How to Protect Your Car Key Fob from Damage or Theft

Car thieves can use your fob's signal to break into your car. Here's how to protect your car from theft and your keyless car fob from unwanted damage that could affect its performance.
Written by Brady Klopfer
Reviewed by Carrie Adkins
Most new cars use keyless car fobs instead of traditional keys for opening and closing doors, as well as starting the ignition. Keyless car fobs allow you to lock, unlock, and start your car without ever using a manual key.
However, some thieves are using this technology to their advantage. With relay boxes and signal boosting, thieves can unlock your car by using your car key fob against you. This makes
car theft
a bigger risk for fob users.
Jerry
has everything you need to know on how to protect your keyless car fob from thieves, as well as unwanted damage that could affect its performance.
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Protect your car key fob from hacking

One of the best ways to protect your key fob from hacking is by covering it in aluminum foil.
We know, this sounds like some kind of wacky conspiracy. Tin foil hats and aliens, anyone? But really—covering your key fob in aluminum foil will block electromagnetic signals from coming out of the fob, making it impossible for hackers to signal boost and open your car.
If you don't want some tacky aluminum foil on your fob, you can even get Faraday purses, bags, and pouches from online retailers like Amazon that will block signals with a coat of metal.

Keep the car fob away from the front door

This one isn’t physical protection, but it is protection nonetheless.
There's a common theft tactic that uses devices to steal the signal of a keyless car fob so that thieves can break into your car. To keep this from occurring, make a habit of keeping your keyless car fob away from your front door, as that’s where the signal is most likely to be poached from.
For extra security if you live in a high-risk area, keep the fob in a metal box or in the fridge, as the metal will help block any signal.

Get a keyless car fob cover

Keyless car fobs are small and easy to damage. People tend to throw their keys in a drawer, shove them into their pockets with everything else, and generally not take the closest care of their keys and keyless car fobs.
If we can’t be trusted to keep our smartphones from getting damaged without a cover, why would we be able to keep our keyless car fobs? Applying the same logic, one of the best ways to protect a keyless car fob is to get a cover for it.

Don’t keep the keyless car fob in busy drawers

Most people keep their keys in a drawer with a lot of other things. That leaves them susceptible to be damaged by everything else you throw in there.
If you keep your keyless car fob in a drawer and then throw your house keys on it, and your loose change on it, and your chargers on it, you’re probably going to get some damage along the way.

Get a wallet for your keys

As you surely know from years of having a smartphone, your pocket isn’t always the safest place. You keep other things in there, and many of them can cause damage.
Keep the keyless car fob in a wallet for added protection and security. You can even get a wallet that helps block the signal so that it can’t be thieved when you’re out and about.

Always put the keyless car fob in your pocket or wallet when not using

Fobs are often damaged because people don’t put them away after unlocking their car. Then they might sit on them, or accidentally drop them, or step on them. And if you're not keeping your fob in a safe place, it could even get stolen.
That's why your keyless car fob should be in one of three places at all times: the secure location you store it in your home, your pocket, or your wallet.
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