Keys are obtained by knocking out a guard, and they are used to open certain Doors, allowing the player to access certain areas in the prison. A plastic copy of a key can be made with a Key Mold and Molten Plastic. If the original key is kept in the inventory, the player will be sent to solitary once the guard that the key was stolen from wakes up.
Summary[ | ]
Every type of key opens another set of doors. Every guard (with the exception of some in HMP Irongate) randomly carries one of the five keys with them. The key will always be carried by the same guard.
The player can knock out guards to steal their keys. A Cup of Molten Chocolate or Makeshift Stungun can one-shot a guard which can be useful to quickly take their stuff if the player has low health. It is not a good idea to do this outside, as the player's heat will increase to very high levels and they will be shot by tower guards.
Make a copy of that key with a Wad of Putty and return the key back to the guard's inventory. The player can also place a key in an inmate's desk. the player can take it out and use after getting out of the solitary. If the guard wakes up and he doesn't have his key, the player will be sent to solitary.
This does not work on the console version.
Types[ | ]
Cell Key (Yellow)
ItemID: 0
Utility Key (Orange on PC, Cyan on console/mobile and TE2)
ItemID: 7
Entrance Key (Purple)
ItemID: 6
Staff Key (Red)
ItemID: 1
Work Key (Green)
ItemID: 43
The guards will have certain keys based on their order in the pre-game screen. On PC, the order is Yellow, Orange (Utility), Purple, Red, and Green. On Console/Mobile, the order is Yellow, Cyan (Utility), Green, Purple, and Red
The Cell key is only useful between 23:00 and 8:00, when cells are locked. It allows the player to open all cell doors, and, in certain prisons, a sub-section of the prison containing all the cells (eg. the area separating the cells and everything else in Jungle Compound requires a cell key). This key can sometimes be avoided by making a hole in your cell, but some areas will still require cell keys like the previously mentioned sub-sections.
The Entrance key is only useful between 22:00 and 10:00, when exterior doors are locked. It open the doors that lead to the exterior yard, sometimes also an inner yard. This key is useful if you plan to escape from outside during night, but like the cell key, it can be avoided if you make a hole leading to the outside.
The Utility key can open utility areas, which usually leads to ladders to the roof or ventilation. This key typically isn't as useful as the others, as most of those areas can be more easily accessed by chipping the walls surrounding them.
The Staff key opens critical areas prisoners cannot access, such as the generator room, or the guards barracks. Prisons where this key is almost mandatory include Stalag Flucht (to access the area containing the generator and the generator itself), Jungle Compound (to access the building with the Unsigned ID Papers), and HMP-Irongate (to easily access and skip certain sections of the roof).
The Work key can open workroom doors, such as the janitor room, without requiring the actual job needed to access those areas. Note that if the player already has a Job, they can access the room corresponding to their job without a key, but not other job rooms. This key typically isn't as useful as the others, as most of those areas can be more easily accessed by chipping the walls surrounding them (or simply switching to that job).
Obtaining[ | ]
The player can obtain a key by knocking out a guard. However, when the guard wakes up and doesn't have the key, the player will be sent to solitary (TE1) or a lockdown will be initiated (TE2). This can be resolved by crafting a less durable Plastic Key then putting the original back into the guard's inventory.
Crafting[ | ]
TE1
| Item | Requirements | INT |
|---|---|---|
 Key Mold |
 Wad of Putty x1 +  Any Key x1 |
50 |
 Plastic Key |
Key Mold x1 +  Molten Plastic x1 |
80 |
TE2
| Item | Requirements | INT |
|---|---|---|
 Plastic Key |
 Key Mold x1 +  Molten Plastic x1 |
60+ |
Other info[ | ]
- Be sure to make note of which guards have which key. You can find out what number the guards have by writing down the guard order when naming your people or by simply giving the first 5 guards a specific name to recognize them. The key color unlocks the color lock as is on the door. The guards from 1st to 5th have the following keys: Yellow, Orange, Purple, Red, Green. You can name them the color key they have to easily remember who has what color key.
- On Console/Mobile versions the order may be Cyan, Green, Purple, Red, Yellow.
- Plastic Keys are contraband and they are made with a Key Mould and Molten Plastic.
- A real key obtained by using the exploit works forever.
- If you access the menu from an unconscious guard and have putty, select the key and touch X on Xbox or space on PC to make a key mold without needing to access the craft menu.
- There are a few colored doors that don't have their own respective key.
- Blue doors (with star icons in TE2) can only be opened by guards or while the player is wearing a Guard Outfit.
- White doors can only be opened by the staff (warden, guards) or unlocked by the player during a prison takeover. Silver doors in TE2 cannot be opened by players in any way, and only appear to open during escape cutscenes.
- Many people used to (and still do) believe that you can knock out the Warden and steal the white key from them, however this can be easily debunked as the Warden cannot be interacted by the player whatsoever.
- Green doors with health symbols can only be opened by either the infirmary staff or a player wearing the Infirmary Overalls.
- This feature is only in TE2 and on the Console/Mobile edition of TE1 only, they require Staff Keys on the PC version of TE1.
- On the console/mobile versions of TE1, and all versions of TE2, the orange key will appear cyan. This has no further significance and both keys function the same.
- The possible reason as to why the color was changed between games could be to help avoid confusion between the Utility and Staff key.
- The Entrance Key, does not lose durability during the day hours. only the night hours.
Trivia[ | ]
- On the mobile version of TE2, you can hide in the vents with a key and wait for lockdown to end. But you can't exit the vents once you have the key, since dogs will be following you from under or above.
- There is a bug that can be exploited to obtain a key. Before Lights Out, you need to knock out the targeted guard, take the key and sleep in your cell before the guard wakes up. The next day, that guard will regain the key, but the copy which you stole will remain in your inventory.
- Similarly, if you get yourself a glitched cell key, you can knock out a guard and replace their key with the cell key.
- Surprisingly, if you give a key to someone their opinion will increase by 10. This is strange since certain escape items will lower inmates' opinions.