If your Latch Keycard isn't unlocking a door you should have access to, three quick checks cover most cases: wake the lock before presenting the card, confirm the keycard is activated on your account, and sync the door if anything about your access changed recently. Keycards are a tap-and-go fallback that's especially useful when your phone is dead or the app is having a Bluetooth issue, but they rely on the lock being awake and in sync with the latest access list.
This article is for residents using a keycard at a lock. If you need to activate a keycard for the first time, or a resident needs one activated, see the activation sections below.
Symptom
- You tap the Latch Keycard to the device lens and nothing happens.
- The numbers on the lens blink when you present the card.
- The keycard used to work and suddenly doesn't.
- A brand-new keycard isn't recognized.
Quick fix
Run these in order — most keycard issues resolve before step 4.
- Wake the lock. Tap the Latch lens (the black oval on the front of the device) once so the keypad lights up, then present the keycard. Cards presented to a sleeping device usually read as nothing.
- Confirm your access in the DOOR App. Open the DOOR App, go to Access, and verify the door you're trying to unlock is listed and active. If the door is missing, see I don't see my doors in the DOOR App — what do I do? — a keycard will not unlock a door your account no longer has access to.
- Check your keycard's activation status. A keycard must be activated before it will unlock anything. See the activation sections below if this is a new card, a replacement, or a card you haven't used before.
- Perform a door sync if anything changed recently. If your access, your keycard status, or the set of doors on your account was added, changed, revoked, or reactivated in the last few hours, a non-internet-connected door may not know about it until a sync. On the DOOR App, open the door's page, tap the gear icon, and tap Sync door while within Bluetooth range (~3 m). See How to perform a Door Sync.
- Try an alternate credential to isolate the issue. Open the DOOR App and try to unlock via the blue Unlock button, or enter your doorcode at the lens. If one of those works, the device is fine and the issue is keycard-specific (activation or sync). If none of them work, see I'm having issues unlocking my door or seeing a Bluetooth Error for the broader unlock-failure flow.
How do I activate a brand-new keycard?
New keycards must be activated before they'll work. There are two paths:
- Your property management team activates it for you. Property managers activate or deactivate keycards for residents in DOOR OS. You'll receive an email confirming the activation. After activation, non-internet-connected doors need a sync before the keycard starts working on them — a DOOR App unlock with the same account does this automatically, or your property team can sync manually.
- You activate it yourself at keycard.latch.com. The card itself prompts you to activate online. Important: if you plan to self-activate, activate the keycard before you use the DOOR App to open any of your doors for the first time. If you've already used the DOOR App on your doors, you'll need to manually sync each non-internet-connected door from the DOOR App after activation.
If the card is showing "Activation Pending" in DOOR OS (visible to your property team, not to you), it means some non-internet-connected doors haven't been synced yet. A DOOR App unlock or a manual sync on those doors clears the pending state.
What if the keycard is lost or stolen?
Deactivate the card immediately, then get a replacement. You can self-deactivate at keycard.latch.com with your DOOR email, confirm via email, and then perform a Door Sync on your devices. Until the sync completes, the deactivated keycard will still work on any non-internet-connected doors. Your property management team can also perform the sync on your behalf. For a replacement, contact your property management team. See What if my Latch Keycard is lost or stolen? for the full flow.
Possible root causes
- Lock asleep. Most common — tap the lens first.
- Keycard not activated yet. Brand-new cards and recently replaced cards don't work until activation is complete and the affected doors are synced.
- Door sync pending. A recent change to your access, your keycard, or the door itself hasn't reached a non-internet-connected lock yet.
- Access missing from your account. If your DOOR App doesn't show the door, the keycard can't unlock it — access is tied to the account, not to the card alone.
- Keycard damaged or demagnetized. Rare, but possible after long wallet wear or exposure to strong magnets. If the lens blinks consistently at this card but another valid credential (app unlock, doorcode) works, suspect the card itself and request a replacement from your property team.
When to escalate
Contact your property management team if:
- You've run the quick fix above and the keycard still doesn't work on any doors.
- You believe your keycard should be active but the DOOR OS status is unclear.
- You need a replacement keycard.
- Other residents at the property report keycard failures at the same door.
- The door has been offline on the property's side for more than a few hours.
When you contact them, include: the door name, the exact behavior (nothing happens vs. lens blinking vs. lens lights up but no unlock), whether a DOOR App unlock or doorcode works at the same door right now, and when you first noticed the keycard failing.
Contact DOOR Support if your property team confirms the keycard is activated and the affected doors have been synced, but unlock still fails and no alternate credential (app, doorcode) works either.
This article does not cover
- App unlock / Bluetooth errors — see I'm having issues unlocking my door or seeing a Bluetooth Error.
- Lens numbers blinking after doorcode or keycard entry — see The numbers on the Latch lens are blinking after typing my doorcode in or attempting to use my Keycard.
- Doors missing from the DOOR App — see I don't see my doors in the DOOR App — what do I do?.
- Lost or stolen keycard (detailed deactivation flow) — see What if my Latch Keycard is lost or stolen?.
- Property manager keycard activation / deactivation workflow — see Latch Keycards.
- "Out of Schedule" errors — see I'm getting an 'Out of Schedule' error in the DOOR App.
Related articles
- Latch Keycards
- What if my Latch Keycard is lost or stolen?
- The numbers on the Latch lens are blinking after typing my doorcode in or attempting to use my Keycard
- How to perform a Door Sync
Questions this article answers
- "My keycard isn't working."
- "Why won't the Latch Keycard unlock the door?"
- "Do I need to activate my keycard before using it?"
- "The keycard used to work but suddenly stopped."
- "Does a new keycard need a door sync?"
- "What happens if I lose my keycard?"