The buzzer only rings my roommate’s phone
A buzzer that only rings your roommate means their number is the one stored in the lobby panel, which holds exactly one number per unit. Nothing is broken and nobody chose it against you, since whoever set it up first put their own number in. Changing it to your number moves the problem rather than solving it, so the useful change is a number that rings both of you.
You order something, you wait, and the delivery goes to your roommate at work. They text you the photo of the driver. You go down and get it. That is the shape of it, twice a week.
Why theirs and not yours
When the apartment was set up, somebody gave the building a phone number for the unit. Whoever handled the move-in paperwork gave their own, because that is the number they had.
The lobby panel stores one number for each unit. There is no second field, so the moment one number went in, everybody else in the apartment was off the buzzer. How the panel works.
What it is costing each of you
| You | Your roommate | |
|---|---|---|
| Your deliveries | Depend on them being free | Interrupt them at work |
| Your guests | Wait outside until somebody answers | Have to let in people they do not know |
| Their phone | Nothing | Rings for the whole apartment, all day |
| The group chat | You are asking | They are being asked |
This is worth reading before you ask them to swap it. The person on the panel is doing unpaid work for the household and usually has not said so.
Why swapping it is the wrong fix
Asking the building to store your number instead takes a few business days and changes exactly one thing: who is now the doorman.
You will get every delivery for the apartment, including theirs, and every guest, including theirs. In three months somebody will be typing the reverse of this into a search box. The general version of the trap.
What actually resolves it
Give the building a number that rings every phone in the apartment. One request, one change, and nobody is on duty afterwards.
BuzzMeBro is a number for the apartment that rings up to 4 phones at the same time, for $11.99 a month rather than per person. Whoever is free answers and opens the door. How to ask the building.
Everyone added confirms their own number by text first, so nobody ends up on the buzzer without agreeing to it. What that looks like.
Questions people ask
Can I just ask the building to add my number as well?
No. The panel stores one number per unit and there is no second field to add anything to. Buildings get asked this constantly and the answer is the same everywhere, because it is the hardware rather than a policy.
Is my roommate blocking my calls somehow?
No. Your number is simply not the one in the panel, so nothing ever tries to call you. There is nothing on their phone that could change that.
What if my roommate does not want to change it?
Show them the second column of the table above. The person on the panel is the one being interrupted at work by other people deliveries, so they usually want this more than you do once it is named.
Do we need our landlord for this?
Only once, to change which number the panel stores. After that the phones behind that number change whenever you want without involving them again.
What happens if my roommate moves out?
If the panel holds their personal number you are back to square one and asking the building again. If it holds a number belonging to the apartment, you remove their phone and add the new person, and the building never hears about it.