Can an apartment buzzer call a cell phone? Yes, if the number is local
An apartment buzzer can call a cell phone, and in most dial-out buildings that is now the normal setup. The lobby panel stores one phone number per unit and calls it when a visitor enters your code. The usual catch is distance. Panels tend to dial on a line restricted to local calls, so a cell number from another area code may never ring at all.
Nobody has a landline anymore, so the question comes up at almost every move-in. You hand the building your cell number and hope. Most of the time it works. When it does not, the reason is almost never your phone.
How does an apartment buzzer call a cell phone?
Most apartment buildings in Toronto use a dial-out entry panel. Common ones are the Mircom TX3, Enterphone and DoorKing. Each unit has a code in the directory, and each code points at one phone number.
When a visitor enters your code, the panel picks up its own phone line and dials that number. To the phone network it is a normal call. It does not matter whether the number belongs to a landline, a cell or an internet phone service. How the whole chain works.
So putting a cell number on the buzzer is now the normal setup. Building managers enter them every day. The panel does not know or care that the number is a mobile.
Why won't the buzzer call a cell number from another area code?
This is the limit people actually hit. The panel dials out on a line the building pays for. Buildings restrict that line to local calls, because a panel that can dial anywhere is a panel that will one day run up a long distance bill.
So if your cell number is long distance from the building, the call never goes through. You kept your Vancouver number when you moved. Your food is in the lobby, the driver has entered your code twice, and your phone never made a sound.
Some panels can be set to dial a 1 in front of your number. That makes the call possible, but the building pays for every buzz. Most buildings will say no, and they are within their rights. More on buzzers and out-of-province numbers.
How do I know if my cell number is local to my building?
In Toronto, numbers starting 416, 647, 437 and 942 are local to buildings in the city. Many 905, 289, 365 and 742 numbers are local too, but not all of them. It depends on the exchange, which is the three digits after the area code. How GTA area codes affect your buzzer.
- Your number has an area code from another province or another part of Ontario.
- Pressing your code at the panel does something, but your phone never rings.
- Your phone takes calls from other local numbers with no trouble.
- The building says the panel works, and for everyone else it does.
If all four sound like you, the area code is the likely cause. If a stranger answers when you buzz yourself, the panel still holds an old number instead. Find out what number your buzzer calls.
What are the ways to get the buzzer to ring your cell, and what does each cost you?
| Approach | Rings your cell reliably | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| A local number that rings your phones, like BuzzMeBro | Yes, even if your own number is long distance | $11.99 a month per apartment. Up to 4 phones ring at once. |
| Your own cell number on the panel | Only if it is local to the building | Free. One phone rings. Everyone else in the unit is left out. |
| Building dials your long distance number with a 1 | Yes, if the building agrees | The building pays per call, so most refuse. |
| A local landline that forwards to your cell | Usually | A monthly phone bill for a line you never use, plus forwarding. |
| A free internet phone number | It rings, but the door often will not open | Free, but the keypad tone can break on the way back. |
A local number that rings your phones: works from any cell, costs a monthly fee
BuzzMeBro gives your apartment its own local phone number. You give that number to the building once, and they store it in the panel like any other. When someone buzzes, every phone registered to the apartment rings at the same time. Whoever answers first can open the door. Your own cell number can be from anywhere, because the panel is only ever dialling a local call.
Your own cell number: free, but only if it is local and only one phone
If you live alone and your cell number is local to the building, put your cell on the panel. It is free and it works. The trouble starts when two people live there. The panel stores one number per unit, so one person gets every buzz. Why your buzzer only rings one number.
Call forwarding from a landline: works, but you pay for a phone nobody uses
A local landline on the panel can forward to your cell. It adds a delay while the forward connects, and a visitor may give up first. You also keep paying for the landline. How forwarding a buzzer works.
A free internet number: the call arrives, the door often stays shut
The door opens because a keypad tone travels back down the call to the panel. Some internet phone services re-encode call audio, and the tone does not survive the trip. You get the call, you press the digit, and nothing happens. What happens with Google Voice on a buzzer.
Does a buzzer call to a cell phone still open the door?
Yes, as long as the keypad tone gets back to the panel. You answer, talk to the visitor, and press the door digit. The digit is usually 9, but each building sets its own. Ask your building if 9 does nothing. When pressing 9 does not open the door.
On a normal cell call the tone travels fine. Problems show up when the call passes through a service that changes the audio on the way.
Why does the buzzer call my cell but go straight to voicemail?
Carriers now filter spam hard. A lobby panel calls many different numbers for a few seconds each, from a line nobody ever calls back. To a spam filter that looks like a robocaller. So the buzz goes to voicemail and your guest stands outside.
Save the number the panel calls from as a contact on your phone. Then check that your phone is not silencing unknown callers. Why buzzer calls end up in voicemail.
Which buzzers cannot call a cell phone at all?
Some older buildings use a hardwired intercom. The lobby talks to a handset on your wall over the building wiring. There is no phone call and no number to change. If you have a speaker box by your door, that is probably your system. Hardwired and dial-out intercoms compared.
Newer smart systems such as ButterflyMX, 1Valet and Latch usually reach residents through their own app instead of a phone number. Your building controls how those are set up.
How do I get a local number on the buzzer that rings every phone?
- Sign up on the website Enter your building address. A local number is checked at signup. If none is available for your building, you go on a waitlist.
- Add the phones in your apartment Register up to 4 phones. They can have any area code, because the panel never dials them directly.
- Give the number to your building Send it to your property manager or superintendent once. They store it against your unit code like any other number.
- Buzz yourself to test Enter your code at the panel. Every registered phone should ring at the same time. Answer one and press your building's door digit.
A buzz arrives as an ordinary phone call. There is nothing to install. It costs $11.99 a month or $109.00 a year for the whole apartment, not per person. Check whether a number is available for your building.
Questions people ask
Can an apartment buzzer call a cell phone instead of a landline?
Yes. A dial-out lobby panel places a normal phone call, so a cell number works the same as a landline. The limit is that the number usually has to be local to the building, because the panel line is restricted to local calls.
Why does my buzzer not ring my cell phone when my number is from another province?
The entry panel dials on a building phone line that is usually blocked from long distance calls. An out-of-province cell number is long distance from that line, so the call never connects. A local number on the panel that rings your cell, such as a BuzzMeBro number, gets around this.
Can an apartment buzzer call two cell phones?
The panel itself stores one number per unit, so on its own it rings one phone. Some panels have a rollover number that rings only after the first one goes unanswered. BuzzMeBro gives the unit one local number that rings up to 4 phones at the same time.
Will pressing 9 on my cell open the building door?
Usually, if 9 is the digit your building uses. The digit is set per building. The keypad tone has to travel back to the panel cleanly, which a normal cell call does and some internet phone services do not.