Velocity Lock & Key

I never in my life had a key made that didn’t work… until I had two made here, and Ace Hardware across the street. Their excuse… Something must be wrong with your door lock. (even tho the original key worked just fine) To top it off… NO REFUNDS. So $ 8.50 down the drain for nothing. At least Ace Hardware gave a refund, and they were $ 2.00 cheaper. I mean how much can a key blank cost and two minutes of your time to make it? (0.64 for 10 online) (
)(CO7)Bad policy!

I needed a spare key for my 2013 Mazda and called the dealer. It would be $ 300 and I would have to make an appointment and waste half a day in addition to forking out $ 300.
Fortunately, I thought to call Velocity. They checked to see if they had the key in stock (it has a special radio transmitter inside) and told me they did.
I went over right away, got the key made, and it worked.
Total damage: $ 80.
Total time: 10 minutes.
The owners are friendly. Velocity, good freaking job. Thanks a lot!

Velocity saved the day — i was locked out of my house and they came over right away and got me in. Responsive, professional, and quick!

Velocity Lock & Key is the best! My fiancé and I just bought our first home and needed to change the locks– we decided to just buy new knobs since the existing ones looked old and worn out. We initially went to Ace Hardware across the street looking for our custom door knob size since it was an old version that Home Depot/Lowe’s did not carry anymore. Surprisingly, Ace did not carry them as well and they recommended us to go to Velocity. The owner was EXCEPTIONAL. With just one look at our door knob, he knew which one we needed and continued to tell us the pros and cons of certain door knobs and the importance of security. He did not try to upsell us anything that we did not necessarily need. We will continue to go to Velocity Lock & Key for our keying/​security needs!

This is a nice little family business and the couple is very nice and helpful. I was in a real bind when I lost my keys, and I needed a new key for my electric bike, which uses a key to lock in the battery. I looked online and saw it would be really expensive to get new keys and locks, but they made me a new key from a motorcycle key and even stayed open a little late for me to pick it up. They also sold me a new bike lock awhile later when I was in a pickle. The services and goods are not too cheap but not too expensive, but it is worth it! If I ever need anything locksmithy in the future, I will definitely return!

I’ve come here to get copies of both house keys and vehicle keys. One time the copy of my vehicle key stopped working, so I brought it back and made me a new one right away, and had no more problems after that.
Also came to get locks rekeyed. Good work, fair prices, quick and friendly service.

I’ve used velocity twice. Once they came to my home to change the locks and another in their store. Good customer service and quality work.

I know they do a good job, but this review is based on their reliability (or lack of it). Recently I needed a key made for a car club, a tricky thing, since hardware store keys often don’t work on them, so I needed a locksmith. I parked two blocks away, the closest spot I could fine, walked to their shop, and found that they were CLOSED in the middle of the day! Their sign instructed people to call them to see when they would return.
Of course I didn’t do that — I had too many other things to do than to stand on the street waiting while my parking meter ran out. What bothered me most is that when I called the shop the next morning to ask when they would be there, the woman sounded annoyed that I would expect someone to be minding the store in the middle of the work day. She told me they’re often out because they have children, and that they have no set schedule.
When I asked if she could recommend another locksmith she said no. I looked for myself and found Rex Key and Security in Berkeley. They ARE there during working hours, made me a key that worked, and I was on my way.
Rex is on University at MLK, does a good job, and it’s no more difficult to park there than it is on San Pablo near Central where Velocity is located. I’d recommend going to Rex first and saving yourself the inconvenience of finding Velocity closed when you need it.

Really nice people. Very knowledgeable and helpful. A true locksmith versus a place that cuts keys.

We tried out Velocity after reading all the great reviews on Unilocal.We were installing a used lock on our front door and were looking for help to clean it up and also get a new key. I emailed several days in advance and was told to come on Saturday when they would be less busy. When we arrived during business hours on a Saturday, the shop was closed with a sign saying that they’d be back in 30 minutes. We did some shopping nearby and came back. We ended up at the front of a long line of people waiting for service. And so he did a pretty rushed job making a key for us and didn’t clean out the lock at all. After we installed it, the key stopped working and we had to get a different locksmith to come and clean it out. And now it works fine.

We were referred to Velocity by our great real estate agent and swayed by the great reviews on Unilocal.
Unfortunately we had a bad experience with Velocity.
We used them to change the locks after we bought our house. They came and changed them — a great person answered the phone in the office, and the locksmith showed up during the allotted time window.
Only problem — once he drove away, we realized that one of the locks he installed on the front door was really finicky, and the deadbolt didn’t work at all. The locks on the back door were finicky but usable.
After days of jiggling, cursing, and then giving up and using the back entrance instead, we called again. Same great person answered, apologetic, saying that they would send someone out right away, fix it, and not charge us for the repair.
The locksmith showed up again. He tried to fix it, didn’t, and then yelled at my husband since we wouldn’t pay him for his time, even though he didn’t successfully repair it AND we were promised that he would fix it without charge!
We were left unable to use the deadbolt, and, once we got the knob at the precise angle it would work at, never touching it again — just letting it lock automatically behind us on our way out.
When we later locked ourselves out, we called Long’s Locksmith on University and they were great — even though they had to spend a lot of extra time on that evil, messed up front lock.
Unfortunately a really helpful office manager doesn’t matter much when the lock itself doesn’t work.
One star.

I have been very happy with the service at Velocity. After having keys made elsewhere, it is nice to finally have them done right. I have never had to return to have them re-​do a key. They have just the right touch (and machinery) to do it right the first time. Thank you Velocity!

Eddy saved the day!
I dropped my Thule cargo box with the key in the lock and the key broke off inside the lock.
I stopped by Velocity Lock & Key. Eddy came right out to my car, and in 15 minutes had removed the broken lock, cut a new key, and I was on my way.
Super nice guy, super service. This guy is a consummate professional and at an extremely fair price.

Just went in to have a few basic key copies made. I found the owner to be friendly & had a nice conversation. Service was quite quick with fair prices. I checked right away to make sure the copies worked and they were spot on. While waiting I noticed there were many different kinds of special keys on hand (scissor lift key? Why Yes). I also noticed a lot of cool stuff like fake rock key hiders, ipod accessory key finder, along wit the basic key tags & split rings. I think I’m over the big box stores & have found my new source!

Went in to have a copy of my 2000 Toyota Camry key made. Julie did a fine job. I went there due to the fact Ace across the street was afraid of using my OEM blank and destroying it. They suggested I go to Velocity. I guess the guys at Ace are not as skillful as a real locksmith.

Go here. Its a little unfortunate that the hardware store across the street recommended the guy on University. This place did a coded Jeep key for way less than I was quoted by the other guy. Friendly, got it done quick and it works. What more could you ask for?

What a great company! Great service and very fair pricing. I have a very difficult tenant who had a number of complaints about a loose locking doorknob, a difficult to turn deadbolt on the security door, the way her front door closed and the bit of air that leaked in around the massive amount of weather stripping I’d already put on it (She insists on keeping her bed a couple feet from the front door – something about feng shui).
Eddie worked very hard to troubleshoot and resolve the problems without having to replace the whole door (or the tenant!!!). I’m extremely satisfied with Velocity’s work and customer service and would highly recommend them.

Julie, Eddie and their team are fantastic. My fiancé and I just purchased a new home in Oakland and Eddie installed both our new locks as well as three security doors (metal screen doors). He told us the EXACT kinds of doors to purchase at Home Depot as well as all the sizes we would need. He also provided really high quality bolts for us to use for the doors. We were both so impressed with their work hanging the doors. One of the doors was missing a part, and they were even able to install it on their own with some additional parts they had on hand.
We absolutely love having the security doors with bolts so we can leave all the doors open and feel safe. Thank you to Eddie for the great suggestion.
Highly highly recommend.

You know how some people get when the find the right hair stylist? They’ll swear a blood oath of loyalty and weather any obstacle to have their tips frosted by this one person.
Well…I’m 47 and bald. So, a good locksmith is the next best thing.
Julie is awesome! I went by Velocity with the sole key to my wife’s «new» ’95 Impreza. It was worn down to the width of a matchstick. In no time, Julie had 3 working keys ready to go. (I’ve posted a before and after photo.) Despite the short wait, my 2 year old was past due for a nap and showing it. Julie comes to the counter with a set of keys on a racing car keyring for my daughter, Audrey, to play with (free of charge, no less.) They really helped on the ride home. To top it off, Julie’s 2 young sons were in the shop. They played games with Audrey and introduced her to Hailey, one of their family’s dogs.
So…am I gushing about a locksmith? Yes and for the first time in my life. Hell, if I still had tips, I’d even trust Julie to frost ‘em.

As others have said, this is where Unilocal really shines. You hear on the news: LOCKSMITHS!!! EEEK!!! SOME ARE CROOKED!!! And then, you read some reviews, you make your judgments based on how credible the reviewers are (for those of you not in the know, here’s the criteria: have they written a lot of reviews, or just two? do they have a lot of «friends» on Unilocal?are they intent on being a reliable source of information, or did they just register with Unilocal to praise/​slam a company??)
Where was I? Right, so, Unilocalers who seem to know which end is up recommended Velocity, and they are not wrong. 5 stars!!! Timely service, reliable, knowledgeable, friendly.