locksmith work with independent locksmiths across all fifty states. We are not the locksmith and we do not perform the work ourselves.

Stop using the door

Key snapped in the lock in Orlando, FL

You turned the key and it gave way. Half of it is in your hand and the rest is sitting in the lock. That is a broken key, and it is one of the more common calls we take. Nothing is ruined yet. The broken piece can usually be extracted, the cylinder checked, and a new key cut so you can get on with your day.

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Orlando is hard on lock cylinders. Central Florida humidity sits at high levels nearly year-round, and from June through September the afternoon thunderstorms soak everything on the outside of your house. That moisture works into exterior keyways and drives rust on lock cylinders and gate hardware. Heat and humidity also swell wood doors and frames across Florida, so deadbolts start binding against the strike plate. When a bolt binds, you push harder on the key, and a worn key in a worn cylinder eventually snaps. If your key has been getting stiff for weeks, this is what it was warning you about.

While you wait — please don't

Do not put the other half back in. Pushing the spare or the broken half into the keyway usually drives the stub deeper and turns a simple extraction into a cylinder replacement.
Do not poke at it with a pin or a knife. Anything jammed into the keyway can score the wafers and chew the lock, and a chewed keyway means the whole cylinder has to be replaced.
Do not use glue. Glue is what makes a lock unrecoverable — it bonds the stub to the internals and there is nothing left to extract.
Do not keep using the matching key on other doors. If one key snapped, the rest of the set is the same age and wear, so treat the others as suspect until they have been checked.

What the technician does

Identification comes firstBefore anything is opened, the locksmith will ask for identification and proof that you are entitled to enter the property or the vehicle. In Florida that normally means photo ID plus something tying you to the address, such as a lease, a deed, a utility bill, or confirmation from a property manager.
The price is given before work startsYou get a free estimate on every job. The locksmith tells you the price up front and you approve it before any work begins.
The broken piece is extractedThe stub is removed from the keyway. In most cases the lock itself survives this and keeps working normally.
The cylinder is checked for damageThe locksmith looks at the condition of the keyway and the internals. If the keyway is chewed up, the cylinder is replaced rather than left to break another key.
A new key is cutA replacement is cut from the surviving half of your key or, when that is not usable, from the lock itself.
The lock is lubricated and the door checkedThe lock is lubricated and the door alignment is checked, because a bolt dragging against the strike plate is often the reason the key broke in the first place.

Why this happens in Orlando, FL

Most Orlando homes are concrete block and stucco on slab, with an attached one- or two-car garage and a metal or fiberglass entry door. That usually means a front door lock, a garage side door, a back patio door and a gate — and the outdoor hardware takes the worst of it. Constant humidity, UV and heavy rain corrode exterior lock cylinders here, and gate locks left out in the weather seize up long before the front door does. Fine grit blown around after a storm can work into a keyway too.

The pattern shows up by neighborhood. The 1920s–1950s bungalows near downtown — College Park, Lake Eola Heights, Thornton Park, Colonialtown — often have detached garages and carports with old exterior hardware that has been rained on for decades. The big suburban waves from the 1970s through the 2000s, plus newer tracts out toward Lake Nona and the south and east sides, tend to have near-identical builder-grade hardware that wears out on roughly the same schedule across a whole street. Hard freezes are rare in Orlando — usually a few nights in January or February — so frozen cylinders are not the problem here. Wear and moisture are. Volume also climbs through hurricane season from June 1 to November 30, with the summer moving and rental turnover season, and again with the winter arrival of seasonal residents.

Questions people ask

Can the lock be saved, or do I need a new one?: Often the lock is fine once the broken piece is out. The locksmith checks the cylinder afterwards, and it only gets replaced if the keyway is chewed up enough that it would keep damaging keys.
I do not have the other half of the key. Can I still get a replacement?: Yes. A new key can be cut from the surviving half if you have it, or from the lock itself if you do not.
Why does this keep happening to my back gate lock?: Orlando humidity and heavy summer rain corrode exterior cylinders, and gate hardware sits out in all of it with no shelter. Lubrication and a weather-suited lock help, and the locksmith can look at the hardware while they are there.
Does the locksmith need to be licensed in Orlando?: Florida does not issue a statewide locksmith license and has no state licensing board — the trade is regulated at the county or municipal level, and requirements vary and change. Verify current rules with the county or city consumer protection or licensing office where the work is performed.
My key snapped in the car ignition or door. Is that the same call?: It is the same kind of job, and automotive work is common in Florida, including transponder keys, proximity fobs and push-to-start smart keys. Expect to show photo ID plus proof of ownership such as the registration or title.
Who are you, exactly?: One Call Locksmiths is a referral and scheduling service that arranges locksmith work with independent locksmiths across all fifty states. We are not the locksmith and we do not perform the work ourselves.

One call

Call (866) 690-5848 and we will arrange a locksmith for your broken key in Orlando. You get a free estimate, and the price is agreed with you before any work starts.

Call now · (866) 690-5848

Something else in this area

One Call Locksmiths arranges the visit; the technician does the work and gives you the price.