To buy a faraday box?

I experimented with a metal key box yesterday. On its own it did nothing and I could open my car. With bubble wrap inside I could still open the car. Lined with foil it did work.
i also tried a couple of tins we have in the house and all failed the test.

in that basis I’ve now ordered a proper wall mounted faraday box.

This just popped up on the news.

https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-12-31/jeep-slung-from-container-roof-is-latest-top-end-stolen-car-recovered?fbclid=IwAR2cWIqTscPdpUAQIYtDZArVxWSXd_ypbRdoQugGvZWDvS7z9HCCYuLXgK8_aem_ATOZ0Fe9r-XFlcIXFVI3hgplkiSp8Wz_B2laQQXcv08l8LCVacFMNuRcBGsjWw-G7ZU

Just some stats for this thread - Car theft is up on 2021 (but down significantly on 2002) -

The most stolen cars in the UK | What Car?

61,000 cars were stolen last year - up 26% on 2021 (Maybe the pandemic played an issue in that?)

There are about 32 million cars in the UK. - so about 1 in 500 were stolen.
About 45% of cars back in 2018 were recovered and returned - but that's now at about 28%.

(It seems quite hard to get reliable stats on this - and you would have thought that wouldn't be too hard to count)

The metal biscuit tin could be working as an antenna instead

I’m not convinced. Car keys are usually covered in a non conductive case (at least, mine are) so the chances of them making an electrical contact with the surface of a biscuit tin is remote.

In addition, biscuit tins are made from steel with a very thin coating of tin to stop them rusting, so what they are saying on that that link is bollocks.

DH was a vehicle tech for 40 years, said doing this technology for cars,was the most ridiculous thing ever divised.

The metal biscuit tin could be working as an antenna instead.

The key should either be wrapped with a non-conductive material such as bubblewrap or rubber, or the box should be lined in a similar way. Otherwise, the key can make contact with the metal of the box, effectively creating an antenna

https://www.cargurus.co.uk/Cars/articles/faraday-bags-for-car-keys#:~:text=However%2C%20simply%20dropping%20your%20keys,alloy%20(rather%20than%20tin).
.

I have a faraday box in my entryway but it's wooden on the outside so it just looks like it's supposed to be there. There's been a sharp increase in car thefts in my village (including some older model JLR cars) so I wanted to stay safe

My friend had her car stolen this way and so invested in a box.

Definitely get a Faraday pouch/bag for each car key you have (don't forget to keep the spare key(s) safe too)
Definitely put your car keys in there every single time you come home
Definitely don't leave it near the front door - there are signal enhancers which mean that they could still get your signal

I'm in one of the outer London boroughs and we get keyless thefts every few days....

I used it Christmas Day for the pud but before that I honestly couldn’t tell you when I last used it I don’t know why I just don’t

Just do it, DH and I both have pouches for all our car keys, they're relatively cheap and we keep them in the pouches all the time. Apparently it isn't always the expensive cars that are stolen, often the more run-of-the-mill ones, and it is such a hassle if it happens.
But some cars (typically BMWs apparently) are so easy to steal without keys that there is no point hiding them.

Porsche told me they would never move away from the physical key. Something to do with a racing feel. That was in 2019 so I have no idea now.

I can't stand driving around wondering where my sodding key is or having to move it to use the drinks holder. It makes sense to put the key in, know it's in and you have all your stuff plus you can definitely turn your car off and start it again. Why fix it if it isn't broken?!

Remember to put the spare in a pouch too!

I have a 50k car on order after bangers too. I'm getting the pouch/box, a security camera from Amazon and one of those steering locks that cover the whole wheel. Even thinking of penguin bollards.

4 cars were stolen from the street our cul de sac comes off in December - all fancy pants cars and the guys were on loads of cameras, even went in back yards.

I just use a metal biscuit tin or stick my keys in the microwave (of course you have to be in the habit so you don't switch your microwave on with your keys inside!)

Does no one else use their microwave a lot? 😂

A microwave oven uses a partial Faradayshield (on five of its interior six sides) and a partial Faraday cage, consisting of a wire mesh, on the sixth side (the transparent window), to contain the electromagnetic energy within the oven and to protect the user from exposure to microwave radiation.

Pop them in your microwave essentially it’s a faraday cage

Our car was stolen with a signal relay, and then a year later neighbours as well. So yep - a pouch, as far away from the door as possible .

im not convinced that is actually true. I think there has to be a non conductive lining between the keys and the metal mesh. So if you use a metal box with the metal keys touching it it acts as an aerial and will conduct the signal, not block it. I think.

You could maybe line a metal box in plastic or bubble wrap or something.

Regular metal boxes work. But there is more money to be made by marketing something as a faraday box.

Out of interest, if metal boxes work then this should work? Lot cheaper than the proper wall faraday boxes if they do.
I've tested DH's pouch earlier and it failed, but a metal tin we have worked, so I've put his keys in that for now, but considering buying one of these.

@JingleSnowmanTree No, I mean the thieves will have the car on a tow truck after driving the short distance they can with the Range Rover.

Range Rovers are the top stolen car in my area. The insurance cost alone is really high now, at least round here.

a car going any distance without a key is baffling to me, huge security risk. I have no idea what car companies are thinking though. They even proudly advertise a screen that shows your twitter feed or whatever.

@EmmaEmerald

I think most people would just walk back for the key, rather than get towed.

mines only gone off (to say no key) when one of the kids has taken my keys to go back into the house for something, so never tried driving off.

as I said in another post, no I wouldn't prefer a manual 'proper' key as I'm always laden down with stuff so the fob is MUCH easier AND it allows me to check it's locked from a distance.

I don't have a microwave (tiny kitchen & I prefer the worktop space)

im good at putting my keys in one place now, i trained myself after not being able to find them when trying to leave for work!

@MadeOfAllWork

thank you for your reply.

That was part of my consideration too.

shes worth about £6000, so not really worth their while taking a risk for. But she's my baby & I cannot work without her. She's security cleared etc & getting all that redone in a rental then a new car is a massive pain the arse!!

I just thought because she doesn't open without pressing buttons on the fob, she wasn't the sort they could intercept & open/drive off.

I have a box where my keys get put, I could swap that for a small tin, if I knew I needed to, but it requires 2 hands instead of just throwing the keys in. Needing 2 hands is an ache when I'm always loaded up on departure/arrival, so I just wanted to be sure it's necessary.

@JingleSnowmanTree

Car tech has come on a lot so I don't know how to keep up with it.

Mum's neighbour with a Range Rover can only drive a mile or so without the key fob. I think that's a so called security measure that got shoved in when people started driving off with them by pressing a button. They will be stopped by the car itself. To me that's useless. they'll have it on a tow truck round the corner.

I suppose some people see the risk/benefit as being you don't get broken into by someone looking for your car key.

But for those with ordinary cars, wouldn't many of us prefer an ordinary key?

Re pressing buttons on the fob - that's the mechanism that gets hacked.

Re microwave, if I did that, the risk would be forgetting to put the keys back in the microwave! So I always had a fob.