When a Montana woman’s car key fob suddenly stopped working, she figured it was just a dead battery. But even after swapping in a new one, her car refused to respond.
That’s when she turned to ChatGPT for help, and ended up learning something most drivers don’t know about: how their own bodies can help unlock their cars.
Does This Key Fob Trick Actually Unlock Your Car When Nothing Else Works?
TikTok creator Kandi (@bamalama_dingdong) shared her story in a video that got over 51,800 views. Sitting inside her car, she told followers she’d been dealing with mysterious fob problems for weeks.
“Never in all my years did I think I’d be known as the seeker of truth when it comes to key fobs,” she says, laughing. “I’m an investigator.”
She explains that two weeks prior, her key fob started acting up. Assuming the battery was dead, she replaced it, but the problem didn’t go away.
She soon realized the issue wasn’t the battery at all. “I’m only having problems with my key fob at my house,” she said. “It’s not happening when I go to the store. It’s not happening anywhere else.”
After taking her key fobs to a dealership, she found they worked perfectly there. That’s when she started investigating.
FROM THE TRENDING NEWS DESK
Viral bits from across the social media landscape
Our team of experts tracks what's trending so you don't have to—from viral videos to online debates that have everyone talking.
“There are things people can buy and run in their homes—cell phone boosters, jammers, routers, Wi-Fi equipment—and they can mess up other people’s key fobs,” she explained. “Either one of my neighbors bought something, or it’s something in the area. But key fobs run on a radio frequency, and there are things that can screw up that frequency.”
The ChatGPT Key Fob Solution
As a last resort, Kandi said she turned to ChatGPT for advice. “I looked on ChatGPT, and it gave me the answer,” she said. “You use your body as an antenna.”
It sounded ridiculous, but she tried it anyway.
“I walked out to my truck today and did what ChatGPT told me,” she continued. “I held the thing underneath my chin, and I pushed it, and my truck unlocked instantly.
“You use your body as an antenna,” she continues. “Your feet are grounded, your body is an antenna, and you push your key fob underneath your chin, and your vehicle unlocks. Weird, wacky, wild, but true.”
Gallery: Ford introduces theft-proof keyless fobs
The Science Behind the “Body Antenna”
As strange as it sounds, it’s real. YouTuber and science educator Kyle Hill tested this “key fob hack” years ago and explained why it works.
Hill demonstrated that car key fobs emit radio waves, usually around 315 MHz, to communicate with the car.
“When you press your keyless entry device, what comes out are electromagnetic waves,” he said. Those waves can be amplified if they pass through certain materials, like water.
And since the human body is made mostly of water, it can act as a dielectric resonator, bouncing and amplifying radio waves.
“It just so happens that the average human height provides a perfect resonating cavity for the waves coming out of the car key,” Hill explained.
He proved it by showing that even a jug of water could replicate the effect. Holding the key fob near the jug made his car unlock from much farther away than usual. “It proves everything we talked about, this happenstance of physics,” Hill said. “You can turn your body into an antenna.”
He added that the same concept is being studied in bioinformatics and medicine, where scientists explore using the human body to transmit signals safely through water-based tissues.
Can Your Neighbor’s Devices Interfere With Your Key Fob?
Yes, it’s possible, and Kandi may be right about her neighborhood theory.
Key fobs operate using radio frequencies that other devices can disrupt. If a neighbor uses certain wireless gadgets, like Wi-Fi routers, Bluetooth devices, signal boosters, or even some home security systems, they could accidentally interfere with the signal between your key fob and your car.
While it’s not a sign of malicious intent, the overlap in frequencies can cause the fob to fail in specific locations. That’s probably why Kandi’s worked everywhere but her own driveway.
People Were Stunned
Many commenters were amazed that something as odd as holding your key under your chin could actually work. Others, however, were familiar.
“I knew this in 1990. I’m surprised the technology hasn’t changed!” one person wrote.
Another said, “It also works when you’re too far away from your car in a parking lot. You can do the same thing and it’ll amplify the signal so the key works further away.”
Someone else said their own car behaves oddly due to signal interference: “If I pull in a certain spot at a local store, my car does this. Takes 3-4 times to get it to work. It’s interference from something in that location. It also will not work if it’s in my purse, while my portable charger is!”
Motor1 has reached out to Kandi via TikTok direct message for comment. This story will be updated should she respond.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motor1.com?
Take our 3 minute survey.- The Motor1.com Team
