How to add more than one phone number to an apartment buzzer
Most apartment buzzers store exactly one phone number per unit, so you cannot add a second number in the lobby panel itself. The fix is to point your unit at one number that rings several phones. Only a service built for it, like BuzzMeBro, rings everyone at the same time; a landline, carrier forwarding or Google Voice each ring one phone or fail at the door digit.
You moved in with someone, or you got a roommate, or you just got tired of being the only person who can let a delivery in. So you asked the building to add a second number to the buzzer, and they told you it cannot be done.
They are right, and it is worth understanding why before you start looking at fixes. The reason changes which of the options below will actually work for you.
Why your buzzer only holds one number
The panel in your lobby is a telephone entry system. Inside it is a directory: a list of unit numbers, and against each one, a phone number to dial. Systems from Mircom, Enterphone, DoorKing, TEC and Aiphone all work this way. When a visitor presses your unit, the panel places an ordinary phone call to the number in that row.
A row has one phone number field. Some systems can store thousands of numbers across a whole building, which is where the confusion comes from, but that is thousands of units with one number each. There is no second field for your unit, so the property manager has nothing to type your roommate into.
What are the ways to get more than one phone ringing?
Every approach has the same shape. You give the building one number, and that number is responsible for ringing everyone. What separates them is one question: when someone buzzes, does everybody's phone ring, or does one phone ring and the rest wait?
| Approach | Rings everyone at once | Monthly cost | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|---|
| A buzzer number built for it | Yes | A few dollars | A subscription, and that is the whole of it |
| Google Voice | Sometimes | Free | The door often will not open, because the keypad tone does not survive the trip |
| Landline with call forwarding | No | Landline rental | One phone, and you rent a line you never otherwise use |
| Carrier call forwarding on your mobile | No | Usually free | Sends every call you get to one other phone, not just buzzes |
| Ask the building to change the number | No | Free | Still one phone. You moved the problem, you did not fix it |
The one that rings everyone
Only one approach on that list answers the question you actually asked, and it is a number whose whole job is being your apartment buzzer number. You give it to the building once, and it rings every phone in the apartment at the same time. Whoever is free answers and opens the door.
That is what BuzzMeBro is. Your apartment gets its own local number, up to 4 phones ring together when someone buzzes, and the first person to answer gets the call. It costs $11.99 a month for the apartment, not per person, or $109.00 a year.
There is nothing to install for the people receiving buzzes. The buzz arrives as an ordinary incoming call, and you press your building digit the way you always have. You use the website once to set it up and add people, and after that it is just your phone ringing.
The cheaper routes, and where each one breaks
These are worth knowing about, and worth knowing the failure mode of before you spend a Saturday on one. Three of the four cannot ring two phones together at all, which is usually the end of the conversation.
Google Voice: free, but the door often will not open
Google Voice gives you a real number and can ring several devices, so on paper it is the obvious answer, and it is the one most people try first.
It fails at the last step often enough to be worth its own article. The keypad tone that opens your door has to travel back through Google Voice to the panel, and it frequently does not survive the trip. Google Voice also screens calls it does not recognise, and a lobby panel is the definition of a number it does not recognise. The full breakdown is here.
A landline: reliable, one phone, and a bill for a line you never use
This is the setup buildings were designed around. The buzzer calls your suite landline and the landline forwards to a mobile. It passes the door digit reliably, because it is plain telephone service end to end.
It also costs more than every other row in that table, you are renting it purely to receive buzzes, and basic call forwarding sends the call to exactly one phone. Some providers sell a find-me service that rings two numbers in sequence, which has the same courier problem as a rollover: nobody waits through a full ring-out.
Carrier forwarding: free, and it forwards everything
If the buzzer already rings your phone you can turn on unconditional forwarding and send it to your roommate, free, in about thirty seconds. It forwards every call you get, not just buzzes, which is usually where that idea ends.
Conditional forwarding, the kind that only fires when you do not answer, is better behaved but is a rollover again. And the day you turn it off, you are back to one phone.
Asking the building: free, and still one phone
If all you need is the buzzer ringing a different person, do this and pay nobody. It is a routine request and here is what to send them.
It does not solve the roommate problem. Whoever is on the buzzer is now the only person who can let anyone in, and they will be at work when the fridge arrives.
Which one fits your apartment?
- Two or more people need to let visitors in. You need a number that rings everyone at once. Forwarding and rollover both fail here for the same reason: by the time the second phone rings, the person at the door has gone.
- One person lives there and the buzzer rings the wrong phone. Ask the building to change the number and pay nobody. This is not a problem worth a subscription.
- One person, often out. Conditional forwarding to a partner or a neighbour costs nothing and is enough.
How to set it up, whichever route you take
- Find out what your buzzer dials today Go down to the lobby, press your unit, and see which phone rings. If nothing rings, the stored number is wrong or disconnected, which is its own problem to fix first.
- Get the number that will replace it A landline, a Google Voice number, or a buzzer number from a service. Whatever it is, you need it in hand before you contact the building.
- Test the door digit before you switch anything Call the new number from a mobile, answer it, and press 9. Confirm the tone is audible on the calling end. If a keypad press does not travel through the new number, it will not open your door either.
- Send the building one email Give them your unit number and the new phone number, and ask them to update the entry panel directory. Most turn this around in a few days.
- Test from the lobby Press your own unit from the panel, answer on each phone that should ring, and open the door once. Do not assume it worked because the call came through.
What none of this changes
Your buzzer will still be a phone call. Every option here works by changing which number the panel dials, because that field is the only thing about the lobby panel you get to influence. If someone offers you a fix that does not involve that field, they are selling you a new intercom, and that is a decision for your building, not for you.
Questions people ask
Can a property manager add two phone numbers to one unit?
In almost all cases, no. The entry panel directory has one phone number field per unit. Some newer systems have a second field that rings only after the first goes unanswered, which is not the same as both phones ringing together.
Is there a free way to get two phones ringing on a buzzer?
Nothing free does it reliably. Google Voice is the only free option that can ring multiple devices at all, and it fails at the door digit often enough that you have to test it from the lobby three times before trusting it. Carrier forwarding and a landline both ring one phone.
Do I need to keep a landline for my buzzer?
No. Entry panels dial ordinary phone numbers and do not care whether the number belongs to a landline, a mobile or a forwarding service. The landline was never a requirement, just what existed when the building was wired.
How many phones can ring at once?
That depends on what you point the buzzer at. Carrier forwarding rings one. Google Voice can ring several devices on one account. BuzzMeBro rings up to 4 phones in the apartment at the same time.
Will changing the buzzer number break my building fob or key?
No. The entry panel directory and your fob are separate systems. Changing the phone number your unit dials has no effect on your keys, fobs or garage remote.