Where to put your buzzer code so drivers can get in, app by app
A buzzer code belongs in the delivery instructions or intercom field, not in your street address. Write it as a short labelled line, such as Buzz 2041, and keep your unit number in the unit field. Amazon.ca has an intercom number field in the address book. Uber Eats, DoorDash and Instacart use delivery instructions. A code only gets the driver as far as the buzz, which is why BuzzMeBro rings every phone in the apartment.
Your buzzer code is 2041 and your unit is 1203. The driver types 1203, a stranger answers, and your order sits in the lobby. Putting the code in the right box, in the right format, fixes that.
What is the difference between a buzzer code and a unit number?
Your unit number is part of your mailing address. Your buzzer code is what a visitor types at the lobby panel to call your suite. In many buildings they match. In plenty of others they do not, because the directory was set up years ago or the building was renumbered. Why the code is often not the unit.
| What it is | What it does | Safe to put in an app? |
|---|---|---|
| Unit number | Tells the driver which door is yours | Yes, in the unit field |
| Buzzer or directory code | Makes the panel call your phone | Yes, in instructions |
| Door or entry code | Opens the door with nobody answering | No |
If you are not sure which one you have, stand at the panel and type it. If your phone rings, it is a buzzer code. If the door clicks open, it is an entry code, and it stays private. The three meanings in detail, and how a visitor uses the code at the panel.
What format do drivers read fastest?
Drivers glance at the field while walking. A labelled line at the start of it gets read. A paragraph gets skipped. What else belongs in the field.
- Buzz 2041 works. The word tells the driver what to do with the number.
- Buzz 2041 (unit 1203) works when the two differ, so nobody types the unit at the panel.
- 2041 on its own does not. It reads like a unit, a street number or half a phone number.
- Code 2041 is risky. A driver cannot tell whether it calls you or opens the door.
Where does the buzzer code go in each app?
Each app keeps its own copy. Changing it in one does nothing to the others.
Amazon.ca: the intercom number field
Amazon.ca lets you save it on the address itself. Go to Your Account, then Manage Address Book under Settings, and select Change. Amazon says you can add information there like the address type, an intercom number or a security access code, and that it is saved and applied to future orders to that address.
Put your buzzer code in the intercom number field. For a one-off note on a single order, select Track Item in Your Orders, then Provide Delivery Instructions. Amazon says these instructions are visible to partners delivering with Amazon Logistics. If another carrier has your parcel, Amazon tells you to contact that carrier. When Amazon still cannot get in.
Uber Eats: special delivery instructions at checkout
Uber Eats asks how you want to receive the order: Leave at door, Meet at door or Pick up outside. Add the buzzer code in the special delivery instructions before you confirm the order. Uber tells its delivery people that the app shows special dropoff instructions from the customer, such as intercom codes or floor numbers, when they reach the address.
DoorDash: the delivery instructions on your saved address
In the app, tap the Account tab, then Addresses. Search for the address, select it, add the apartment number or suite and any delivery instructions, then save. The unit goes in the apartment or suite spot. The buzzer code goes in the instructions.
Do not use the Special Instructions box on a menu item. DoorDash describes that one as being for requests like sauce on the side, which the restaurant handles. If the Dasher still cannot buzz you.
Instacart: Delivery Instructions
Instacart lets you add instructions when you add an address, at checkout by tapping Delivery Instructions, or after ordering under Delivery Details, as long as a shopper has not started shopping. Its own list of helpful things to include has building security or gate information, and directions from the building entrance to your unit.
Online store checkouts and Canada Post
Canada Post treats the unit number as part of the address. Its guidelines allow it before the civic number with a hyphen, as in 1203-25 King St, after the street with a unit identifier, or on the line above the street. So the unit number belongs in the address, usually in the second address line on a store checkout.
The buzzer code is not part of the address. If the checkout has a delivery notes box, use it. If the second address line is the only space you have, put the unit first and the buzz after it: Unit 1203, Buzz 2041. Keep it that short.
| Where you order | Unit number | Buzzer code |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon.ca | Address | Intercom number field in Manage Address Book |
| Uber Eats | Address | Special delivery instructions, before confirming |
| DoorDash | Apartment or suite | Delivery instructions on the saved address |
| Instacart | Address | Delivery Instructions |
| Store checkout | Address line 2 | Delivery notes, or after the unit in line 2 |
What should never go in these fields?
A code that opens the door by itself. A buzzer code only rings your phone, so somebody still has to decide to let the driver in. An entry code skips that decision for every unit in the building.
These fields are saved and shown to whoever has your next order, and the one after. Amazon has a security access code field, but filling it in hands a building code to drivers you never meet. Check your building rules first. How to let a driver in without handing over access.
Why can a perfect buzzer code still end in a missed delivery?
A code gets the driver as far as the buzz. After that, the panel calls the one phone number stored for your unit. If that phone is in a meeting, on silent or across town, the driver waits a few seconds and leaves the bag in the lobby. The Toronto version of this problem.
BuzzMeBro fixes the part after the code. Your apartment gets its own local number for the lobby panel, and a buzz rings up to 4 phones at the same time. Whoever is home answers and presses the door digit. It is $9.99 a month for the whole apartment. Get your number, or read more in deliveries and guests.
Questions people ask
Should I put my buzzer code in the address line?
Only if there is nowhere else. The address lines are for the street and unit. Use the delivery instructions or intercom field first, and if a checkout has neither, add Buzz 2041 after the unit in the second line.
My buzzer code is the same as my unit number. Do I still need to add it?
It helps to write Buzz 1203 anyway. It tells the driver to use the panel rather than look for another door, and it costs a few characters.
Is it safe to put a buzzer code in a delivery app?
A buzzer code that only calls your phone is fine, because you still choose who comes in. A code that opens the door on its own is not, and it should stay out of every app.
What if the driver types the code and nobody answers?
Then the code worked and the phone behind it did not. The panel rings one number. BuzzMeBro makes that number ring up to 4 phones in the apartment at once, so whoever is home can let the driver in.