By Kent · Lock Depot Staff Writer

A Key Box on the Wall Is a Different Job Than One on the Knob

A landlord wants a place to leave a key for a maintenance crew at a duplex. A hanging box on the knob is fine for a weekend, but by Monday somebody has moved it, taken it, or left it hanging in plain view of the street. What the landlord actually needs is a box bolted to the wall, a fixed spot the crew learns and the neighbors stop noticing.

Supra makes two wall-mount key boxes that look alike in a catalog and work differently in the hand. The Supra 001193 is the pushbutton S6. The Supra 000534 is the keyed M5. One opens on a code. The other opens on a key, and that decides which one belongs on your wall.

Supra 001193: The Pushbutton S6

The S6 is a surface-mount, pushbutton, keyless-entry box in titanium. It stores up to five conventional keys and mounts on most walls or flat surfaces with four screws. It is compact, 4 inches by 2.5 inches by 1.25 inches deep. Nothing to carry, nothing to lose: whoever has the code has the keys.

Supra lists the uses plainly: after-school access for children, vacation properties and rentals, emergency access to elderly households, and preventing lockouts. What those share is a changing list of people who need to get in without you standing there. A code can be given out and changed. A key cannot be un-handed.

Supra 000534: The Keyed M5 With a Mortise Cylinder

The M5 is built around a mortise cylinder, and that is the whole idea. The listing says the mortise allows you to create a keyed-alike system for easier key management and quicker access. It accepts 1-1/4 inch and 1-1/8 inch mortise cylinders, has four holes for mounting to a variety of surfaces and is a permanent mount. One thing to plan for: the cylinder is not included. You order it separately, sized to fit.

Why would anyone want a keyed box when a code is easier? Because a property with twenty boxes and twenty codes to remember is a mess, and twenty boxes on one keyed-alike system means a single key opens every one. A maintenance supervisor carrying one key beats one carrying a page of codes, and a lost key is a rekey, not a re-code across a portfolio.

The Real Question: Who Is Opening It

• Many different people, changing over time (renters, cleaners, contractors): S6 pushbutton. Change the code when the list changes.
• One trusted crew, many boxes, a key ring they already carry: M5 keyed-alike. One key opens the lot.
• A box nobody should have to remember anything for: M5. There is no code to forget at eleven at night.
• A quick install, no cylinder to buy and fit: S6. It arrives ready.

What Each One Does Not Do

The S6 holds up to five keys. That is the stated capacity, so it is for a set of house keys, not a ring of forty. The M5 listing gives no key count at all, so do not assume one from a picture. If you need to know how much fits, ask us before you order. As with any code box, a pushbutton code is only as private as the people who know it. Change it when someone leaves, and do not use the street number.

Neither box is a high-security safe. A key box on a wall is a convenience that keeps a key off a person and out of a flowerpot. Mount it where it is out of the way, but not hidden in a way that looks like something to steal.

Other Supra Shapes If Neither Fits

If there is no good wall, look at the portable ones. The Supra 000604 hangs over the door and is secured when the door is closed. If you need a fixed spot on a vehicle, the Supra 001312 is a permanent auto mount that holds up to two keys. For a hang-anywhere box on a fence, rail or pipe, see the Supra 001192.

Where to Mount It

Pick a wall you can reach without a ladder, near the door it serves, on a surface that will hold a screw: solid wood, masonry or a stud, not a thin trim board or a piece of vinyl siding. Four screws hold the S6 and the M5 has four mounting holes, so use all four. Face the box away from the street where you can. A key box that draws no attention outlasts one that does. Then test it: put a key in, close it, and open it the way the next person will.

Common questions

How many keys does the Supra 001193 hold?

Up to five conventional keys, per the listing.

Does the Supra 000534 come with a cylinder?

No. The cylinder is not included. The box accepts 1-1/4 inch and 1-1/8 inch mortise cylinders, so you order one to fit.

What is a keyed-alike system?

A set of locks that all open with one key. The M5's mortise cylinder lets you key a group of boxes alike so one key opens every box.

How is the S6 mounted?

With four screws on most walls or flat surfaces. Its dimensions are 4 by 2.5 inches and 1.25 inches deep.

Which one is a permanent mount?

The 000534 M5 is listed as a permanent mount with four mounting holes. The S6 also mounts to a wall with four screws.

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Shop the full Supra key box line for wall, door-hanging and auto-mount boxes. For related sizing help, see Supra 00624 vs 001773 for a spot with no door to hang it on, and how to size a Supra key cabinet for a bigger set of keys.