Is my remote 315MHz or 433MHz, and does it matter?
A remote on the wrong frequency will never pair, however carefully it is programmed. Here is how to read the figure off the fob rather than guessing it from the badge.
It matters completely, and it is the first thing to establish. A remote transmitting on the wrong band will never pair, however carefully it is programmed, because the receiver in the car is listening on one frequency only. No amount of retrying fixes it.
The rough geography, and why it is only rough
North American vehicles are usually 315MHz. European and Asian models are usually 433MHz. That holds often enough to be a useful starting assumption and not often enough to order on.
Exceptions appear inside a single model year, because the same model built for different markets carries different radio modules, and a vehicle that has been imported carries whatever was fitted where it was built. The badge on the bonnet tells you nothing reliable about the band.
Where the figure actually is
On most fobs it is printed on the circuit board, next to the crystal. Open the case and look. Where it is not printed, the FCC ID on the board or the back of the case identifies the exact radio module, and that is the more reliable code to search on anyway, because it narrows a fob to one part rather than to a family that looks identical in photographs.
A short letter group such as HYQ or KR5 at the start of a code is usually an FCC ID.
434MHz, and the other bands
You will also see 434MHz, which is close enough to 433MHz that parts are frequently interchangeable, and the listing usually says so. Older vehicles turn up on 290MHz and 450MHz. These are much smaller populations, but if you work on older stock you will meet them.
What we hold
We list 62 items confirmed at 315MHz and 60 at 433MHz, plus a smaller number at 434MHz, 290MHz and 450MHz. Every product page states the frequency where we hold it verified and leaves it blank where we do not, because a guessed figure on a spec sheet is worse than an empty one.
Before you order
- Read the frequency off the board, or read the FCC ID.
- Check the button count matches what the customer has.
- Check the blade profile if the fob carries one.
- Check the transponder chip separately. Frequency and chip are two different things and matching one does not match the other.
That last point catches people out more than any other. The radio and the immobiliser are separate systems in the same plastic case.